In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama repeatedly said that businesses can easily save money by reducing their energy bill.

Taking advantage of energy deregulation and improving energy efficiency are just a few of the ways the businesses can create cost savings.

"Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to solve our energy challenges. Throughout the president's speech, whether it was education, transportation or manufacturing, energy efficiency was the common solution that bridges partisan divides, even in an election year," said Kateri Callahan, president of Alliance to Save Energy.

Callahan also commended bipartisan efforts to improve energy efficiency. She praised the founders of the Alliance to Save Energy, Republican Senator Chuck Percy and Democratic Senator Hubert Humphrey, who started the initiative to showcase the benefits energy efficiency can bring to businesses.

According to the Patriot-News, a daily newspaper covering Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is taking advantage of energy efficiency with a $2 million project that will feature many green upgrades.

While businesses cut their utility bills by implementing energy efficiency upgrades, in many states businesses can also shop around for the best deal on energy, thanks to deregulation. The competition spurred by deregulated markets also helps companies' bottom lines by stimulating the economy; according to Greentech Media, nearly 10,000 wind energy-related jobs have been created in Texas in the 10 years since the Lone Star State deregulated its electricity market.