Recent State and Local Energy Efficiency Actions

On December 31, 2015, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved Tucson Electric Power’s 2014-2015 energy efficiency plan with a $18.8 million budget, which will implement new initiatives such as a multi-family program and an appliance recycling program. Read the order. 

On January 29, 2015, Governor Brown, the White House, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a number of actions to expand financing for multifamily housing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. These projects include a PACE financing effort and an on-bill repayment program in affordable housing in the multifamily sector in California. See the announcement.

On November 19, 2014, Maryland adopted the 2015 IECC Building code and it became effective January 1, 2015, making Maryland the first state in the country to enforce the latest model energy code. See the regulation.

In early March, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) released a draft version of their 2015 integrated resource plan (IRP). Unique to the Southeast, TVA’s IRP introduces energy efficiency into the IRP model as a selectable resource, making it one of only a handful of utilities in the nation and the first in the Southeast to do so. Read the draft IRP.

Northwest utilities reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate energy efficiency by funding the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) for the next five years. NEEA’s 2015-19 Strategic and Business Plans dedicate a total of $168.6 million towards electric market transformation activities. In addition, Avista Utilities, Cascade Natural Gas, Energy Trust of Oregon, NW Natural, Puget Sound Energy and NEEA jointly announced the launch of the first regional natural gas market transformation effort in the nation. The five-year, $18.3 million plan will build on current efforts to accelerate energy-efficient products, services and practices for natural gas in the Northwest. View the plans.

On January 16, 2015, Governor Bill Walker signed an Administrative Order to improve the collaboration and coordination between governmental, private, and nonprofit entities in order to increase opportunities for reducing energy costs for Alaska consumers. Long-term goals of this order include increasing conservation and energy efficiency efforts. Read the order. 

On March 17, Governor Steve Beshear announced that five manufacturing plants in Kentucky have achieved ENERGY STAR certification through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2014 for being among the top 25 percent of energy performance in their industries nationwide. These plants are in the top 70 manufacturing plants in the country according to EPA and those 70 plants are calculated to have cut energy bills by $725 million and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 8 million metric tons—the equivalent to the annual energy use of 650,000 households—in the last year. Read the press release.

On March 10, the Berkeley City Council unanimously passed the Berkeley Energy Savings Ordinance, which requires annual energy use tracking and reporting for commercial, multifamily, and mixed-use buildings over 25,000 square feet. It also requires deeper energy assessments for those buildings in recurring intervals, as well as energy assessments for single-family homes at the time of sale. The ordinance is phased in over the next five years. Read the ordinance.

On February 20, 2015, Governor Jay Nixon announced a new homeowner energy certification program that validates energy efficiency improvements made by homeowners. Through this program, certified private sector energy auditors will be qualified by the state to issue homeowners a Missouri Home Energy Certificate.  The Missouri Home Energy Certification Program is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program. Read the release.

On February 3, 2015, Mayor Ralph Becker issued an Executive Order to maximize superior energy management at all the city facilities. The order creates an Energy Management Steering Committee that spans city departments and requires city facilities to develop annual Energy Management plans and track results. Read the news release.