On November 21, the Building Energy Performance Policy (bill number 190600), passed out of Philadelphia City Council with a vote of 15 - 0. It now goes to the Mayor for his action.
The legislation, introduced in June of 2019 by Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown, requires most owners of non-residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to perform a building “tune-up” on existing energy systems and controls.
Meeting the law’s minimum requirements is an important first step in energy management, and owners’ tune-up costs will be recouped through the energy savings they generate.
Compliance with this law may lead to greater investment in energy efficiency and conservation measures.
“Investments in energy efficiency are a win-win-win⏤they reduce pollution, save money on energy bills, and create jobs,” said Julian Boggs, Policy Director for the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, or KEEA.
A surge in tune-ups and other energy efficiency measures will further boost the region’s growing energy efficiency industry, which accounts for more than 22,000 jobs in the Philadelphia metro area.
Energy service providers, many of them KEEA members, stand ready to help building owners meet the minimum requirement and further investments down the road.
Energy efficiency advocates like KEEA are encouraging building owners to seize this opportunity to exceed program requirements.
For those building owners ready to invest more deeply and realize even greater energy savings, a broad array of incentives and programs are available; these include utility retro-commissioning programs under Phase IV of Act 129 and Philadelphia’s newly-launched Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program, or C-PACE, an innovative clean energy finance tool from the Philadelphia Energy Authority.
For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance website.
[Posted: November 21, 2019] www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com
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