Yesterday with bipartisan support the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 (HR 2126) which was sponsored by Representatives David McKinley (R) and Peter Welch (D). The bill includes several energy efficiency provisions
- The Better Buildings Act to encourage commercial building tenants to save energy through a "Tenant Star" recognition program and green leases
- A provision to encourage benchmarking and public disclosure of energy use in commercial buildings - I've blogged about six U.S. cities that have already mandated energy benchmarking for certain types of buildings
- The Energy Efficient Government Technology Act for federal agencies to implement energy-saving information technologies in Fedreal buildings and data centers
- A provision to address concerns that rural electric coops had that recent efficiency standards for water heaters could interfere with their use in demand response programs
The latest version (S. 2074) of the Senate's Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, which also enjoys bipartisan support, apparently includes these provisions among other efficiency measures.
Comments