FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Weeks, Director of Communications
202-525-2883, x306 / katie.weeks@imt.org
Statement from IMT Executive Director Cliff Majersik on the Passage of California Assembly Bill 802
“Last Friday, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 802 (AB 802), which takes an important step forward in unlocking access to building performance data and the vast opportunities associated with better knowledge about how our buildings operate. IMT congratulates the legislators on dramatically improving access to whole-building energy use information and for supporting a statewide building energy use benchmarking program—critical steps in helping commercial and multifamily building owners manage energy use in their buildings and pursue energy efficiency investments to cut their energy bills, use energy more strategically, and reduce harmful pollution. We also congratulate the legislation’s advocates including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Sustainable Energy, Green Cities California and especially the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Berkeley, for their tenacity in creating and moving forward a bill that helps remove a significant market barrier to not only benefit California building owners and operators but also establish a best practice for utilities and energy commissions across the country to follow.
“American building owners spend over $400 billion annually on energy use, and a significant portion of these costs could be saved by identifying and improving leaking, poorly operated, and inefficient properties. The first critical step in doing so is benchmarking a building’s energy use—quite simply the process of measuring and tracking energy use over time—and this cannot be done without accessing whole-building energy use data. Whole-building data is especially important for commercial and multifamily buildings with multiple tenants, who use different amounts of energy and are often separately metered. By allowing building owners to request whole building monthly usage from California’s utilities without compromising consumer privacy, AB 802 empowers buildings owners to take advantage of energy efficiency improvements that benefit owners and tenants alike.
“The passage of AB 802 not only leapfrogs the state of California from a lagging position into a leadership position in supporting access to whole-building energy use information, but also showcases how forward-thinking advocates and legislators can come together to thoughtfully work through and resolve barriers to widespread market transformation to more efficient, healthier, and prosperous buildings, cities, and states.”
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ABOUT IMT: The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization promoting energy efficiency, green building, and environmental protection in the United States and abroad. IMT seeks to ignite greater investment energy efficiency in the building sector through activities including technical and market research, policy and program development and deployment, and promotion of best practices and knowledge exchange. IMT’s efforts lead to important new policy outcomes, widespread changes in practice, and ultimately, lasting market shifts toward greater energy efficiency, with substantial benefits for the economy and the environment. For more information, visit imt.org and follow us on Twitter at @IMT_speaks.
