The ordinance
requires all apartment complexes and commercial properties to undergo an energy
audit and then share the results with current and prospective tenants or
purchasers.The audit will evaluate the energy usage of the building and make recommendations for cost-effective efficiency improvements.The price of the audit will be capped at $300 and is expected to cost less than $200.
For most consumers, efficiency retrofits will remain voluntary. However, apartment complexes that are determined to use 50% more electricity than the average
will be required to undergo mandatory energy efficiency upgrades. Older units will be
eligible for enhanced rebates from Austin Energy.
In addition, all sellers of
single-family homes will have to get an energy audit at the point of sale and
share the results with the buyer. Again, the upgrades remain voluntary, but the ordinance sets out goals for participation, starting with 25% in the first year and and going up
to 85% in the fourth year.
Environment Texas had advocated for a 'mandatory backstop' to
require upgrades if targets weren't met, but this was defeated due to an intense
lobby and PR campaign by the Austin Board of Realtors. Still, with the passage of this
ordinance, Austin becomes one of the few cities in America to require energy
audits, a major step forward for efficiency. If participation target rates are
met, Austin Energy estimates Austinites will save a net of $430 million over ten
years in lower electric bills (after accounting for cost of upgrades), reduce
electric demand by 225 MW, and reduce annual CO2 emissions by 365,000 metric
tons.
In the coming year, Environment Texas will monitor the success of the program. If targets are not met, the group will work to amend the ordinance to require mandatory upgrades.
"The challenges of our energy crisis are so large that it requires a collective effort to stave off the worst impacts of global warming," said Metzger. "The good news is energy efficiency upgrades will more than pay for themslves, giving us a 'two-fer' for consumers and the environment."
