News Release: Texas Jumps 8 spots in ACEEE’s State Energy Efficiency Scorecard

Texas had the largest improvement of any state in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) 9^th State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released today and SPEER was cited in the report as a catalyst for the rapid improvement. The Lone Star State jumped 8 positions to 26^th and reversed a consistently downward trend, from 11^th in 2007’s initial assessment to 34^th last year.

ACEEE’s evaluation, which annually ranks states’ energy efficiency policy and program efforts while also recommending strategies for states to advance, recognized Texas’ improving building energy codes: Texas ranked 7^th nationally in codes, scoring 6 out of 7 possible points. “Strong codes reduce energy waste and cost over the lifetime of a home or building, make them more durable, and improve the comfort and health of the people who live and work in them,” said Doug Lewin, SPEER’s Executive Director.  “Texas’ leadership in this area is exciting and will continue following the enactment of legislation last session which adopted the newest energy code (the 2015 IECC) effective Sept. 1, 2016 statewide.”

The efforts of Texas’ state and local governments to implement energy efficient measures in public buildings, which save taxpayer dollars by reducing energy waste, also scored highly in the report.

In addition, Texas was commended by ACEEE for making energy data widely available to customers. While not a part of this year’s scorecard evaluation, the state’s leadership in this area is expected to make a strong showing next year.

“While Texas clearly should be proud of this significant improvement, we shouldn’t lose sight of the tremendous amount of work that still needs to be done in order for us to empower consumers to save energy and money and reclaim our position as a leader in energy efficiency,” added Lewin.

To learn more about SPEER’s efforts ton advance energy efficiency, please visit www.eepartnership.org.