Turning Policy into Performance: Measuring Equity to Achieve Restorative Justice

Last month, NEEP held its annual full day Regional Building Energy Codes Leadership Group meeting in Philadelphia at the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI). NEEP’s Codes Leadership Group is a forum for information dissemination and exchange between building energy code stakeholders in our region, including state and municipal agencies, utilities, building officials,…

Fort Lauderdale, Florida September 28 – October 4, 2014:  The International Code Council’s (ICC) Annual Meeting and Conference brought together over a thousand code officials from across the nation and around the world, and NEEP was there, representing the region. The conference and annual business meeting offered educational seminars, regional networking events, and strategic…

New York has some of the region’s most aggressive energy efficiency programs, and is now in the midst of an ambitious set of initiatives aimed at “Reforming the Energy Vision.” As the state tackles complex issues of new utility models and a changing view of state, utility and market roles, NEEP is watching closely to ensure there is a continuing and prominent role for energy efficiency — the…

Last month, the City of Portland became the latest city to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on their High Performance Outdoor Lighting Accelerator. The move is the latest in a suite of energy efficiency initiatives taken by the Forest City with the goal of saving taxpayer money and cutting carbon emissions. The partnership provides Portland with DOE tools, resources, and…

Regional efficiency stakeholders have a lot riding on the outcomes of several important federal appliance standards rulemakings in the fourth quarter of 2014, including proposal stages for residential gas furnaces, residential boilers (gas and oil) and commercial package air conditioner/heat pumps —commonly referred to as roof-top units. Each of these product categories offer the region unique…

Thanks to Greg Cunningham and Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) for this cogent look at the many intricacies of Natural Gas markets and big, related pipeline question marks. The preliminary conclusions are in on Maine’s proposed gambit to invest ratepayer money on natural gas pipeline expansion—it’s not worth the risk. Those were the findings of the Maine Public Utilities…

Are you worried about your winter energy bills? Cold weather, falling snow, and the forthcoming holidays usually give us permission to sing Christmas carols with familiar lyrics like “Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat.” But, in the Northeast, winter also means fat energy bills. Below-freezing temperatures, blistery wind chills, and energy supply constraints due to heavy reliance on…

The ability of an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) to heat homes in the dead of winter may seem too good to be true. This technology is no figment of your imagination - it has us quite excited because it promises to deliver heat in subzero weather. ASHPs warm our houses by extracting heat from the outdoor air. But, if you live in a cold climate, it’s hard to extract warmth from…

Welcome to Highlights! August 2014 While late summer offers a much-needed lull for many of us, there is still some very important work being done by policymakers, regulators and program administrators to advance energy efficiency and address major regional energy issues. One of the biggest of issues: “the winter peak.” States in the heavily natural gas-reliant…

This summer, we’ve seen the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states continue tackle the major themes outlined at last month’s NEEP Summit in Newport: modernizing the electric grid, de-carbonizing the electric sector, and managing electric-gas infrastructure constraints in New England. As you can see, policymakers did not shy away from strong action in June and July — whether it was the EPA releasing…