1. David Bangs
   President
   

   The "Energy Energy Financing Act" is a hot item for our industry.

   This allows local jurisdictions to issue bonds to finance energy efficiency improvements which could be paid back on the homeowner's utility bill or property tax.

   Information is available on the Northwest Energy Coalition Web Site:
   http://www.nwenergy.org/eefa

   Charlie Rogers ably represented HPW by testifying in favor of this bill on Thursday, in a House committee meeting.

   The first Senate hearing is coming up Tuesday. If you are interested in heading down to Olympia to speak in favor, let us know! We can help people connect and carpool. email info at homeperformancewashington.org)

   Hearing info:
   Tuesday, 1/26 at 10:00am
   Senate Environment, Water & Energy Committee
   Senate Hearing Room 4
   J.A. Cherberg Building

   ~~~

   We encourage members to turn out and testify at this hearing. Email info at homeperformancewashington.org to let us know if you plan to attend. If you can’t make it to the hearing, please call or write your state Senator and encourage them to pass SB 6656.

   Bill information:
   Energy Efficiency Financing Act (SB 6656)
   Permits local governments to finance energy efficiency retrofits of homes and commercial buildings. If passed, the Energy Efficiency Financing Act will allow Washington to join states from Oregon to Colorado to New York in using local bonding authority to unlock the full job-creating potential of making our homes and businesses more energy efficient.

   Get more info on the Energy Efficiency Financing Act - http://www.nwenergy.org/eefa

   Several Northwest Energy Coalition staffers will be there and can help you with questions you may have about the hearing process. I suggest you try to arrive at least 15-20 minutes early and look for energy coalition lobbyist Carrie Dolwick , who can give you tips on signing in and testifying.

   You can also contact the Coalition office at 206-621-0094 with any questions, and ask for Jesse Stanley.

   http://www.nwenergy.org

   Posted 7 months ago #

2. Kyle Chase
   Member
   

   Sounds great, any word on what will be required on the home assessment/ energy audit side of things? Will it be decided by each program or do they want to use RESNET or something similar?

   Posted 7 months ago #

3. Charlie_Rogers
   Board Secretary
   

   Currently the legislation does not define an energy audit. In fact, it does not require energy audits. It merely allows for the expenditure of funds to go toward an energy audit.

   I am working to address this issue and others. In the meantime we are tentatively supporting the legislation as a means to move it forward with the hope that it can be fixed as it makes its way through congress.

   Posted 7 months ago #

4. Ammen Jordan
   Organizational Development Chair
   

   Any carpools available from the Tukwila area for the hearing Tuesday AM?

   Reid Guthrie <reidgu3 at yahoo dot com>

   Posted 7 months ago #

5. David Bangs
   President
   

   Energy Efficiency Financing Act will hit the Senate floor today or tomorrow.

   SSB 6656 is a pilot financing proposal for communities around Puget Sound. The pilot program will help Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other smaller municipalities offer bonds to provide energy efficiency loans to their residents and businesses.

   This is a very important first step for the state to help local communities address the financial barrier to energy efficiency investments. This bill will also help communities access additional efficiency funding from the federal government. Washington needs this program to show the federal Department of Energy the infrastructure is in place to ramp of energy efficiency projects.

   Please contact your Senator by calling the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 with this message: Please support Substitute Senate Bill 6656 and Senator Rockefeller?s floor amendments.

   Background:

   Access to financing for energy efficiency projects is a critical barrier facing business owners and families who want to improve their buildings? efficiency and reduce energy use. SSB 6656 will remove these barriers by allowing municipalities and counties to issue bonds to finance loans for commercial and residential energy efficiency upgrades. The loans would be repaid through utility bills, with the savings realized through the upgrades.

   For more information on the bill, visit: http://www.nwenergy.org/eefa

   Please contact your Senator by calling the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 with this message: Please support Substitute Senate Bill 6656 and Senator Rockefeller?s floor amendments.

   Posted 6 months ago #

6. David Bangs
   President
   

   The Energy Efficiency Finance Act will not become law this year.

   As it was narrowed to a Puget Sound area pilot in order to avoid opposition by certain Eastern Washington Utilities, the issue became "Superier Lien Position."

   Experts said home energy loans would need to have superior lien position over existing mortgages. Banks said "no way." No resolution was found. Too many issues for this year.

   From Carrie Dolwick:

   Greetings everyone:

   Today marks another deadline for bills to pass out of policy committees (opposite house or origin). Unfortunately, the energy efficiency financing bill will not move on. The House Technology, Energy and Communication committee did not have the votes to pass it on, with or without the superior lien position. In the last hearing the only people that testified with concerns were Avista Utilities, Puget Sound Energy, Community Bankers and electrical contractors. We contacted committee members and tried to address all of the concerns that were put on the table, but we could not overcome fears that this would harm community banks and that municipalities can not be trusted with expanded bonding authority.

   Thanks to everyone’s hard work and dedication to this bill and effort. I spoke with Rep. Rolfes this morning and she was very disappointed that the bill died. She said that she would really like to work on this in the interim to make sure we make progress next year. Session is scheduled to end on March 11 and then we can debrief, regroup and decide how to move forward to ensure that we can sustain and grow energy efficiency jobs and energy savings in WA’s future.

   Thank you.

   --
   Carrie Dolwick
   Policy Associate
   NW Energy Coalition
   (206) 621-0094; cell (206) 769-8353
   http://www.nwenergy.org

   Posted 6 months ago #

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