Austin, Texas: Building Efficiency Policy

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Austin began a pivotal initiative to promote energy efficient policies in commercial and residential buildings by passing the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance in 2008. This ordinance was passed in response to the City’s 2007 Climate Protection Plan. The Climate Protection Plan is one of the most ambitious in the world, only second to Melbourne, Australia, and includes goals of using efficiency and conservation to produce 700 megawatts of new energy savings, having 30% renewable energy sources and achieving carbon neutrality at all city facilities by 2020.^[i] These goals were important because as with other major cities, Austin's buildings consume a large majority of its electricity – 70% to be exact.^[ii]

Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance

The passage of this ordinance was coordinated by the city government and the city’s municipal owned electric utility, Austin Energy. Austin Energy supports energy efficiency measures by offering a number of programs, such as refrigerator recycling, and rebates, such as the Commercial/Business Rebates and Incentives for up to $200,000 for qualified customer site retrofits. However, it was having difficulty reaching certain sectors, such as residential rental buildings and commercial tenant lease spaces,^[iii]and pushing efficiency any further with the same rebate program that had been in place for approximately the past 28 years.^[iv]Using lessons from other cities that have passed mandatory disclosure laws, such as Berkeley, Seattle, Washington and New York City, Austin crafted an ordinance believed to advance efficiency in buildings and encourage retrofits.

ECAD applies to both commercial and residential buildings, although the ordinance has different requirements for each sector.

In April 2011, the ordinance was amended in order to strengthen existing provisions and create new ones.^[v]One amendment requires condominium owners with four or fewer units to meet the standards for single-family homes while owners with five or more units at one location qualify as multi-family properties. Another amendment extends the commercial properties deadline to calculate energy performance.^[vi]Originally, the deadline was June 1, 2011, but that has extended to June 2, 2012, for 75,000 + square feet, June 1, 2013, for 30,000 to 75,000 square feet and June 1, 2014, for those 10,000 to 30,000 square feet.^[vii]

Residential Buildings

Residential building requirements are differentiated by single and multi-family residential homes. Single-family homes that are ten years old or older by June 2009 must be audited before a transaction, and the audit report must be disclosed to the buyer by the time title documents are filed with the county.^[viii]

Multi-family homes that are ten years old or older by June 2009 were given until June 2011 to start enforcing audits prior to building sale.^[ix]Newer buildings must have an audit within ten years of construction. The results of the audit reports must be posted inside the buildings and accessible to individual tenants. A major difference from single-family homes is that upgrades are required for those multi-family buildings whose energy use per square foot exceeds the average energy use in all of Austin’s multi-family buildings by 150% or more.^[x] Audit reports for both single and multi-family homes must be submitted to Austin Energy within 30 days to ensure compliance and those above 150% must cut energy consumption by 20%, according to the 2011 amendment.^[xi]

Commercial Buildings

According to the original ordinance, all commercial buildings constructed ten or more years before June 2009 were to be rated and disclosed by June 2011, but the amendment passed in April 2011 gave building managers more leeway to complete the task.^[xii] Buildings larger than 75,000 square feet have an extra year, buildings between 30,000 to 75,000 square feet have until 2013, and the rest have until June of 2014 to get an operational energy rating using EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or to get a special Austin Energy Rating. Newer buildings must obtain a rating within ten years of construction and all ratings are to be disclosed to buyers and filed with Austin Energy.

Alliance Policy Interns Ali Levine and Jen Richmond contributed to this report.

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