Washington State has just taken a big step forward on energy efficiency. When the Governor signs the Efficiency First legislation, Washington residents will be on the road to saving money on their energy bills and protecting the environment.

In the last few days the Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5854 by a vote of 27 to 18 in the Senate and 67 to 30 in the House. The bill has now been delivered to the Governor and awaits her signature.

Efficiency First was a key part of the environmental agenda this year and we are very excited to start seeing those energy bills go down!

Thanks in no small part to the actions you took; we will see the following policies become law:

1. Energy codes: Residential and non-residential construction permitted must achieve a 70 percent reduction in energy use by 2031, using the 2006 Code as the baseline.

2. Strategic Plan: The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (DCTED) must develop and implement a strategic plan for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from homes, buildings, districts, and neighborhoods.

3. Commercial building benchmarking: Beginning January 1, 2010, qualifying utilities must maintain records of energy consumption data for all non-residential and qualifying public agency buildings for which they provide service and provide them to the owners.

4. Public buildings: Establishes performance standards, benchmarking, and other reporting requirements for public buildings. Inefficient public buildings must perform an energy audit and if potential cost-effective energy savings measures are identified, they must implemented by July 1, 2016.

5. Leased public buildings: A qualifying public agency may not enter into a new lease or a lease renewal on or after January 1, 2010 for a facility with a National Energy Performance Rating score below 75, unless the lessor agrees to make upgrades.

Thanks again for all your hard work.

Thanks to you our legislators heard the call and took action to help reduce energy bills and protect the environment at the same time.