Title
Recognizing Wednesday, October 6, 2021, as Energy Efficiency Day in the City of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Energy efficiency continues to be the cheapest, quickest, and cleanest way to meet our energy needs and reduce utility bills for residential, business, and industrial customers; and
WHEREAS, Energy efficiency can also make our homes and workspaces healthier, safer, and more comfortable; and
WHEREAS, Smarter energy use reduces the amount of electricity we need to power our lives, which helps avoid power plant emissions that can harm our health - especially the health of our most vulnerable populations, pollute our air, and warm our climate; and
WHEREAS, Cutting energy waste saves U.S. consumers billions of dollars on their utility bills every year, up to $500 per household from appliance efficiency standards alone; and
WHEREAS, Implementing energy efficiency and other clean energy policies and programs can help boost economic opportunities and job creation while continuing to move toward a sustainable future; and
WHEREAS, More than 2.4 million Americans were working in the energy efficiency sector prior to the pandemic in local, good-paying, clean energy jobs that couldn’t be outsourced and increasing America’s recovery efforts by ramping up our efficiency efforts will sustain and create more of them; and
WHEREAS, To achieve its goal of reducing City operations’ energy use 20 percent by 2030, the City of Philadelphia is actively pursuing LED streetlighting, active building monitoring, and other efficiency upgrades to municipal buildings and services; and
WHEREAS, The City and the Philadelphia Energy Authority worked with the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a $12 million efficiency upgrade, which reduces energy use by 24%, water use by 8%, and saves the City $750,000 per year; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Energy Authority supported the School District of Philadelphia on energy makeovers, creating energy savings of 15-51%, adding air conditioning, replacing lighting and major capital equipment, and making classrooms COVID ready with improved ventilation. Six schools have completed construction, and over 25 are under construction or in the pipeline for future work; and
WHEREAS, To eliminate citywide carbon pollution by 2050, the City of Philadelphia is launching its Building Energy Performance Policy to reduce energy use in large commercial buildings; and
WHEREAS, Commercial Property Accessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing is enabled in Philadelphia and actively providing capital for buildings to conduct energy efficiency upgrades; and
WHEREAS, Multifamily buildings in Philadelphia have new financing opportunities through the Philadelphia Energy Authority's new green bank affiliate, the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp. that will support their efforts to install energy efficiency measures and reduce costs for owner and tenants; and
WHEREAS, A nationwide network of energy efficiency groups and partners has designated the first Wednesday in October as the sixth annual nationwide Energy Efficiency Day; and
WHEREAS, Together the residents of Philadelphia can continue to contribute to our sustainability efforts by learning more about energy efficiency and practicing smarter energy use in their daily lives; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of Philadelphia, That it hereby recognizes Wednesday, October 6, 2021, as Energy Efficiency Day in the City of Philadelphia.
End