For Immediate Release
Press Contacts:
Lauren Poole, Energy Efficiency Business Coalition, 720-274-9764
Susan Nedell, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), 303-250-4559
Colorado businesses cheer re-up of energy efficiency legislation
Governor to sign House Bill 1227 today
Employers large and small celebrated the 10-year renewal of Colorado’s energy efficiency legislation, which passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support and is scheduled to be signed today by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Rep. Faith Winter (D-Adams), Rep. Polly Lawrence (R-Douglas, Teller), Sen. Kevin Priola (R-Adams) and Sen. Stephen Fenberg (D-Boulder) sponsored the legislation.
Colorado’s energy efficiency legislation has already created more than 40,000 jobs in Colorado, according to recent, independent research, and businesses leaders said House Bill 1227 will create even more jobs.
Supporters of the bill included many large manufacturers such as Johns Manville, Schneider Electric, Ingersoll Rand/Trane, Honeywell, Whirlpool, United Technologies, Owens Corning, and Hunter Douglas.
“Colorado’s low energy costs and good efficiency policies are a major reason we have created so many jobs in this state,” said Lauren Poole, Executive Director of the Energy Efficiency Business Coalition, which represents more than 100 energy efficiency product and services companies in Colorado.
“This legislation will help provide the certainty necessary for companies that provide energy efficiency goods and services to make investments that expand their businesses by adding employees and new equipment,” said Tim Swales, Vice President R&D and Chief Sustainability Officer for Johns Manville, a global building products company headquartered in Denver. “We congratulate our state’s leaders for extending energy efficiency programs for another 10 years.”
Other supporters of the bill include: the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the Colorado Association of REALTORS, Environmental Entrepreneurs and the American Chemistry Council.
The new law impacts everyone who gets electricity from the state’s largest investor-owned utility companies, including Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy, and it extends energy efficiency services by providing consumers with financial incentives to reduce their energy consumption. These incentives include product rebates on efficient lighting, appliances and heating and cooling equipment.
Energy efficiency reduces energy waste through technologies such as LED lighting, high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, building controls and insulation. Consumers save money in the short term because they do not need to spend as much on energy they do not need. They save money in the long term because utility companies do not need to spend as much money on building new power plants or buying electricity at a premium price on the open market.
“Extending Colorado’s energy efficiency standards for the next decade is great news for Colorado’s energy efficiency workers – nearly half of whom work at the kinds of small businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy,” said Susan Nedell, Environmental Entrepreneurs’ Rocky Mountains Advocate. “But the standards do more than create good jobs that can’t be outsourced. They also help lower energy costs for businesses, school districts and homeowners all across the state.”
“We encourage energy efficiency, demand-side management programs and high efficiency building practices, including energy-efficient window coverings, because these improvements not only save consumers and businesses energy and money, enhance the reliability of the electric grid through lower peak loads but they also support job creation,” said Doug Barr, President of Hunter Douglas Window Fashion Division, a major manufacturer and worldwide leader in custom window treatments with more than 1,000 employees in the state.
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