Energy Efficiency Policy

But good policies don’t sustain themselves. They need research, advocacy, and constant improvement to stay strong and reach the people who need them most. ACEEE works at every level of the policy landscape—federal, state, utility, and local—to develop, defend, and strengthen the policies that make energy efficiency the default for households and businesses across the country.

Policy is the driver that turns technological potential into programs that deliver real-world results. State and utility efficiency programs make upgrades affordable for households and businesses. Efficiency in transportation, industry, and the built environment depends on the policies that govern each sector. Local building policies drive improvement in the existing stock of homes and commercial buildings. Data tools like ACEEE’s Scorecards hold all of these actors accountable for their progress while helping them to make improvements. Together, these policies shape whether the benefits of efficiency are available to everyone or remain out of reach for the households and communities most in need.

We combine independent research, active advocacy, and direct technical assistance to develop, defend, and strengthen the policies that make efficiency the default choice rather than a luxury. We help states and utilities design programs that effectively reach underserved customers. Through our State, City, Utility, and International Scorecards, which together evaluate more than 200 governments and utilities, we create the accountability and healthy competition that pushes the entire field forward.

Policy is how efficiency stops being optional and starts being the norm.

• Federal Policy: Defending and strengthening federal appliance and equipment standards, building energy codes, transportation and industrial efficiency requirements, and efficiency funding programs; tracking and responding to administrative and legislative efforts that would weaken or eliminate them.
• State and Utility Policy: Research, advocacy, and technical assistance to help states establish and strengthen energy savings targets, offset the need for more expensive power generation, and assist utilities in designing and implementing programs that reduce energy burdens and reach underserved customers.
• Local Policy: Supporting cities and other local jurisdictions in developing building performance standards, clean fleet and transportation demand policies, retrofit incentive programs, and accountability frameworks that drive efficiency gains across the local economy.
• Policy Database: A comprehensive, searchable resource tracking energy efficiency policies across all 50 states and hundreds of localities that helps practitioners and policymakers understand what’s been enacted and what works.