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, a retrofit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, active building monitoring, and other efficiency upgrades to municipal buildings and services; and
WHEREAS, To cut citywide carbon pollution 80 percent 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 residential buildings in Philadelphia have new financing opportunities through the Philadelphia Energy Authority that will support their energy efficiency efforts; and
WHEREAS, A nationwide network of energy efficiency groups and partners has designated the first Wednesday in October as the fifth national annual 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 7, 2020, Energy Efficiency Day in the City of Philadelphia.
End