Proposed California legislation (AB 758) would allow the California Energy Commission (CEC) to squeeze more energy efficiency out of buildings constructed decades ago prior to the energy consciousness that prevails today. The legislation was introduced Wednesday jointly by the chair of the state lower Assembly’s resources committee, Nancy Skinner, and current Assembly speaker Karen Bass.

The state lawmakers promoted the bill as a way for the state to “heed” the call of the president. AB 758 would require the CEC to “develop and implement” a comprehensive program for achieving greater energy savings in existing residential and commercial buildings. The programs could include all of the standard tools now at least two decades old — energy audits, energy efficiency and financing options.

The proposed law would also require action by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the public-sector utilities that account for more than 20% of the state’s power supplies, such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. They would be required to “investigate and implement” efficiency programs, “consistent with the state legislature’s intent to encourage energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions.”

Skinner said the state’s policies and funding for energy efficiency are “unmatched in the world. Despite our warm climate and need for air conditioning, Californians’ per capita energy consumption is among the lowest in the nation.”

Generally, aging residential and commercial buildings are not as efficient as new buildings constructed under California’s increasingly stringent Title 24 building code, which was instituted about 30 years ago. The lawmakers said 72% of California’s 13 million residential buildings and more than five billion square feet of commercial structures were built before Title 24. They pointed out that while the Title 24 standards had improved building efficiency 50%, the same technologies and approaches have not been applied to existing buildings in a comprehensive manner.

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