Posted in Consumers, Efficiency, Energy, Global Warming, Good Government, tagged efficiency agency, Energy Efficiency, environmental defense fund, Jim Marston, PUCT, state energy conservation office, Texas, texas comptroller, texas department of housing and community affairs on August 30, 2010 |
Some great points from the director of Environmental Defense Fund‘s Texas Regional Office (and Energy Program), Jim Marston.
If you’re concerned about government spending, consolidating existing efficiency programs and oversight into one agency has the potential to reduce overlap and redundancy in government and create more opportunities for consumers and businesses to save money. (more…)
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, tagged appliance rebate, comptroller's office, consortium for energy efficiency (CEE), david power, Energy Efficiency, Energy Star, Public Citizen, rebate reservation, san antonio express news, seco, state energy conservation office, Texas, texas powerful smart, texas trade up appliance rebate program on April 1, 2010 |
Ain’t timing a funny thing? The very morning our most excellent op-ed on the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program gets published in the San Antonio Express-News, the Comptroller’s Office decides to change the reservation date from April 5th to the 7th. Silly stuff. Check out our amended op-ed below, and visit the Express-News to help us clarify the date change in the comments section!
Appliance rebate program good for Texans
If someone handed you a $300 check to trade in your old fridge for a new one, would you do it? Would knowing you could shave $150 a year from your electric bill sweeten the deal? By taking advantage of the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program from April 16-25, you can do just that.
We often have critical things to say about the state government, especially when it comes to how it approaches energy and climate change issues. Consider, for instance, our ongoing campaigns to block new coal plants and stop new nuclear reactors.
But in this case, we must praise Texas, because it has come up with a way to boost energy efficiency and ease the burden on Texans’ pocketbooks.
Under the rebate program, Texans not only will save money but will continue to save on their electric and water bills throughout the life of the more efficient appliances. Rebate reservations can be made through www.TexasPowerfulSmart.org or by calling 1-877-780-3039 toll free starting April 7. However, funds are limited to only $23 million, and based on past appliance rebates, this money will go fast. Reserve your rebate early or you will miss this opportunity.
Most people think of energy conservation as having to give something up, but with highly efficient appliances you get the same product and end result — with less energy and money spent. (more…)
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, tagged Efficiency, Energy Star, rebates, seco, state energy conservation office, stimulus, Texas, texas powerful smart, texas trade up appliance rebate program on March 30, 2010 |
By taking advantage of the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program from April 16-25, Texas residents can receive rebates for replacing old appliances with new, more efficient models.
Rebates range from $45 up to $1,000 and may be even more if you qualify for additional rebates through your electric utility.
Visit www.TexasPowerfulSmart.org to learn more about the program and start planning what appliances you would like to replace.
Based on past experience, the money available for this program will go fast. If you want to give yourself the best possible chance to get your rebate, be ready to make a reservation on April 5.
You may receive up to two rebates per household for a wide variety of qualified appliances including air conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, and more.
By replacing major appliances with more efficient models, you can save money, conserve water and energy, and help defray the need for polluting power plants.
Learn how to participate in the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program today!
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in solar, tagged San Antonio, solar, St. Philip?s College, st. phillips college, state energy conservation office, stimulus funds, Texas, university of texas san antonio, utsa, Williams Loston on March 17, 2010 |
The University of Texas at San Antonio and St. Philip’s College will both soon be getting solar arrays, thanks to the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) and federal stimulus programs.
UTSA will get a 52 kilowatts of generating capacity with its $1.3 million grant, and St. Phillip’s will receive a $2 million grant in order to install 400kW of solar capacity. These two projects will triple San Antonio’s solar capacity, save the schools millions in energy costs, and will serve as a laboratory for green jobs training and workforce development.
Says St. Phillips College President Dr. Williams Loston,
This grant represents a tremendous opportunity for St. Philip’s College. It will produce energy for the college, and it will enhance our standing as an area leader in workforce education. Most importantly, we will engage our community in a component of our education.
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
Posted in Efficiency, Energy, tagged appliances, conservation, doe, Efficiency, energy efficient appliance rebate program, Energy Star, jeff wentworth, oak hill gazette, seco, state energy conservation office, state rebates, state senator, Texas, united states department of energy on March 17, 2010 |
In last week’s Oak Hill Gazette, State Senator Jeff Wentworth wrote a guest article profiling the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. Next month, from April 16-25, Texas residents can get a rebate to buy up to two energy efficient appliances including refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, clothes washers, and both room and central air conditioners. Check out the article for more information, and stay posted to Texas Vox for continued updates on the program.
Conserve energy and save money
Jeff Wentworth, State Senator, District 25Texans who believe in saving money and conserving energy will have the opportunity to do both when they purchase an appliance through the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, April 16-25.
Appliances that qualify for the rebate include refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, clothes washers, air source heat pumps and both room and central air conditioners. In addition to money received through a rebate, Energy Star appliances use less energy and less water than most older appliances, saving consumers money each month on their utility bills.
Participants must be Texas residents. They must replace an old appliance with a new, energy-efficient model that they purchase in-store from a Texas retailer between April 16 and April 25 to receive a mail-in rebate. State rebates, including an additional $75 for recycling the old appliance, may be combined with other rebates and incentives offered by manufacturers and retailers and with federal tax credits. Each household is eligible for up to two appliance rebates, as long as they are for two different types of appliances. (more…)
Posted in Global Warming, tagged building codes, energy codes, lone star chapter, seco, Sierra Club, state energy conservation office, Texas, Texas Legislature on July 2, 2009 |
The word, according to the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club:
The Texas Legislature failed to update state energy codes for new commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. That doesn’t mean Texas can’t move forward. We can get the job done in other ways.
There is a silver lining to this spring’s legislative shortfall: proposed rulemaking at the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) to update the state minimum building codes from 2001 to 2009 may move faster than the proposed legislation would have required.
Adopting the 2009 IECC or IRC will lead to the following changes in residential construction:
On June 5th, SECO opened a 30-day comment period on updating the residential energy codes based on the 2009 IRC Codes. Take a moment today to send your comment of support for updated energy codes! Comments are due to SECO before 5 pm on July 5.
Failure to update our standards quickly and effectively would be a step backwards and could potentially impact current or future funding from the federal government. Texas lags behind many states on its Energy Codes (see map). The nation is moving to update energy efficiency codes, with Congress considering a single national building code standard. Under the American Renewal and Recovery Act (the federal economic stimulus program), Texas has submitted a letter to the Department of Energy saying it has a process to update its standards, allowing SECO to accept certain grants for energy efficiency.
Take action today and send your comment to SECO to support new, green energy codes in Texas!
For more information, check out Sierra Club’s factsheet.
Posted in Efficiency, tagged floor pass, hearing, seco, select committee on federal economic stabilization, state energy conservation office, state energy program, stimulus, stimulus bill, Texas on March 4, 2009 |
Yowza! Looks like the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) won the stimulus dollars scratch off, big time. SECO, which usually has a budget of around $2 million, will get an additional $233.8 million of federal money due to the stimulus bill. That’s quite a sum that will be available to the state for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, green jobs training programs, and building retrofits.
The Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization held a hearing last week to make sure that SECO could handle this influx of funds and spend it wisely.
SECO’s response, in a nutshell, was “No Sweat.” Which I certainly hope is true. This is an incredible amount of money, and should be used as efficiently (yuk yuk yuk) as possible.
The agencies didn’t ask for help making policy changes to draw the dollars down from Washington, and they generally reported they had programs already in place to administer the money.
Robert Wood, the director of local government assistance and economic development, said the State Energy Conservation Office would have no problem spending the $233 million expected to flow through the State Energy Program. While there were some strings attached, the strings would not require SECO to make any changes not already planned pre-stimulus. (more…)
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