States pick up the slack in efficiency policy as federal government lags

Despite little action on energy efficiency at the federal level, many states forged ahead with significant policy initiatives in 2019. Among these:

· Washington, Colorado, and Hawaii adopted expanded energy and water efficiency standards, including for faucets, commercial kitchen equipment, and computers.

· Missouri approved efficiency programs that will help renters and owners of affordable multifamily housing cut costs and energy waste.

· New Jersey began implementing groundbreaking efficiency legislation to ensure its utilities invest in all cost-effective energy efficiency.

· New York adopted the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act setting a path to net-zero emissions (with efficiency playing a major role).

· California adopted a new framework to launch innovative market transformation ideas to get more efficient products onto store shelves, providing a boost for those improved technologies to potentially become the norm nationally.