Nikhil_Nadkarni_Thesis_Final

trailers. As a result, Austin’s ordinance brings transparency to approximately 317,000 residential units (U.S. Census 2005).

In February 2007, Austin released its Climate Protection Plan, and, in line with the Plan, the City Council turned to the issue of building energy efficiency soon after. The City Council sought to take aggressive action on curbing the growth in energy demand, seeking to cut 700 MW of peak hour power use by 2020 (IMT 2011c). This was especially germane to City lawmaking as Austin’s electric utility is municipally owned; it is the 9th largest community-owned utility in the U.S. (Austin Energy 2012a). To address residential energy efficiency, the City Council proposed a retrofit ordinance, one that would require retrofitting homes to a minimum level of efficiency before they are sold (ABOR undated).

However, the local network of real estate agents, the Austin Board of Realtors, opposed the City’s proposal, citing concerns over property rights and housing affordability, and negotiated with the City for a different requirement (ABOR undated). The Board and the City arrived at a compromise, in which transparency would be provided to the home sale process through energy audits and disclosure. The requirement for retrofits was removed for all but the most poorly performing multifamily buildings.

Thus, in November 2008, the Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation and Disclosure Ordinance, or ECAD. ECAD requires energy benchmarking for nearly all commercial and industrial buildings, and energy auditing and disclosure for all residential buildings (IMT 2011c). In order to improve upon the initial rollout and provide more time for commercial building compliance, the Austin City Council amended ECAD on April 21, 2011, bringing it to its present state (City of Austin 2011a).

The Approach ECAD applies to buildings that are within the city limits of Austin and receive electricity from Austin Energy. Austin Energy does provide power to some homes outside the city, but these properties are not subject to ECAD or any other city regulations.

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