Palm Desert - Funding From CPUC for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

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On December 14, 2006 the City of Palm Desert received $18 million in state funding from the California Public Utility Commission to support its five-year plan to cut energy use 30% citywide. The funds will be distributed by Southern California Edison and the city as rebates for energy-efficient appliances and equipment, especially high-efficiency air-conditioners to replace aging units in existing homes. The funding accompanies a law, approved by Palm Desert's City Council on the same day as the CPUC vote, which mandates that all new buildings in the city be 10% to 15% more efficient than required by California's energy efficiency standards. Palm Desert officials will also explore whether a Desert Chapter of the Building Industry Association (BIA) green building program can be folded into the city's efficiency requirements.

Through the Partnership Demonstration Project, Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company, the city offers rebates and incentives to replace old, inefficient HVAC equipment, lighting, refrigerators and pool pumps with efficient models. Energy savings from the early retirement of inefficient air conditioners alone is expected to save at least 4.8 million kilowatt-hours, enough to power 700 homes, annually.

Early results indicate that Palm Desert's aggressive energy cutting is working. Last month, six months after launching the project, the city reported that it had trimmed consumption by 7%, nearly a quarter of the way toward its five-year goal.

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