Legislation with bipartisan support will have the strongest legs this year, and Congress is considering seven major policies that both promote energy efficiency and have bipartisan support.

These bills – which include a national energy efficiency strategy, appliance standards and a new way to finance energy-saving home upgrades – are:

Energy Savings & Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000)

• Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced S.1000 in May 2011. The Senate Energy Committee reported it in July with strong bipartisan support (18–3 vote); the bill is awaiting consideration in the House.
• If enacted, it would greatly improve energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings, as well as in industry and manufacturing. 

National Implementation of Consensus Appliance Agreement Act (S. 398)

• Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced S. 398 in February 2011. The Senate Energy Committee reported it with strong bipartisan support (18–4 vote).
• If enacted, the bill would strengthen existing appliance standards and create standards for new technology.

PACE Assessment Protection Act (H.R. 2599)

• Reps. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) introduced H.R. 2599 in July 2011; the bill is under consideration in the Financial Services Committee.
• The measure is a budget-neutral, no-mandate policy that would enable local governments to finance home energy efficiency projects with repayment through property taxes.
• At the local level, 27 states and the District of Columbia already approved PACE-enabling initiatives.

Sensible Accounting to Value Energy Act (S. 1737)

• Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) introduced S. 1737 in October 2011; the bill is under consideration in the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.  
• The measure is a no-cost, no-mandate policy that would require residential energy efficiency to be considered in determining mortgage eligibility.

Electric Consumer Right to Know, or e-KNOW, Act (S. 1029)

• Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) introduced S. 1029 in May 2011; the bill is under consideration in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

• If enacted, e-KNOW would require utilities to provide customers and other third parties with their energy usage information, including data from smart meters. E-KNOW also would assist energy auditors, demand response aggregators and energy service providers in helping consumers reduce energy use.

Cut Energy Bills at Home Act, (S. 1914)

• Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced S. 1914 in November 2011. It has since been referred to the Finance Committee.

• If enacted, the bill would provide a performance-based tax credit for deep home retrofits. The size of the credit would depend on predicted cost savings from energy-efficient improvements to a home’s heating, cooling, lighting and water systems.

Roofing Efficiency Jobs Act (H.R. 2962, S. 1575)

• Introduced in September 2011 by Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) in the House, and Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) in the Senate. The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means & senate Finance Committees for further consideration.

• The measure would incentivize energy-efficient commercial roof replacements by accelerating depreciation for new roofs with cool roof coatings and good insulation.

Other legislative possibilities for 2012

Clean Energy Standard (CES) or the Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS)

• The Obama Administration announced it wanted 80% of the nation's electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035. To achieve this, Sens. Bingaman and Murkowski are considering introduction of a CES proposal. Such a measure would require utilities to help their customers achieve greater energy savings and use more clean energy resources.

• A federal EERS would require that electricity and natural gas utilities help their customers reduce energy use by a specified and increasing amount each year, based on a percentage of total energy sales.

Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives

• It is still unclear whether Congress will address the expired energy-efficient tax credits, including credits for home improvements (25C), appliance manufacturers (45M), home builders (45L), alternative fuel vehicles (30C) and mass transit (132 (f)), as well as the expiring commercial building deduction (179D) available through 2013. Extension of these incentives remains possible.

• The Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2012 and Congress may consider tax reform altogether. Opportunities for energy efficiency may include a broad investment tax credit for efficiency, or broad efficiency performance standards.

For further analysis, check out our news article on 2012 policy prospects for energy efficiency.