WILDOMAR, Calif. — The California Energy Alliance (CEA), a member-based organization committed to smart, sustainable energy use within the built environment, conducted a workshop focused on its recent HVAC Modernization Initiative in mid-February. Sponsored by industry member greenNet IoT, the workshop gathered 20 senior-level stakeholders from across the country, including former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) chairman Jon Wellinghoff, former PG&E program manager Charles Segerstrom, Bill Spohn of TrueTech Tools, and Michael Singer of DLL Financial. Also represented were design professionals, labor unions, the California Energy Commission, HERS Raters, and energy consulting organizations.

“Currently, CEA is focused on initiatives designed to help California meet its challenging permitting-compliance improvement goals mandated under Senate Bill 1414 (Statues of 2016),” said Charles Segerstrom, co-chair, CEA Mechanical Committee. “This calls for the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission to adopt programs to increase compliance with state laws regarding the installation of air conditioning and heat pump systems from what is now estimated to be between 5 percent and 10 percent to 90 percent by 2020.”

“The state is not going to achieve these goals by doing more of the same,” said Eric Taylor, co-chair of the CEA Compliance Committee. “This calls for innovative ideas and assertive leadership from California’s regulators and industry. California, once again, has the opportunity to take a leadership role in the nation.”

“The CEA is emphasizing that improving compliance and modernizing the HVAC industry offers benefits to the state’s ratepayers, home and building owners, and industry participants,” noted John Martin, CEA co-chair.  

The workshop helped focus the organization on identifying the simplest, least expensive, and most effective options for achieving compliance while setting the stage for a private-market energy efficiency industry and a smart grid.

For more information, visit www.caenergyalliance.org.

Publication date: 3/22/2019

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