NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today joined climate leaders to celebrate the eighth annual Energy Efficiency Day and bring awareness to the various economic, social and health benefits of energy efficiency. This year’s Energy Efficiency Day comes in the wake of the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most sweeping clean energy and climate legislation in American history.
“There’s more complexity to energy efficiency than reducing emissions,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “As we strive to develop policies and strategies to combat the many layers of climate change, we must remain mindful and adequately address the existing environmental disparities that stand in the way of climate progress for all. Improving access to energy efficient measures and initiatives could help reduce energy use, cutting costs by up to 25 percent for residents. I encourage all New Orleanians to explore their energy efficiency options and stay up to date on issues affecting energy efficiency, reliability and affordability to ensure that we meet our climate goals, lower energy burden and improve quality of life.”
On Oct. 5, 2022, Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed an official proclamation joining other cities and organizations in proclaiming the first Wednesday of October as Energy Efficiency Day. In the first year since signing the proclamation, Louisiana will receive a total of $212 million towards Home Energy Rebates, an IRA tax program that will provide rebates of up to $8,000 for residential energy efficiency upgrades.
In the U.S., buildings account for 40 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In New Orleans, 47 percent of all GHG emissions come from energy use. Energy efficiency improvements in homes, businesses and places of worship is a small but powerful tool in the toolkit of pathways the City and residents can take to meet the Climate Action Plan goal of a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2035.
Small investments in energy efficiency, such as home energy assessments, LED lightbulb replacement and the installation of smart thermostats can greatly reduce energy use, saving families and businesses money on utility bills. Since 2018, the City has made significant progress reducing energy use in public buildings, implementing 38 energy efficiency projects at City buildings which decreased overall energy use by 23 percent.
While energy efficiency measures are a powerful tool in reducing emissions and saving money, they also provide opportunities to create an equitable energy future. Low-to-moderate income homeowners and renters often have less capacity and incentive to pursue energy efficiency upgrades and, subsequently, experience higher levels of energy burden.
Efficiency is also a quality-of-life concern. Electrifying home appliances, such as switching from a gas stove to an electric stove, not only saves money long term, but lowers the exposure to harmful indoor air pollutants that have been linked to higher rates of asthma in children and chronic lung disease among adults.
Energy Smart is a comprehensive energy efficiency program developed by the New Orleans City Council and administered by Entergy New Orleans. The program incentivizes Entergy New Orleans customers to perform energy saving upgrades in their homes and businesses and can provide whole home energy assessments, rebates on appliances and high-efficiency fixtures, and more for both renters and homeowners. Businesses can also take part by utilizing the Energy Smart Business offerings and by taking advantage of an additional 25 percent bonus incentive on qualifying energy-saving upgrades for businesses. Since 2010, Energy Smart has saved over 354.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity, saving 251,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.
Energy Efficiency Day is an annual collaborative effort of regional and national organizations working to promote energy efficiency. Supporters can participate, using the #EEDay2023 hashtag, throughout the day on October 4. Information shared on social media can be found on @resilient_nola. Organizers encourage individuals and organizations to share energy efficiency tips and success stories on social media. A full list of partners and more information on the origins of Energy Efficiency Day can be found here.
###