Eugene Becomes 5th Oregon City to Adopt Home Energy Score Requirement

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Energy Audits Support Emissions Reductions and Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Eugene, Oregon — In a 6-1 vote on Wednesday, October 28th, the Eugene City Council adopted the Residential Energy Performance Disclosure Requirement ordinance, a policy commonly referred to as a Home Energy Score requirement. The vote places Eugene among four other Oregon cities, Portland, Hillsboro, Milwaukie and Bend, that have similar Home Energy Score ordinances. The vote comes in the midst of a larger trend of cities adopting a variety of policies to aid community members navigating home retrofits and efficiency upgrades as support for building electrification grows in Oregon, and nationwide in the face of efforts to undermine existing climate policy at the Federal level.

“We applaud the City Council for taking this common sense step and establishing a home energy score requirement in Eugene. This policy will ensure that home buyers have the information that they need to make informed choices when making what is often the most important financial decision in their lives,” said Bethany Cotton, Conservation Director with Cascadia Wildlands. “The vote is an important step forward to tackling building emissions, reducing energy costs, and meeting the City’s Climate Recovery Ordinance goals to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030.”

The adoption of the ordinance is the first major step from the City to reduce building emissions since the Ninth Circuit’s April 2023 decision on the Berkley building electrification requirement, which invalidated the City’s February 2023 residential building electrification ordinance. The passage of this policy in Eugene also marks more than 1 million Oregonians living in a jurisdiction with a Home Energy Score disclosure policy, representing nearly 1 in 4 Oregon residents (24.4%).

“The Ninth Circuit’s disastrous decision in 2023 set Eugene, and cities across the region, back for years on climate action and energy efficiency. While this policy is just a small step, it is a critical signal that the City is ready to begin moving decisively to regaining lost time and transitioning away from polluting fossil fuels,” said Dylan Plummer, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Heat Campaign. “We look forward to supporting Eugene and other local governments to continue to push the ball forward on common sense policies to require building decarbonization.”

The ordinance requires that a home energy score assessment be conducted and posted when a home is listed for sale. These assessments review the average energy cost of a home, evaluating existing appliances, heating systems, windows, doors and insulation, as well as the climate emissions associated with the home, and score the house’s energy use on a scale of one to ten. The reports include recommendations for how to improve a home’s energy efficiency and reduce emissions, and include key information about existing incentives and subsidies at the local, state and federal level.

“Eugene Water and Electric Board customers can access significant incentives to support home electrification and energy efficiency including zero interest loans and cash subsidies for weatherization and heat pumps for space and water heating. Sadly, these programs are deeply underutilized because many folks are not aware they exist,” said Meredith Tufts, Coalition Coordinator with the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition. “The Home Energy Score requirement will ensure that every new home owner has the information they need to take advantage of these programs to reduce their energy bills and climate pollution.