Comprehensive Energy Strategy Written Comment

(DEEP) is charged with preparing a Comprehensive Energy Strategy (CES) for the state every four years. The CES examines future energy needs in the state and identifies opportunities to reduce costs for ratepayers, ensure reliable energy availability, and mitigate public health and environmental impacts of Connecticut's energy use, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emissions of criteria air pollutants. In addition, Governor Lamont's Executive Order 21-3 directs DEEP to include in the next CES a set of strategies to: (a) provide for more affordable heating and cooling for Connecticut residents and businesses, (b) achieve reductions in GHG emissions from residential buildings and industrial facilities as needed to enable the state to meet the economy-wide GHG reduction targets for 2030 and 2050 established in the Global Warming Solutions Act, and (c) improve the resilience of the state's energy sector to extreme weather events, fuel commodity price spikes, and other disruptions.

In planning for effective management of Connecticut's energy supply, energy distribution, and energy demand -- including electricity, heating, cooling, and fuels used for transportation -- the CES provides recommendations for legislative and administrative actions that will aid in the achievement of interrelated environmental, economic, security, and reliability goals.

Written comment is due by March 3rd to this email address: DEEP.EnergyBureau@ct.gov

The CT Green Building Council has made and plans to write written comment with the following recommendations:

• The Building Sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Connecticut.
• Establish a timeline and framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector related to new and existing construction.
• A framework will make it easier to pursue building-related policy such as a stretch code, building electrification, energy reporting and benchmarking, and building performance standards, which will all be needed to meet our climate targets.
• A framework will give the industry time to prepare. (The building industry is slow to transform. Buildings take years to design and construct, and the investments we make in the building sector now will be in place long past our most ambitious climate targets have come and gone.)