The Latest from Alex Ruppenthal

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  Code council approves plan to limit city, state input despite pushback

  The International Code Council's decision to limit direct influence by state and local officials left some critics speculating about the potential to create an alternative to the organization's widely used model codes

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  5 March 2021

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  DOE, House Energy committee question proposed building energy code changes

  Increased involvement by local and state officials led to efficiency gains, prompting pushback from the building industry.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  1 February 2021

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  Cities, states would lose voice on model energy code updates under proposal

  The International Code Council is set to consider a proposal that would strip public sector members of their voting rights on updates to influential model building energy code.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  13 January 2021

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  What states can learn from Illinois' new COVID-19 utility relief agreement

  A settlement last week extends the state’s moratorium on utility shutoffs and provides $47 million in bill relief funding.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  23 June 2020

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  How a suburban Chicago mayor helped inspire the biggest jump in building energy code improvements in a decade

  Greater participation by cities tipped the balance toward more ambitious efficiency measures in the latest model code.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  3 June 2020

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  Agreements between Illinois cities and utilities push costs onto ratepayers

  The state’s unique and arcane franchise agreements also hurt the financial case for municipal investments in clean energy.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  6 April 2020

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  Chicago Public Schools' new sustainability director making up for lost time

  The district went nearly four years without a sustainability leader before hiring former Department of Energy official Sandrine Schultz in 2019.

  By Alex Ruppenthal  .  27 January 2020