Each of us can take steps towards increased energy independence.  It makes financial sense.  It is good for our country.  And it is good for our future.  Houston can take the lead in becoming more energy efficient.

Energy conservation has been called the "least-cost" energy strategy, and for good reason. Energy conservation does more than just save money. It reduces environmental and social costs as well.

Energy conservation mitigates the numerous adverse environmental and social impacts associated with energy production and consumption. These include air pollution, acid rain and global warming, oil spills and water pollution, loss of wilderness areas, construction of new power plants, foreign energy dependence and the risk of international conflict over energy supplies.

Energy conservation extends the lifetime of equipment and reduces the maintenance cost by operating less hours and at less than maximum capacity.
In essense, energy conservation means reduced energy, which means reduced emissions and lower utility bills.

Through the five simple steps offered in this website, you can begin to conserve energy in your own personal home. In addition, you can take the home energy audit and see how your home measures up.
The power is in your hands. 

The City of Houston is leading by example in reducing its energy consumption:

• City of Houston Operations has reduced energy costs by switching nearly 8,000 of its light fixtures in city-owned facilities to more energy efficient bulbs.
  
  
• The City has already adopted the LEED Certification standards for construction of city-owned facilities.
  
  
• The City has contracted a portion of its energy portfolio for City of Houston operations, as renewable wind energy, with plans to continually increase the portion over the next few years.
  
  
• The City is reducing energy with the purchase of energy efficient devices for all existing beverage vending machines in city facilities, and in addition to retrofitting the existing machines, 50 new ENERGY STAR rated vending machines were added as well.