Many of us grew up with parents who hounded us to turn off the lights, close the front door, and for the love of all things holy, shut the refrigerator! Those habits stuck, and the constant reminder of energy costs became ingrained. 

These conservation instincts have become less impactful over time. However, I still have a visceral reaction when I see someone staring into an open fridge. My motivation has shifted to lowering my carbon footprint and considering peak loads and dirty grids. We respond to the piece in MIT Technology Review published last year by James O'Donnell and Casey Crownhart called “We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven't heard.” with some of the highlights of their findings along with a calculation we did ourselves, comparing it to something we all understand: leaving the fridge open.

Oregon’s electrical grid and utility costs have been relatively stable since 1988 when our energy use transitioned from fuel oil and wood to natural gas and electricity. Over the past 8 years, that stability we have come to rely on has been shifting, as the state is experiencing a dramatic increase in the demand for electricity. A lot of people have associated these increases with more households and cars transitioning to electric. We decided to take a look at this and found that there is a much bigger elephant in the room. 

December 18, 2025

Building Performance Standard Update

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3409, establishing an Energy Performance Standard policy​for commercial buildings, often referred to as a Building Performance Standard (BPS).​​ The initiative affects large existing commercial buildings and multifamily residential buildings. If you own or manage a large building in Portland, this may affect you.