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Glossary
Water loss, utilities and public funding

What is Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG)?

Definition

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program is a US Department of Energy grant, created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, for local, state and tribal efficiency projects.

Who is eligible

Formula grants go to cities of at least 35,000 people or among the 10 most populous in their state, counties of at least 200,000 people or among the 10 most populous, states, and Indian tribes. Local governments that do not qualify can compete for a separate pool reserved for competitive grants (42 U.S.C. 17152 and 17156).

What the statute sets out

  • Allocation: 28 percent of each year's funds to states, 2 percent to tribes and at least 2 percent to competitive grants, with the rest split between two groups of local governments.
  • Eligible uses include residential and commercial building energy audits, financial incentive programs for efficiency improvements, and grants to nonprofits and government agencies for efficiency retrofits.

A baseline for a building with no metering history

Grant reports ask what a project saved. For a town hall or library without meters, aQ EnergySmart can derive its expected use from 6 to 12 months of uploaded utility bills plus degree days, so post-retrofit savings are measured against weather-adjusted use rather than last year's bill.

Questions

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG): common questions

The EECBG program is a federal grant that gives local, state and tribal governments flexible money to cut energy use and emissions. The Department of Energy administers it, and recipients choose projects within the statute's eligible uses, from audits to retrofits. See the government funding page.

Funding depends on congressional appropriations and Department of Energy decisions, so check DOE's current guidance before planning around a grant. When funds are open, eligible governments apply through DOE's formula or competitive process.

EECBG funds energy efficiency and conservation by governments. The DWSRF finances drinking water infrastructure through state loan funds. A city may use both, one for building retrofits and the other for its water system.

By comparing post-project use with a weather-adjusted baseline for each building. Aqueduct builds that baseline from bills or meters and reports savings monthly, which gives grant reports a measured figure instead of an engineering estimate, as covered under measurement and verification.

See Aqueduct on your own facility.

Bring a site, a utility bill or a question. We will show you where the loss is.

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