I think any energy retrofit program is a worthwhile program. I would suggest, though, that this program is far too narrowly focused to be effective. What's needed is a much broader, more inclusive program that affects all building types and all building owners. The program shouldn't focus solely on energy but also on water use reduction, with a view to creating more healthy environments. This is why we're proposing that you look at things like the LEED green building rating system, which is not confined to energy.
Even if you're looking only at energy, the program that used to exist, the commercial building incentive program, was actually a far more effective program than the current one. The program that exists at the moment funds far too little to be effective. In fact, there is a program that is applicable to commercial buildings. We looked at it for a client and there was about $1,000 worth of funding that might have been available. But we found that it would actually have cost about $10,000 to submit the documentation to get $1,000 worth of funding. Nobody was going to do that.
The programs that exist today are not nearly as effective as the programs that were in place. We need a broader incentive program that rewards people for achieving energy use reductions, for achieving green building certification.