Q1 2025 Codes, Standards and New Construction Newsletter

This newsletter provides details of all NEEA’s codes, standards and new construction activities organized by state. Beyond the code and standards development efforts, NEEA provides trainings, educational materials, tools to aid in compliance, help desks to address market questions, and state level collaboratives that organize to address opportunities and needs in each of their states.

STANDARDS: NEEA staff are continuing to respond to requests from the Department of Energy regarding delays in effective dates. It is well documented that federal appliance standards deliver value and choice to consumers, offer equivalent or better functionality, and accelerate innovation in appliance design.
NEEA staff are closely coordinating to support state standards, as there is renewed interest in adding benefits like load flex connectability and increased efficiency, when possible. The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) is tracking state standards within 18 states.

CODES: NEEA staff have been busy with many code activities. Active code development projects are underway in Washington, Oregon, and at the national level with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which is the reference code for Idaho and Montana. These projects will continue through the end of the year and into 2026.

In addition, evaluations of past standards are nearing completion, including the Montana code update to IECC 2021 with amendments. Finally, NEEA has launched new code trainings for the year to support the adopted codes from 2024.

NEW CONSTRUCTION: To collect data that could support potential code changes, NEEA supports utility new construction programs by funding data collection and analysis tools, coordination and collaboration forums, and training and education resources. In Q1 2025, NEEA staff, with contractor support, interviewed utility staff about their new construction programs. With the 2024 code changes, NEEA staff are interested in gathering ideas to make beneficial program changes as tools and resource are updated to align with pending changes.