Energy Savings

The TexasIsHot Campaign was the result of a series of conversations between two friends looking for energy solutions for their homes. Their problem: They couldn’t find a single, cohesive source of information regarding energy efficiency.

So they called on Curt Seidlits, former chairman of the State Affairs Committee, to help them build a campaign that would consolidate information and be a resource for Texans about the Texas electric market and energy efficiency. The result, the TexasIsHot Campaign www.texasishot.org, was launched in March 2009.

Now, consumers have a place to find information and tools to easily reduce their electricity consumption, carbon footprints and electric bills.

The initial launch was deemed very successful, bringing in thousands of online visitors within the first week. In the beginning, the coalition’s partnerships extended only to companies in the electric industry. Today, the partnerships have been expanded to cities, research projects and companies that don’t work directly in the electric market, giving Texans a broad view of efficiency.

“Texans are learning how to use energy more wisely without sacrificing comfort and are being encouraged to adopt new technologies, like those associated with smart meters and Energy Star products,” said John King, a spokesman for Focused Advocacy LLC, a lobbying and public affairs firm in Austin. “Because of the effort of the campaign, individuals across the state — most of them in the major cities [labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency as nonattainment areas] are changing the way they think about and use energy to be more efficient and reduce their overall consumption.”

The campaign uses new media such as Facebook and Twitter to reach more than 5,000 Texans daily.

The campaign is successful and truly helps the environment because it doesn’t focus on short-term or one-time results, King said.

“The benefits to the environment are long-lasting and sustainable because the coalition teaches Texans to think differently about energy and change their long-term behavior,” he said.

Tagged Austin Business Journal, Electricity, Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Energy Savings, Going Green, Going Green Awards, Green Advocacy, Texas Electric Company, Texas Electricity, Texas is Hot