A one-year grant-funded program to help single-family households reduce energy usage was approved by the Bellevue City Council on Monday, July 19 as part of the city’s broader Environmental Stewardship Initiative.

Under the program, home energy reports will be mailed to qualifying households. The reports are designed to educate residents about their energy usage compared to their neighbors, and provide targeted tools and resources to reduce usage. Results of a pilot program tested in Bellevue suggest that this program will save Bellevue residents $875,000 in the first year.

Residents who receive the reports but wish to opt out of the program can do so by calling Puget Sound Energy.

A decrease in energy usage benefits residents directly through decreased utility costs, and benefits the community through decreased air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. In 2006, residential energy usage was responsible for 23 percent of Bellevue’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s our hope these reports provide people with easy-to-understand information on what they can do to save energy and save money,” Mayor Don Davidson said. “Even in a city as savvy as Bellevue, it’s challenging for residents to stay on top of the rapidly evolving knowledge about how we all can reduce our energy usage.”

Bellevue is joining Puget Sound Energy and the cities of Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Sammamish to provide the program, which is being funded almost entirely through grants and regional partnerships.