By Cyrus Reed
With energy news focused on big issues like transmission lines and a recently announced data center “pause”, you might forget that October is also Energy Awareness Month, with October 7th being Energy Efficiency Day. There are a number of activities happening these days in Texas around energy - and we want you to be a part of them.
State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) Virtual Sessions
First, recently the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) selected a third-party - APTIM - to run the its Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES) and the Home Electrification and Appliances Rebate (HEAR) programs that will make available up to $700 million in rebates and incentives for energy efficiency beginning next year. To get ready, they are hosting some additional informational and input virtual sessions and you are invited.
The next meeting will be on multi-family properties and how to get those households more involved, which will be held on September 30th from 12:00 - 2:30pm.
There will also be an informational community event in Spanish on October 20th at 6:30 pm.
You can find more info from SECO here.
SPEER HapEE Hour
The Sierra Club is a member of SPEER - the South Central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resources - and SPEER is hosting a HapEE Hour on Monday, October 5th from 4 to 6 PM. There is a small cost to attend but a great chance to learn and discuss energy issues with fellow energy movers and shakers.
PUCT Energy Efficiency Forum
The very next day, the PUCT’s Energy Efficiency Division announced the next energy efficiency forum date. This bi-annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 6th from 9:30 am - 4:00 pm at the William B. Travis Building in Austin on the 7th floor. It is open to the public.
These forums are an excellent opportunity to learn about the utility energy efficiency programs run in Texas, what they have accomplished, and how they will change in the next fiscal year. You can also provide input on how you would like them to be run. For more information, please check in on the PUCT’s Energy Efficiency page.
Texas Energy Summit
The Sierra Club is helping organize and promote the annual Texas Energy Summit, facilitated by the Texas Energy Systems Laboratory. This year’s three-day summit - held at the Capitol - will run from October 26th through October 28th, and promises a little bit of everything from workforce development, to renewable energy policy, to transmission, to the energy-water nexus, to you guessed it, data centers. As its name suggests, its “goal is to not only inform the audience, but also to identify next actions to advance policies and projects that can materially benefit Texans.”
October Legislative Action Team Meeting
Join us for our next Legislative Action Team Meeting on October 15, 2026 at 7:00pm. We're well on our way to the 90th Texas Legislative Session and it's time to review our priority issues. We'll talk about what's been going down at the Capitol during interim hearings, progress on our 2026 Policy Platform, and dig into specific issues like data centers, water quality standards, and balcony solar.
If you're looking for ways to get involved in advocacy for people & the environment, look no further!