💼Professional Briefing - April 16, 2026

Two BPS deadlines came and went in the last two weeks, and the big one for this region is now 6 weeks out:

• Washington CBPS - June 1, 2026 is the headline compliance event in the PNW. Buildings over 220,000 sq ft must meet Energy Use Intensity targets under the Clean Buildings Performance Standard. A year from now the threshold drops to 90,000 sq ft, which pulls in a much larger share of the Washington commercial stock. If you're advising owners in Spokane, Seattle, or the Tri-Cities, this is the window where documentation, ACPs, and extension requests all get finalized.
• Oregon ODOE incentive window closed April 10. The Oregon Department of Energy's Early Compliance Action incentive for BPS-covered buildings (hotels and commercial ≥35,000 sq ft) stopped accepting applications last Friday at 5 p.m. ODOE says it will roll out the online compliance reporting and management system later in 2026, with first Tier 1 compliance still set for 2028. The planning window for Oregon owners is the next 18 months.
• Seattle BPS reporting had an April 1 deadline; Philadelphia's BEPP had an April 10 deadline. Both are now past for this cycle.
• Idaho: Still no state BPS. The 2024 IECC package advanced to the legislature but was not adopted in the 2026 session (which ended April 2). Idaho remains on the 2020 IECC with amendments. Expect another run at adoption in 2027.

Nothing new nationally in the last 48 hours - the pattern remains cities and blue-state legislatures pushing forward while federal activity is quiet.

Avista wildfire mitigation plan - public comment closes TODAY (April 16). The Idaho PUC has been accepting comment on Avista's 2026 wildfire mitigation plan for northern Idaho - geographic risk assessments, fire detection equipment, hourly fire-risk modeling, vegetation management, and Public Safety Power Shutoff protocols. Today is the last day to submit. Separately, Avista's proposed 7.4% electric rate increase (filed February, ~$25.2M, ~$8.90/month residential impact) is still tracking for a May 1 effective date pending the PUC's order.

Idaho Power is running its 2026 rate increase (general rate review outcome, ~7.48% average for Idaho customers) with the data-center load allocation fight still the live policy question - who pays for the infrastructure buildout to serve hyperscale loads. This keeps coming up in IRP discussions and will shape the next rate case.

NEEA published the Q2 2026 Natural Gas Advisory Committee meeting notice. The dual-fuel residential water heating product field trial is entering its next phase - release is still scheduled for later this year, with NEEA positioning it as a shot at 22% savings over baseline gas water heating. If you're designing residential retrofits that need to keep a gas backbone while adding electrification, this is the product to watch.

2026 legislative session ended April 2, so the action moves to rulemaking and the 2027 session. Two items worth tracking:

• HB 612 (portable solar generators) - this was the plug-in solar bill modeled after Utah HB 360, covered earlier this week. It was introduced and referred to State Affairs but did not pass. Expect a revised version next session. No regulatory change to residential plug-in solar this year.
• Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus - Idaho submitted its federal application March 31. Competition is Utah, Texas, and others. INL currently employs 9,000-10,000; hosting could nearly double that. Governor Little is still pitching. Federal launch targeted for 2027.

Why this matters for buildings: the workforce pull for nuclear (184,000 new nuclear workers + 250,000 construction workers needed by 2050 per DOE) competes directly with the trades your projects rely on. If INL lands the campus, expect further tightening of the Treasure Valley skilled labor market.

• ASHRAE Idaho YEA - Geothermal Walking Tour + Brewery - TONIGHT, April 16, 6:30-9:00 PM MDT in Boise. Young Engineers in ASHRAE event. RSVP at partiful.com/e/SW5ZdGcry7JaW6TskphA. Good first stop if you want to build chapter relationships.
• ASHRAE Idaho 2026 Tech Conference - May 1, 8 AM-5 PM, Boise Centre on the Grove. The chapter's biggest educational event of the year. Register here.
• ASHRAE Presidential Visit - May 18, 10:30 AM, Esther Simplot Park Pavilion. Lecture + Hawaiian BBQ. Register here.
• ASHRAE Idaho Golf Tournament - June 5, Eagle Hills Golf Course. Register here.
• ASHRAE Annual Conference - June 27-July 1, JW Marriott Austin, TX. Technical program on AI in buildings and decarbonization.