(RECAP: As outlined in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, HUD today proposed utility benchmarking of water and energy in its portfolio of public and assisted, as well as newly-insured, multifamily housing. This new ‘utility benchmarking’ initiative would apply to approximately 2.2 million units across several categories of HUD-assisted affordable housing: developments with Project Rental Assistance Contracts, multifamily properties with mortgages insured by the FHA, and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) with more than 250 public housing units. Under this initiative, certain providers of HUD-assisted or public housing will begin collecting and reporting on their water and energy use. Benchmarking will guide these property owners and PHAs to make informed decisions, reduce operating costs and improve building performance over time.)