The Powerdown Project’s Municipal Template assists communities with identifying energy vulnerabilities and provides strategies for energy reductions in relationship to the increasing costs for electricity, natural gas, and oil, and interruptions to supply.

The Post Carbon Relocalization Network and other communities will use the Template. The Template is intended as the gateway for communities to bring energy descent plans to their local governments.Part one of the Municipal Template consists of an examination of services that municipalities provide to the community. The report is broken down into three sections: Water and Sewage, Police, Fire and Emergency and Trash. We have also included Food Security and Transportation in this first section. They are actually community functions, but mitigations must be initiated immediately.

Each section of the template provides an introduction to the topic and examines the possible effects of peak oil. The template also contains questions for the community to ask regarding the service and possible disruption or decline in energy sources. Short and long-term suggestions for conservation and energy reduction are provided as well as references, resources and a guide to renewable energy sources.

Part two of the template will include: Planning and Zoning, Parks and Recreation, Disaster Relief/Preparedness, Healthcare and Implications for Sales Tax Revenues.

Working at the municipal level is crucial for the continued delivery of our essential services, many of which require extensive amounts of energy. Our template offers a starting point for the examination of where energy is used and short and long-term suggestions for reduction of energy use.