Nov. 10--DENVER -- The Sierra Club held up Fort Collins and three other U.S. cities as examples of how municipalities can become more energy sustainable.

Fort Collins, Chicago, Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas, all have implemented programs that have helped them and their residents save energy and, as a result, money on their power bills.

The report, Sustainable Cities: Best Practices for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency, is meant to be used as a rough blueprint for other cities to follow, said John Rosapepe, associate regional representative for the Sierra Club, a national group that advocates environmental issues.

The report, authored by Denver sustainable energy consultant Ken Regelson, encourages city leaders to work with local utilities to come up with programs designed to conserve energy consumption in city-owned buildings and then helping local businesses and residents do the same for their own homes and buildings.

"The reason cities are doing this is to save money, to improve the quality of life for their occupants and to reduce pollution," Regelson said. "It is a social goal, an economic goal and an environmental goal."

Regelson said that while it's easier for cities to do some of that if they operate their own electric utilities, that doesn't mean privately owned power companies aren't willing to work with them, too.

Ironically, the report came out a day after Pueblo voters overwhelmingly rejected Ballot Question A on Tuesday, which would have granted permission to the City Council to pursue the purchase of Aquila electric utility. The measure failed 74 percent to 26 percent.

Despite that vote, Regelson said cities such as Pueblo that don't own their own electric utilities can't offer energy-efficiency programs, such as free efficiency inspectors to educate homeowners and business owners on how they can better conserve.

The cities highlighted in the audit offered programs ranging from offering rebates to residents for saving energy to building their own wind farms or solar plants.

A $7 million investment, as one of the cities made, resulted in $40 million in energy savings, he said.

"Fort Collins is a city of about 130,000 people, and its programs are just as good as Chicago with 2.9 million people," Regelson said. "It's much easier in a municipally owned utility to do these kinds of programs, but two of the cities in the study don't and have still done extensive things. It's a question of leadership in working with your local utility."