Dear CxEnergy attendees, ACG, EMA & AABC members:
On Monday (3/9), we announced in good faith our intention to continue with CxEnergy based on the information available at the time, and committed to continue monitoring the situation. As you know, the situation is evolving daily (if not hourly), with new concerns and safety precautions being issued by the federal government, state and local governments, and other leadership throughout the country. In the interim, we have continued to hear from all of you about your concerns related to this ongoing public health crisis.
Unfortunately, it has now become clear that we cannot move forward with CxEnergy 2020 as the large, in-person conference that you have come to expect. This has been a difficult realization; however, your health and well-being are our top priorities. Instead, we will attempt to re-purpose as much of the conference material as possible into a virtual format. Based on recent events, we are confident this is the only possible action during these difficult and unexpected times.
A non-exhaustive list of factors that prompted this conclusion include the following:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) officially characterizing COVID-19 as a pandemic, and a growing sense that the spread of the virus has not yet been well controlled (reported by NPR on 3/11/20)
- The San Diego County Public Health Officer issued orders prohibiting all public or private “large gatherings” and restricting all non-essential personnel from entry into any hospital or long-term care facility serving seniors (effective Friday, March 13, 2020)
- The recommendation from the Governor of California and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) that gatherings larger than 250 people should be postponed or canceled to safeguard public health (on 3/11/20)
- The declaration of a national emergency by President Trump on 3/13/2020
- Cancelations or suspensions of a long list of events (appended below, as reported by CNET on 3/12/20)*
- A growing number of speakers, and virtually all our instructors, unable to attend because of company travel bans
- A growing number of attendees and exhibitors canceling either because they are unable to travel, or are concerned about their own health, their families, or public health in general
ACG staff, in coordination with the leadership, will take all reasonable steps to minimize any losses to ACG from the various financial commitments made in connection with CxEnergy.
Regarding attendees and registrations:
- For conference-only attendees who registered with a promo code: no action is necessary other than canceling your hotel reservation, if applicable.
- For conference-only attendees who paid for their registration (including TAB seminar, Mission Critical Workshop, golf, and tours): these will be refunded over the next 2 weeks to the payment method you used. We ask for your patience as this will take some time.
- For CxA workshop & EMP seminar attendees: we will be in touch with you in the next 2 weeks to discuss your options for pursuing your certification.
Virtual CxEnergy 2020: we will be reaching out to all confirmed CxEnergy 2020 speakers to inquire about their willingness to provide their presentations either live online as part of a virtual conference, or recorded and released online. In this way, we hope to capture the 32+ hours of knowledge and continuing education, for CEU and general educational purposes. Please stay tuned for more information as we work out the logistics of this possibility.
We are enormously disappointed that this action was necessary, and that we will not be able to bring all of you together in person this year for what has become a true community of commissioning, energy, and testing professionals. Thank you as always for your continued support and association with ACG, EMA, and CxEnergy.
We appreciate your patience during this time and will address any additional questions you may have as quickly as we are able.
Sincerely,
ACG Headquarters Staff
- National Basketball Association (NBA) season (originally scheduled through 4/15/20)
- NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments and “March Madness” Tournament (originally scheduled through April 6, 2020)
- PGA Golf Events (scheduled through April 5, 2020)
- Major League Soccer (MLS)
- National Hockey League (NHL)
- Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival rescheduled to October 2020, and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami postponed until next year
- Tribeca Film Festival (scheduled to run April 15, 2020, through April 26, 2020), announced within few hours after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that any large gatherings of 500 people or more would be prohibited starting Friday at 5 PM ET, a decision that also meant shutting down Broadway’s theater industry
- WonderCon Anaheim 2020 (scheduled for April 10-12, 2020 in Anaheim, CA), announced March 12, 2020, with reference to the California Department of Health recommendation to cancel or postpone events of more than 250 people;
- Etc., etc.
CxA certification is open to independent industry professionals who meet all education and experience prerequisites and implement commissioning processes in new and existing buildings.
The Energy Management Process Seminar is designed to help candidates understand the energy management process and how it can be applied and serves as the final preparation for the Energy Management Professional (EMP) exam.
