FILED ON: 3/18/2014

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4020

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Fourteen

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An Act relative to energy efficiency education.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  In this act the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:-

“Department”, the Department of Public Utilities, established under chapter 25 of the general laws.

“EEAC”, the energy efficiency advisory council, established under Section 22 of chapter 25 of the general laws.

“Education Program”, an in-depth energy efficiency education and training program, to be offered to commercial building managers and operators, funded in-part by electric and gas distribution company energy efficiency program administrators under Chapter 25 of the general laws.  Education Programs may include existing training programs offered by the Association of Energy Engineers, the Building Operators Certificate Program, the Building Owners and Managers Institute, or other similar programs.

“Program Administrators”, electric and gas distribution companies and municipal aggregators administering energy efficiency programs under Chapter 25 of the General Laws

SECTION 2.  (a) Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, the EEAC, in consultation with the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, shall develop recommendations for cost effective Education Programs, funded, in part, by Program Administrators.

(b) The EEAC shall consider recommending Education Programs that include (i) best energy use and efficiency practices, (ii) use of new technologies, (iii) use of metering, tracking, and monitoring of energy use, and (iv) economic analysis of reduced energy use.

(c) The EEAC shall submit its final recommendations to the Program Administrators and the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy prior to January 1, 2015.

(d) Provided that the EEAC finds that Education Programs are cost effective and recommends ratepayer funding of said programs, Program Administrators shall include funding for recommended Education Programs in electric efficiency investment plans and natural gas efficiency investment plans submitted to the EEAC and Department for review under chapter 25 of the General Laws consistent with the EEAC recommendations developed under subsection (a).

(e) Nothing in the Act shall require the Department to approve funding for an Education Program submitted as part of an energy efficiency investment plan submitted to the Department under said chapter 25 if the Department does not determine that the program is cost effective.