HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4540

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 16, 2024.

The committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3154) of Tackey Chan for legislation to establish a program within the Department of Public Utilities to educate commercial building managers and operators relative to energy efficiency, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4540) ought to pass.

For the committee,

JEFFREY N. ROY.

        FILED ON: 4/5/2024

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4540

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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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.Subsection (b)(2) of section 21 of chapter 25 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition is hereby amended by inserting after the word “benefit.” in line 70 the following words:-

The plan must include programs for in-depth education and training to be offered statewide to commercial building managers and operators, whether such buildings are privately owned or owned by a non-profit organization, and the programs shall educate and train such managers about how to economically achieve greater energy efficiency and reduced energy use, whether such use is electricity, natural gas or heating oil, and may include, but not be limited to, best energy use and efficiency practices, use of new technologies, use of metering, tracking, and monitoring energy use, and economic analysis of reduced energy use. Such education and training sessions may be offered both in person and on-line and shall include interactive teaching methods, case studies, and subject matter experts. This required education and training component of the plan shall consider using 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, and  shall be approved by a five member advisory committee made up of  two building operators or building managers named by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, two members who are energy efficiency experts named jointly by the electric and natural gas distribution companies and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, and one member named jointly by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council who shall be the chair. The companies shall every six months report to the committee on the utilization of the education and training programs and attendee feedback on the value of the programs. The cost of such training shall be split between the attendees and the distribution companies, with the distribution companies using monies from energy efficiency funding, and attendees at the education and training sessions who shall pay no more than 30 percent of the costs. The plan shall include tuition reimbursement for education and training programs for building operators and engineers that are approved by the committee, including but not limited to energy efficiency programs offered by the Association of Energy Engineers, the Building Operators Certificate Program, and the Building Owners and Managers Institute.

SECTION 2. Section 1 shall take effect immediately and the education and training sessions required in the plans that are required by section 1 shall begin to be offered no later than September 1, 2025.