SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1839        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2103

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Cynthia Stone Creem

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to Mass Save assessments.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1839        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2103

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act relative to Mass Save assessments.

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. The administrators of the Mass Save program created pursuant to section 21 of chapter 25 shall offer, at no cost, a zero-carbon assessment, including a heat load calculation, to customers to identify measures that customers would need to take to operate their buildings without fossil fuels and to identify program rebates and incentives that are available to assist customers in implementing those measures. Measures identified in a zero-carbon assessment may include, but shall not be limited to: improving building shell insulation; air sealing; air duct sealing; improving air exchange and indoor air quality; upgraded windows, doors, and cladding systems; electric wiring upgrades; and replacing fossil fuel appliances and equipment with electric or otherwise non-combusting appliances and equipment. Customers who undergo a zero-carbon assessment shall be provided with a zero-carbon report that identifies, for each emissions-reduction measure identified in the assessment, additional benefits including, but not limited to: (a) improvements in comfort, safety, and health, including indoor air quality; (b) cost savings; and (c) any other information the program administrators determine to be necessary to include. The Massachusetts energy technology center shall develop the zero-carbon assessment and zero-carbon report in consultation with the program administrators and the energy efficiency advisory council. The commonwealth shall retain rights to the use of the zero-carbon assessment, the zero-carbon report, and any associated data and software, for use by Mass Save or any successor organization. The zero-carbon assessment shall be the standard assessment service available to all Mass Save customers.

SECTION 2. Section 21 of chapter 25 of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022, is hereby amended, in clause (xiv) of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) by striking out “, delineated by utility and sector, including residential, residential low-income, commercial and industrial” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

"; provided, that the data collected pursuant to subclauses (A), (B), and (C) shall be delineated by utility and sector, including residential, residential low-income, commercial and industrial”

SECTION 3. Said section 21 of said chapter 25, as amended by chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:-

"(g) The electric distribution companies, municipal aggregators with certified efficiency plans, and the natural gas distribution companies shall, by not later than March 31 of each year, provide to the department the data that they collected pursuant to clause (xiv) of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this section during the previous calendar year. The department shall publish said data on the website of the energy efficiency advisory council by not later than April 30 of each year."

SECTION 4. Section 1 shall take effect upon its passage and shall apply to energy efficiency plans beginning with the 2025 to 2027 plan.