EPIC Act of 2015

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Productivity Innovation 
Challenge Act of 2015'' or the ``EPIC Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to assist energy policy innovation in 
the States to promote the goal of doubling electric and thermal energy 
productivity by January 1, 2030.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Energy productivity.--The term ``energy productivity'' 
        means, in the case of a State or Indian tribe, the gross State 
        or tribal product per British thermal unit of energy consumed 
        in the State or tribal land of the Indian tribe, respectively.
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 3 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
        U.S.C. 6202).

SEC. 4. PHASE 1: INITIAL ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO STATES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue an invitation to States to 
submit plans to participate in an electric and thermal energy 
productivity challenge in accordance with this section.
    (b) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to section 7, the Secretary shall 
        use funds made available under section 8(b)(1) to provide an 
        initial allocation of grants to not more than 25 States.
            (2) Amount.--The amount of a grant provided to a State 
        under this section shall be not less than $500,000 nor more 
        than $1,750,000.
    (c) Submission of Plans.--To receive a grant under this section, 
not later than 90 days after the date of issuance of the invitation 
under subsection (a), a State (in consultation with energy utilities, 
regulatory bodies, and others) shall submit to the Secretary an 
application to receive the grant by submitting a revised State energy 
conservation plan under section 362 of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322).
    (d) Decision by Secretary.--
            (1) Basis.--The Secretary shall base the decision of the 
        Secretary on an application submitted under this section on--
                    (A) plans for improvement in electric and thermal 
                energy productivity consistent with this Act; and
                    (B) other factors determined appropriate by the 
                Secretary, including geographic diversity.
            (2) Ranking.--The Secretary shall--
                    (A) rank revised plans submitted under this section 
                in order of the greatest to least likely contribution 
                to improving energy productivity in the State; and
                    (B) provide grants under this section in accordance 
                with the ranking and the scale and scope of a plan.
    (e) Plan Requirements.--A plan submitted under subsection (c) shall 
provide--
            (1) a description of the manner in which--
                    (A) energy savings will be monitored and verified 
                and energy productivity improvements will be calculated 
                using inflation-adjusted dollars;
                    (B) a statewide baseline of energy use and 
                potential resources for calendar year 2010 will be 
                established to measure improvements;
                    (C) the plan will promote achievement of energy 
                savings and demand reduction goals;
                    (D) public and private sector investments in energy 
                efficiency will be leveraged with available Federal 
                funding; and
                    (E) the plan will not cause cost-shifting among 
                utility customer classes or negatively impact low-
                income populations; and
            (2) an assurance that--
                    (A) the State energy office required to submit the 
                plan, the energy utilities in the State participating 
                in the plan, and the State public service commission 
                are cooperating and coordinating programs and 
                activities under this Act;
                    (B) the State is cooperating with local units of 
                government, Indian tribes, and energy utilities to 
                expand programs as appropriate; and
                    (C) grants provided under this Act will be used to 
                supplement and not supplant Federal, State, or 
                ratepayer-funded programs or activities in existence on 
                the date of enactment of this Act.
    (f) Uses.--A State may use grants provided under this section to 
promote--
            (1) the expansion of policies and programs that will 
        advance industrial energy efficiency, waste heat recovery, 
        combined heat and power, and waste heat-to-power utilization;
            (2) the expansion of policies and programs that will 
        advance energy efficiency construction and retrofits for public 
        and private commercial buildings (including schools, hospitals, 
        and residential buildings, including multifamily buildings) 
        such as through expanded energy service performance contracts, 
        equivalent utility energy service contracts, zero net-energy 
        buildings, and improved building energy efficiency codes;
            (3) the expansion of residential policies and programs 
        designed to implement best practice policies and tools for 
        residential retrofit programs that--
                    (A) reduce administrative and delivery costs for 
                energy efficiency projects;
                    (B) encourage streamlining and automation to 
                support contractor engagement; and
                    (C) implement systems that encourage private 
                investment and market innovation;
            (4) the establishment or expansion of incentives in the 
        electric utility sector to enhance demand response and energy 
        efficiency, including consideration of additional incentives to 
        promote the purposes of section 111(d) of the Public Utility 
        Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)), such as 
        appropriate, cost-effective policies regarding rate structures, 
        grid improvements, behavior change, combined heat and power and 
        waste heat-to-power incentives, financing of energy efficiency 
        programs, data use incentives, district heating, and regular 
        energy audits; and
            (5) leadership by example, in which State activities 
        involving both facilities and vehicle fleets can be a model for 
        other action to promote energy efficiency and can be expanded 
        with Federal grants provided under this Act.

SEC. 5. PHASE 2: SUBSEQUENT ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO STATES.

    (a) Reports.--Not later than 18 months after the receipt of grants 
under section 4, each State (in consultation with other parties 
described in subsection (b)(3)(F)) that received grants under section 4 
may submit to the Secretary a report that describes--
            (1) the performance of the programs and activities carried 
        out with the grants; and
            (2) in consultation with other parties described in 
        subsection (b)(3)(F), the manner in which additional funds 
        would be used to carry out programs and activities to promote 
        the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the receipt of the reports required under subsection (a), 
        subject to section 7, the Secretary shall use amounts made 
        available under section 8(b)(2) to provide grants to not more 
        than 6 States to carry out the programs and activities 
        described in subsection (a)(2).
            (2) Amount.--The amount of a grant provided to a State 
        under this section shall be not more than $15,000,000.
            (3) Basis.--The Secretary shall base the decision of the 
        Secretary to provide grants under this section on--
                    (A) the performance of the State in the programs 
                and activities carried out with grants provided under 
                section 4;
                    (B) the potential of the programs and activities 
                described in subsection (a)(2) to achieve the purposes 
                of this Act;
                    (C) the desirability of maintaining a total project 
                portfolio that is geographically and functionally 
                diverse;
                    (D) the amount of non-Federal funds that are 
                leveraged as a result of the grants to ensure that 
                Federal dollars are leveraged effectively;
                    (E) plans for continuation of the improvements 
                after the receipt of grants under this Act; and
                    (F) demonstrated effort by the State to involve 
                diverse groups, including--
                            (i) investor-owned, cooperative, and public 
                        power utilities;
                            (ii) local governments; and
                            (iii) nonprofit organizations.

SEC. 6. ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall invite Indian tribes to submit plans 
to participate in an electric and thermal energy productivity challenge 
in accordance with this section.
    (b) Submission of Plans.--To receive a grant under this section, 
not later than 90 days after the date of issuance of the invitation 
under subsection (a), an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary a 
plan to increase electric and thermal energy productivity by the Indian 
tribe.
    (c) Decision by Secretary.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        submission of plans under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
        make a final decision on the allocation of grants under this 
        section.
            (2) Basis.--The Secretary shall base the decision of the 
        Secretary under paragraph (1) on--
                    (A) plans for improvement in electric and thermal 
                energy productivity consistent with this Act;
                    (B) plans for continuation of the improvements 
                after the receipt of grants under this Act; and
                    (C) other factors determined appropriate by the 
                Secretary, including--
                            (i) geographic diversity; and
                            (ii) size differences among Indian tribes.
            (3) Limitation.--An individual Indian tribe shall not 
        receive more than 20 percent of the total amount available to 
        carry out this section.

SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Independent Evaluation.--To evaluate program performance and 
effectiveness under this Act, the Secretary shall consult with the 
National Research Council regarding requirements for data and 
evaluation for recipients of grants under this Act.
    (b) Coordination With State Energy Conservation Programs.--
            (1) In general.--Grants to States under this Act shall be 
        provided through additional funding to carry out State energy 
        conservation programs under part D of title III of the Energy 
        Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.).
            (2) Relationship to state energy conservation programs.--
                    (A) In general.--A grant provided to a State under 
                this Act shall be used to supplement (and not supplant) 
                funds provided to the State under part D of title III 
                of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
                6321 et seq.).
                    (B) Minimum funding.--A grant shall not be provided 
                to a State for a fiscal year under this Act if the 
                amount of funding provided to all State grantees under 
                the base formula for the fiscal year under part D of 
                title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
                U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) is less than $50,000,000.
    (c) Voluntary Participation.--The participation of a State in a 
challenge established under this Act shall be voluntary.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
    (b) Allocation.--Of the total amount of funds made available under 
subsection (a)--
            (1) 30 percent shall be used to provide an initial 
        allocation of grants to States under section 4;
            (2) 61 percent shall be used to provide a subsequent 
        allocation of grants to States under section 5;
            (3) 4 percent shall be used to make grants to Indian tribes 
        under section 6; and
            (4) 5 percent shall be available to the Secretary for the 
        cost of administration and technical support to carry out this 
        Act.

SEC. 9. OFFSET.

    Section 422(f) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 
(42 U.S.C. 17082(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 
        2015;
            ``(5) $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017; 
        and
            ``(6) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.''.

Summary: Energy Productivity Innovation Challenge Act of 2015 or the EPIC Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a voluntary electric and thermal energy productivity challenge grant program for providing support to states for: advancing industrial energy efficiency, waste heat recovery, combined heat and power, and waste heat-to-power utilization. Advancing energy efficiency construction and retrofits for commercial buildings, schools, hospitals, and residential buildings. Expanding residential policies and programs designed to implement best practice policies and tools for residential retrofit programs that reduce administrative and delivery costs for energy efficiency projects, encourage streamlining and automation to support contractor engagement, and implement systems that encourage private investment and market innovation. Establishing or expanding incentives in the electric utility sector to enhance demand response and energy efficiency. And promoting state activities involving both facilities and vehicle fleets than can be a model for other action to promote energy efficiency. DOE must: (1) provide subsequent grants for activities to assist energy policy innovation in the states and to promote the goal of doubling electric and thermal energy productivity by January 1, 2030, and (2) invite Indian tribes to participate in the productivity challenge grant program. As an offset to the cost of this bill, the bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reduce the authorized amount of appropriations for FY2016-FY2017 for the Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative.