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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2385 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2385

  To require the Secretary of Energy to assemble a team of technical, 
   policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the 
  insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States 
 through the development of action plans aimed at reducing reliance on 
  imported fossil fuels and increasing use of indigenous clean-energy 
                   resources, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2009

  Mrs. Christensen (for herself, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. 
  Pierluisi, and Mr. Sablan) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To require the Secretary of Energy to assemble a team of technical, 
   policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the 
  insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States 
 through the development of action plans aimed at reducing reliance on 
  imported fossil fuels and increasing use of indigenous clean-energy 
                   resources, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AFFILIATED ISLAND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE TEAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Affiliated island.--The term ``affiliated island'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    (B) Guam;
                    (C) American Samoa;
                    (D) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands;
                    (E) the Federated States of Micronesia;
                    (F) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
                    (G) the Republic of Palau; and
                    (H) the United States Virgin Islands.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy (acting through the Assistant Secretary of Energy 
        Efficiency and Renewable Energy), in consultation with the 
        Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State.
            (3) Team.--The term ``team'' means the team established by 
        the Secretary under subsection (b).
    (b) Establishment.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall assemble a team of 
technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of 
each affiliated island--
            (1) to reduce the reliance and expenditure of each 
        affiliated island on imported fossil fuels;
            (2) to increase the use by each affiliated island of 
        indigenous, nonfossil fuel energy sources;
            (3) to improve the performance of the energy infrastructure 
        of the affiliated island through projects--
                    (A) to improve the energy efficiency of power 
                generation, transmission, and distribution; and
                    (B) to increase consumer energy efficiency;
            (4) to improve the performance of the energy infrastructure 
        of each affiliated island through enhanced planning, education, 
        and training;
            (5) to adopt research-based and public-private partnership-
        based approaches as appropriate;
            (6) to stimulate economic development and job creation; and
            (7) to enhance the engagement by the Federal Government in 
        international efforts to address island energy needs.
    (c) Duties of Team.--
            (1) Energy action plans.--
                    (A) In general.--In accordance with subparagraph 
                (B), the team shall provide technical, programmatic, 
                and financial assistance to each utility of each 
                affiliated island, and the government of each 
                affiliated island, as appropriate, to develop and 
                implement an energy Action Plan for each affiliated 
                island to reduce the reliance of each affiliated island 
                on imported fossil fuels through increased efficiency 
                and use of indigenous clean-energy resources.
                    (B) Requirements.--Each Action Plan described in 
                subparagraph (A) for each affiliated island shall 
                require and provide for--
                            (i) the conduct of 1 or more studies to 
                        assess opportunities to reduce fossil fuel use 
                        through--
                                    (I) the improvement of the energy 
                                efficiency of the affiliated island; 
                                and
                                    (II) the increased use by the 
                                affiliated island of indigenous clean-
                                energy resources;
                            (ii) the identification and implementation 
                        of the most cost-effective strategies and 
                        projects to reduce the dependence of the 
                        affiliated island on fossil fuels;
                            (iii) the promotion of education and 
                        training activities to improve the capacity of 
                        the local utilities of the affiliated island, 
                        and the government of the affiliated island, as 
                        appropriate, to plan for, maintain, and operate 
                        the energy infrastructure of the affiliated 
                        island through the use of local or regional 
                        institutions, as appropriate;
                            (iv) the coordination of the activities 
                        described in clause (iii) to leverage the 
                        expertise and resources of international 
                        entities, the Department of Energy, the 
                        Department of the Interior, and the regional 
                        utilities of the affiliated island;
                            (v) the identification, and development, as 
                        appropriate, of research-based and private-
                        public, partnership approaches to implement the 
                        Action Plan; and
                            (vi) any other component that the Secretary 
                        determines to be necessary to reduce 
                        successfully the use by each affiliated island 
                        of fossil fuels.
            (2) Reports to secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date on which the Secretary establishes the team and biannually 
        thereafter, the team shall submit to the Secretary a report 
        that contains a description of the progress of each affiliated 
        island in--
                    (A) implementing the Action Plan of the affiliated 
                island developed under paragraph (1)(A); and
                    (B) reducing the reliance of the affiliated island 
                on fossil fuels.
    (d) Use of Regional Utility Organizations.--To provide expertise to 
affiliated islands to assist the affiliated islands in meeting the 
purposes of this section, the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) including regional utility organizations in the 
        establishment of the team; and
            (2) providing assistance through regional utility 
        organizations.
    (e) Annual Reports to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the 
date on which the Secretary receives a report submitted by the team 
under subsection (c)(2), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report that contains a summary of the report 
of the team.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
                                 <all>
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