II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1200 

To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to promote energy 

efficiency and energy savings in residential buildings. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2013 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to promote energy efficiency and energy savings in residential 

buildings. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Residential Energy 

5 Savings Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY EFFI7 CIENCY UPGRADES LOAN PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) LOANS FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY

9 EFFICIENCY UPGRADES.—Part D of title III of the EnVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:07 Jun 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1200.IS S1200

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1 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) 

2 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 367. LOANS FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENERGY EF4 FICIENCY UPGRADES. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) CONSUMER-FRIENDLY LOAN REPAYMENT

7 APPROACH.—The term ‘consumer-friendly loan re8 payment approach’ means a loan repayment method 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(A) emphasizes convenience for cus11 tomers; 

12 ‘‘(B) is of low cost to consumers; and 

13 ‘‘(C) may tie loan repayment to an existing 

14 bill of the consumer. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en16 tity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a State or territory of the United 

18 States; and 

19 ‘‘(B) an Indian tribal government. 

20 ‘‘(3) ENERGY ADVISOR PROGRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘energy ad22 visor program’ means any program to provide 

23 to homeowners or residents advice, information, 

24 and support in the identification, prioritization, 


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1 and implementation of energy efficiency and en2 ergy savings measures. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘energy ad4 visor program’ includes a program that pro5 vides— 

6 ‘‘(i) interpretation of energy audit re7 ports; 

8 ‘‘(ii) assistance in the prioritization of 

9 improvements; 

10 ‘‘(iii) assistance in finding qualified 

11 contractors; 

12 ‘‘(iv) assistance in contractor bid re13 views; 

14 ‘‘(v) education on energy conservation, 

15 renewable energy, and energy efficiency; 

16 ‘‘(vi) explanations of available incen17 tives and tax credits; 

18 ‘‘(vii) assistance in completion of re19 bate and incentive paperwork; and 

20 ‘‘(viii) any other similar type of sup21 port. 

22 ‘‘(4) ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—The term ‘energy 

23 efficiency’ means a reduction in energy use, includ24 ing thermal energy for heating. 

25 ‘‘(5) ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘energy effi2 ciency upgrade’ means any project or activity 

3 carried out on a residential building to increase 

4 energy efficiency. 

5 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘energy effi6 ciency upgrade’ includes the installation or im7 provement of renewable energy for heating or 

8 electricity generation serving a residential build9 ing carried out in conjunction with an energy 

10 efficiency project or activity. 

11 ‘‘(6) RESIDENTIAL BUILDING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘residential 

13 building’ means a building used for residential 

14 purposes. 

15 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘residential 

16 building’ includes— 

17 ‘‘(i) a single-family residence; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a multifamily residence composed 

19 not more than 4 units; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) a mixed-use building that in21 cludes not more than 4 residential units. 

22 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab24 lish a program under this part under which the Sec25 retary shall make available to eligible entities loans 


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1 for the purpose of establishing or expanding pro2 grams that provide to residential property owners or 

3 tenants financing for energy efficiency upgrades of 

4 residential buildings. 

5 ‘‘(2) NO REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE.—No 

6 eligible entity shall be required to participate in any 

7 manner in the program established under paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

11 loan under this section, an eligible entity shall sub12 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

13 such manner, and containing such information as 

14 the Secretary may require. 

15 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—In selecting eligible entities 

16 to receive loans under this section, the Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

19 ensure— 

20 ‘‘(i) that both innovative and estab21 lished approaches to the challenges of fi22 nancing energy efficiency upgrades are 

23 supported; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) regional diversity among recipi2 ents, including participation by rural 

3 States and small States; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) significant participation by low5 and medium-income families; 

6 ‘‘(B) evaluate applications based primarily 

7 on— 

8 ‘‘(i) the projected reduction in energy 

9 use; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which Federal 

11 funds are used to leverage additional fund12 ing from State, local, philanthropic, private 

13 sector, and other sources; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the creditworthiness of the eligi15 ble entity; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) the incorporation of measures, 

17 such as on-bill repayment, for making the 

18 loan repayment system for recipients of fi19 nancing as consumer-friendly as prac20 ticable; and 

21 ‘‘(C) evaluate applications based second22 arily on— 

23 ‘‘(i) the extent to which the proposed 

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1 corporates best practices for such a pro2 gram, as determined by the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(ii) whether the eligible entity has 

4 created a plan for evaluating the effective5 ness of the proposed financing program; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which the proposed 

7 financing program incorporates energy ad8 visor programs and support programs de9 signed to increase the effectiveness of the 

10 program; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the projected quantity of renew12 able energy to be generated, to the extent 

13 that renewable energy generation will be 

14 included; 

15 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the proposed 

16 financing program will be coordinated and 

17 marketed with other existing or planned 

18 energy efficiency programs administered 

19 by— 

20 ‘‘(I) utilities; 

21 ‘‘(II) State, tribal, territorial, or 

22 local governments; or 

23 ‘‘(III) community development fi24 nancial institutions; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) such other factors as the Sec2 retary determines to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(d) TERM; INTEREST.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab5 lish terms and interest rates for loans provided to el6 igible entities under this section in a manner that— 

7 ‘‘(A) provides for a high degree of cost re8 covery; and 

9 ‘‘(B) ensures that the loans are competitive 

10 with, or superior to, other forms of financing 

11 for similar purposes. 

12 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE.—The Sec13 retary shall establish a performance incentive pro14 viding a repayment discount for eligible entities in 

15 an amount equal to not more than the value of the 

16 interest accrued on the loan provided to the applica17 ble eligible entity under this section, based on per18 formance as evaluated in accordance with the factors 

19 described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of sub20 section (c)(2). 

21 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall use 

23 a loan provided under this section to establish or ex24 pand a financing program— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the purpose of which is to enable resi2 dential building owners or tenants to conduct 

3 energy efficiency upgrades of residential build4 ings; 

5 ‘‘(B) that may not require any initial cap6 ital, excluding fees; and 

7 ‘‘(C) that incorporates a consumer-friendly 

8 loan repayment approach. 

9 ‘‘(2) STRUCTURE OF FINANCING PROGRAM.— 

10 The financing program of an eligible entity may— 

11 ‘‘(A) consist— 

12 ‘‘(i) primarily or entirely of a financ13 ing program administered by— 

14 ‘‘(I) the applicable State; or 

15 ‘‘(II) a local government, utility, 

16 or other entity; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) of a combination of programs de18 scribed in clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(B) rely on financing provided by— 

20 ‘‘(i) the eligible entity; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) a third party, acting through the 

22 eligible entity. 

23 ‘‘(3) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro24 vided by an eligible entity under this subsection may 

25 be in the form of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a revolving loan fund; 

2 ‘‘(B) a credit enhancement structure de3 signed to mitigate the effects of default; or 

4 ‘‘(C) a program that— 

5 ‘‘(i) adopts any other approach for 

6 providing financing for energy efficiency 

7 upgrades producing significant energy effi8 ciency gains; 

9 ‘‘(ii) produces a high-leverage ratio of 

10 non-Federal funds; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) incorporates measures for mak12 ing the loan repayment system for recipi13 ents of financing as consumer-friendly as 

14 practicable. 

15 ‘‘(4) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro16 vided by an eligible entity under this subsection may 

17 be used to pay for costs associated with carrying out 

18 an energy efficiency upgrade, including materials 

19 and labor. 

20 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT.—An eligible entity shall repay to 

21 the Secretary the amount of a loan provided under this 

22 section, together with— 

23 ‘‘(1) interest accrued on that amount; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) such fees as the Secretary determines to 

2 be necessary to recover any portion of the costs of 

3 the program under this section. 

4 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

7 after the date of receipt of the loan, and annu8 ally thereafter for the term of the loan, an eligi9 ble entity that receives a loan under this section 

10 shall submit to the Secretary a report describ11 ing the performance of each program and activ12 ity carried out using the loan, including 

13 anonymized loan performance data. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, in 

15 consultation with eligible entities and other 

16 stakeholders (such as lending institutions and 

17 the real estate industry), shall establish such re18 quirements for the reports under this para19 graph as the Secretary determines to be appro20 priate— 

21 ‘‘(i) to ensure that the reports are 

22 clear, consistent, and straightforward; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) taking into account the reporting 

24 requirements for similar programs in 


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1 which the eligible entities are participating, 

2 if any. 

3 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall submit 

4 to Congress and make available to the public— 

5 ‘‘(A) not less frequently than once each 

6 year, a report describing the performance of the 

7 program under this section, including a syn8 thesis and analysis of the information provided 

9 in the reports submitted to the Secretary under 

10 paragraph (1)(A); and 

11 ‘‘(B) on termination of the program under 

12 this section, an assessment of the success of, 

13 and education provided by, the measures car14 ried out by eligible entities during the term of 

15 the program. 

16 ‘‘(h) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary may pro17 vide to eligible entities a total of not more than 

18 $2,000,000,000 in loans under this section for the costs 

19 of activities described in subsection (e).’’. 

20 (b) REORGANIZATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title III of the 

22 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 6321 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (A) by redesignating sections 362, 363, 

25 364, 365, and 366 as sections 364, 365, 366, 


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1 363, and 362, respectively, and moving the sec2 tions so as to appear in numerical order; 

3 (B) in section 362 (as so redesignated)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by striking 

5 ‘‘section 367, and’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

6 367 (as in effect on the day before the 

7 date of enactment of the State Energy Ef8 ficiency Programs Improvement Act of 

9 1990 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note; Public Law 

10 101–440)); and’’; and 

11 (ii) in each of paragraphs (4) and (6), 

12 by striking ‘‘section 365(e)(1)’’ each place 

13 it appears and inserting ‘‘section 

14 363(e)(1)’’; 

15 (C) in section 363 (as so redesignated)— 

16 (i) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘the 

17 provisions of sections 362 and 364 and 

18 subsection (a) of section 363’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘sections 364, 365(a), and 366’’; and 

20 (ii) in subsection (g)(1)(A), in the sec21 ond sentence, by striking ‘‘section 362’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘section 364’’; and 

23 (D) in section 365 (as so redesignated)— 

24 (i) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 362,’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 364;’’; and 

4 (II) in paragraph (2), by striking 

5 ‘‘section 362(b) or (e)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘subsection (b) or (e) of section 364’’; 

7 and 

8 (ii) in subsection (b)(2), in the matter 

9 preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

10 ‘‘section 362(b) or (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub11 section (b) or (e) of section 364’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 391 

13 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 6371) is amended— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)(M), by striking ‘‘sec16 tion 365(e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

17 363(e)(2)’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘section 

19 362 of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 364’’. 

20 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con21 tents of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 6201 note; Public Law 94–163) is amended 

23 by striking the items relating to part D of title III 

24 and inserting the following: 

‘‘PART D—STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

‘‘Sec. 361. Findings and purpose. 


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‘‘Sec. 362. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 363. General provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 364. State energy conservation plans. 

‘‘Sec. 365. Federal assistance to States. 

‘‘Sec. 366. State energy efficiency goals. 

‘‘Sec. 367. Loans for residential building energy efficiency upgrades.’’. 

1 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

2 (a) BUDGETARY EFFECTS.—The budgetary effects of 

3 this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory 

4 Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by ref5 erence to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects 

6 of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for print7 ing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the 

8 Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement 

9 has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 

10 (b) ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED.—An au11 thorization of appropriations under this Act or an amend12 ment made by this Act shall be effective for a fiscal year 

13 only to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance 

14 in appropriations Acts. 

Æ 


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