II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2665 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to incentivize 

small business participation in demand side management programs, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2021 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant 

program to incentivize small business participation in 

demand side management programs, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Main Street Efficiency 

5 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2665 IS

1 (1) small businesses in the United States em2 ploy roughly half of the workforce, and create about 

3 half of the gross domestic product, of the United 

4 States; 

5 (2) 30,000,000 workers in the United States re6 main at risk of long-term unemployment, and 1 in 

7 4 small businesses in the United States remain at 

8 risk of long-term closure, as a result of the COVID– 

9 19 pandemic; 

10 (3) prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, there 

11 were 2,400,000 workers in the United States em12 ployed in the energy efficiency sector, which was 

13 growing at a rate 3 times greater than that of the 

14 overall economy of the United States; 

15 (4) over 300,000 energy efficiency workers re16 main unemployed as of January 1, 2021, due to the 

17 COVID–19 pandemic; 

18 (5) nearly 80 percent of energy efficiency work19 ers are employed by companies with fewer than 20 

20 employees; 

21 (6) United States small business energy bills 

22 total $60,000,000,000 annually, of which 30 percent 

23 could be saved through energy efficiency improve24 ments, which would save small businesses 

25 $18,000,000,000 annually; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2665 IS

1 (7) three-quarters of electric and natural gas 

2 utility companies in the United States operate de3 mand side management programs to incentivize cus4 tomers to make energy efficiency improvements; and 

5 (8) participation rates for small businesses in 

6 demand side management programs are typically 

7 very low because small businesses do not have the 

8 capital to meet the customer contribution that utili9 ties require. 

10 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

11 (1) to make small businesses more financially 

12 viable through energy efficiency improvements that 

13 lower monthly utility bills; 

14 (2) to restore and create energy efficiency jobs 

15 across the United States; 

16 (3) to provide work and revenue streams for 

17 small businesses in the energy efficiency sector; 

18 (4) to ensure that demand side management 

19 programs for small businesses include participation 

20 by— 

21 (A) minority, women, and veteran-owned 

22 small businesses; 

23 (B) small businesses in disadvantaged 

24 neighborhoods; and 

25 (C) newly created small businesses; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2665 IS

1 (5) to increase small business participation 

2 rates in demand side management programs; 

3 (6) to reduce the energy demand and emissions 

4 of the United States associated with energy use; and 

5 (7) to improve the indoor environments of small 

6 businesses across the United States. 

7 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT PRO8 GRAMS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) CUSTOMER CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

11 ‘‘customer contribution’’ means the portion of the 

12 total cost of an activity carried out under a demand 

13 side management program that an eligible small 

14 business is responsible for covering to secure invest15 ment from a qualifying utility or program adminis16 trator. 

17 (2) DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘demand side 

19 management program’’ means a program to 

20 plan, implement, and monitor activities of a 

21 qualifying utility or program administrator that 

22 are designed to encourage an eligible small 

23 business to modify their level or pattern of elec24 tricity or natural gas usage in a manner that 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2665 IS

1 reduces the monthly energy costs of that eligi2 ble small business. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘demand side 

4 management program’’ includes any activity 

5 that— 

6 (i) improves the efficiency of any end7 use appliance or equipment that uses elec8 tricity or natural gas; 

9 (ii) reduces monthly energy usage 

10 through weatherization, energy efficiency 

11 retrofitting, or infrastructure improve12 ments; 

13 (iii) enables or enhances overall en14 ergy or cost savings through digital tech15 nologies; 

16 (iv) improves the effectiveness of a 

17 program through digital analytics or en18 gagement; 

19 (v) improves the demand response ca20 pabilities of a qualifying utility; or 

21 (vi) supports the deployment of elec22 tric vehicles or energy storage technology. 

23 (3) DIVERSE SUPPLIER.—The term ‘‘diverse 

24 supplier’’ means a service provider or supplier at 

25 least 51 percent of which is owned, operated, or conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Aug 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2665.IS S2665

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2665 IS

1 trolled by an individual who is a minority, a woman, 

2 a veteran, disabled, or identifies as lesbian, gay, bi3 sexual, transgender, or queer (also known as 

4 ‘‘LGBTQ’’). 

5 (4) ELECTRIC UTILITY.—The term ‘‘electric 

6 utility’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

8 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602). 

9 (5) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘el10 igible small business’’ means a small commercial ac11 count utility customer, as determined by the applica12 ble qualifying utility or program administrator that 

13 receives a grant under this section, that— 

14 (A) has a peak demand of less than 300 

15 kilowatts of electricity in any billing month; and 

16 (B) uses less than 150,000 therms of nat17 ural gas each year. 

18 (6) GAS UTILITY.—The term ‘‘gas utility’’ has 

19 the meaning given the term in section 302 of the 

20 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (15 

21 U.S.C. 3202). 

22 (7) MINORITY OWNED OR CONTROLLED.—The 

23 term ‘‘minority owned or controlled’’ means, with re24 spect to an eligible small business, an eligible small 

25 business— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2665 IS

1 (A)(i) that is privately owned and for-prof2 it; and 

3 (ii) at least 51 percent of which is owned 

4 or controlled by individuals who are of Asian5 Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Latino, or Native 

6 American origin or descent; 

7 (B)(i) that is publicly owned; and 

8 (ii) at least 51 percent of the stock of 

9 which is owned by 1 or more individuals of 

10 Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Latino, or 

11 Native American origin or descent; or 

12 (C)(i) that is a not-for-profit business; 

13 (ii) at least 51 percent of the governing 

14 body or board of directors of which is composed 

15 of and controlled by individuals who are of 

16 Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Latino, or 

17 Native American origin or descent; and 

18 (iii) the management and daily operations 

19 of which are controlled by individuals described 

20 in clause (ii). 

21 (8) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

22 ‘‘program administrator’’ means a nonutility organi23 zation, such as a State government, contractor, or 

24 nonprofit organization, that administers a demand 

25 side management program that is funded by— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2665 IS

1 (A) public benefit charges to utility cus2 tomers, as approved by the governing body of 

3 the nonutility organization; or 

4 (B) other targeted funds from qualifying 

5 utilities or State governments. 

6 (9) QUALIFYING UTILITY.—The term ‘‘quali7 fying utility’’ means an entity that— 

8 (A) is an electric utility or gas utility 

9 that— 

10 (i) is owned by investors; 

11 (ii) is a political subdivision of a State 

12 or an Indian Tribe, such as a municipally 

13 owned utility, agency, authority, corpora14 tion, or instrumentality of a State or an 

15 Indian Tribe; 

16 (iii) is a rural electric cooperative; or 

17 (iv) is primarily responsible for car18 rying out a demand side management pro19 gram that is funded by utility ratepayers; 

20 (B) operates in the United States, a terri21 tory of the United States, or on land owned by 

22 a federally recognized Indian Tribe; and 

23 (C) has established a demand side manage24 ment program for eligible small businesses as of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2665 IS

1 the date on which the qualifying utility submits 

2 an application under subsection (c)(1). 

3 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

4 means the Secretary of Energy. 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es7 tablish and carry out a program to provide grants to quali8 fying utilities and program administrators in accordance 

9 with this section. 

10 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To apply for a grant under 

12 this section, a qualifying utility or program adminis13 trator shall submit to the Secretary an application 

14 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

15 information as the Secretary may require. 

16 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

17 section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 

18 practicable, give priority to a qualifying utility or 

19 program administrator that will carry out a demand 

20 side management program that— 

21 (A) utilizes diverse suppliers; and 

22 (B) includes as participants eligible small 

23 businesses that— 

24 (i) operate in an underserved, rural, 

25 or economically disadvantaged community; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 2665 IS

1 (ii) are owned and operated by mem2 bers of the Armed Forces who are serving 

3 on active duty, separated from active duty, 

4 or retired from active duty; 

5 (iii) are minority owned or controlled; 

6 (iv) are owned and operated by so7 cially and economically disadvantaged indi8 viduals; 

9 (v) have operated for less than 7 

10 years as of the date on which the quali11 fying utility or program administrator sub12 mits an application for a grant under para13 graph (1); 

14 (vi) operate in diverse geographic lo15 cations, as determined by the qualifying 

16 utility or program administrator, as appli17 cable; or 

18 (vii) are of varying business types. 

19 (3) DEADLINE FOR SELECTION.—Subject to the 

20 availability of appropriations and paragraph (4), the 

21 Secretary shall determine whether to provide a grant 

22 to a qualifying utility or program administrator that 

23 submits an application under paragraph (1) not 

24 later than the date that is 30 days after the date on 

25 which the application is submitted. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 2665 IS

1 (4) DELAYED ISSUANCE OF AWARDS.—The Sec2 retary may not provide grants under this section 

3 until the date that is 45 days after the date on 

4 which the Secretary begins to accept applications 

5 under paragraph (1). 

6 (d) GRANT FUNDS.— 

7 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—A qualifying utility or 

8 program administrator that receives a grant under 

9 this section shall use the grant funds to pay cus10 tomer contributions. 

11 (2) LIMITATIONS ON GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

12 (A) MAX GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of 

13 a grant awarded under this section to a quali14 fying utility or program administrator that car15 ries out a demand side management program 

16 shall not exceed the lesser of— 

17 (i) the amount of funding the quali18 fying utility or program administrator, as 

19 applicable, commits to spending on the de20 mand side management program for the 

21 period of the grant; and 

22 (ii) $100,000,000. 

23 (B) NO REDUCTION IN UTILITY CONTRIBU24 TIONS.—In providing grants under this section, 

25 the Secretary shall enter into an agreement 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 2665 IS

1 with each grant recipient to ensure that each 

2 grant recipient does not, as a result of receiving 

3 a grant under this section, reduce the amount 

4 it spends paying for the costs of activities car5 ried out under a demand side management pro6 gram for the benefit of any of customer classes 

7 of that grant recipient. 

8 (C) USE OF FUNDS FOR ENERGY EFFI9 CIENT INFRASTRUCTURE.—A qualifying utility 

10 or program administrator awarded a grant 

11 under this section shall use not more than 25 

12 percent of the grant funds to support activities 

13 relating to the deployment of electric vehicles, 

14 distributed energy resources, or energy storage 

15 technology. 

16 (D) USE OF FUNDS FOR DEMAND SIDE

17 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM COSTS.—Of the grant 

18 funds provided under this section to a quali19 fying utility or program administrator, the 

20 amount used by the qualifying utility or pro21 gram administrator to pay a customer contribu22 tion, or any portion of a customer contribution, 

23 may not— 

24 (i) exceed the amount of non-Federal 

25 funding that the qualifying utility or proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Aug 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2665.IS S2665

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 2665 IS

1 gram administrator, as applicable, spends 

2 on activities carried out under a demand 

3 side management program; or 

4 (ii) represent more than 50 percent of 

5 the total costs of those activities. 

6 (E) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—A qualifying utility 

8 or program administrator awarded a grant 

9 under this section shall use not more than 

10 10 percent of the grant funds to pay for 

11 the administrative costs relating to the car12 rying out of activities under a demand side 

13 management program. 

14 (ii) RATES.—Nothing in this sub15 section shall affect the ability of a quali16 fying utility or program administrator that 

17 receives a grant under this section to 

18 charge a federally approved indirect rate. 

19 (e) ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

21 out an annual assessment of the effect of grants 

22 provided under this section on energy use, economic 

23 outcomes, the environment, and social outcomes, in24 cluding with respect to— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 2665 IS

1 (A) the electricity and natural gas usage 

2 (in terms of kilowatt hours, kilowatts, and 

3 therms) of each eligible small business that par4 ticipated in a demand side management pro5 gram carried out by a qualifying utility or pro6 gram administrator that received a grant under 

7 this section; 

8 (B) the changes in the level of customer 

9 contributions; 

10 (C) the cost to eligible small businesses of 

11 purchasing electricity and natural gas; 

12 (D) job creation, wages, benefits, career 

13 development opportunities, and the diversity of 

14 the energy efficiency workforce; 

15 (E) the extent to which— 

16 (i) qualified utilities and program ad17 ministrators, as applicable, utilize diverse 

18 suppliers; and 

19 (ii) minority owned or controlled eligi20 ble small businesses benefit from the pro21 gram; 

22 (F) the amount of non-Federal invest23 ments made in demand side management pro24 grams; and 

25 (G) the electric grid, including effects on— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 2665 IS

1 (i) load flexibility; 

2 (ii) cost efficiency; 

3 (iii) avoidance of new capacity; and 

4 (iv) any other relevant benefits, as de5 termined by the Secretary. 

6 (2) USE OF PROGRAM EVALUATION DATA.—To 

7 the extent practicable, the Secretary shall carry out 

8 an assessment under paragraph (1) using data that 

9 includes any data made available through program 

10 evaluations that are completed by qualifying utilities 

11 or program administrators in response to the re12 quirements of the governing body of the qualifying 

13 utility or program administrator. 

14 (3) REPORT.—Beginning in the first calendar 

15 year that begins after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall, not 

17 later than April 30 of each year, submit to Congress 

18 a report on the results of the most recent assess19 ment carried out under paragraph (1). 

20 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

22 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec23 tion $6,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to remain 

24 available until expended. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 2665 IS

1 (2) UNUSED AMOUNTS.—Any amount of a 

2 grant provided under this section that has not been 

3 used by a qualifying utility or program adminis4 trator by the date that is 3 years after the date on 

5 which the grant was provided— 

6 (A) shall be returned to the Treasury; and 

7 (B) is authorized to be appropriated to 

8 carry out this section in addition to the 

9 amounts authorized to be appropriated under 

10 paragraph (1). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS