II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 893 

To establish an Energy Productivity Innovation Challenge (EPIC) to assist 

energy policy innovation in the States to promote the goal of doubling 

electric and thermal energy productivity by January 1, 2030. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish an Energy Productivity Innovation Challenge 

(EPIC) to assist energy policy innovation in the States 

to promote the goal of doubling electric and thermal 

energy productivity by January 1, 2030. 

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 ‘‘Energy Productivity 

5 Innovation Challenge Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘EPIC Act of 

6 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to assist energy policy in3 novation in the States to promote the goal of doubling 

4 electric and thermal energy productivity by January 1, 

5 2030. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ENERGY PRODUCTIVITY.—The term ‘‘en9 ergy productivity’’ means, in the case of a State or 

10 Indian tribe, the gross State or tribal product per 

11 British thermal unit of energy consumed in the 

12 State or tribal land of the Indian tribe, respectively. 

13 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

17 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 3 of the Energy Policy 

19 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202). 

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

21 STATES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

24 an invitation to States to submit plans to participate in 

25 an electric and thermal energy productivity challenge in 

26 accordance with this section. 


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1 (b) GRANTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 7, the 

3 Secretary shall use funds made available under sec4 tion 8(b)(1) to provide an initial allocation of grants 

5 to not more than 25 States. 

6 (2) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant provided 

7 to a State under this section shall be not less than 

8 $500,000 nor more than $1,750,000. 

9 (c) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—To receive a grant 

10 under this section, not later than 90 days after the date 

11 of issuance of the invitation under subsection (a), a State 

12 (in consultation with energy utilities, regulatory bodies, 

13 and others) shall submit to the Secretary an application 

14 to receive the grant by submitting a revised State energy 

15 conservation plan under section 362 of the Energy Policy 

16 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 

17 (d) DECISION BY SECRETARY.— 

18 (1) BASIS.—The Secretary shall base the deci19 sion of the Secretary on an application submitted 

20 under this section on— 

21 (A) plans for improvement in electric and 

22 thermal energy productivity consistent with this 

23 Act; and 

24 (B) other factors determined appropriate 

25 by the Secretary, including geographic diversity. 


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1 (2) RANKING.—The Secretary shall— 

2 (A) rank revised plans submitted under 

3 this section in order of the greatest to least 

4 likely contribution to improving energy produc5 tivity in the State; and 

6 (B) provide grants under this section in 

7 accordance with the ranking and the scale and 

8 scope of a plan. 

9 (e) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—A plan submitted under 

10 subsection (c) shall provide— 

11 (1) a description of the manner in which— 

12 (A) energy savings will be monitored and 

13 verified and energy productivity improvements 

14 will be calculated using inflation-adjusted dol15 lars; 

16 (B) a statewide baseline of energy use and 

17 potential resources for calendar year 2010 will 

18 be established to measure improvements; 

19 (C) the plan will promote achievement of 

20 energy savings and demand reduction goals; 

21 (D) public and private sector investments 

22 in energy efficiency will be leveraged with avail23 able Federal funding; and 


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1 (E) the plan will not cause cost-shifting 

2 among utility customer classes or negatively im3 pact low-income populations; and 

4 (2) an assurance that— 

5 (A) the State energy office required to sub6 mit the plan, the energy utilities in the State 

7 participating in the plan, and the State public 

8 service commission are cooperating and coordi9 nating programs and activities under this Act; 

10 (B) the State is cooperating with local 

11 units of government, Indian tribes, and energy 

12 utilities to expand programs as appropriate; 

13 and 

14 (C) grants provided under this Act will be 

15 used to supplement and not supplant Federal, 

16 State, or ratepayer-funded programs or activi17 ties in existence on the date of enactment of 

18 this Act. 

19 (f) USES.—A State may use grants provided under 

20 this section to promote— 

21 (1) the expansion of policies and programs that 

22 will advance industrial energy efficiency, waste heat 

23 recovery, combined heat and power, and waste heat24 to-power utilization; 


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1 (2) the expansion of policies and programs that 

2 will advance energy efficiency construction and ret3 rofits for public and private commercial buildings 

4 (including schools, hospitals, and residential build5 ings, including multifamily buildings) such as 

6 through expanded energy service performance con7 tracts, equivalent utility energy service contracts, 

8 zero net-energy buildings, and improved building en9 ergy efficiency codes; 

10 (3) the expansion of residential policies and 

11 programs designed to implement best practice poli12 cies and tools for residential retrofit programs 

13 that— 

14 (A) reduce administrative and delivery 

15 costs for energy efficiency projects; 

16 (B) encourage streamlining and automa17 tion to support contractor engagement; and 

18 (C) implement systems that encourage pri19 vate investment and market innovation; 

20 (4) the establishment or expansion of incentives 

21 in the electric utility sector to enhance demand re22 sponse and energy efficiency, including consideration 

23 of additional incentives to promote the purposes of 

24 section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli25 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)), such as apVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Apr 07, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S893.IS S893

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1 propriate, cost-effective policies regarding rate struc2 tures, grid improvements, behavior change, combined 

3 heat and power and waste heat-to-power incentives, 

4 financing of energy efficiency programs, data use in5 centives, district heating, and regular energy audits; 

6 and 

7 (5) leadership by example, in which State ac8 tivities involving both facilities and vehicle fleets can 

9 be a model for other action to promote energy effi10 ciency and can be expanded with Federal grants pro11 vided under this Act. 

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

13 STATES. 

14 (a) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after the 

15 receipt of grants under section 4, each State (in consulta16 tion with other parties described in subsection (b)(3)(F)) 

17 that received grants under section 4 may submit to the 

18 Secretary a report that describes— 

19 (1) the performance of the programs and activi20 ties carried out with the grants; and 

21 (2) in consultation with other parties described 

22 in subsection (b)(3)(F), the manner in which addi23 tional funds would be used to carry out programs 

24 and activities to promote the purposes of this Act. 

25 (b) GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the receipt of the reports required 

3 under subsection (a), subject to section 7, the Sec4 retary shall use amounts made available under sec5 tion 8(b)(2) to provide grants to not more than 6 

6 States to carry out the programs and activities de7 scribed in subsection (a)(2). 

8 (2) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant provided 

9 to a State under this section shall be not more than 

10 $15,000,000. 

11 (3) BASIS.—The Secretary shall base the deci12 sion of the Secretary to provide grants under this 

13 section on— 

14 (A) the performance of the State in the 

15 programs and activities carried out with grants 

16 provided under section 4; 

17 (B) the potential of the programs and ac18 tivities described in subsection (a)(2) to achieve 

19 the purposes of this Act; 

20 (C) the desirability of maintaining a total 

21 project portfolio that is geographically and 

22 functionally diverse; 

23 (D) the amount of non-Federal funds that 

24 are leveraged as a result of the grants to ensure 

25 that Federal dollars are leveraged effectively; 


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1 (E) plans for continuation of the improve2 ments after the receipt of grants under this 

3 Act; and 

4 (F) demonstrated effort by the State to in5 volve diverse groups, including— 

6 (i) investor-owned, cooperative, and 

7 public power utilities; 

8 (ii) local governments; and 

9 (iii) nonprofit organizations. 

10 SEC. 6. ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall invite 

13 Indian tribes to submit plans to participate in an electric 

14 and thermal energy productivity challenge in accordance 

15 with this section. 

16 (b) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—To receive a grant 

17 under this section, not later than 90 days after the date 

18 of issuance of the invitation under subsection (a), an In19 dian tribe shall submit to the Secretary a plan to increase 

20 electric and thermal energy productivity by the Indian 

21 tribe. 

22 (c) DECISION BY SECRETARY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

24 the submission of plans under subsection (b), the 


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1 Secretary shall make a final decision on the alloca2 tion of grants under this section. 

3 (2) BASIS.—The Secretary shall base the deci4 sion of the Secretary under paragraph (1) on— 

5 (A) plans for improvement in electric and 

6 thermal energy productivity consistent with this 

7 Act; 

8 (B) plans for continuation of the improve9 ments after the receipt of grants under this 

10 Act; and 

11 (C) other factors determined appropriate 

12 by the Secretary, including— 

13 (i) geographic diversity; and 

14 (ii) size differences among Indian 

15 tribes. 

16 (3) LIMITATION.—An individual Indian tribe 

17 shall not receive more than 20 percent of the total 

18 amount available to carry out this section. 

19 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

20 (a) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—To evaluate pro21 gram performance and effectiveness under this Act, the 

22 Secretary shall consult with the National Research Coun23 cil regarding requirements for data and evaluation for re24 cipients of grants under this Act. 


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1 (b) COORDINATION WITH STATE ENERGY CON2 SERVATION PROGRAMS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants to States under this 

4 Act shall be provided through additional funding to 

5 carry out State energy conservation programs under 

6 part D of title III of the Energy Policy and Con7 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

8 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE ENERGY CON9 SERVATION PROGRAMS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grant provided to a 

11 State under this Act shall be used to supple12 ment (and not supplant) funds provided to the 

13 State under part D of title III of the Energy 

14 Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 

15 et seq.). 

16 (B) MINIMUM FUNDING.—A grant shall 

17 not be provided to a State for a fiscal year 

18 under this Act if the amount of funding pro19 vided to all State grantees under the base for20 mula for the fiscal year under part D of title 

21 III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) is less than 

23 $50,000,000. 


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1 (c) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The participation 

2 of a State in a challenge established under this Act shall 

3 be voluntary. 

4 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for the period 

7 of fiscal years 2016 and 2017. 

8 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the total amount of funds 

9 made available under subsection (a)— 

10 (1) 30 percent shall be used to provide an ini11 tial allocation of grants to States under section 4; 

12 (2) 61 percent shall be used to provide a subse13 quent allocation of grants to States under section 5; 

14 (3) 4 percent shall be used to make grants to 

15 Indian tribes under section 6; and 

16 (4) 5 percent shall be available to the Secretary 

17 for the cost of administration and technical support 

18 to carry out this Act. 

19 SEC. 9. OFFSET. 

20 Section 422(f) of the Energy Independence and Secu21 rity Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17082(f)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

23 the semicolon at the end; and 

24 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

2 through 2015; 

3 ‘‘(5) $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

4 and 2017; and 

5 ‘‘(6) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.’’. 

Æ 


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