I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5514 
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish a program 
to provide loans to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 19, 2019 
Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire (for herself, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CASTEN of Illi-
nois, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 
MORELLE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Ms. HAALAND) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to estab-
lish a program to provide loans to implement cost-effec-
tive energy efficiency measures, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Energy 
Savings Program Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMMUNITY ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Policy and Conserva-
tion Act is amended by inserting after section 362 (42 
U.S.C. 6322) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 362A. COMMUNITY ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 
help households and small businesses achieve cost savings 
by providing loans to implement cost-effective energy effi-
ciency measures. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL IN-
STITUTION.—The term ‘community development fi-
nancial institution’ means a financial institution cer-
tified by the Community Development Financial In-
stitutions Fund administered by the Secretary of the 
Treasury. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a public power group; 
‘‘(B) a community development financial 
institution; and 
‘‘(C) an eligible unit of local government. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
UNIT
OF
LOCAL
GOVERN-
MENT.—The term ‘eligible unit of local government’ 
means any agency or political subdivision of a State. 
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‘‘(4) ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
MEASURES.—The 
term ‘energy efficiency measures’ means, with re-
spect to a property served by or in the service area 
or jurisdiction, as applicable, of an eligible entity, 
structural improvements and investments in cost-ef-
fective commercial technologies to increase energy 
efficiency (including cost-effective on- or off-grid re-
newable energy, energy storage, or demand response 
systems). 
‘‘(5) HOUSEHOLD WITH A HIGH ENERGY BUR-
DEN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘household 
with a high energy burden’ means a low-income 
household the residential energy burden of 
which exceeds the median energy burden for all 
low-income households in the State in which the 
low-income household is located. 
‘‘(B) CALCULATION.—The residential en-
ergy burden referred to in subparagraph (A) is 
the quotient obtained by dividing residential en-
ergy expenditures by the annual income of the 
low-income household. 
‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
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Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(7) MANUFACTURED HOME.—The term ‘man-
ufactured home’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 
section 603 of the National Manufactured 
Housing Construction and Safety Standards 
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402); and 
‘‘(B) includes a home described in sub-
paragraph (A) without regard to whether the 
home was built before, on, or after the date on 
which the construction and safety standards es-
tablished under section 604 of that Act (42 
U.S.C. 5403) became effective. 
‘‘(8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the program established under subsection (c). 
‘‘(9) PUBLIC POWER GROUP.—The term ‘public 
power group’ means— 
‘‘(A) a public utility; 
‘‘(B) an electric or energy cooperative; 
‘‘(C) a public power district; and 
‘‘(D) a group of 1 or more public utilities 
or electric or energy cooperatives (commonly re-
ferred to as a ‘joint action agency’, ‘generation 
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and transmission cooperative’, ‘municipal power 
association’, or ‘State cooperative association’). 
‘‘(10) 
QUALIFIED
CONSUMER.—The 
term 
‘qualified consumer’ means a consumer served by or 
in the service area or jurisdiction, as applicable, of 
an eligible entity that has the ability to repay a loan 
made under subsection (f), as determined by the eli-
gible entity. 
‘‘(11) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Energy. 
‘‘(12) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 
‘‘(A) a State; 
‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; 
‘‘(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 
and 
‘‘(D) any other territory or possession of 
the United States. 
‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall 
provide grants to States and Indian tribes to provide loans 
to eligible entities in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(d) GRANT FUND ALLOCATION.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Of the amount appro-
priated under subsection (k) for each fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall allocate as grant funds— 
‘‘(A) 98 percent to be provided to States in 
accordance with paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(B) 2 percent to be provided to Indian 
tribes in accordance with paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—Of the amount 
allocated for all States under paragraph (1)(A), the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) allocate not less than 1 percent to 
each State described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (C) of subsection (b)(12); 
‘‘(B) allocate not less than 0.5 percent to 
each State described in subparagraph (D) of 
that subsection; and 
‘‘(C) of the amount remaining after the al-
locations under subparagraphs (A) and (B), al-
locate funds to States based on the population 
of each State as determined in the latest avail-
able decennial census conducted under section 
141(a) of title 13, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) ALLOCATION TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Of the 
amount allocated for Indian tribes under paragraph 
(1)(B), the Secretary shall allocate funds to each In-
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dian tribe participating in the program during that 
fiscal year based on a formula established by the 
Secretary that takes into account any factor that the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(4) 
PUBLICATION
OF
ALLOCATION
FOR-
MULAS.—Not later than 90 days before the begin-
ning of each fiscal year for which grants are pro-
vided to States and Indian tribes under this section, 
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register 
the formulas for allocation established under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amount 
allocated to a State or Indian tribe under this sub-
section, not more than 15 percent shall be used by 
the State or Indian tribe for the administrative costs 
of administering loans. 
‘‘(e) LOANS BY STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES TO ELI-
GIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Under the program, a 
State or Indian tribe shall make loans to eligible en-
tities to make loans to qualified consumers— 
‘‘(A) to implement cost-effective energy ef-
ficiency measures; and 
‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (f). 
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‘‘(2) STATE ENERGY OFFICES.—A State shall 
carry out paragraph (1) through the State energy 
office that is responsible for developing a State en-
ergy conservation plan under section 362. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making loans under para-
graph (1), a State or Indian tribe shall give priority 
to public power groups. 
‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), as a condition of receiving a loan 
under this subsection, an eligible entity shall— 
‘‘(i) establish a list of energy effi-
ciency measures that are expected to de-
crease the energy use or costs of qualified 
consumers; 
‘‘(ii) prepare an implementation plan 
for use of the loan funds, including the use 
of any interest to be received under sub-
section (f)(4); 
‘‘(iii) establish an appropriate meas-
urement and verification system to en-
sure— 
‘‘(I) the effectiveness of the en-
ergy efficiency loans made by the eli-
gible entity; and 
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‘‘(II) that there is no conflict of 
interest in any loan provided by the 
eligible entity; 
‘‘(iv) demonstrate expertise in the ef-
fective implementation of energy efficiency 
measures; 
‘‘(v) ensure that a portion of the loan 
funds, which may be determined by the 
State or Indian tribe, are used to provide 
loans to qualified consumers that are 
households with a high energy burden; and 
‘‘(vi) give priority to providing loans 
to qualified consumers that own homes or 
other real property that pose health risks 
to the occupants of the property that may 
be mitigated by energy efficiency measures, 
as determined by the State or Indian tribe. 
‘‘(B) REVISION OF LIST OF ENERGY EFFI-
CIENCY MEASURES.—Subject to the approval of 
the State or Indian tribe, as applicable, an eligi-
ble entity may update the list required under 
subparagraph (A)(i) to account for newly avail-
able efficiency technologies. 
‘‘(C) EXISTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRO-
GRAMS.—An eligible entity that has established 
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an energy efficiency program for qualified con-
sumers before the date of enactment of this sec-
tion may use an existing list of energy efficiency 
measures, implementation plan, and measure-
ment and verification system for that program 
to satisfy the applicable requirements under 
subparagraph (A), if the State or Indian tribe, 
as applicable, determines that the list, plan, or 
system, as applicable, is consistent with the 
purposes of this section. 
‘‘(5) NO INTEREST.—A loan under this sub-
section shall bear no interest. 
‘‘(6) TERM.—The term of a loan provided to an 
eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 
20 years after the date on which the loan is issued. 
‘‘(7) ADVANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In providing a loan to 
an eligible entity under paragraph (1), a State 
or Indian tribe may provide an advance of loan 
funds on request of the eligible entity. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT LIMITATION.—Any advance 
provided to an eligible entity under subpara-
graph (A) in any single year shall not exceed 50 
percent of the approved loan amount. 
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‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—The repayment of an 
advance under subparagraph (A) shall be amor-
tized for a period of not more than 10 years. 
‘‘(8) SPECIAL ADVANCE FOR START-UP ACTIVI-
TIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In providing a loan to 
an eligible entity under paragraph (1), a State 
or Indian tribe may provide a special advance 
on request of the eligible entity for assistance in 
defraying the start-up costs of the eligible enti-
ty, as determined by the State or Indian tribe, 
as applicable, of providing loans to qualified 
consumers under subsection (f). 
‘‘(B) 
LIMITATION.—A 
special 
advance 
shall be provided to an eligible entity under 
subparagraph (A) only during the 10-year pe-
riod beginning on the date on which the loan is 
issued to that eligible entity. 
‘‘(C) AMOUNT.—The amount of a special 
advance provided under subparagraph (A) shall 
not be greater than 5 percent of the approved 
loan amount. 
‘‘(D) REPAYMENT.—Repayment of a spe-
cial advance provided under subparagraph 
(A)— 
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‘‘(i) shall be required during the 10- 
year period beginning on the date on which 
the special advance is made; and 
‘‘(ii) may be deferred to the end of the 
10-year period described in clause (i) at 
the election of the eligible entity. 
‘‘(9) REVOLVING LOAN FUND.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of par-
ticipating in the program, a State or Indian 
tribe shall use the funds repaid to the State or 
Indian tribe under loans offered under this sub-
section to issue new loans under this subsection. 
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 
than 10 percent of the repaid funds described 
in subparagraph (A) may be used for the ad-
ministrative cost of issuing new loans from 
those repaid funds under this subsection. 
‘‘(f) LOANS BY ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO QUALIFIED 
CONSUMERS.— 
‘‘(1) USE OF LOAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A loan made by an el-
igible entity to a qualified consumer using loan 
funds provided by a State or Indian tribe under 
subsection (e)— 
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‘‘(i) shall be used to finance energy ef-
ficiency measures for the purpose of de-
creasing the energy use or costs of the 
qualified consumer by an amount that en-
sures, to the maximum extent practicable, 
that the applicable loan term described in 
subparagraph (B) shall not be an undue fi-
nancial burden on the qualified consumer, 
as determined by the eligible entity; 
‘‘(ii) shall not be used to fund pur-
chases of, or modifications to, personal 
property unless the personal property is or 
becomes attached to real property as a fix-
ture; 
‘‘(iii) may be used to upgrade a man-
ufactured home, regardless of the classi-
fication of the home as real or personal 
property; and 
‘‘(iv) may be used to finance the re-
placement of a manufactured home— 
‘‘(I) if the cost of upgrading the 
manufactured home is excessive, as 
determined by the eligible entity; and 
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‘‘(II) with priority given to a 
manufactured home that was con-
structed before June 15, 1976. 
‘‘(B) LOAN TERM DESCRIBED.—The loan 
term referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) is— 
‘‘(i) in the case of a manufactured 
home replacement, not more than 20 
years; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of any other energy 
efficiency measure, not more than 15 
years. 
‘‘(2) REPAYMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), a loan described in paragraph (1)(A) 
shall be repaid by the qualified consumer 
through charges added to an existing or new 
electric or recurring service bill for the property 
of the qualified consumer for, or at which, en-
ergy efficiency measures are being implemented. 
‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE REPAYMENT.—Repay-
ment under subparagraph (A) shall not pre-
clude— 
‘‘(i) the voluntary prepayment of the 
loan by the qualified consumer; or 
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‘‘(ii) the use of any additional repay-
ment mechanism, including a tariffed on- 
bill mechanism, that— 
‘‘(I) has appropriate risk mitiga-
tion features, as determined by the el-
igible entity; or 
‘‘(II) is required due to the quali-
fied consumer no longer being a cus-
tomer of the eligible entity. 
‘‘(3) ENERGY ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the installa-
tion of energy efficiency measures at the prop-
erty of a qualified consumer that receives a loan 
from an eligible entity under this section, and 
to assist in the selection of the energy efficiency 
measures to be installed, the eligible entity shall 
conduct an energy assessment or audit to deter-
mine the impact of proposed energy efficiency 
measures on— 
‘‘(i) the energy costs and consumption 
of the qualified consumer; and 
‘‘(ii) the health and safety of the occu-
pants of the property on which the energy 
efficiency measures are to be installed. 
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‘‘(A) to assist the eligible entity in admin-
istering the loans described in paragraph 
(1)(A); and 
‘‘(B) to carry out any of the requirements 
of the eligible entity described in subsection 
(e)(4)(A). 
‘‘(g) DIRECT LOANS FROM STATES
AND INDIAN 
TRIBES.—A State or Indian tribe may act as an eligible 
entity under subsection (f) to provide loans directly to 
qualified consumers— 
‘‘(1) in accordance with that subsection; and 
‘‘(2) if the State or Indian tribe satisfies the re-
quirements under subsection (e)(4), as determined 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(h) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) PLAN.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
establish and begin carrying out a plan— 
‘‘(A) to measure and verify the success of 
the program in implementing energy efficiency 
measures; 
‘‘(B) to provide training to the employees 
of eligible entities relating to carrying out the 
requirements of eligible entities under this sec-
tion; and 
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‘‘(C) to provide technical assistance to 
States, Indian tribes, and eligible entities relat-
ing to carrying out the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall establish and begin carrying out a 
plan to make eligible entities and the general public 
aware of the program, including by developing a 
marketing program to raise awareness of the pro-
gram. 
‘‘(3) OUTSIDE CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 
qualified entities, as determined by the Sec-
retary, to carry out paragraphs (1) and (2). 
‘‘(B) USE OF SUBCONTRACTORS AUTHOR-
IZED.—A qualified entity that enters into a 
contract with the Secretary under subparagraph 
(A) may use 1 or more subcontractors to assist 
the qualified entity in carrying out the contract. 
‘‘(4) ACCOUNTING.—The Secretary, and each 
State and Indian tribe participating in the program, 
shall take appropriate steps to streamline the ac-
counting requirements for eligible entities under the 
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program while maintaining adequate assurances of 
the repayment of the loans made to those eligible en-
tities under the program. 
‘‘(i) EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall impede, impair, or modify the authority of the 
Secretary to offer loans or grants under any other law. 
‘‘(j) REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 months 
after the date on which the program is established, 
and 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for 
each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall sub-
mit to the appropriate committees of Congress and 
make publicly available a report that describes, with 
respect to the program— 
‘‘(A) the number of applications received 
by each State and Indian tribe from eligible en-
tities for that fiscal year; 
‘‘(B) the number of loans made by each 
State and Indian tribe for that fiscal year— 
‘‘(i) to eligible entities; and 
‘‘(ii) directly to qualified consumers; 
‘‘(C) the eligible entities that are the re-
cipients of the loans described in subparagraph 
(B)(i); and 
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‘‘(D) the manner in which the program 
was advertised to eligible entities and the gen-
eral public. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con-
sult with and obtain information from States and 
Indian tribes in preparing the report submitted 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this sec-
tion $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
through 2026. 
‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The fund-
ing provided to a State or Indian tribe under sub-
section (d) for each fiscal year shall be used to sup-
plement, not supplant, any Federal, State, or other 
funds otherwise made available to that State or In-
dian tribe under— 
‘‘(A) a State energy conservation plan es-
tablished under part D of title III of the En-
ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
6321 et seq.); or 
‘‘(B) the Weatherization Assistance Pro-
gram for Low-Income Persons established 
under part A of title IV of the Energy Con-
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servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 
et seq.).’’. 
(b) STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION PLANS.—Section 
362(d)(5) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
U.S.C. 6322(d)(5)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 
after the semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) which may include the community en-
ergy savings program under section 362A;’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (Public Law 
94–163; 89 Stat. 872) is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 362 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 362A. Community energy savings program.’’. 
Æ 
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