670 
‘‘(4) maintain public records of grants made, 
recipients, and qualifying smart grid investments 
which have received grants; 
‘‘(5) establish procedures to provide advance 
payment of moneys up to the full amount of the 
grant award; and 
‘‘(6) have and exercise the discretion to deny 
grants for investments that do not qualify in the 
reasonable judgment of the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 7003. RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ELECTRIC POWER 
TRANSMISSION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Title XVII of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing the following at the end: 
‘‘SEC. 1705. TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR RAPID DEPLOY-
MENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ELEC-
TRIC POWER TRANSMISSION PROJECTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 1703, 
the Secretary may make guarantees under this section 
only for commercial technology projects under subsection 
(b) that will commence construction not later than Sep-
tember 30, 2011. 
‘‘(b) CATEGORIES.—Projects from only the following 
categories shall be eligible for support under this section:
671 
‘‘(1) Renewable energy systems, including incre-
mental hydropower, that generate electricity. 
‘‘(2) Electric power transmission systems, in-
cluding upgrading and reconductoring projects. 
‘‘(3) Leading edge biofuel projects that will use 
technologies performing at the pilot or demonstra-
tion scale that the Secretary determines are likely to 
become commercial technologies and will produce 
transportation fuels that substantially reduce life- 
cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to other 
transportation fuels. 
‘‘(c) FACTORS RELATING
TO ELECTRIC POWER 
TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS.—In determining to make guar-
antees to projects described in subsection (b)(2), the Sec-
retary shall consider the following factors: 
‘‘(1) The viability of the project without guar-
antees. 
‘‘(2) The availability of other Federal and State 
incentives. 
‘‘(3) The importance of the project in meeting 
reliability needs. 
‘‘(4) The effect of the project in meeting a 
State or region’s environment (including climate 
change) and energy goals.
672 
‘‘(d) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall require that each recipient of support under this sec-
tion provide reasonable assurance that all laborers and 
mechanics employed in the performance of the project for 
which the assistance is provided, including those employed 
by contractors or subcontractors, will be paid wages at 
rates not less than those prevailing on similar work in the 
locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accord-
ance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle 
II of title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to 
as the ‘Davis-Bacon Act’). 
‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Funding under this section for 
projects described in subsection (b)(3) shall not exceed 
$500,000,000. 
‘‘(f) SUNSET.—The authority to enter into guaran-
tees under this section shall expire on September 30, 
2011.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 
of contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1704 the 
following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 1705. Temporary program for rapid deployment of renewable energy and 
electric power transmission projects.’’.
673 
SEC. 
7004. 
WEATHERIZATION 
ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM 
AMENDMENTS. 
(a) INCOME LEVEL.—Section 412(7) of the Energy 
Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6862(7)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘150 percent’’ both places it appears 
and inserting ‘‘200 percent’’. 
(b) ASSISTANCE LEVEL PER DWELLING UNIT.— 
Section 415(c)(1) of the Energy Conservation and Produc-
tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6865(c)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘$2,500’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE USE OF FUNDS.—In providing funds 
made available by this Act for the Weatherization Assist-
ance Program, the Secretary may encourage States to give 
priority to using such funds for the most cost-effective ef-
ficiency activities, which may include insulation of attics, 
if, in the Secretary’s view, such use of funds would in-
crease the effectiveness of the program. 
SEC. 
7005. 
RENEWABLE 
ELECTRICITY 
TRANSMISSION 
STUDY. 
In completing the 2009 National Electric Trans-
mission Congestion Study, the Secretary of Energy shall 
include— 
(1) an analysis of the significant potential 
sources of renewable energy that are constrained in 
accessing appropriate market areas by lack of ade-
quate transmission capacity;
674 
(2) an analysis of the reasons for failure to de-
velop the adequate transmission capacity; 
(3) recommendations for achieving adequate 
transmission capacity; 
(4) an analysis of the extent to which legal 
challenges filed at the State and Federal level are 
delaying the construction of transmission necessary 
to access renewable energy; and 
(5) an explanation of assumptions and projec-
tions made in the Study, including— 
(A) assumptions and projections relating 
to energy efficiency improvements in each load 
center; 
(B) assumptions and projections regarding 
the location and type of projected new genera-
tion capacity; and 
(C) assumptions and projections regarding 
projected deployment of distributed generation 
infrastructure. 
SEC. 7006. ADDITIONAL STATE ENERGY GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated in para-
graph (6) under the heading ‘‘Department of Energy— 
Energy Programs—Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-
ergy’’ in title V of division A of this Act shall be available 
to the Secretary of Energy for making additional grants
675 
under part D of title III of the Energy Policy and Con-
servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). The Secretary 
shall make grants under this section in excess of the base 
allocation established for a State under regulations issued 
pursuant to the authorization provided in section 365(f) 
of such Act only if the governor of the recipient State noti-
fies the Secretary of Energy that the governor will seek, 
to the extent of his or her authority, to ensure that each 
of the following will occur: 
(1) The applicable State regulatory authority 
will implement the following regulatory policies for 
each electric and gas utility with respect to which 
the State regulatory authority has ratemaking au-
thority: 
(A) Policies that ensure that a utility’s re-
covery of prudent fixed costs of service is timely 
and independent of its retail sales, without in 
the process shifting prudent costs from variable 
to fixed charges. This cost shifting constraint 
shall not apply to rate designs adopted prior to 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
(B) Cost recovery for prudent investments 
by utilities in energy efficiency.
676 
(C) An earnings opportunity for utilities 
associated with cost-effective energy efficiency 
savings. 
(2) The State, or the applicable units of local 
government that have authority to adopt building 
codes, will implement the following: 
(A) A building energy code (or codes) for 
residential buildings that meets or exceeds the 
most recently published International Energy 
Conservation Code, or achieves equivalent or 
greater energy savings. 
(B) A building energy code (or codes) for 
commercial buildings throughout the State that 
meets or exceeds the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 
Standard 90.1–2007, or achieves equivalent or 
greater energy savings. 
(C) A plan for the jurisdiction achieving 
compliance with the building energy code or 
codes described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
within 8 years of the date of enactment of this 
Act in at least 90 percent of new and renovated 
residential and commercial building space. Such 
plan shall include active training and enforce-
ment programs and measurement of the rate of 
compliance each year.
677 
(3) The State will to the extent practicable 
prioritize the grants toward funding energy effi-
ciency and renewable energy programs, including— 
(A) the expansion of existing energy effi-
ciency programs approved by the State or the 
appropriate regulatory authority, including en-
ergy efficiency retrofits of buildings and indus-
trial facilities, that are funded— 
(i) by the State; or 
(ii) through rates under the oversight 
of the applicable regulatory authority, to 
the extent applicable; 
(B) the expansion of existing programs, 
approved by the State or the appropriate regu-
latory authority, to support renewable energy 
projects and deployment activities, including 
programs operated by entities which have the 
authority and capability to manage and dis-
tribute grants, loans, performance incentives, 
and other forms of financial assistance; and 
(C) cooperation and joint activities between 
States to advance more efficient and effective 
use of this funding to support the priorities de-
scribed in this paragraph.
678 
(b) STATE MATCH.—The State cost share require-
ment under the item relating to ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF 
ENERGY; energy conservation’’ in title II of the Depart-
ment of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 1985 (42 U.S.C. 6323a; 98 Stat. 1861) shall not 
apply to assistance provided under this section. 
(c) EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS FOR ENERGY EFFI-
CIENCY MEASURES.—No limitation on the percentage of 
funding that may be used for the purchase and installation 
of equipment and materials for energy efficiency measures 
under grants provided under part D of title III of the En-
ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) 
shall apply to assistance provided under this section. 
SEC. 7007. INAPPLICABILITY OF LIMITATION. 
The limitations in section 399A(f)(2), (3), and (4) 
of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
6371h–1(f)(2), (3), and (4)) shall not apply to grants 
funded with appropriations provided by this Act, except 
that such grant funds shall be available for not more than
679 
an amount equal to 80 percent of the costs of the project 
for which the grant is provided. 
Passed the House of Representatives January 28, 
2009. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1 
AN ACT 
Making supplemental appropriations for job preser-
vation and creation, infrastructure investment, 
energy efficiency and science, assistance to the 
unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabiliza-
tion, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2009, and for other purposes.