Source: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_125th/billtexts/SP064901.asp
Timestamp: 2018-06-20 05:17:51
Document Index: 44485100

Matched Legal Cases: ['§10104', '§12', '§10108', '§3', '§10110', '§2', '§10119', '§ 10119', '§10121', '§2', '§10123', '§ 10123']

SP0649, LD 1864, item 1, An Act To Improve Efficiency Maine Trust Programs To Reduce Heating Costs and Provide Energy Efficient Heating Options for Maine's Consumers
LD 1864 Second Regular Session - 125th Maine Legislature
LR 2796
B. The board shall elect Governor appoints a chair , . The board shall elect a vice-chair, a secretary and a treasurer from among the members. Each officer elected by the board serves for a one-year term and is eligible for reelection.
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §10104, sub-§12 is enacted to read:
12. Budget. The budget for the trust must be submitted as part of the budget for State Government in accordance with Title 5, sections 1663 to 1666. The trust shall present its budget recommendations contained in any budget legislation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy matters. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy matters shall review the trust’s recommendations and make recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs. Within 30 days after enactment of the budget, the trust shall amend the triennial plan if needed to conform to the approved budget.
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §10108, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 372, Pt. B, §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §10110, sub-§2, ¶K is enacted to read:
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §10119-A is enacted to read:
§ 10119-A. Efficient electric heating program
1. Legislative finding. The Legislature finds that the installation of efficient electric heating systems in buildings for the purpose of supplementing or replacing less efficient heating systems helps the State reduce its overall energy use and stabilize electric rates.
A. "Building" means a stand-alone structure or individual dwelling unit within a structure that is located within the State.
B. "Lender" means any entity that provides loans to qualifying customers under the program. "Lender" includes the trust and transmission and distribution utilities.
C. "Program" means the efficient electric heating program established by the trust under this section.
D. "Qualifying customer" means the owner or operator of a building that meets the terms established by the trust for participation in the program.
E. "Qualifying heating system" means an efficient electric space heating or water heating system that meets the standards established by the trust, including but not limited to heat pumps or similar technologies. "Qualifying heating system" includes associated weatherization.
3. Program. The trust shall develop and administer an efficient electric heating program to help qualifying customers supplement or replace less efficient heating systems within their buildings. The program must include loans for qualifying customers to finance the installation of qualifying heating systems for buildings that will result in a reduction in the use or more efficient use of energy within the building. The trust may allow the participation of any lender meeting the terms of the program, including the trust itself, and shall allow transmission and distribution utilities to provide loans as provided in subsection 8. As necessary, the trust shall assist in educating the public regarding the program.
The trust shall develop and administer the program using funds derived from assessments on transmission and distribution utilities under section 10110, subsections 4 and 5 to support cost-effective efficient electric heating pilot projects in cooperation with transmission and distribution utilities.
4. Low-income customers. To the extent funding is available under the program, a portion of the program must include loans or other assistance to low-income residential customers who are receiving public financial assistance to heat their dwellings.
5. Loan terms. Loans from each lender under the program must be established at a fixed rate for a period up to 15 years and must provide that the loans may be prepaid by a participating customer without prepayment penalty. Short-term loans must also be made available involving 6 months of interest-only payments.
6. Installation of heating systems. The trust shall ensure that qualifying heating systems installed under the program are installed by qualified installers and that any installer meeting the program qualifications may participate in the program.
7. On-bill financing. To facilitate the repayment of loans under the program, periodic financing payments to the lender may be included on the electric bill that is issued by the qualifying customer's transmission and distribution utility. Any administrative or other costs to the utility associated with on-bill financing, including any collection, delinquency or bad debt expenses, must be recovered and retained by the utility as part of the financing payments made by a customer participating in the program.
8. Transmission and distribution utilities. A transmission and distribution utility may provide loans through the program to qualifying customers for installation of qualifying heating systems for buildings receiving transmission and distribution service within the utility's service territory. The financing charges for such loans must be established by the utility, and the utility may earn a return on such loans based on the utility's weighted average cost of capital as established by the commission for the utility's distribution service. Any difference between the utility's weighted average cost of capital and any financing payments received from customers related to loans issued by the utility under this section must be funded by amounts collected by the trust from the utility pursuant to section 10110.
9. Rate-making treatment. The costs and earnings of a transmission and distribution utility attributable to participating in the program must be accounted for as direct costs and earnings of the utility for rate-making purposes, and such activities must be considered part of the regulated activities of the utility pursuant to section 713.
10. Rulemaking. The commission and the trust shall adopt any rules necessary to administer this section. Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 7. 35-A MRSA §10121, as amended by PL 2011, c. 314, §§2 to 4, is further amended to read:
C. Provide for a distribution of the funds , which on an annual basis may not exceed the average of the annual funding distributed in fiscal year 2007-08 to fiscal year 2009-10, through a competitive bid process to the University of Maine System, the Maine Maritime Academy or the Maine Community College System for energy efficiency and renewable resource research and development;
E. Provide for an annual distribution of 35% 25% of the funds to the Maine Technology Institute to support the development and commercialization of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies; and
F. Provide rebates for cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies as determined by the trust . ; and
G. Provide all funds not expended under paragraphs A to F to energy efficiency projects on a competitive, cost-effective, fuel-neutral basis.
The trust may allocate funds pursuant to subsection 1, paragraphs C, D and , F and G from the fund to most effectively meet the objectives of the triennial plan pursuant to section 10104, subsection 4.
Sec. 8. 35-A MRSA §10123 is enacted to read:
§ 10123. Home heating equipment rebate program
1. Home heating equipment rebate program. The trust shall administer a home heating equipment rebate program. To the extent that funds are available through the trust's funding resources, an owner or tenant of residential property located in the State is entitled to a rebate for installation of qualified, efficient home heating equipment as defined by the trust. The rebate must be available for both space heating and water heating systems, including but not limited to efficient oil and gas boilers, electric heating systems and biomass, solar and geothermal systems. The rebate must be available for replacement and supplemental heating equipment. Equipment must be installed by a qualified installer. The rebate for qualified home heating equipment must be 5% of the purchase price, not to exceed $500. In the case of a newly constructed residence, the rebate must be available to the original owner or occupant.
2. Energy audit requirement. To qualify for a rebate under this section, an owner or tenant of residential property must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the trust that an energy audit has been completed.
3. Limitation to residents of State. Participation in the program established in this section is limited to residents of the State.
4. Funding. The trust shall identify up to $1,000,000 from existing resources to fund the rebate program established in this section. Additional funding may be derived from existing funding sources available to the trust, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resource Fund, electricity and natural gas system benefit charges, forward capacity market revenues and other sources proportional to the applicable technology employed.
This bill amends the Efficiency Maine Trust Act to change the governance and budget structures; to place an equal emphasis on programs regarding alternative heating energy sources and energy efficiency; to establish cost-effective heating rebates and loan programs; and to expand a voluntary renewable resource fund to include energy efficiency.