An Act To Provide Lower Energy Costs to Maine Businesses and Residences by Carrying Out the Legislature's Intent Regarding Funding of the Efficiency Maine Trust
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1215
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: GIDEON, KATZ, DUNPHY, DIAMOND
Amends: 35-A MRSA §10110

Legislative Document 
No. 1215 
H.P. 833 
House of Representatives, April 2, 2015 
An Act To Provide Lower Energy Costs to Maine Businesses and 
Residences by Carrying Out the Legislature's Intent Regarding 
Funding of the Efficiency Maine Trust 
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GIDEON of Freeport. 
Cosponsored by Senator KATZ of Kennebec and 
Representative: DUNPHY of Embden, Senator: DIAMOND of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §10110, sub-§4-A, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 369, Pt. A, 
§20 and affected by §30, is amended to read: 
4-A.  Procurement of cost-effective energy efficiency resources.  The commission 
shall ensure that transmission and distribution utilities on behalf of their ratepayers 
procure all electric energy efficiency resources found by the commission to be cost-
effective, reliable and achievable pursuant to section 10104, subsection 4, except that the 
commission may not require the inclusion in rates under this subsection of a total amount 
that exceeds 4% of total retail electricity and transmission and distribution sales in the 
State as determined by the commission by rule.  The cost of procurement of cost-effective 
electric energy efficiency resources is a just and reasonable element of rates.  The 
commission may issue any appropriate orders to transmission and distribution utilities 
necessary to achieve the goals of this subsection.  When determining the amount of cost-
effective electric energy efficiency resources to be procured under this subsection, the 
commission shall: 
A.  Consider electric energy efficiency resources that are reasonably foreseeable to be 
acquired by the trust using all other sources of revenue, including, but not limited to, 
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund under section 10109; 
B.  Ensure that calculations of avoided energy costs and the budget identified by the 
trust in its triennial plan as needed to capture all cost-effective electric energy 
efficiency resources are reasonable, based on sound evidence and make use of best 
practices across the region; and 
C.  Maximize total electricity savings for all ratepayers. 
The commission shall consider gross efficiency savings for the purpose of determining 
savings that are cost-effective, reliable and achievable and shall consider both net and 
gross efficiency savings for the purpose of determining the appropriateness of the amount 
identified by the trust in its triennial plan as needed to capture all cost-effective electric 
energy efficiency resources. 
Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules under Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill corrects an error that was created when the word "and" was inadvertently 
omitted during the production of a bill reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology, "An Act To Reduce Energy Costs, Increase Energy 
Efficiency, Promote Electric System Reliability and Protect the Environment," which was 
enacted into law as Public Law 2013, chapter 369.