2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 28 - Puerto Rico Energy Transformation and RELIEF Act (§§ 1051 — 1056) › Subchapter III - Government Energy Efficiency (§§ 1053 — 1053b) › § 1053 - Energy savings in the instrumentalities of the Executive Branch and the offices of the Judicial Branch

(a) In complying with the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, all agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations of the Executive Branch and all the offices of the Judicial Branch shall take measures and initiatives directed to reducing or eliminating those activities, practices, or uses in their facilities, buildings, and offices that result in the waste or inefficient use of energy resources.
(b) It shall be the duty and responsibility of all agencies, public corporations, and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch and of the offices of the Judicial Branch to implement strategies directed to reduce the consumption of electric power in the instrumentalities and facilities under their jurisdiction. For such purposes, the agencies, public corporations, and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch and the offices of the Judicial Branch shall execute and implement those measures and initiatives that reduce the total annual electric power consumption to a minimum average saving of forty percent (40%) during the next eight (8) years after the approval of this act.
(c) Agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations, as well as the offices of the Judicial Branch, in coordination with the Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office, the academia, professional associations with expertise in the energy field, and the universities shall be entrusted with the planning and implementation of initiatives related to the use of energy in public or leased buildings, as well as with the establishment of a program to maximize the efficient use of energy in all buildings, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, one or several of the following measures:
(1) The replacement or modification of the lighting and electrical components, devices or systems, including natural lighting systems;
(2) the installation of renewable energy equipment or solar thermal energy systems;
(3) the use of automated or computerized energy control systems;
(4) improvements in indoor air quality and temperature control adjusted to the requirements of the applicable building code;
(5) changes in operations and maintenance practices;
(6) replacement or modification of windows or doors, and
(7) other initiatives that enable the efficient use and a reduction in energy consumption in the building.
(d) The agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations of the Executive Branch as well as the offices of the Judicial Branch shall submit to CEPPO, within one hundred eighty (180) days after the approval of the norms and guidelines that CEPPO establishes for such purposes, an action plan stating in detail its annual energy consumption reduction goals, in percentage, using the baseline energy consumption corresponding to fiscal year 2012-13, based on kilowatt-hours consumed. CEPPO shall oversee the energy consumption reduction goals of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; advise the agencies, public corporations, and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch and the offices of the Judicial Branch in drafting and reviewing of plans in order to comply with the operating standards adopted in this chapter, and oversee the use of energy and costs by agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations and offices. Each quarter, PREPA shall produce and submit to CEPPO information regarding the electric power consumption of every agency, instrumentality, and public corporation of the Executive Branch and office of the Judicial Branch.
(e) Energy Savings Performance Contracts.— In order to comply with the purposes of this chapter, the Judicial Branch and every agency, instrumentality, or public corporation of the Executive Branch shall, as a strategy, enter into Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs), with a qualified energy service provider, as the first alternative to achieve savings in energy, operating, and maintenance costs, as established in §§ 8961 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Energy Savings Performance Contracts Act”. If, after a cost-effective analysis regarding the composition and features of the buildings that house public entities facilities, the entity determines that it is extremely onerous to comply with this provision, it may request an exemption to such effect to the Commission. If an agency deems that it is onerous, or that the implementation of a strategy involving an energy savings performance contract is not cost-effective, it shall notify said fact to CEPPO and shall notify the measures it shall adopt to assure compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Any energy savings measure implemented under an energy savings performance contract shall comply with the local building codes and the corresponding CEPPO regulations. CEPPO shall be in charge of approving the regulations needed for the adoption of these types of agreements, in coordination with the pertinent agencies.
(f) CEPPO, in coordination with the Public Buildings Authority, the General Services Administration, PREPA, and any other pertinent agency or public corporation, shall oversee compliance with energy use efficiency standards for buildings owned by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as established in this chapter and in §§ 1021—1026 of this title, known as the “Act to Promote the Efficient Use of Energy and Water Resources in New and Existing Buildings of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
(g) Compliance oversight.—
(1) It shall be a ministerial duty of every agency, instrumentality, and public corporation of the Executive Branch and the Director of the Office of Courts Administration (hereinafter, OCA) to file with CEPPO every ninety (90) days a report of the results of the implementation of their energy efficiency plans established by law. Provided, that the report to be filed by OCA shall include the results of the energy efficiency plans adopted in each office of the Judicial Branch. CEPPO shall file with the Commission twice (2) a year a report including the consumption history of all the agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations of the Executive Branch, and the offices of the Judicial Branch, as provided by PREPA (invoices or similar official document), and the data of the measures taken to achieve energy reduction and the savings achieved. Said report shall also identify the agencies, instrumentalities, and public corporations of the Executive Branch, and the offices of the Judicial Branch that fail to comply with their energy efficiency plan and the savings measures established in this chapter, state the reasons provided by such agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations or offices for noncompliance with this chapter, and specify the corrective measures taken by the agency, instrumentality, public corporation, or office to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter. Both the quarterly report to be filed by agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations, and OCA with CEPPO, as well as the semiannual report submitted by CEPPO to the Commission shall be published on CEPPO’s website.
(2) Every public entity, in coordination with CEPPO, shall be responsible for establishing the energy efficiency programs deemed pertinent to keep a database of information regarding compliance with this section.
(h) Transparency and disclosure of energy savings.— CEPPO shall issue the semiannual scorecards or evaluations of the energy efficiency activities carried out by each agency, which shall be published on its website. These scorecards shall be based on the savings percentage gathered from the information submitted by public entities, pursuant to the criteria established through regulations by CEPPO. Such scorecards shall be a measuring tool to promote greater transparency in the use of energy resources in public entities.
(i) Noncompliance with the energy savings plan.— Every agency, instrumentality, or public corporation of the Executive Branch that fails to comply with its annual energy consumption reduction goals, as established in the action plan required by virtue of subsection (c) of this section, shall have, as penalty, a budgetary cut on the following fiscal year. The budgetary cut shall be equal to the amount used, measured in kilowatt-hours, in excess of the goal established in the plan submitted to CEPPO for that particular year, multiplied by the electricity rate charged by PREPA as of July of the previous year.
CEPPO shall be the entity responsible for overseeing compliance with the government energy efficiency standards and, as such, shall have legal standing to bring any action before the Commission or the Courts, as the case may be, to attain the purposes established herein.
(1) The Commission shall have primary and exclusive jurisdiction to address cases and disputes arising as a result of noncompliance by any agency, instrumentality, or public corporation of the Executive Branch with the duties and obligations established in this section.
(2) Cases and disputes involving a noncompliance of OCA’s Director, or a noncompliance of any office of the Judicial Branch with the duties and obligations established in this section shall be brought before the General Court of Justice.
History —May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 4.1.