113 S1218 IS: State Energy Race to the Top Initiative Act of 2013
U.S. Senate
2013-06-25
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
State Energy Race to the Top
Initiative Act of 2013
.
2.The purpose of this Act is to assist energy
policy innovation in the States to promote the goal of doubling electric and
thermal energy productivity by January 1, 2030.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term covered entity means—
(A)a public power
utility;
(B)an electric
cooperative; and
(C)an Indian tribe
(as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)).
(2)The
term State has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202).
4.Phase 1: Initial
allocation of grants to States
(a)Not later than 30
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue an
invitation to States to submit plans to participate in an electric and thermal
energy productivity challenge in accordance with this section.
(b)
(1)Subject to section 7,
the Secretary shall use funds made available under section 8(b)(1) to provide
an initial allocation of grants to not more than 25 States.
(2)The
amount of a grant provided to a State under this section shall be not less than
$1,000,000 nor more than $3,500,000.
(c)To receive a grant
under this section, not later than 90 days after the date of issuance of the
invitation under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary an
application to receive the grant by submitting a revised State energy
conservation plan under section 362 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(42 U.S.C. 6322).
(d)
(1)Not later than 90
days after the submission of revised State energy conservation plans under
subsection (c), the Secretary shall make a final decision on the allocation of
grants under this section.
(2)The Secretary shall base the decision of
the Secretary under paragraph (1) on—
(A)plans for improvement in electric and
thermal energy productivity consistent with this Act; and
(B)other factors determined appropriate by the
Secretary, including geographic diversity.
(3)The
Secretary shall—
(A)rank revised
plans submitted under this section in order of the greatest to least likely
contribution to improving energy productivity in a State; and
(B)provide grants
under this section in accordance with the ranking and the scale and scope of a
plan.
(e)A revised State
energy conservation plan submitted under subsection (c) shall provide—
(1)a description of
the manner in which—
(A)energy savings
will be monitored and verified;
(B)a statewide
baseline of energy use and potential resources for calendar year 2010 will be
established to measure improvements;
(C)the plan will
promote achievement of energy savings and demand reduction goals;
(D)public and
private sector investments in energy efficiency will be leveraged, including
through banks, credit unions, and institutional investors; and
(E)the plan will not
cause cost-shifting among utility customer classes or negatively impact
low-income populations; and
(2)an assurance
that—
(A)the State energy
office required to submit the plan and the State public service commission are
cooperating and coordinating programs and activities under this Act;
(B)the State is
cooperating with local units of government to expand programs as appropriate;
and
(C)grants provided
under this Act will be used to supplement and not supplant Federal, State, or
ratepayer-funded programs or activities in existence on the date of enactment
of this Act.
(f)A
State may use grants provided under this section to promote—
(1)the expansion of
industrial energy efficiency, combined heat and power, and waste heat-to-power
utilization;
(2)the expansion of
policies and programs that will advance energy efficiency retrofits for public
and private commercial buildings, schools, hospitals, and residential buildings
(including multifamily buildings) through expanded energy service performance
contracts, zero net-energy buildings, or improved building energy efficiency
codes;
(3)the establishment
or expansion of incentives in the electric utility sector to enhance demand
response and energy efficiency, including consideration of additional
incentives to promote the purposes of section 111(d) of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)), such as appropriate,
cost-effective policies regarding rate structures, grid improvements, behavior
change, combined heat and power and waste heat-to-power incentives, financing
of energy efficiency programs, data use incentives, district heating, and
regular energy audits; and
(4)leadership by
example, in which State activities involving both facilities and vehicle fleets
can be a model for other action to promote energy efficiency and can be
expanded with Federal grants provided under this Act.
5.Phase 2:
Subsequent allocation of grants to States
(a)Not
later than 18 months after the receipt of grants under section 4, each State
that received grants under section 4 may submit to the Secretary a report that
describes—
(1)the performance
of the programs and activities carried out with the grants; and
(2)the manner in
which additional funds would be used to carry out programs and activities to
promote the purposes of this Act.
(b)
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of the receipt of
the reports required under subsection (a), subject to section 7, the Secretary
shall use amounts made available under section 8(b)(2) to provide grants to not
more than 6 States to carry out the programs and activities described in
subsection (a)(2).
(2)The
amount of a grant provided to a State under this section shall be not more than
$30,000,000.
(3)The
Secretary shall base the decision of the Secretary to provide grants under this
section on—
(A)the performance
of the State in the programs and activities carried out with grants provided
under section 4;
(B)the potential of
the programs and activities descried in subsection (a)(2) to achieve the
purposes of this Act;
(C)the desirability
of maintaining a total project portfolio that is geographically and
functionally diverse; and
(D)the amount of
non-Federal funds that are leveraged as a result of the grants to ensure that
Federal dollars are leveraged effectively.
6.Allocation of
grants to covered entities
(a)Not later than 30
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall invite
covered entities to submit plans to participate in an electric and thermal
energy productivity challenge in accordance with this section.
(b)To receive a grant
under this section, not later than 90 days after the date of issuance of the
invitation under subsection (a), a covered entity shall submit to the Secretary
a plan to increase electric and thermal energy productivity by the covered
entity.
(c)
(1)Not later than 90
days after the submission of plans under subsection (b), the Secretary shall
make a final decision on the allocation of grants under this section.
(2)The Secretary shall base the decision of
the Secretary under paragraph (1) on—
(A)plans for improvement in electric and
thermal energy productivity consistent with this Act;
(B)plans for continuation of the improvements
after the receipt of grants under this Act; and
(C)other factors determined appropriate by the
Secretary, including—
(i)geographic diversity;
(ii)size differences
among covered entities; and
(iii)equitable
treatment of each sector under this section.
7.
(a)To evaluate
program performance and effectiveness under this Act, the Secretary shall
consult with the National Research Council regarding requirements for data and
evaluation for recipients of grants under this Act.
(b)Coordination
with State energy conservation programs
(1)Grants to States
under this Act shall be provided through additional funding to carry out State
energy conservation programs under part D of title III of the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.).
(2)Relationship to
State energy conservation programs
(A)A grant provided to a
State under this Act shall be used to supplement (and not supplant) funds
provided to the State under part D of title III of the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.).
(B)A grant provided to a
State shall not be provided to a State for a fiscal year under this Act if the
amount of the grant provided to the State for the fiscal year under part D of
title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation
Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.) is less than $50,000,000.
(c)The participation of a State or covered entity in a
challenge established under this Act shall be voluntary.
8.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this Act $200,000,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2014 through 2017.
(b)Of the total amount of funds made available
under subsection (a)—
(1)30 percent shall
be used to provide an initial allocation of grants to States under section
4;
(2)521/2
percent shall be used to provide a subsequent allocation of grants to States
under section 5;
(3)121/2
percent shall be used to make grants to public power utilities, electric
cooperatives, and Indian tribes under section 6; and
(4)5 percent shall
be available to the Secretary for the cost of administration and technical
support to carry out this Act.
9.Section 422(f) of the Energy Independence
and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17082(f)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph (3),
by striking and
after the semicolon at the end; and
(2)by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
(4)$200,000,000 for
fiscal year 2013;
(5)$150,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2014 through 2017; and
(6)$200,000,000 for
fiscal year
2018.
.