(A) All funds allocated or directed to this State by the federal government relating to energy planning, energy conservation, and energy efficiency must be allocated or directed to the State Energy Office in the Office of Regulatory Staff to be distributed in accordance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that no funding from the following federal programs is subject to the provisions of this section:
(1) the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), created by Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 and codified as Chapter 94, Title 42 of the United States Code, as amended by the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1984, the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986, the Augustus F. Hawkins Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990, the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, the Low-Income Home Energy Amendments of 1994, the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which is administered and funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services on the federal level and administered locally by community action agencies; or
(2) the Weatherization Assistance Program, created by Title IV of the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 1976 and codified as Part A, Subchapter III, Chapter 81, Title 42 of the United States Code, amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, the Energy Security Act, the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1984, and the State Energy Efficiency Programs Improvement Act of 1990 and administered and funded by the United States Department of Energy on the federal level and administered locally by community action agencies.
Nothing in this section changes the exclusive administration of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Weatherization Assistance Program by local community action agencies through the Department of Administration's Office of Economic Opportunity pursuant to its authority under the provisions of Chapter 45, Title 43, the Community Economic Opportunity Act of 1983.
(B) All funds described in subsection (A) that are not exempted by items (1) and (2) must be distributed by the State Energy Office in the Office of Regulatory Staff in accordance with all requirements of federal law associated with these funds. Persons seeking to obtain funding for energy related programs must submit to the State Energy Office a plan for the use of the funds in a manner consistent with the provisions of this section.
(C) Upon receipt of the plans required by subsection (B), the State Energy Office of the Office of Regulatory Staff must prepare an analysis of the plans and their consistency with the provisions of this section and submit that analysis to the Department Advisory Council for its review and recommendations.
(D) There is hereby created in the Office of Regulatory Staff the Energy Advisory Council, which will advise the State Energy Office on all matters for which the State Energy Office is responsible and specifically with respect to its review of the annual plans required to be submitted pursuant to this section. The Advisory Council shall be composed of nine members as follows:
(1) three appointed by the Governor, one of whom must have a substantial background in environmental or consumer protection matters;
(2) three appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom must have a substantial background in environmental or consumer protection matters; and
(3) three appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom must have a substantial background in environmental or consumer protection matters.
All appointees must have backgrounds in environmental issues; the electricity, transportation, or natural gas industries; or economic development related to these sectors.
(E) In evaluating the plans required by this section, the Advisory Council shall consider the extent to which the plans allocate funds in a cost effective manner and promote the following alternative sources of domestic energy or avoidance of consumption of energy:
(1) the development of energy efficiency and conservation;
(2) renewable sources of energy, including wind power, solar power, energy from biomass sources, and energy storage;
(3) nuclear energy; and
(4) alternative fuels or power sources for the transportation sector.
In considering the cost-effectiveness of the plans the Advisory Council must consider the cost of the proposed measures as to the expected useful life of the measures being proposed and the impact of the proposed measures on consumers. For each proposed plan, the Advisory Council must consider the value of the avoided cost of complying with anticipated state and federal environmental regulations.
(F) Upon completion of its review of plans submitted in compliance with this section, the Advisory Council must prepare a report describing the results of its review and submit copies of that report to the State Energy Office of the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Utility Review Committee of Article 5, Chapter 3, Title 58.
(G) The Executive Director of the Office of Regulatory Staff shall make the final determinations of distributions of funds as required by this section, taking into account the recommendations of the Advisory Council. Grant awards shall be made in a manner consistent with this section.
HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 449, Part II, Section 1; 2006 Act No. 318, Section 231; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt VI, Section 12, eff July 1, 2015; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 58, eff January 31, 2019.
Effect of Amendment
2014 Act No. 121, Section 12, rewrote the section.
2019 Act No. 1, Section 58, in (D)(2), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".