Bill > H2886

This bill establishes a voluntary pilot program within the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to encourage investments in energy efficiency by offering accelerated rebates to eligible commercial or industrial electric users. Up to 10 such users in each utility service territory can participate, with multiple locations of the same customer not counting towards this limit. To join, participants must notify their electric distribution company, gas company, or municipal aggregator, known as the program administrator, by January 31st each year. The program administrator will then select participants based on the scope of their proposed energy efficiency programs, the likelihood of savings, their capacity to implement measures, and the potential for similar industries to adopt these measures. Participants can receive financial support covering up to 100% of the cost for qualified energy efficiency measures, though total rebates in any year will not exceed 90% of what the customer paid for energy efficiency programs in 2012. These qualified measures can include approved energy efficiency program measures, and up to 15% of the rebate can be used for related improvements like infrastructure upgrades or technology that supports energy efficiency or emission reductions. Customers in this pilot program will not be eligible for other energy efficiency rebates during their participation, and all installations must be substantially completed and verified by the DPU. The bill also requires electric and gas distribution companies to adjust their energy efficiency goals to account for these rebates, ensuring that funding for low-income residential programs remains unaffected.