SF 3558

1st Engrossment - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/29/2018 04:30pm

A bill for an act
relating to energy; establishing an energy conservation utility stakeholder group;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216B.241, subdivision
1d.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216B.241, subdivision 1d, is
amended to read:

Subd. 1d.

Technical assistance.

(a) The commissioner shall evaluate energy conservation
improvement programs on the basis of cost-effectiveness and the reliability of the
technologies employed. The commissioner shall, by order, establish, maintain, and update
energy-savings assumptions that must be used when filing energy conservation improvement
programs. The commissioner shall establish an inventory of the most effective energy
conservation programs, techniques, and technologies, and encourage all Minnesota utilities
to implement them, where appropriate, in their service territories. The commissioner shall
describe these programs in sufficient detail to provide a utility reasonable guidance
concerning implementation. The commissioner shall prioritize the opportunities in order of
potential energy savings and in order of cost-effectiveness. The commissioner may contract
with a third party to carry out any of the commissioner's duties under this subdivision, and
to obtain technical assistance to evaluate the effectiveness of any conservation improvement
program. The commissioner may assess up to $850,000 annually for the purposes of this
subdivision. The assessments must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the
energy and conservation account created under subdivision 2a. An assessment made under
this subdivision is not subject to the cap on assessments provided by section 216B.62, or
any other law.

(b) Of the assessment authorized under paragraph (a), the commissioner may expend
deleted text begin up to $400,000 annually deleted text end new text begin $800,000 each biennium new text end for the purpose of developing, operating,
maintaining, and providing technical support for a uniform electronic data reporting and
tracking system available to all utilities subject to this section, in order to enable accurate
measurement of the cost and energy savings of the energy conservation improvements
required by this section. deleted text begin This paragraph expires June 30, 2018.
deleted text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner must establish a utility stakeholder group to direct development
and maintenance of the tracking system available to all utilities. The utility stakeholder
group will direct 50 percent of the biennium expenditures. The utility stakeholder group
shall include, but is not limited to, stakeholders representative of the Minnesota Rural
Electric Association, the Minnesota Municipal Utility Association, investor-owned utilities,
energy conservation organizations, and businesses that work in energy efficiency. One of
the stakeholder members must serve as chair. The utility stakeholder group must develop
and submit its workplan to the commissioner. The utility stakeholder group must meet
regularly at the call of the chair. Meetings of the utility stakeholder group are subject to
chapter 13D.
new text end