Community Energy Savings Program Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3200 To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish a program to provide loans to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 13, 2021 Ms. KUSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to estab- lish a program to provide loans to implement cost-effec- tive energy efficiency measures, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Energy 4 Savings Program Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Policy and Conserva- 7 tion Act is amended by inserting after section 362 (42 8 U.S.C. 6322) the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3200 IH ‘‘SEC. 362A. COMMUNITY ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 1 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 2 help households and small businesses achieve cost savings 3 by providing loans to implement cost-effective energy effi- 4 ciency measures. 5 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL IN- 7 STITUTION.—The term ‘community development fi- 8 nancial institution’ means a financial institution cer- 9 tified by the Community Development Financial In- 10 stitutions Fund administered by the Secretary of the 11 Treasury. 12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 13 tity’ means— 14 ‘‘(A) a public power group; 15 ‘‘(B) a community development financial 16 institution; and 17 ‘‘(C) an eligible unit of local government. 18 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN- 19 MENT.—The term ‘eligible unit of local government’ 20 means any agency or political subdivision of a State. 21 ‘‘(4) ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES.—The 22 term ‘energy efficiency measures’ means, with re- 23 spect to a property served by or in the service area 24 or jurisdiction, as applicable, of an eligible entity, 25 structural improvements and investments in cost-ef- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3200 IH fective commercial technologies to increase energy 1 efficiency (including cost-effective on- or off-grid re- 2 newable energy, energy storage, or demand response 3 systems). 4 ‘‘(5) HOUSEHOLD WITH A HIGH ENERGY BUR- 5 DEN.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘household 7 with a high energy burden’ means a low-income 8 household the residential energy burden of 9 which exceeds the median energy burden for all 10 low-income households in the State in which the 11 low-income household is located. 12 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION.—The residential en- 13 ergy burden referred to in subparagraph (A) is 14 the quotient obtained by dividing residential en- 15 ergy expenditures by the annual income of the 16 low-income household. 17 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 18 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 19 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 20 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 21 ‘‘(7) MANUFACTURED HOME.—The term ‘man- 22 ufactured home’— 23 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 24 section 603 of the National Manufactured 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3200 IH Housing Construction and Safety Standards 1 Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402); and 2 ‘‘(B) includes a home described in sub- 3 paragraph (A) without regard to whether the 4 home was built before, on, or after the date on 5 which the construction and safety standards es- 6 tablished under section 604 of that Act (42 7 U.S.C. 5403) became effective. 8 ‘‘(8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 9 the program established under subsection (c). 10 ‘‘(9) PUBLIC POWER GROUP.—The term ‘public 11 power group’ means— 12 ‘‘(A) a public utility; 13 ‘‘(B) an electric or energy cooperative; 14 ‘‘(C) a public power district; and 15 ‘‘(D) a group of 1 or more public utilities 16 or electric or energy cooperatives (commonly re- 17 ferred to as a ‘joint action agency’, ‘generation 18 and transmission cooperative’, ‘municipal power 19 association’, or ‘State cooperative association’). 20 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED CONSUMER.—The term 21 ‘qualified consumer’ means a consumer served by or 22 in the service area or jurisdiction, as applicable, of 23 an eligible entity that has the ability to repay a loan 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3200 IH made under subsection (f), as determined by the eli- 1 gible entity. 2 ‘‘(11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 3 means the Secretary of Energy. 4 ‘‘(12) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 5 ‘‘(A) a State; 6 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; 7 ‘‘(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 8 and 9 ‘‘(D) any other territory or possession of 10 the United States. 11 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days 12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 13 shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall 14 provide grants to States and Indian tribes to provide loans 15 to eligible entities in accordance with this section. 16 ‘‘(d) GRANT FUND ALLOCATION.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount appro- 18 priated under subsection (k) for each fiscal year, the 19 Secretary shall allocate as grant funds— 20 ‘‘(A) 98 percent to be provided to States in 21 accordance with paragraph (2); and 22 ‘‘(B) 2 percent to be provided to Indian 23 tribes in accordance with paragraph (3). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3200 IH ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—Of the amount 1 allocated for all States under paragraph (1)(A), the 2 Secretary shall— 3 ‘‘(A) allocate not less than 1 percent to 4 each State described in subparagraphs (A) 5 through (C) of subsection (b)(12); 6 ‘‘(B) allocate not less than 0.5 percent to 7 each State described in subparagraph (D) of 8 that subsection; and 9 ‘‘(C) of the amount remaining after the al- 10 locations under subparagraphs (A) and (B), al- 11 locate funds to States based on the population 12 of each State as determined in the latest avail- 13 able decennial census conducted under section 14 141(a) of title 13, United States Code. 15 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Of the 16 amount allocated for Indian tribes under paragraph 17 (1)(B), the Secretary shall allocate funds to each In- 18 dian tribe participating in the program during that 19 fiscal year based on a formula established by the 20 Secretary that takes into account any factor that the 21 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 22 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION OF ALLOCATION FOR- 23 MULAS.—Not later than 90 days before the begin- 24 ning of each fiscal year for which grants are pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3200 IH vided to States and Indian tribes under this section, 1 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register 2 the formulas for allocation established under this 3 subsection. 4 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amount 5 allocated to a State or Indian tribe under this sub- 6 section, not more than 15 percent shall be used by 7 the State or Indian tribe for the administrative costs 8 of administering loans. 9 ‘‘(e) LOANS BY STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES TO ELI- 10 GIBLE ENTITIES.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program, a 12 State or Indian tribe shall make loans to eligible en- 13 tities to make loans to qualified consumers— 14 ‘‘(A) to implement cost-effective energy ef- 15 ficiency measures; and 16 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (f). 17 ‘‘(2) STATE ENERGY OFFICES.—A State shall 18 carry out paragraph (1) through the State energy 19 office that is responsible for developing a State en- 20 ergy conservation plan under section 362. 21 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making loans under para- 22 graph (1), a State or Indian tribe shall give priority 23 to public power groups. 24 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3200 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 1 graph (C), as a condition of receiving a loan 2 under this subsection, an eligible entity shall— 3 ‘‘(i) establish a list of energy effi- 4 ciency measures that are expected to de- 5 crease the energy use or costs of qualified 6 consumers; 7 ‘‘(ii) prepare an implementation plan 8 for use of the loan funds, including the use 9 of any interest to be received under sub- 10 section (f)(4); 11 ‘‘(iii) establish an appropriate meas- 12 urement and verification system to en- 13 sure— 14 ‘‘(I) the effectiveness of the en- 15 ergy efficiency loans made by the eli- 16 gible entity; and 17 ‘‘(II) that there is no conflict of 18 interest in any loan provided by the 19 eligible entity; 20 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate expertise in the ef- 21 fective implementation of energy efficiency 22 measures; 23 ‘‘(v) ensure that a portion of the loan 24 funds, which may be determined by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3200 IH State or Indian tribe, are used to provide 1 loans to qualified consumers that are 2 households with a high energy burden; and 3 ‘‘(vi) give priority to providing loans 4 to qualified consumers that own homes or 5 other real property that pose health risks 6 to the occupants of the property that may 7 be mitigated by energy efficiency measures, 8 as determined by the State or Indian tribe. 9 ‘‘(B) REVISION OF LIST OF ENERGY EFFI- 10 CIENCY MEASURES.—Subject to the approval of 11 the State or Indian tribe, as applicable, an eligi- 12 ble entity may update the list required under 13 subparagraph (A)(i) to account for newly avail- 14 able efficiency technologies. 15 ‘‘(C) EXISTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRO- 16 GRAMS.—An eligible entity that has established 17 an energy efficiency program for qualified con- 18 sumers before the date of enactment of this sec- 19 tion may use an existing list of energy efficiency 20 measures, implementation plan, and measure- 21 ment and verification system for that program 22 to satisfy the applicable requirements under 23 subparagraph (A), if the State or Indian tribe, 24 as applicable, determines that the list, plan, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3200 IH system, as applicable, is consistent with the 1 purposes of this section. 2 ‘‘(5) NO INTEREST.—A loan under this sub- 3 section shall bear no interest. 4 ‘‘(6) TERM.—The term of a loan provided to an 5 eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 6 20 years after the date on which the loan is issued. 7 ‘‘(7) ADVANCE.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In providing a loan to 9 an eligible entity under paragraph (1), a State 10 or Indian tribe may provide an advance of loan 11 funds on request of the eligible entity. 12 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT LIMITATION.—Any advance 13 provided to an eligible entity under subpara- 14 graph (A) in any single year shall not exceed 50 15 percent of the approved loan amount. 16 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—The repayment of an 17 advance under subparagraph (A) shall be amor- 18 tized for a period of not more than 10 years. 19 ‘‘(8) SPECIAL ADVANCE FOR START-UP ACTIVI- 20 TIES.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In providing a loan to 22 an eligible entity under paragraph (1), a State 23 or Indian tribe may provide a special advance 24 on request of the eligible entity for assistance in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3200 IH defraying the start-up costs of the eligible enti- 1 ty, as determined by the State or Indian tribe, 2 as applicable, of providing loans to qualified 3 consumers under subsection (f). 4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—A special advance 5 shall be provided to an eligible entity under 6 subparagraph (A) only during the 10-year pe- 7 riod beginning on the date on which the loan is 8 issued to that eligible entity. 9 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT.—The amount of a special 10 advance provided under subparagraph (A) shall 11 not be greater than 5 percent of the approved 12 loan amount. 13 ‘‘(D) REPAYMENT.—Repayment of a spe- 14 cial advance provided under subparagraph 15 (A)— 16 ‘‘(i) shall be required during the 10- 17 year period beginning on the date on which 18 the special advance is made; and 19 ‘‘(ii) may be deferred to the end of the 20 10-year period described in clause (i) at 21 the election of the eligible entity. 22 ‘‘(9) REVOLVING LOAN FUND.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of par- 24 ticipating in the program, a State or Indian 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3200 IH tribe shall use the funds repaid to the State or 1 Indian tribe under loans offered under this sub- 2 section to issue new loans under this subsection. 3 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 4 than 10 percent of the repaid funds described 5 in subparagraph (A) may be used for the ad- 6 ministrative cost of issuing new loans from 7 those repaid funds under this subsection. 8 ‘‘(f) LOANS BY ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO QUALIFIED 9 CONSUMERS.— 10 ‘‘(1) USE OF LOAN.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A loan made by an el- 12 igible entity to a qualified consumer using loan 13 funds provided by a State or Indian tribe under 14 subsection (e)— 15 ‘‘(i) shall be used to finance energy ef- 16 ficiency measures for the purpose of de- 17 creasing the energy use or costs of the 18 qualified consumer by an amount that en- 19 sures, to the maximum extent practicable, 20 that the applicable loan term described in 21 subparagraph (B) shall not be an undue fi- 22 nancial burden on the qualified consumer, 23 as determined by the eligible entity; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3200.IH H3200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3200 IH ‘‘(ii) shall not be used to fund pur- 1 ch [Text truncated for display. 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