Bill Summary: HB 5361

• Establishes a municipal and state energy efficiency and improvement program allowing electric distribution companies to offer energy efficiency upgrades to municipal and state facilities with full funding by the utility company.

• Electric distribution companies may recover program costs through customer-specific facility charges based on cost-of-service principles, with monthly charges approved by the Department of Public Utility Control and repayment periods of up to 10 years (or 20 years if renewable, emergency, or combined heat and power generation is included).

• Program may include energy efficiency equipment, fuel cells, thermal storage, high efficiency boilers, renewable generation, and combined heat and power systems, with utilities encouraged to use local contractors and installers where practical and economic.

• Electric distribution companies may fund the program annually at up to one percent of their total annual revenues, and must submit annual reports to the Department of Public Utility Control and the legislative committee on energy beginning in June 2012.

• State agencies retaining responsibility for facility energy costs may keep 25 percent of net savings over the first three years of a project for their operating budgets, and projects are eligible for state and federal incentives that offset costs.