Substitute Senate Bill No. 356
Public Act No. 21-48
AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFIT
GRANT PROGRAM FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than September
1, 2021, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall,
using available federal or other funds, establish an energy efficiency
retrofit grant program. The Commissioner of Energy and
Environmental Protection may receive funds from the federal
government, corporations, associations or individuals to fund the grant
program. Such program shall award grants to fund the installation of
energy efficient upgrades to (1) affordable housing, as defined in section
8-39a of the general statutes, including, but not limited to, property of a
housing authority, as defined in section 8-39 of the general statutes, or
(2) other dwelling units owned by a landlord, as defined in section 47a-
1 of the general statutes, at the discretion of the commissioner. Such
upgrades shall include energy efficiency and weatherization measures
and may include, but need not be limited to, the installation of rooftop
solar photovoltaic panels, energy storage systems located on the
customer's premises, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, heat
pumps and balanced ventilation, and the mitigation of health and safety
hazards including, but not limited to, gas leaks, mold, vermiculite and
asbestos, lead and radon, to the extent such hazards impede the Substitute Senate Bill No. 356
Public Act No. 21-48 2 of 4
installation of energy efficiency upgrades and weatherization measures.
(b) The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall
develop standards for the energy efficiency retrofit grant program. The
department may consult with other state agencies, quasi-public
agencies and housing authorities, and shall consider the energy
performance standards developed pursuant to section 16a-38 of the
general statutes, in establishing the standards for the grant program.
The department may coordinate with other state agencies, quasi-public
agencies and housing authorities to implement the grant program in
conjunction with other existing state programs that have the purpose of
installing or otherwise assisting state residents to obtain the upgrades
set forth in subsection (a) of this section. The department may retain
consultants with expertise in energy efficiency retrofit programs or
distributed energy programs, or both, for assistance with its
development or administration of the grant program.
(c) A grant applicant shall submit an application to the Commissioner
of Energy and Environmental Protection on forms prescribed by the
commissioner, which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) A
description of the proposed project; (2) an explanation of the expected
benefits of the project in relation to the purposes of this section; (3)
information concerning the financial and technical capacity of the
applicant to undertake the proposed project; (4) a project budget; and
(5) any other information deemed necessary by the commissioner. The
commissioner shall prioritize grants to applicants who (A) use the
services of local contractors who pay the prevailing wage and who make
good faith efforts to hire, or cause to be hired, available and qualified
minority business enterprises, as defined in section 4a-60g of the general
statutes, and (B) upgrade affordable housing or dwelling units for
households that include an individual who qualifies for utility financial
hardship programs or who receives means -tested assistance
administered by the state or federal government. Substitute Senate Bill No. 356
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(d) Not later than January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall submit a
report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general
statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to energy and technology and
housing. Such report shall include the standards developed pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section, an analysis of the scope of residences able
to be served by the grant program and proposed goals for the annual
percentage of affordable housing units that can be served by the
program.
Sec. 2. Subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 16-244z of the
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective from passage):
(2) On and after January 1, 2022, each electric distribution company
shall offer the following options to residential customers for the
purchase of products generated from a Class I renewable energy source
that is located on a customer's own premises and has a nameplate
capacity rating of twenty-five kilowatts or less for a term not to exceed
twenty years: (A) A tariff for the purchase of all energy and renewable
energy certificates on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis; and (B) a tariff for
the purchase of any energy produced and not consumed in the period
of time established by the authority pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
subdivision (1) of this subsection and all renewable energy certificates
generated by such facility on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis. A
residential customer shall select either option authorized pursuant to
subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, consistent with the
requirements of this section. Such generation projects shall be sized so
as not to exceed the load at the customer's individual electric meter or,
in the case of a multifamily dwelling that qualifies under this subsection,
the load of the premises, from the electric distribution company
providing service to such customer, as determined by such electric Substitute Senate Bill No. 356
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distribution company. For purposes of this section, "residential
customer" means a customer of a single-family dwelling, [or] a
multifamily dwelling consisting of two to four units, or a multifamily
dwelling consisting of five or more units, provided in the case of a
multifamily dwelling consisting of five or more units, (i) not less than
sixty per cent of the units of the multifamily dwelling are occupied by
persons and families with income that is not more than sixty per cent of
the area median income for the municipality in which it is located, as
determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development, or (ii) such multifamily dwelling is determined to be
affordable housing by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in
consultation with the Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection, Department of Housing, Connecticut Green Bank ,
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development. In the case of a multifamily
dwelling consisting of five or more units, a generation project shall only
qualify under this subsection if: (I) Each of the dwelling units receives
an appropriate share of the benefits from the generation project, and (II)
no greater than an appropriate share of the benefits from the generation
project is used to offset common area usage. The Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority shall initiate an uncontested proceeding to
implement the distribution of the benefits from the generation project
pursuant to this section.