| 1 | 1 | | By: Watson S.B. No. 1501 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 4, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | 5 | | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 4, 2011, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1501 By: Watson |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to energy and efficiency conservation programs |
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| 13 | 13 | | administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (d), Section 39.905, Utilities Code, |
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| 16 | 16 | | is amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (d) The commission shall establish a procedure for |
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| 18 | 18 | | reviewing and evaluating market-transformation program options |
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| 19 | 19 | | described by this subsection and other options. In evaluating |
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| 20 | 20 | | program options, the commission may consider the ability of a |
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| 21 | 21 | | program option to reduce costs to customers through reduced demand, |
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| 22 | 22 | | energy savings, and relief of congestion. Utilities may choose to |
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| 23 | 23 | | implement any program option approved by the commission after its |
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| 24 | 24 | | evaluation in order to satisfy the goal in Subsection (a), |
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| 25 | 25 | | including: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) energy-smart schools; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) appliance retirement and recycling; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (3) air conditioning system tune-ups; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (4) the use of trees or other landscaping for energy |
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| 30 | 30 | | efficiency; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (5) customer energy management and demand response |
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| 32 | 32 | | programs; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (6) high performance residential and commercial |
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| 34 | 34 | | buildings that will achieve the levels of energy efficiency |
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| 35 | 35 | | sufficient to qualify those buildings for federal tax incentives; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (7) programs for customers who rent or lease their |
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| 37 | 37 | | residence or commercial space; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (8) programs providing energy monitoring equipment to |
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| 39 | 39 | | customers that enable a customer to better understand the amount, |
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| 40 | 40 | | price, and time of the customer's energy use; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (9) energy audit programs for owners and other |
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| 42 | 42 | | residents of single-family or multifamily residences and for small |
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| 43 | 43 | | commercial customers; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (10) net-zero energy new home programs; |
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| 45 | 45 | | (11) solar thermal or solar electric programs; [and] |
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| 46 | 46 | | (12) programs for using windows and other glazing |
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| 47 | 47 | | systems, glass doors, and skylights in residential and commercial |
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| 48 | 48 | | buildings that reduce solar gain by at least 30 percent from the |
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| 49 | 49 | | level established for the federal Energy Star windows program; and |
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| 50 | 50 | | (13) energy use programs with measurable and |
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| 51 | 51 | | verifiable results that reduce energy consumption through |
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| 52 | 52 | | behavioral changes that lead to efficient use patterns and |
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| 53 | 53 | | practices. |
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| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 55 | 55 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 56 | 56 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 57 | 57 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 58 | 58 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 59 | 59 | | * * * * * |
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