AN ACT CONCERNING AN ELECTRIC CONSERVATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On or before July 1, 2007, the Commissioner of Energy shall establish an Electric Conservation Incentive pilot program to provide an incentive to Connecticut residents to actively undertake residential electric energy conservation and efficiency improvements to reduce electricity usage. The program shall be available to all eligible residential customers of the electric distribution companies. The commissioner shall establish eligibility criteria for the program that shall include, but not be limited to, a requirement that program participants occupy and use electricity in their homes for twenty-four continuous months commencing July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2008.

(b) (1) For purposes of this subsection, "conservation period" means the twelve-month period from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, inclusive, and "base period" means the twelve-month period from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, inclusive.

(2) An electric conservation incentive shall be paid to any program participant who reduces his or her weather-adjusted electricity usage for the conservation period by at least eighteen per cent from such participant's weather-adjusted electricity usage for the base period. For purposes of the program, electricity usage for each program participant shall be as determined by the participant's electric distribution company. Not later than July 31, 2008, each electric distribution company shall notify the commissioner as to which of its customers participating in the program reduced electric energy usage for the conservation period by at least eighteen per cent from the base period, and the percentage by which each such customer reduced electric energy usage.

(3) The maximum electric conservation incentive available shall be two hundred dollars per household. The amount of each incentive shall be determined by the Commissioner of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. The commissioner shall authorize electric distribution companies to credit the account of each customer receiving an incentive under the program with the amount of the incentive as determined by the commissioner and shall reimburse the electric distribution companies for the amounts of such credits.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) There is established, within the General Fund, a separate, nonlapsing account to be known as the electric conservation incentive account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Investment earnings credited to the assets of the account shall become part of the assets of the account. Any balance remaining in the account at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward for the fiscal year next succeeding. The moneys in said account shall be used for the purposes of section 1 of this act.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) The sum of thirty million dollars from the anticipated General Fund surplus, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, shall be transferred to the electric conservation incentive account established under section 2 of this act.

Statement of Purpose:

To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]