| | This bill does the following: |
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| | 1. It requires the Commissioner of Education to ensure that | facility managers for school administrative districts complete | the building operators certification program established and | conducted under the authority of the Public Utilities Commission. | Certification goals of 50% of facility managers by January 1, | 2010 and 100% of facility managers by January 1, 2015 are | established. The commission is required to annually report to | the joint standing committee of the Legislature having | jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters on the progress | towards the goals and the energy savings that have been realized | in school administrative districts as a result of the facility | managers' completing the program; |
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| | 2. It amends current law that prohibits a municipality from | adopting a building energy code other than the model building | energy code developed by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant | to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 121. Under | this bill, a municipality could opt out of adoption of the model | building energy code by notifying the commission of the | municipality's decision by January 1, 2008. If a municipality | fails to opt out, then it must adopt the model building energy | code; |
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| | 3. It expands the funding for the conservation programs | established by the Public Utilities Commission, known as | "Efficiency Maine," by increasing the assessment on transmission | and distribution utilities over a 3-year period to a maximum of | .3 cent per kilowatt-hour beginning January 1, 2009; |
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| | 4. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop a | new compensation method for transmission and distribution | utilities that is not tied to the amount of electricity consumed. | The commission is required to submit its method to the joint | standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over | utilities and energy matters by January 15, 2007; |
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| | 5. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to seek a | waiver from the federal Department of Energy for energy standards | for residential furnaces and boilers. The commission is required | to develop new standards for furnaces and boilers based on | standards developed in other New England states; and |
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| | 6. It requires the Governor's Office of Energy Independence | and Security in the Executive Department, State Planning Office |
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