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Substitute Senate Bill No. 306
Public Act No. 26-121
AN ACT CONCERNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY STRATEGY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16a-3d of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
(a) On or before October 1, 2020, and every four years thereafter, the
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall prepare a
Comprehensive Energy Strategy in consultation with the (1)
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, (2)
Commissioners of Agriculture, Housing and Transportation, or said
commissioners' designees, (3) Secretary of the Office of Policy and
Management, or the secretary's designee, (4) Consumer Counsel, or the
Consumer Counsel's designee, (5) chairperson of the Pu blic Utilities
Regulatory Authority, or the chairperson's designee, and (6) chief
executive officer of the Connecticut Green Bank, or the chief executive
officer's designee.
(b) Said strategy shall reflect the legislative findings and policy stated
in section 16a -35k, provide any analysis and recommendations
necessary to guide the state's energy policy to meet greenhouse gas
emission reduction requirements, as established in section 22a -200a, in
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the most cost -effective manner and incorporate (1) an assessment and
plan for all energy needs in the state, including, but not limited to,
electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation, (2) the findings of the
Integrated Resources Plan , (3) the findings of the plan for energy
efficiency adopted pursuant to section 16 -245m, (4) the findings of the
plan for renewable energy adopted pursuant to section 16-245n, and (5)
the Energy Assurance Plan developed for the state of Connecticut
pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L.
111-5, or any successor Energy Assurance Plan developed within a
reasonable time prior to the preparation of any Comprehensive Energy
Strategy. Said strategy shall further include, but not be limited to, (A) an
assessment of current energy supplies, demand and costs, (B)
identification and evaluation of the factors likely to affect future energy
supplies, demand and costs , (C) a statement of progress made toward
achieving the goals and milestones set in the preceding Comprehensive
Energy Strategy , (D) a statement of energy policies and long -range
energy planning objectives and strategies appropriate to achieve, the
state's greenhouse gas reduction goals established in section 22a-200a, a
sound economy, the least-cost mix of energy supply sources to meet said
goals and measures that reduce demand for energy, giving due regard
to such factors as consumer price impacts, security and diversity of fuel
supplies and energy generating methods, protection of public health
and safety, environmental goals and standards, conservation of energy
and energy resources and the ability of the state to compete
economically, (E) recommendation s for administrative and legislative
actions to implement such policies, objectives and strategies, (F) an
assessment of the potential costs savings and benefits to ratepayers,
including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide emissions reductions or
voluntary joint ventures to repower some or all of the state's coal -fired
and oil -fired generation facilities built before 1990, (G) the benefits,
costs, obstacles and solutions related to the expansion and use and
availability of natural gas in Connecticut, and (H) a strategy for ensuring
the state's energy efficiency goals are met.
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[(b)] (c) In adopting the Comprehensive Energy Strategy , the
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall conduct a
proceeding that shall not be considered a contested case under chapter
54, but shall include not less than one public meeting and one technical
meeting at which technical personnel shall be available to answer
questions. Such meetings shall be transcribed and posted on t he
department's Internet web site. Said commissioner shall give not less
than fifteen days' notice of such proceeding by electronic publication on
the department's Internet web site. Not later than fifteen days prior to
any such public meeting and not less than thirty days prior to any such
technical meeting, the commissioner shall publish notice of either such
meeting and post the text of the proposed Comprehensive Energy
Strategy on the department's Internet web site. Notice of such public
meeting or technical meeting may also be published in one or more
newspapers having state -wide circulation if deemed necessary by the
commissioner. Such notice shall state the date, time, and place of the
meeting, the subject matter of the meeting, the manner and time period
during which comments may be submitted to said commissioner, the
statutory authority for the proposed strategy and the location where a
copy of the proposed strategy may be obtained or examined in addition
to posting the proposed strategy on the department's Internet web site.
Said commissioner shall provide a time period of not less than sixty days
from the date the notice is published on the department's Internet web
site for public review and comment. During such time period, any
person may provide comments concerning the proposed strategy to said
commissioner. Said commissioner shall consider fully all written and
oral comments concerning the proposed strategy after all public
meetings and technical meetings and before approving the final
strategy. Said commissioner shall (1) notify by electronic mail each
person who requests such notice, and (2) post on the department's
Internet web site the electronic text of the final strategy and a report
summarizing all public comments and the changes made to the final
strategy in response to such comments and the reasons therefor. The
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Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall comment on the strategy's
impact on natural gas and electric rates.
[(c)] (d) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection
shall submit the final Comprehensive Energy Strategy electronically to
the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having
cognizance of matters relating to energy , [and] the environment and
commerce.
[(d)] (e) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection
may modify the Comprehensive Energy Strategy in accordance with the
procedures outlined in subsections [(b)] (c) and [(c)] (d) of this section.
[(e)] (f) For the Comprehensive Energy Strategy next approved after
October 1, [2021] 2026, and every Comprehensive Energy Strategy
prepared thereafter, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental
Protection, in consultation with the persons described in subsection (a)
of this section, shall consider (1) the reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions resulting from low-carbon fuel blends used in home heating
oil on a life -cycle basis, (2) possible contributions to the state's
greenhouse gas emissions mandated levels, pursuant to section 22a -
200a, in connection with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on
a life-cycle basis, (3) the ability of a thermal portfolio standard to further
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on a life-cycle basis, and (4) the
relative value of the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on a life -
cycle basis achieved by biodiesel and other low-carbon fuel blends used
currently in the state compared with the value of future projected
greenhouse gas emissions reductions achieved by the retail heating oil
industry on a life-cycle basis five, ten, and twenty years into the future
using the Department of Energy and Environmental Protections'
contemporaneous projection of renewable energy utilized.