STATE
OF MAINE
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION Docket No. 2002-161
September
18, 2003
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Interim Electric Energy
Conservation
Programs
ORDER AUTHORIZING
CONTRACT WITH
NORTHEAST ENERGY
EFFICIENCY PARTNERSHIPS
WELCH, Chairman; DIAMOND and, REISHUS Commissioners
________________________________________________________________
By this Order, we authorize our
Director of Energy Programs Division to enter into a contract for services with
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) for services in calendar year
2003.
II. DISCUSSION AND DECISION
The Commission participated as a NEEP Sponsor and in two of its
individual initiatives through a sole source contract in the last quarter of
2002. We will continue this
relationship and join in two additional NEEP activities for 2003.
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships is uniquely
qualified to help the Maine Public Utilities Commission fulfill its legislative
responsibilities required by P.L. 2001, ch. 624 (An Act to Strengthen Energy
Conservation). The Act requires the
Commission to monitor conservation planning and program development activities
in the region and around the country.
The Act further states:
The commission may coordinate its efforts under this
section with similar efforts in other states in the northeast region and enter
into agreements with public agencies or other entities in or outside of the
State for joint or cooperative conservation planning or conservation program delivery,
if the commission finds that such coordination or agreements would provide
demonstrable benefits to citizens of the State and be consistent with this
section, the conservation program and the objectives and overall strategy for
the conservation program.
35-A
M.R.S.A. § 3211-A (2)(I).
NEEP is the only well-established organization that
coordinates program design, development, monitoring, evaluation, research, and
communication activities among utilities and other state entities that offer
energy efficiency activities similar to those required by the Act. Thus, NEEP is uniquely positioned to provide
the service required by the Act, and contracting with NEEP will allow the
Commission to carry out the Act’s requirement before the Commission reports its
compliance activities to the Legislature on December 1, 2003. Our continued participation as a Sponsor in
NEEP will provide us with a clearing-house of information on other conservation
programs offered in the northeast and will offer us the opportunity to help
shape regional program initiatives.
We will participate in four of NEEP’s initiatives
during 2003. They are briefly described
below:
1. Northeast ENERGY STAR Products Initiative: The goal of
this initiative is market transformation in the residential marketplace for
high efficiency residential products including ENERGY STAR refrigerators air
conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs),
light fixtures, and ceiling fans. Joining
in this initiative, will allow us to coordinate our interim lighting efficiency
program with similar efforts in the region.
We will also use the information to better plan our permanent
residential efficient products program.
2. Commercial/Industrial Building Energy Performance: This initiative
includes the Building Operator Certification (BOC) program which we have
offered as an interim program and anticipate incorporating into our full scale
program plan. In addition, this
initiative has been designed to “research, promote, and expand the use of EPA’s
National Energy Performance Rating System – a benchmarking tool to promote
improved energy performance in commercial buildings. The Commission has been directed by the Legislature to review
advanced building guidelines including this one. Participating in this initiative will inform our review and
assist us in responding to the legislature.
3. Northeast Regional Building Energy Codes Project: The goal of
the building codes initiative is to achieve significant energy savings in new
construction, remodeling and renovations through up-to-date building energy
codes that meet or exceed national energy code requirements and to attain a
high level of energy code compliance.
We are joining this initiative because we have been required make
recommendations on energy codes to the Legislature. The NEEP energy code initiative will provide us with more
information on the codes in use in the northeast, and it will help us to train
code officers on code enforcement issues.
4. Research and Evaluation: This initiative
measures whether ongoing initiatives are meeting their goals and provides
information used to help develop new initiatives. The objectives for 2003 include the development of regional
market share tracking mechanisms for ENERGY STAR products. This information is critical to assessing
the success of market transformation efforts – ours included.
The cost for continuing as a NEEP Sponsor along with
participation in four initiatives is $42,496.00. Continued participation in these regional efforts is consistent
with our obligations under the Conservation Act, and NEEP is the only
organization capable of providing the services we need. Our continued participation in NEEP will
also lead to better full-scale program design and operation. For reasons articulated above, we authorize
our Director of Energy Programs Division to contract with NEEP for 2003 along
the lines described.
As the 2003 contract with NEEP will
terminate on December 31, 2003, it will be part of our interim program
plan. We therefore do not need to
consider the requirements of section 3211-A before entering into the contract
with NEEP. We note, however, that even
if our Proposed Rule on the Selection of Conservation Service Providers (Chapter
381) were applied to the present situation, the contract with NEEP would be
justified as a sole source contract without the need for competitive bidding,
pursuant to Section 3(B)(1) of the Proposed Rule, because NEEP is a service
provider that has unique qualifications, resources, or experience.
Dated
at Augusta, Maine, this 18th day of September, 2003.
BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION
_______________________________
Dennis L. Keschl
Administrative Director
COMMISSIONERS VOTING FOR: Welch
Diamond
Reishus
NOTICE OF RIGHTS TO REVIEW OR APPEAL
5 M.R.S.A. § 9061 requires the
Public Utilities Commission to give each party to an adjudicatory proceeding
written notice of the party's rights to review or appeal of its decision made
at the conclusion of the adjudicatory proceeding. The methods of review or appeal of PUC decisions at the
conclusion of an adjudicatory proceeding are as follows:
1. Reconsideration
of the Commission's Order may be requested under Section 1004 of the
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (65-407 C.M.R.110) within 20 days
of the date of the Order by filing a petition with the Commission stating the
grounds upon which reconsideration is sought.
2. Appeal
of a final decision of the Commission may be taken to the Law Court by
filing, within 21 days of the date of the Order, a Notice of Appeal with
the Administrative Director of the Commission, pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. §
1320(1)-(4) and the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure.
3. Additional
court review of constitutional issues or issues involving the justness or
reasonableness of rates may be had by the filing of an appeal with the Law
Court, pursuant to 35-A M.R.S.A. § 1320(5).
Note: The
attachment of this Notice to a document does not indicate the Commission's view
that the particular document may be subject to review or appeal. Similarly, the failure of the Commission to
attach a copy of this Notice to a document does not indicate the Commission's
view that the document is not subject to review or appeal.