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Policies

As an Independent Trust, Efficiency Maine’s programs are guided by a Board of Directors, a Triennial Planning Process, Legislation, Agency Rules, and Technical Resource Manuals.  More about these guiding policies may be found below.

Triennial Plans

The Efficiency Maine Trust Act specifies that, every three years, the Trust will prepare a strategic plan and that the Trust’s programs should be administered by the Trust consistent with that plan.

Current

    Previous

    Legislation

    Current chapters of Maine Law that affect the Efficiency Maine Trust:

    • Efficiency Maine Trust Act: Maine Statute Title 35-A, Chapter 97.  In 2009, The Efficiency Maine Trust—consisting of a nine-person board of directors—was created to administer energy efficiency and alternative energy programs in Maine under the banner of Efficiency Maine.
    • Property Assessed Clean Energy: Maine Statute Title 35-A, Chapter 99. In 2010, the legislature passed a law making it possible for a homeowner to receive a loan for home energy savings improvements, and for that loan to be transferred from the first homeowner to a subsequent purchaser of the property.
    • Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE): Maine Statute Title 35-A, Chapter 101. In 2021, the legislature passed enabling C-PACE legislation for Maine. C-PACE allows a commercial property owner to receive a loan for energy savings improvements, and for the borrowed capital to be secured by a property tax assessment with an associated lien on the subject property. The law authorized the Efficiency Maine Trust, a third party contracted by the Trust, or a municipality that has adopted a C-PACE ordinance to establish a C-PACE program.
    • General Provisions – Energy Planning; Construction; Purchases: Maine Statute Title 35-A, Chapter 31, Subchapter 2. In 2019, the legislature amended the process for planning and approving investments in the electric utilities’ transmission and distribution system. The new law incorporates a formal, independent process for the consideration of Non-Wires Alternatives (NWAs). The law established an NWA Coordinator position within the Office of the Public Advocate to review annual plans and individual project proposals. In these reviews, the law requires the Efficiency Maine Trust to analyze the potential for cost-effective NWA resource located on the customer’s side of the meter (also called “behind the meter” or BTM) such as energy efficiency, distributed generation, load management, or energy storage. It assigns the Trust the role of developing and delivering all customer-sited NWA resources that are determined to be more cost-effective than the proposed transmission and distribution system investments.

    Agency Rules

    The regulatory framework in which the Trust operates starts with the statutory provisions outlined above; rules flow from these provisions:

    • Chapter 1: Contracting Process for Service Providers and Grant Recipients
    • Chapter 2: Administration of Trust, Budgeting, Project Selection Criteria and Procedures, Monitoring and Evaluation Requirements
    • Chapter 3: Electric Efficiency and Conservation Programs
    • Chapter 4: Natural Gas Energy Conservation Programs
    • Chapter 5: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Program Regulations
    • Chapter 103: Renewable Resources Fund Regulations: Selection Criteria for Demonstration Projects, Cost-Effectiveness Requirements for Renewable Energy Rebates and Quality Assurance System
    • Chapter 110: Property Assessed Clean Energy Program

    Technical Reference Manuals

    The Efficiency Maine Trust Retail/Residential and Commercial/Industrial and Multifamily Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs) provide documentation for the Trust’s calculation of energy and demand savings from energy efficiency measures. The most current versions in effect are posted below. For previous versions please call 1-866-376-2463.

    To request a hard copy/printed version of any of the PDF documents listed above, please call 1-866-376-2463. Please allow 10 days for delivery from the time of request.