1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to energy; conservation; amending the amount the Department of 
1.3 	Commerce may assess utilities; allocating incremental revenue to develop and 
1.4 	maintain a statewide uniform energy conservation reporting system for utilities;
1.5 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241, subdivision 1d.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241, subdivision 1d, is amended to 
1.8 	read:
1.9 		Subd. 1d.Technical assistance. (a) The commissioner shall evaluate energy 
1.10 	conservation improvement programs on the basis of cost-effectiveness and the reliability 
1.11 	of the technologies employed. The commissioner shall, by order, establish, maintain, and 
1.12 	update energy-savings assumptions that must be used when filing energy conservation 
1.13 	improvement programs. The commissioner shall establish an inventory of the most 
1.14 	effective energy conservation programs, techniques, and technologies, and encourage all 
1.15 	Minnesota utilities to implement them, where appropriate, in their service territories. 
1.16 	The commissioner shall describe these programs in sufficient detail to provide a utility 
1.17 	reasonable guidance concerning implementation. The commissioner shall prioritize the 
1.18 	opportunities in order of potential energy savings and in order of cost-effectiveness. The 
1.19 	commissioner may contract with a third party to carry out any of the commissioner's duties 
1.20 	under this subdivision, and to obtain technical assistance to evaluate the effectiveness of 
1.21 	any conservation improvement program. The commissioner may assess up to ~~$800,000~~ 
1.22 	~~annually until June 30, 2009, and $450,000~~ $980,000 annually ~~thereafter~~ for the purposes 
1.23 	of this subdivision. The assessments must be deposited in the state treasury and credited 
1.24 	to the energy and conservation account created under subdivision 2a. An assessment 
2.1 	made under this subdivision is not subject to the cap on assessments provided by section 
2.2 	216B.62, or any other law.
2.3 	(b) Of the assessment authorized under paragraph (a), the commissioner may expend 
2.4 	up to $500,000 annually for the purpose of developing, operating, maintaining, and 
2.5 	providing technical support for a uniform electronic data reporting and tracking system 
2.6 	available to all utilities subject to this section, in order to enable accurate measurement 
2.7 	of the cost and energy savings of the energy conservation improvements required by 
2.8 	this section.

2.9 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment 
2.10 	and applies to assessments made after June 30, 2014.