As used in this chapter:
(1) The term “agency” means and includes any executive department, or other establishment in the executive branch of the District of Columbia government or any independent regulatory agency as defined in § 2-502(3) .
(2) The term “appliance” means any energy consuming article or device designed for household use or small business use, the primary purpose of which is labor saving or personal convenience, and which, although connected to public utilities servicing a building, is not attached to the building in such a way that it would be considered a part of the building or building system. Central heat pumps, central air conditioners, and central heating units are not appliances for the purposes of this chapter.
(3) The term “building” means any structure which includes provisions for a heating, ventilating, or cooling system, or for a hot water system.
(4) The term “building code” means property standards in the Building Code approved pursuant to the Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986.
(5) The term “car pool” means a joint arrangement by a group of private persons in which each in turn drives a privately-owned car and carries other passengers.
(6) The term “construction” means on-site work to install permanent equipment or structure for any facility.
(7) The term “Council” means the Council of the District of Columbia.
(8) The term “Director” means the Director of the District of Columbia Office of Energy.
(9) The term “District” means the District of Columbia.
(10) The term “District-assisted facility” means any building, the construction, capital, or operating costs of which are financed in whole or in part by the District’s general or special fund appropriations, or disbursements, or by federal funds.
(11) The term “energy” means work that is, or may be, produced from any fuel or source whatsoever.
(12) The term “energy audit” means a process which identifies and specifies the energy and cost savings which are likely to be realized through the purchase and installation of an energy conservation measure or renewable energy resources measure, through improved energy management procedures.
(13) The term “energy auditor” means any person who has:
(A) A valid mechanical, electrical, engineering, or architectural license;
(B) Successfully completed an approved District of Columbia energy audit training course for those persons familiar with heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems; or
(C) Otherwise qualified by virtue of training or experience.
(14) The term “energy conservation” means the efficient use of energy resources.
(15) The term “energy conservation measure” means a modification which has been determined by means of an energy audit or by a rule of the District of Columbia Office of Energy to likely improve the efficiency of energy use.
(16) The term “energy distributor” means any person who imports energy resources into the District of Columbia for use, distribution, storage, or sale; and any person who produces, refines, manufactures, blends, or compounds energy resources, and sells, uses, stores, or distributes the same within the District: Provided, however, that in no case shall a retail dealer be construed to be a distributor.
(17) The term “energy efficiency guidelines” means, with respect to particular buildings, industrial plants, appliances, or energy resource consuming articles, the measures, or minimum accepted levels of energy conservation which the District of Columbia Office of Energy determines to be appropriate for the location and category of such or similar buildings, industrial plants, appliances, energy resources, or energy consuming articles.
(18) The term “energy information” includes:
(A) All information in whatever form of:
(i) Fuel reserves, exploration, extraction, and energy resources (including petrochemical feedstocks) wherever located;
(ii) Production, distribution, and consumption of energy and fuels wherever carried on; and
(B) Matters relating to energy and fuels, such as corporate structure and proprietary relationships, costs, prices, capital investment, assets, and other matters directly related thereto, wherever they exist.
(19) The term “energy resources” means any force or material which yields, or has the potential to yield energy, including, but not limited to, electricity, petroleum products, residual fuel oil, distillate fuel oil, natural gas, methane, liquified natural gas, manufactured or synthetic fuel gases, coal, solid wastes, biomass, wood, solar radiation, geothermal or mineral formations, thermal gradients, wind, water, enriched uranium U235 and U238, plutonium U239, or other nuclear fuels.
(20) The term “environmental residual” means any pollutant or pollution-causing factor which results from any activity.
(21) The term “life-cycle cost” means the total costs of owning, operating, and maintaining a building, industrial plant, appliance, or energy consuming article over its economic life, including its fuel and energy costs, determined on the basis of a systematic evaluation and comparison of alternative costs for such buildings, industrial plants, appliances or energy consuming articles.
(22) The term “life-cycle cost analysis” means the estimation and comparison of the life-cycle costs of buildings, industrial plants, appliances, or energy consuming articles so as to increase the efficient use of a particular building, industrial plant, appliance, or energy consuming article.
(23) The term “Mayor” means the Mayor of the District of Columbia.
(24) The term “nonresidential building” means any building which is not a residential building which, including, but is not limited to, multi-purpose buildings, such as school learning centers, office/retail buildings, hospitals, sports arenas, retail stores, and transportation terminals.
(25) The term “Office” means the District of Columbia Office of Energy established by this chapter.
(26) The term “performance standards” means rules and regulations adopted by the Office which establish minimum acceptable levels of site design, site preparation, exterior and interior appurtenances which apply to buildings or industrial plants, or which establish minimum acceptable levels of life-cycle cost and life-cycle cost analysis, which apply to purchasing and procurement practices.
(27) The term “person” means any individual, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, association, organization, trustee or other fiduciary, company, board, bureau, commission, department, authority, agency, committee, council, legislative committee, public agency, public utility, the District or any agency or instrumentality thereof, and the United States to the extent authorized by federal law or other legal entity.
(28) The term “renewable energy source” means energy resources which are capable of being continuously restored by natural or other means, or which are so large as to be useable for centuries without significant depletion, and include, but are not limited to, solar radiation, solid wastes, biomass, wind, geothermal formations, tidal and other water resources, thermal gradients, deuterium, and hydrogen.
(29) The term “renewable energy resource measure” means a modification which has been determined by means of an energy audit or a rule of the District of Columbia Office of Energy to involve changing, in whole or in part, the energy resources used to meet the requirements of any building or industrial plant from a nonrenewable energy resource to a renewable energy source.
(30) The term “residential” means any building which is exclusively residential or residential mixed-purpose buildings, including, but not limited to, residential, retail, office, or recreational.
(31) The term “retail dealer” means any person who engages in the business of selling energy resources from a delivery vehicle or from a fixed location, such as a service station, filling station, store, or garage, directly to the ultimate users of said energy resources.