§ 8-171.04 — District of Columbia Office of Energy; energy conservation plan; facilities energy management plan; emergency energy shortage contingency plan; energy research and development program.

District of Columbia § 8-171.04

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 8: Environmental and Animal Control and Protection.
• Ch. 1B: District of Columbia Office of Energy.

Text

(1) The District of Columbia Office of Energy is established in the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, and shall have the powers, duties, and functions vested in it by the provisions of this chapter.

(2) All of the powers, duties, and functions assigned to the District of Columbia Energy Unit of the Executive Office of the Mayor shall be transferred to the District of Columbia Office of Energy. All positions, personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds available relating to the powers, duties, and functions so transferred, are transferred to the District of Columbia Office of Energy as created by this chapter.

(b) The administrator and head of the Office shall be the Director of the District of Columbia Office of Energy, who shall be a person qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the Office. The Director shall be a resident of the District of Columbia and shall be appointed by the Mayor, and confirmed by the Council of the District of Columbia.

(c) The Director shall:

(1) Supervise, direct, and account for the administration and operation of the Office, its units, functions, and employees; and

(2) Coordinate and facilitate the overall effort of the District of Columbia government to achieve energy conservation and renewable resource utilization by devising pertinent policies, plans, and programs.

(d) The District of Columbia Office of Energy is authorized to:

(1) Advise the Mayor on current or impending energy related problems and to serve as the lead agency to develop and implement the District’s response to such problems;

(2) Act as central repository and clearinghouse for the collection and public inspection of data and information with respect to energy resources and energy matters in the District, including, but not limited to: (A) Data on energy supply, demand, costs, projections, and forecasts; and (B) inventory data on energy research and development projects, studies, or other programs conducted in the District under public and private supervision or sponsorship of both and the results thereof. The Office shall develop an energy information reporting system for use by all government agencies and by the general public;

(3) Develop and recommend to the Mayor a comprehensive long-range District energy plan to achieve maximum effective management and use of present and future sources of energy, including, but not limited to, an energy conservation plan, a District facilities energy management plan, an annual energy supply and demand forecast, an emergency energy shortage contingency plan, and an energy research and development program;

(4) Plan, oversee, and coordinate the various programs mandated by the federal energy conservation acts: The 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. § 6201), the 1976 Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. § 6801), the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. § 8201), and any subsequent federal energy conservation and related legislation; and identify additional federal or other grant opportunities for District of Columbia energy programs, and coordinate the preparation and submission of energy grant applications for other departments, offices, and agencies: Provided, however, that no provisions of this chapter shall be construed to limit the authority of any independent commission, office, board, or agency of the District of Columbia to apply for and receive federal and private grants;

(5) Develop and implement a District of Columbia fuel allocation program in a manner consistent with District energy policies;

(6) Act as the lead agency to represent the District before the federal government, other state and local governments, regional governments, and other appropriate public and private agencies in all energy and energy resource matters;

(7) Promote the development of energy-related businesses and employment in the District of Columbia, with special emphasis on renewable resource technologies and markets;

(8) Promote the application of energy conservation and renewable resource principles and policies in land use planning, zoning, building regulations, capital improvements, and lease agreements for government offices or other space needs;

(9) Coordinate the development and implementation of energy assistance policies and programs for low-income, fixed-income, and elderly households;

(10) Require, in order to assure the adequate development of relevant energy information as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, that all energy distributors and major energy consumers file such reports, data, and forecasts as the Office may require.

(A) In obtaining information under this paragraph, the Office:

(i) Shall, to the maximum extent feasible, provide that reports, data, and forecasts be consistent with material required by the District of Columbia and federal agencies in order to prevent unnecessary duplication; and

(ii) May, with the written consent of the Mayor, subpoena witnesses, material, and relevant books, papers, accounts, records, and memoranda; administer oaths; and cause the deposition of persons residing within or without the District to be taken in the manner prescribed for depositions in civil actions in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and

(B) Information furnished under this paragraph shall be confidential and maintained as such, if so requested by the person providing the information, if the information is proprietary in nature. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the use of confidential information to prepare statistics or other general data for publication when so presented as to prevent identification of particular persons or sources; nor shall the confidentiality requirement of this subsection apply to information furnished by, or relating to, governmental agencies, or to public utilities, or to carriers regulated by the Public Service Commission or by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission, or by any of the federal regulatory agencies; Provided, that utility customer account information shall remain confidential unless such confidentiality is expressly waived by the individual customer whose account is affected;

(11) Provide for the training and certification of energy auditors, and provide for such energy audits as may be deemed necessary and desirable to carry out the purposes, programs, and policies of this chapter or any other energy-related law applicable to the District; to the maximum extent feasible, the energy audit program should be carried out as a decentralized, neighborhood-based effort;

(12) Require the annual submission of energy audit reports and conservation plans by departments, offices, boards, bureaus, commissions, authorities, and other agencies or instrumentalities of the District, and in cooperation with the Department of General Services, evaluate the plans and the progress of the agencies and instrumentalities in meeting the goals of the plans, and advise the agencies and instrumentalities of improvements or changes to be made in their plans, programs, and goals;

(13) Conduct hearings and investigations in order to carry out the purposes, programs, and policies of this chapter, and to issue subpoenas in furtherance of such authority;

(14) Assist the Corporation Counsel and Office of Consumer Protection in safeguarding consumers from unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive acts and practices in the marketing, selling, or distributing of energy, energy resources, energy technologies, and energy conserving goods or services;

(15) Evaluate policies governing the establishment of rates and prices for energy as related to energy conservation, and, through formal intervention before the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, recommend changes in energy pricing policies and rate schedules;

(16) Appoint, with the written consent of the Mayor, such advisory committees, boards, and task forces as are necessary and desirable to carry out the purposes and policies of this chapter;

(17) Promulgate regulations pursuant to the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act ( § 2-501 et seq.), to conduct public hearings, and to fulfill all duties and responsibilities of the Office granted pursuant to this chapter; and

(18) Develop and transmit to the Mayor and the Council a long-range plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the District by 100% by 2050.

(1) The Office shall prepare and recommend, as part of a comprehensive energy plan for the District, an energy conservation plan for transmittal to the Mayor; the initial plan to be completed 180 days after monies have been appropriated to fund the District of Columbia Office of Energy.

(2) The energy conservation plan shall be designed to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and economy of the District of Columbia and to encourage and promote conservation of energy through reducing wasteful, uneconomical, or inefficient uses.

(3) The energy conservation plan may include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Recommendations for District energy conservation goals, consisting of a percentage change in projected energy consumption in the District for the years 1981, 1985, and 1990; which goals are economically feasible and are achievable by implementation of the energy conservation plan; and specific plans of action to achieve these goals;

(B) Recommendations for a continuing program of public education, to increase public awareness of the energy and cost savings likely to result from energy conservation; and to provide public information and technical assistance in the planning, financing, installing, and monitoring of energy conservation measures;

(C) Recommendations to the District of Columbia Department of Transportation of programs and policies to encourage energy efficient modes of transportation for people and goods, including, but not limited to, public transportation, park-and-ride lots, van pools and car pools, electric and hybrid vehicles, and other energy efficient forms of transportation, variable working schedules, preferential traffic controls, and urban area traffic restrictions;

(D) Recommendations of energy conservation measures and renewable energy resource measures which:

(i) Can be carried out in residential and nonresidential buildings;

(ii) Increase the efficient use of energy; and

(iii) Are economically feasible to implement, based on climatic, environmental, demographic, architectural, and economic conditions within the District; and recommend programs and policies to encourage, promote, and finance such measures; and

(E) Any other recommendations which the Office considers to be a significant part of a District-wide energy conservation effort and goal, and which include provisions for sufficient incentives to further energy conservation.

(4) The energy conservation plan may include a detailed description of the following:

(A) The estimated energy savings;

(B) The estimated effects on public budgets and revenues;

(C) The estimated impact on District economy;

(D) The estimated increase or decrease in environmental residuals as a result of implementing the plan; and

(E) The estimated impact of existing energy plans on District economy.

(5) The energy conservation plan shall contain proposals for implementing the recommendations made pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection as can be carried out by order of the Mayor.

(6) The Office shall hold such public hearings on the energy conservation plan as it deems necessary and desirable. Upon completion of the energy conservation plan and public hearings on such plan, the Office shall transmit the plan to the Mayor for approval or disapproval. Upon approval of the plan, the Mayor shall assign administrative responsibility to appropriate agencies of the District government for implementation of the plan as may be carried out by order of the Mayor.

(7) The Mayor shall transmit the approved energy conservation plan to the Council of the District of Columbia and make copies available for public inspection.

(8) At least once every 3 years, or whenever such changes take place as would significantly affect energy supply or demand in the District, the Office shall review and, if necessary, revise the energy conservation plan, transmitting the revised plan to the Mayor. The public hearing procedures contained in paragraph (6) of this subsection shall not apply to any review of revisions of the energy conservation plan which take place within 3 years of any public hearings held on the plan or a revised plan.

(1) The Office shall coordinate the preparation of, and recommend as part of the comprehensive energy plan for the District, a facilities energy management plan for transmittal to the Mayor, the initial plan to be completed 180 days after monies have been appropriated to fund the District of Columbia Office of Energy.

(2) The District facilities energy management plan shall be designed to ensure that energy conservation methods and life-cycle cost analysis are employed in the design, acquisition, lease, construction, renovation, and maintenance of all new and existing District-assisted facilities, and in the procurement and purchase of all District materials, supplies, and vehicles.

(3) The District facilities energy management plan may include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Development, promulgation, and maintenance of a life-cycle cost analysis method to be applied and enforced by the Department of General Services in reviewing the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of District-owned facilities, and in the procurement of District materials, supplies, and vehicles. The Department of General Services shall also have the authority to review the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of District-assisted facilities only for the purposes of advising the management of such facilities with respect to application of the life-cycle cost analysis methods developed under this paragraph;

(B) A program of energy audits of District-owned and District-assisted facilities, which audits shall, to the extent practicable, be developed and maintained by periodic revision in cooperation with designated representatives of said facilities;

(C) Development, maintenance, and distribution to District-owned and District-assisted facilities of guidelines, recommendations, and technical assistance for energy conservation measures and renewable energy resource measures to be employed, installed, and monitored in the facilities and in the procurement and purchase of materials, supplies, and vehicles by the District government; and

(D) A detailed description of the estimated energy savings, effect on public budgets and revenues, impact on the District economy, and increase or decrease in environmental residuals of implementing the District facilities energy management plan.

(4) The District facilities energy management plan may contain proposals for the implementation of such recommendations as may be carried out by order of the Mayor.

(5) Upon completion of the draft plan, the Office and the Mayor shall follow the procedures as outlined in subsection (e) of this section, and § 8-171.05 [repealed]: Except, that no public hearings on the plan shall be required.

(6) The Office shall update the District facilities energy management plan upon a finding by the Office that an update is justified.

(1) The Office in cooperation and consultation with the Public Service Commission, Office of People’s Counsel, and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and other appropriate District agencies shall, as part of the comprehensive energy plan for the District, prepare a recommended emergency energy shortage contingency plan for transmittal to the Mayor, the initial plan to be completed 180 days after monies have been appropriated to fund the District of Columbia Office of Energy.

(2) The emergency energy shortage contingency plan shall be designed to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, minimize the adverse impact on the physical, social, and economic well-being of the District, and provide for the fair and equitable allocation of scarce energy resources, during emergency energy shortages.

(3) In preparing the plan, the Office shall collect and compile from all relevant governmental agencies, including the Public Service Commission, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, and the United States Department of Energy, any existing contingency and energy allocation or curtailment plans for dealing with emergency energy shortages, or information related thereto.

(4) The Office may hold 1 or more public hearings, investigate and review the plans submitted pursuant to this subsection, and shall approve and recommend to the Mayor the emergency energy shortage contingency plan to be implemented upon adoption by the Council and signed by the Mayor. The plan may be based upon the plans collected and compiled by the Office, and upon the information provided at the hearing(s); provided, however, that the plan is consistent with such federal programs and regulations that are already in effect at that time.

(5) The emergency energy shortage contingency plan may include, but not be limited to:

(A) Recommendations for differentiated curtailment during an emergency energy shortage of energy consumption by energy users on the basis or ability by users and energy distributors to accommodate such curtailments;

(B) A variety of strategies and staged conservation measures of increasing intensity and authority to reduce energy use during a state of emergency declared pursuant to § 1-204.12(a) , by reason of an emergency energy shortage, and guidelines and criteria for allocation of energy resources to priority users during such an emergency. The plan shall contain alternative conservation actions and allocation plans to reasonably meet various foreseeable shortage circumstances and to allow a choice of appropriate responses;

(C) Evidence that the plan is consistent with the requirements for emergency energy conservation and allocation laws and regulations of the federal government and the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, and with procedures for implementing the District’s responsibility as mandated by any federal programs, laws, orders, rules, or regulations relating to the allocation, conservation, or consumption of energy resources, and all orders, rules, and regulations thereto;

(D) A scheduled program of such investigations and studies by the Office as are necessary to determine if and when emergency energy shortages are likely to affect the District;

(E) Recommendations for administrative and legislative action required to avert emergency energy shortages; and

(F) Recommendations for procedures for fair and equitable review of complaints and requests for special exemptions from emergency conservation measures or emergency allocations.

(6) Upon completion of the draft recommended plan, the Office and the Mayor shall follow the procedures as outlined in subsection (e) of this section, and § 8-171.05 [repealed]: Except, that no public hearings on the plan shall be required other than pursuant to subsection (g)(4) of this section.

(7) The Office may update the emergency energy shortage contingency plan at least every 3 years or whenever such changes are deemed necessary.

(h) The Office, in cooperation and consultation with the institutions of higher education in the District, the United States Department of Energy, and other interested and qualified sources of expertise, may, as part of a comprehensive energy plan, develop and carry out an energy research and development program designed to encourage implementation of the District policies contained in § 8-171.03 .

(i) The Director shall make an annual report of the Office’s operations to the Mayor and to the Council. Such report may include, but not be limited to:

(1) An overview of city-wide growth and development as they relate to further requirements for energy in the District, including patterns of community development and change, shifts in transportation modes, modifications in building types and designs, and other trends and factors which, as determined by the Office, will significantly affect District energy needs;

(2) A forecast of city-wide end-use sector energy demand and city-wide energy resource supply available for the coming year;

(3) An assessment of growth trends in energy consumption and production and an identification of potential adverse social, economic, or environmental impacts which might be imposed by current trends;

(4) Estimates of energy savings, effect on public budgets and revenues, impact on the District economy, and increase, or decrease, in environmental residuals in the District of plans, programs, and policies of this chapter and federal plans, programs, and policies implemented in the coming year;

(5) Inventory and evaluation of energy research and development programs carried out in the past year or scheduled to be carried out in the coming year;

(6) Recommendations to the Mayor and to the Council for administrative and legislative actions on energy matters; and

(7) A summary review of the Office’s activities during the year.

(1) Within 3 months of the date that monies are appropriated for the Office of Energy, all District agencies and instrumentalities shall do the following:

(A) Review their present statutory authority, administrative rules and regulations, and practices and procedures to determine whether such are consistent with the purposes and policies of this chapter;

(B) Effect or recommend such changes as may be necessary to comply with the purposes and policies of this chapter;

(C) Designate 1 officer or employee from each agency or instrumentality to serve as the official responsible for energy matters within the respective agency or instrumentality; and

(D) Submit a written report to the Office of its findings and actions pursuant to this paragraph.

(2) The Office shall prepare and distribute at the earliest feasible date after March 4, 1981, an index of functions and responsibilities of District agencies and instrumentalities, relating to energy and energy resources, in sufficient detail to guide the public and serve as a basis for further steps as may be necessary to assure full coordination without duplication of the energy-related activities of the agencies and instrumentalities. No later than 180 days after completion of the index, the Office shall recommend to the Mayor and to the Council, such action as may be necessary to preclude any identified or potential duplication of energy and energy resource related functions and responsibilities of District agencies and instrumentalities.

(1) The Director shall prepare a proposed budget for the operation of the Office to be submitted for the consideration of the Mayor and the Council.

(2) The Office shall be operated within the limitation of the appropriations and grants or other funds for which it qualifies, in accordance with approved programs.

Legislative History

Mar. 4, 1981, D.C. Law 3-132, § 5, 28 DCR 445; Apr. 12, 2000, D.C. Law 13-91, § 125, 47 DCR 520; Mar. 14, 2007, D.C. Law 16-262, § 402, 54 DCR 794