§ 56-___. Public Benefits Fund
(a) There shall be established in the Office of the State Treasurer, effective January 1, 2001, the Electric Public Benefits Fund to fund renewable energy, energy efficiency, and low-income energy efficiency programs and projects as authorized in this section. The Fund shall consist of revenues generated by the public benefits charge established under subsection (c) of this section and any other revenues appropriated to the Fund by the General Assembly.
(b) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separate and apart from all other monies, funds and accounts. Investment earnings credited to the assets of the Fund shall become part of the Fund. Any balance remaining in the Fund at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward in the Fund for the next succeeding fiscal year. The Fund shall be administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy in accordance with rules adopted by the Commission.
(c) The Commission shall provide for a public benefits charge to be charged by billing parties to all electric customers, effective January 1, 2001. The Commission shall set the public benefits charge at a rate of five one thousandths of one dollar ($.0005) per kilowatt-hour. The charge shall be a nonbypassable element of the local distribution service and collected on the basis of usage.
(d) The Commission shall adopt rules establishing the manner in which the public benefits charge is assessed, the administration of the Public Benefits Fund established in subsection (a) of this section, the manner in which that Fund is used to support renewable energy resources, energy efficiency, and low-income energy efficiency, and other related matters the Commission deems appropriate and necessary. Provided, however, that funds shall be divided according to the following formula: low income energy efficiency programs - 40 percent, energy efficiency programs and projects - 30 percent, renewable energy programs and projects - 30 percent. Of the renewable energy funds, at least 50 percent will be dedicated to emerging renewable energy resources.
(e) Each entity responsible for billing and collecting the public benefits charge shall remit the sums collected through the charge to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Public Benefits Fund.
§ 56-576 would be amended to include the following definitions:
"Renewable energy resource" means power produced using renewable or non-depletable primary energy sources within the meaning of regulations adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 197B (P.L. 95-617).
"Emerging renewable energy resources" means power produced using (1) solar photovoltaic or solar thermal electric energy; (ii) fuel cells utilizing renewable fuels; (iii) solar heating thermal technologies; (iv) wind power turbines used for residential-scale systems.