Massachusetts · statute · Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 25A · 31 active provisions
Section 1. There shall be within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs a department called the department of energy resources, under the supervision of a commissioner of energy resources, hereinafter the commissioner. The duties given to the commissioner in this chapter and in any other general or sp…
Section 2. The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head of the department of energy resources and shall be responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of law relative to the division and to each administrative unit thereof. There shall be within the department 4 divisions: (i) a divisi…
Section 3. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Adaptation projects'', public infrastructure projects designed to mitigate adjustments in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and associated impacts including, but not limited to…
Section 4. Subject to appropriation, the commissioner of energy resources with the approval of the governor may appoint such persons as he shall deem necessary to perform the functions of the department and his office, provided that the provisions of chapter thirty-one and section nine A of chapter thirty shall not app…
Section 5. The commissioner shall file an annual report with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy and the senate and house committees on ways and means: (a) listing the number of employees of the department of energy resources, the sa…
Section 6. The department and its appropriate administrative units shall:— (1) develop and administer programs relating to energy conservation, alternative energy development, non-renewable energy supply and resource development, energy bond authority, energy information, and energy emergencies; (2) advise, assist, and…
Section 7. The department shall have the authority to collect price, inventory and product delivery data, including amounts and types of product sold, and other information which is specifically necessary and material regarding petroleum products, electricity, natural gas, and other fuels available for supply within th…
Section 8. The governor shall have the authority to declare an energy emergency in the commonwealth due to actual or imminent severe energy supply interruption in the commonwealth, or resulting from the obligating of the United States under the international energy program of the United States, or like obligation. The…
Section 9. To assist the office in the discharge of its duties, the commissioner may request from any agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth any information relevant to the discharge of such duties. An information copy of each application submitted by any state agency, including all state institutions of h…
Section 10. (a) The division of green communities shall assist the commonwealth's municipalities and other local governmental bodies to: reduce energy consumption and costs, reduce pollution, facilitate the development of renewable and alternative energy resources, and create local jobs related to the building of renew…
Section 10A. The division shall design and implement a competitive bidding procedure for the procurement of electric generation from renewable and alternative generating facilities on behalf of municipalities certified as green communities under section 10. Any competitive bids received shall include payment options wi…
Section 11. The commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to establish (i) an energy audit program to determine the energy consumption levels of and appropriate energy conservation measures for buildings and facilities owned by (a) the commonwealth, (b) its political subdivisions, (c) public authorities and other…
Section 11A. (a) The commissioner of energy resources is hereby authorized to prepare a state plan and to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to implement the Massachusetts commercial and apartment conservation service program, including requiring all utilities, as defined in section one of chapter four hun…
Section 11B. Motor vehicles owned and operated by the commonwealth, as they are removed from service, shall only be replaced with vehicles that have above-average fuel efficiency for new vehicles within their size class as determined by the federal government. The provisions of this section shall not apply in cases whe…
Section 11C. (a) A state agency or building authority may, in the manner provided by this section, contract for the procurement of energy management services. Such contracts may include terms of not more than 20 years. The state agency or building authority shall solicit competitive sealed proposals through a request f…
Section 11D. To enable retail customers to realize savings from electric utility restructuring, the commissioner, in consultation with local and state-wide consumer groups, is hereby authorized and directed to undertake activities, subject to appropriation, to assist consumers in understanding and evaluating their righ…
Section 11E. The department is hereby authorized and directed to monitor any independent systems operator or power exchanges organized pursuant to the provisions of chapter 164. The department shall determine the extent to which said operators and exchanges serve the needs of retail customers and contribute to the achi…
Section 11F. (a) The department shall establish a renewable energy portfolio standard for all retail electricity suppliers selling electricity to end-use customers in the commonwealth. By December 31, 1999, the department shall determine the actual percentage of kilowatt-hours sales to end-use customers in the commonwe…
Section 11G. The department of energy resources shall have the authority to oversee and coordinate ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs. The department shall seek to achieve goals including, but not limited to, the following: (i) ensure that energy efficiency funds are allocated equitably among customer classes;…
Section 11H. (a) The department of energy resources may make an assessment against each electric and gas utility company doing business in the commonwealth. This section shall not apply to municipally owned electric and gas companies. (b) The assessments shall be made to finance activities undertaken by the department…
Section 11I. (a) A state agency, local governmental body or building authority may use this section in the procurement of energy management services as an alternative to the procedures in section 11C. Nothing in this section shall preclude any such agency, body or authority from proceeding under section 11C. (b) An age…
Section 12. Except for emergency regulations adopted pursuant to section two of chapter thirty A, and except for actions taken under section eight of this chapter, any regulation, as defined in section one of said chapter thirty A, or any amendment or repeal of any such regulation adopted by the commissioner pursuant t…
Section 13. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department may apply for, receive, retain, redeem, sell or transfer any energy conservation credits, renewable energy certificates or credits, emissions credits, or energy reduction allowances earned or received by the commonwealth includin…
Section 14. (a) A state agency, building authority, local governmental body or the judiciary may contract for energy conservation projects that have a total project cost of $300,000 or less, directly and without further solicitation, with electric and gas utilities, their subcontractors and other providers of such ener…
Section 15. (a) For solar photovoltaic projects with a total project cost that is less than $100,000, a state agency, building authority or local governmental body may acquire photovoltaic panels and associated equipment for onsite use of the energy generated by these panels from contracts procured by the operational s…