A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the Energy Policy Council to identify, study, and recommend policies to increase energy efficiency and conservation, promote renewable energy resources, and reduce carbon emissions, as recommended by the Legislative Commission on global climate change.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The Energy Policy Council shall identify, study, and recommend policies to significantly increase energy efficiency and conservation, promote the development of renewable energy resources, and reduce carbon emissions.  The Council shall specifically consider:
(1)	Revision of the Utilities Commission's guiding language for electric utilities in order to promote significant increases in electric utility investment in energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy resources.
(2)	Incentives to encourage demand side management.
(3)	Incentives to encourage the use of more energy efficient appliances.
(4)	Allowing electric utilities to earn more from energy saved through efficiency and conservation programs than from energy generated.
(5)	Policies to encourage the development of renewable energy resources in the State.
(6)	Simplifying the net‑metering sign-up process and increasing the purchase price for energy generated from renewable energy resources under the net‑metering program.
(7)	Removing barriers to interconnection.
(8)	Requiring electric utilities to include potential future carbon costs when developing their biennial integrated resource plans.
(9)	Prohibiting the construction of new coal‑fired power plants that do not capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
(10)	Changes to the State renewable energy portfolio standard to allow greater use of combined heat and power and energy recycling technologies.
(11)	Removing barriers to implementation and permitting of energy recycling.
(12)	Authorizing the sale of thermal energy.
(13)	The potential benefits of a public benefit charge.
(14)	Evaluating the feasibility of establishing a third‑party administrator for energy efficiency programs in the State and to also study options for the framework, structure, and governance upon which a third‑party energy efficiency administrator would operate.
SECTION 2.  The Energy Policy Council may submit an interim report of its findings and recommendations to the Environmental Review Commission and the Joint Legislative Utility Review Committee no later than February 1, 2011, and shall submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the Environmental Review Commission and the Joint Legislative Utility Review Committee no later than May 1, 2011.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.