1. (a) As used in this section:

   1. (1) “District heating system” means a thermal loop natural gas demand reduction system that is located in a designated area and is designed to capture an annual minimum of thirty million British thermal units of waste heat and transmits and distributes at least seventy-five per cent of such waste heat directly to the premises of end use customers that are located in such system's service area.
   2. (2) “Gas company” has the same meaning as provided in section 16-1.
2. (b) After July 1, 2015, each gas company shall develop an incentive program for district heating systems for the purpose of reducing natural gas demand in the state. As part of the conservation and load management plan, pursuant to section 16-245m, each gas company shall submit such program plan for approval to the Energy Conservation Management Board and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Said board and department have discretion to jointly approve or disapprove such plan. Such program shall, on or after March 1, 2016, provide an incentive payment to end use customers who connect on or after March 1, 2016, to a district heating system for heating purposes. Such incentive payment shall be based on such customer's projected natural gas demand reduction for the period of time that such customer commits to utilize the services of such heating system. The projected natural gas demand reduction shall be based on such customer's weather-adjusted historical usage data from the previous three years. The amount of the incentive payment made to such end use customer shall not exceed the incentive payment made for equivalent natural gas demand reductions through the state's conservation and load management plan.

3. (c) An owner or operator of a district heating system may charge each end use customer a connection charge up to an amount equal to the incentive payment received by such end use customer.

   *(d) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall ensure that the revenues required to fund such incentive payments made pursuant to this section are provided through a fully reconciling conservation adjustment mechanism, which shall not exceed more than nine million dollars in total for the program established under this section, provided (1) such revenues shall be in addition to the revenues authorized to fund the conservation and load management fund pursuant to section 16-245m, and (2) such revenues exceeding two million dollars required to fund such incentive payments shall be paid over a period of not less than two years. Such revenues shall only be collected from the gas customers of the company in whose service area such district heating system is located.

   *Note: On and after January 1, 2020, subsection (d) of this section, as amended by section 24 of public act 18-50, is to read as follows:

   “(d) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall ensure that the revenues required to fund such incentive payments made pursuant to this section are provided through a fully reconciling conservation adjustment mechanism, which shall not exceed more than nine million dollars in total for the program established under this section, provided (1) such revenues shall be in addition to the revenues authorized to fund the Conservation and Load Management Plan pursuant to section 16-245m, and (2) such revenues exceeding two million dollars required to fund such incentive payments shall be paid over a period of not less than two years. Such revenues shall only be collected from the gas customers of the company in whose service area such district heating system is located.”

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 242; P.A. 18-50, S. 24.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 18-50 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “conservation and load management fund” with “Conservation and Load Management Plan”, effective January 1, 2020.