Chapter 156 | Energy Conservation Measures

Section 156.01 | Energy conservation measure and energy saving measure definitions.

• Effective: September 29, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

As used in sections 156.01 to 156.05 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Avoided capital costs" means a measured reduction in the cost of future equipment or other capital purchases that results from implementation of one or more energy or water conservation measures, when compared to an established baseline for previous such cost.

(B) "Energy conservation measure" means an installation or modification of an installation in, or a remodeling of, an existing building in order to reduce energy consumption and operating costs. The term includes any of the following:

(1) Installation or modification of insulation in the building structure and systems within the building;

(2) Installation or modification of storm windows and doors, multiglazed windows and doors, and heat absorbing or heat reflective glazed and coated window and door systems; installation of additional glazing; reductions in glass area; and other window and door system modifications that reduce energy consumption and operating costs;

(3) Installation or modification of automatic energy control systems;

(4) Replacement or modification of heating, ventilating, or air conditioning systems;

(5) Application of caulking and weather stripping;

(6) Replacement or modification of lighting fixtures to increase the energy efficiency of the lighting system without increasing the overall illumination of a building unless the increase in illumination is necessary to conform to the applicable state or local building code for the proposed lighting system;

(7) Installation or modification of energy recovery systems;

(8) Installation or modification of cogeneration systems that produce steam or forms of energy such as heat, as well as electricity, for use primarily within a building or complex of buildings;

(9) Installation or modification of trigeneration systems that produce heat and cooling, as well as electricity, for use primarily within a building or complex of buildings;

(10) Installation or modification of systems that harvest renewable energy from solar, wind, water, biomass, bio-gas, or geothermal sources, for use primarily within a building or complex of buildings;

(11) Retro-commissioning or recommissioning energy-related systems to verify that they are installed and calibrated to optimize energy and operational performance within a building or complex of buildings;

(12) Consolidation, virtualization, and optimization of computer servers, data storage devices, or other information technology hardware and infrastructure;

(13) Any other modification, installation, or remodeling approved by the executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission as an energy conservation measure for one or more buildings owned by either of the following:

(a) The state;

(b) A state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code that implements the energy conservation measure in consultation with the executive director.

(C) "Energy saving measure" means the acquisition and installation, by purchase, lease, lease-purchase, lease with an option to buy, or installment purchase, of an energy conservation measure and any attendant architectural and engineering consulting services.

(D) "Energy, water, or wastewater cost savings" means a measured reduction in, as applicable, the cost of fuel, energy or water consumption, wastewater production, or stipulated operation or maintenance resulting from the implementation of one or more energy or water conservation measures, when compared to an established baseline for previous such costs, respectively.

(E) "Operating cost savings" means a measured reduction in the cost of stipulated operation or maintenance created by the installation of new equipment or implementation of a new service, when compared with an established baseline for previous such stipulated costs.

(F) "Water conservation measure" means an installation or modification of an installation in, or a remodeling of, an existing building or the surrounding grounds in order to reduce water consumption. The term includes any of the following:

(1) Water-conserving fixture, appliance, or equipment, or the substitution of a nonwater-using fixture, appliance, or equipment;

(2) Water-conserving, landscape irrigation equipment;

(3) Landscaping measure that reduces storm water runoff demand and capture and hold applied water and rainfall, including landscape contouring such as the use of a berm, swale, or terrace and including the use of a soil amendment, including compost, that increases the water-holding capacity of the soil;

(4) Rainwater harvesting equipment or equipment to make use of water collected as part of a storm water system installed for water quality control;

(5) Equipment for recycling or reuse of water originating on the premises or from another source, including treated, municipal effluent;

(6) Equipment needed to capture water for nonpotable uses from any nonconventional, alternate source, including air conditioning condensate or gray water;

(7) Any other modification, installation, or remodeling approved by the executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission as a water conservation measure for one or more buildings or the surrounding grounds owned by either of the following:

(a) The state;

(b) A state institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code that implements the water conservation measure in consultation with the executive director.

(G) "Water saving measure" means the acquisition and installation, by the purchase, lease, lease-purchase, lease with an option to buy, or installment purchases of a water conservation measure and any attendant architectural and engineering consulting services.

Section 156.02 | Contract for report containing analysis and recommendations pertaining to implementation of energy conservation measures.

• Effective: September 29, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

The executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission may, on the executive director's own initiative or at the request of a state agency, contract with an energy or a water services company, architect, professional engineer, contractor, or other person experienced in the design and implementation of energy or water conservation measures for a report containing an analysis and recommendations pertaining to the implementation of energy or water conservation measures that result in energy, water, or wastewater cost savings, operating cost savings, or avoided capital costs for the institution. The report shall include estimates of all costs of such installations, including the costs of design, engineering, installation, maintenance, repairs, and debt service, and estimates of the energy, water, or wastewater cost savings, operating cost savings, and avoided capital costs created.

Section 156.03 | Implementing energy saving measures.

• Effective: September 15, 2014
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 483 - 130th General Assembly

(A) If the executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission wishes to enter into an installment payment contract pursuant to section 156.04 of the Revised Code or any other contract to implement one or more energy or water saving measures, the executive director may proceed under Chapter 153. of the Revised Code, or, alternatively, the executive director may request the controlling board to exempt the contract from Chapter 153. of the Revised Code.

A surety bond furnished pursuant to section 153.54 of the Revised Code shall not secure obligations related to energy or water savings as referenced in division (D) of this section.

If the controlling board by a majority vote approves an exemption, that chapter shall not apply to the contract and instead the executive director shall request proposals from at least three parties for the implementation of the energy or water saving measures. Prior to providing any interested party a copy of any such request, the executive director shall advertise, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the contract is to be performed, and may advertise by electronic means pursuant to rules adopted by the executive director, the executive director's intent to request proposals for the implementation of the energy or water saving measures. The notice shall invite interested parties to submit proposals for consideration and shall be published at least thirty days prior to the date for accepting proposals.

(B) Upon receiving the proposals, the executive director shall analyze them and, after considering the cost estimates of each proposal and the availability of funds to pay for each with current appropriations or by financing the cost of each through an installment payment contract under section 156.04 of the Revised Code, may select one or more proposals or reject all proposals. In selecting proposals, the executive director shall select the one or more proposals most likely to result in the greatest energy, water, or wastewater savings, operating costs savings, and avoided capital costs created.

(C) No contract shall be awarded to implement energy or water saving measures under this section, unless the executive director finds that both of the following circumstances exists:

(1) Not less than one-fifteenth of the costs of the contract shall be paid within two years from the date of purchase;

(2) In the case of a contract for a cogeneration system described in division (B)(8) of section 156.01 of the Revised Code, the remaining balance of the cost of the contract shall be paid within twenty years from the date of purchase, and, in the case of all other contracts, fifteen years.

(D) If the executive director determines that a surety bond is necessary to secure energy or water savings guaranteed in the contract, the energy services company shall provide a surety bond that satisfies all of the following requirements:

(1) The penal sum of the surety bond for the first guarantee year shall equal the amount of savings included in the annual guaranteed savings amount that is measured and calculated in accordance with the measurement and verification plan included in the contract, but may not include savings that are not measured or that are stipulated in the contract. The annual guaranteed savings amount shall include only the savings guaranteed in the contract for the one-year term that begins on the first day of the first savings guarantee year and may not include amounts from subsequent years.

(2) The surety bond shall have a term of not more than one year unless renewed. At the option of the executive director, the surety bond may be renewed for one or two additional terms, each term not to exceed one year. The surety bond may not be renewed or extended so that it is in effect for more than three consecutive years.

In the event of a renewal, the penal sum of the surety bond for each renewed year shall be revised so that the penal sum equals the annual guaranteed savings amount for such renewal year that is measured and calculated in accordance with the measurement and verification plan included in the contract, but may not include savings that are not measured or that are stipulated in the contract. Regardless of the number of renewals of the bond, the aggregate liability under each renewed bond may not exceed the penal sum stated in the renewal certificate for the applicable renewal year.

(3) The surety bond for the first year shall be issued within thirty days of the commencement of the first savings guarantee year under the contract.

In the event of renewal, the surety shall deliver to the executive director a renewal certificate reflecting the revised penal sum within thirty days of the executive director's request. The executive director shall deliver the request for renewal not less than thirty days prior to the expiration date of the surety bond then in existence.

Section 156.04 | Installment payment contract for implementation of one or more energy saving measures.

• Effective: September 29, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

(A) In accordance with this section and section 156.03 of the Revised Code, the executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission may, on the executive director's own initiative or at the request of a state agency, enter into an installment payment contract for the implementation of one or more energy or water saving measures. If the executive director wishes an installment payment contract to be exempted from Chapter 153. of the Revised Code, the executive director shall proceed pursuant to section 156.03 of the Revised Code.

(B) Any installment payment contract under this section shall provide that all payments, except payments for repairs and obligations on termination of the contract prior to its expiration, are to be a stated percentage of calculated energy, water, or wastewater cost savings, operating costs, and avoided capital costs attributable to the one or more measures over a defined period of time and are to be made only to the extent that those calculated amounts actually occur. No such contract shall contain either of the following:

(1) A requirement of any additional capital investment or contribution of funds, other than funds available from state or federal grants;

(2) In the case of a contract for a cogeneration system described in division (B)(8) of section 156.01 of the Revised Code, a payment term longer than twenty years, and, in the case of all other contracts, a payment term longer than fifteen years.

(C) Any installment payment contract entered into under this section shall terminate no later than the last day of the fiscal biennium for which funds have been appropriated by the general assembly and shall be renewed in each succeeding fiscal biennium in which any balance of the contract remains unpaid, provided that both an appropriation for that succeeding fiscal biennium and the certification required by section 126.07 of the Revised Code are made.

(D) Any installment payment contract entered into under this section shall be eligible for financing provided through the Ohio air quality development authority under Chapter 3706. of the Revised Code.

Section 156.05 | Administrative rules.

• Effective: September 29, 2013
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly

In accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the executive director of the Ohio facilities construction commission shall adopt, and enforce rules necessary to administer sections 156.01 to 156.04 of the Revised Code. Rules adopted under this section shall establish procedures by which the executive director may authorize in the executive director's stead the manager of any building owned by the state to enter into contracts authorized under sections 156.01 to 156.04 of the Revised Code.