Senate budget would change energy efficiency scoring

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March 20, 2015

On March 20, Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced the Senate budget, a concurrent resolution that sets the budget for the U.S. government for fiscal year (FY) 2016 (S.Con.Res.11). Among many other provisions, the bill establishes criteria for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to determine the impact of energy efficiency on the federal budget and promotes efficiency and renewable energy. CBO has experienced problems expanding energy efficiency criteria because their current scorekeeping method does not accurately account for the benefits of increased energy efficiency. The new language would require CBO to consider energy savings as part of the net value of a project and would include a longer window for CBO to consider costs savings than the typical 10-year budget timeframe. CBO would weigh contract costs and energy savings against each other for a net price outcome.

Source: Congress, E&E News