A school district’s trustees must create an energy plan to cut annual electric use by 5% and follow that plan in later fiscal years.
Sec. 44.902. LONG-RANGE ENERGY PLAN TO REDUCE CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRIC ENERGY. (a) The board of trustees of a school district shall establish a long-range energy plan to reduce the district's annual electric consumption by five percent beginning with the 2008 state fiscal year and consume electricity in subsequent fiscal years in accordance with the district's energy plan. (b) The plan required under Subsection (a) must include: (1) strategies for achieving energy efficiency that: (A) result in net savings for the district; or (B) can be achieved without financial cost to the district; and (2) for each strategy identified under Subdivision (1), the initial, short-term capital costs and lifetime costs and savings that may result from implementation of the strategy. (b-1) For purposes of Subsection (b), a strategy for achieving energy efficiency includes facility design and construction. (c) In determining under Subsection (b) whether a strategy may result in financial cost to the district, the board of trustees shall consider the total net costs and savings that may occur over the seven-year period following implementation of the strategy. (d) The board of trustees may submit the plan required under Subsection (a) to the State Energy Conservation Office for the purposes of determining whether funds available through loan programs administered by the office or tax incentives administered by the state or federal government are available to the district. The board may not disallow any proper allocation of incentives. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 939 (H.B. 3693), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1347 (S.B. 300), Sec. 4, eff. June 19, 2009. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 982 (H.B. 1728), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.