House of Representatives General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.
5337383 February Session, 2026 LCOHouse Bill No.
19165337 ReferredHouse toof Representatives, April 2, 2026 The Committee on ENERGYEnergy ANDand TECHNOLOGYTechnology Introducedreported by:through REP.
(ET)STEINBERG ANof ACTthe CONCERNING136th DISTRICTDist., HEATINGChairperson SYSTEMof INCENTIVES.the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEM INCENTIVES.
(b) After July 1, 2015, each gas company shall develop an incentive program for district heating systems for the purpose ofreducing natural gasHB5337 demand/ inFile theNo. state.
As383 part of the conservation and load LCO 1916 1 ofHB5337 3File Raised Bill No.
5337383 management plan, pursuant to section 16-245m, each gas companydemand shallin submit such program plan for approval to the Energystate. Conservation Management Board and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
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.
[(d)] (e) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall ensure that theHB5337 revenues/ requiredFile to fund such incentive payments made pursuant LCO 1916 2 of 3 Raised Bill No.
5337383 to2 thisHB5337 sectionFile areNo. 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)suchrevenues shall beinadditionto therevenuesauthorizedto 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.
383 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)suchrevenues shall beinadditionto therevenuesauthorizedto 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.
Section 1 October 1, 2026 16-258d ET Joint Favorable LCOHB5337 1916/ 3File ofNo. 3
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383 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Department of Energy and CC&PUCF - Cost 177,290 127,290 Environmental Protection Note:
CC&PUCF=Consumer Counsel and Public Utility Control Fund Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill results in a cost to the Consumer Counsel and Public Utility Control Fund of $177,290 in FY 27 and $127,290 in FY 28, by requiring the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), to develop and implement an incentive program by July 1, 2027, for end use gas customers connected to a district heating system.
The new incentive program would replace the existing program and update the methodology for calculating incentive payments.
The bill will result in a cost to DEEP associated with one additional Research Analyst position, with an annual salary of $89,755 and associated fringe benefit costs of $37,535.
The new position will be responsible for cost-effectiveness testing and various approvals associated with the new program.
Additionally, DEEP will require $50,000 in FY 27, in consulting costs associated with the rollout of the new program.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.
HB5337 / File No.
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383 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5337 AN ACT CONCERNING DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEM INCENTIVES.
SUMMARY This bill changes the way incentive payments are calculated for certain district heating systems.
It does so by ending an existing program and replacing it with a similar program implemented by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
Current law requires gas companies to give an incentive payment to district heating system end users who connect to the system for heating on March 1, 2016, or later.
The gas companies must do this as part of the Conservation and Load Management (C&LM) plan, as approved by the Energy Efficiency Board and DEEP.
Current law requires incentives under this program to be calculated based on a customer’s projected natural gas demand reduction for the period they commit to using heating system services.
This projected reduction must be based on the customer’s weather-adjusted historical usage data from the previous three years.
Current law prohibits incentive payments made to any end use customer under this program from exceeding incentive payments made for other, equivalent natural gas demand reductions through the C&LM plan.
The bill requires DEEP, in consultation with the Energy Efficiency Board, to develop and implement an incentive program by July 1, 2027, for end use customers connected to a district heating system.
The bill ends incentives under the current program, described above, when DEEP implements its program or June 30, 2027, whichever is sooner.
Under the bill, incentives under DEEP’s program must be calculated based on the projected lifetime reduction in natural gas consumption that is due to the district heat system.
To make this calculation, DEEP HB5337 / File No.
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383 must use cost-effectiveness methodologies that are consistent with laws on the C&LM plan, the Connecticut Green Bank, and electric supplier consumer protections, as well as related regulations.
Of these laws, only the C&LM statutes directly address cost benefit screening (see BACKGROUND).
The bill retains certain provisions that apply to the incentive under current law and applies them to DEEP’s incentive under the bill.
For both incentives, a district heating system owner or operator may charge end use customers a connection charge in an amount up to the incentive amount received by the customer.
Funding for both incentives is provided through a fully reconciling conservation adjustment mechanism on gas customer bills for the gas company where the district heating system is located.
For both incentives, this funding is capped at $9 million in total for the programs and is in addition to revenues authorized to fund the C&LM plan generally (see BACKGROUND).
Any revenue over $2 million needed to fund the programs must be paid over a period of at least two years.
Under current law and the bill, a district heating system is a thermal loop natural gas demand reduction system designed to (1) capture at least 30 million British thermal units (BTUs) of waste heat and (2) distribute at least 75% of the waste heat to end users located in the system’s service area.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2026 BACKGROUND C&LM Plan Requirements and Funding By law, electric distribution companies, in coordination with gas companies, must submit a combined electric and gas C&LM plan to the Energy Efficiency Board and the DEEP commissioner for approval.
The plan’s purpose is to implement cost-effective energy conservation programs, demandmanagement, andmarkettransformationinitiatives.
The law requires programs included in the plan to be screened through cost-effectiveness testing that compares the value and payback period HB5337 / File No.
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383 of program benefits for all energy savings to program costs to ensure programs are designed to obtain energy savings and system benefits that exceed project costs.
If a program fails the cost-benefit test, it generally must be changed or terminated.
By law, the C&LM plan is funded, in part, through a fully reconciling conservation adjustment mechanism for each gas company of up to 4.6 cents per hundred cubic feet (CGS § 16-245m).
COMMITTEE ACTION Energy and Technology Committee Joint Favorable Yea 18 Nay 8 (03/17/2026) HB5337 / File No.
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