(a) (1) The commission, in consultation with the Energy Commission, shall develop and supervise the administration of the Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development (BUILD) Program to require gas corporations to provide incentives to eligible applicants for the deployment of near-zero-emission building technologies to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from those buildings below the minimum projected emissions reductions that would otherwise be expected to result from the implementation of the prescriptive standards described in Section 150.1 of Subchapter 8 of Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.

(2) The commission may determine whether each gas corporation or a third party, including the Energy Commission, shall administer the program.

(3) Moneys allocated pursuant to Section 748.6 shall be available to each gas corporation, or the third-party administrator, for allocation consistent with this section.

(b) The amount of the incentive provided pursuant to the program shall take into account the availability of existing incentives and shall be based on the projected amount of reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from the installation of the near-zero-emission building technology. The commission shall set the incentives to encourage building designs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond industry practices and to offer greater incentives for larger projected greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Incentives for buildings that serve low-income residents may have different standards from those that serve other residents.

(c) (1) To encourage the adoption of near-zero-emission building technologies in new low-income residential housing located in disadvantaged communities or low-income communities, the program shall reserve a minimum of 30 percent of the amount allocated pursuant to Section 748.6 for new low-income residential housing.

(2) If, following the implementation of the outreach plan pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (d), the moneys reserved pursuant to paragraph (1) remain unspent two years after those moneys were reserved, the commission shall evaluate potential changes to the program to increase participation and may make those moneys, or a portion of those moneys, available for other purposes consistent with the program.

(d) In supervising the administration of the program, the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Ensure that projects funded with moneys reserved pursuant to subdivision (c) are offered technical assistance to encourage the use of the program.

(2) Provide higher incentives for buildings described in subdivision (c) than for installations in other new residential buildings.

(3) Ensure that projects funded with moneys reserved pursuant to subdivision (c) do not result in higher utility bills for building occupants.

(4) (A) Develop program guidelines that include, at a minimum, a list of eligible technologies, a process for evaluating new technologies, criteria for scoring and selecting projects, and a process and set of metrics by which to evaluate and track the program’s results.

(B) Program metrics shall include, at a minimum, the number of low-emission systems installed in each building type, projected utility bill savings, and the cost per metric ton of avoided greenhouse gas emissions.

(5) Implement an outreach plan to encourage applications for projects funded with moneys reserved pursuant to subdivision (c).

(e) Each gas corporation shall provide the commission with any information required by the commission to complete the report on the program required pursuant to Section 910.4.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 378, Sec. 4. (SB 1477) Effective January 1, 2019.)