Energy Efficiency Standards for State Facilities

Summary

Mississippi's Energy Efficiency Standards for State Facilities has emerged out of a series of state laws passed in the 2013 and 2014 sessions.

HB 1266 (July 2013) requires that newly constructed state buildings meet or exceed ASHRAE 90.1-2010 requirements or any other more stringent efficient building requirements selected by the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management and the Department of Finance and Administration. This law also applies to renovation projects and/or additions for buildings of a certain size constructed after 2009.

HB 1296 (July 2013) created the Energy Development Fund and authorized the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) Energy and Natural Resource Division to coordinate energy reduction efforts across the state and periodically author a State Energy Management Plan. A key mandate of the MDA’s Energy and Natural Resource Division is to coordinate with other government entities to gather energy related data from state facilities into a central database for the purpose of benchmarking energy consumption and cost.

SB 2521 (July 2014) provided additional rules governing the allowance of public entities to enter into energy performance contracts to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy equipment with terms of 20 years or less. SB 2521 was subsequently repealed. However, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-73 provides broad authority for any state agency to enter into an energy performance contract, energy services contract, on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy efficiency services and/or equipment.