Senate Bill 1477, which requires the Commission to develop programs designed to test two specific programmatic approaches to building decarbonization: a Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development (BUILD Program) program, and the Technology and Equipment for Clean Heating (TECH) initiative. The BUILD Program requires gas corporations to provide incentives to eligible applicants, as defined, for the deployment of near-zero-emission building technologies to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from buildings. The TECH Intiative requires the CPUC to identify and target key low-emission space and water heating equipment technologies that are in an early stage of market development and provide various forms of support for their development. These two pilot programs are designed to develop market experience for the purpose of decarbonizing California’s residential buildings in order to achieve California’s zero-emissions goals.
On March 26, 2020, the Commission issued Decision D2003027 establishing a framework for the Commission oversight of SB1744’s two pilot programs. This decision includes several funding allocations, including appropriating 40% of the $200 million budget for the BUILD Program and 60% for the TECH Initiative, and divides the percentage allocations between four gas corporations cap-and-trade allowances.
In July 2021, the California Legislature passed the budget “trailer” bill AB137, which directs the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and administer a new statewide program, the Building Initiative for Low-Emissions Development Program Phase 2, to incentivize the construction of all-electric new multi-family and market-rate single-family residential buildings plus energy storage installations. This bill requires the CEC to establish guidelines for this program by June 30, 2022 through a public stakeholder process.