NRS701.380. Coordination of activities and programs; expenditure of money from Trust Account for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation; other powers; preparation of annual report.

      1.  The Director shall:

      (a) Coordinate the activities and programs of the Office of Energy with the activities and programs of the Consumer’s Advocate and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, and with other federal, state and local officers and agencies that promote, fund, administer or operate activities and programs related to the use of renewable energy and the use of measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy.

      (b) Spend the money in the Trust Account for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation to:

             (1) Educate persons and entities concerning renewable energy and measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy.

             (2) Create incentives for investment in and the use of renewable energy and measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy.

             (3) Distribute grants and other money to establish programs and projects which incorporate the use of renewable energy and measures which conserve or reduce the demand for energy or which result in more efficient use of energy.

             (4) Conduct feasibility studies, including, without limitation, any feasibility studies concerning the establishment or expansion of any grants, incentives, rebates or other programs to enable or assist persons to reduce the cost of purchasing distributed generation systems and on-site generation systems and net metering systems that use renewable energy.

      (c) Take any other actions that the Director deems necessary to carry out the duties of the Office of Energy, including, without limitation, contracting with consultants, if necessary, for the purposes of program design or to assist the Director in carrying out the duties of the Office.

      2.  The Director shall prepare an annual report concerning the activities and programs of the Office of Energy and submit the report to the Legislative Commission and the Governor on or before January 30 of each year. The annual report must include, without limitation:

      (a) A description of the objectives of each activity and program;

      (b) An analysis of the effectiveness and efficiency of each activity and program in meeting the objectives of the activity or program;

      (c) The amount of money distributed for each activity and program from the Trust Account for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation and a detailed description of the use of that money for each activity and program;

      (d) An analysis of the coordination between the Office of Energy and other officers and agencies; and

      (e) Any changes planned for each activity and program.

      3.  As used in this section:

      (a) “Distributed generation system” means a facility or system for the generation of electricity that is in close proximity to the place where the electricity is consumed:

             (1) That uses renewable energy as defined in NRS 704.7811 to generate electricity;

             (2) That is located on the property of a customer of an electric utility;

             (3) That is connected on the customer’s side of the electricity meter;

             (4) That provides electricity primarily to offset customer load on that property; and

             (5) The excess generation from which is periodically exported to the grid in accordance with the provisions governing net metering systems used by customer-generators pursuant to NRS 704.766 to 704.775, inclusive.

      (b) “Electric utility” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 704.7571.

      (Added to NRS by 2001, 3261; A 2003, 1873; 2009, 1378; 2011, 2062)