16.95 Powers and duties. The department shall, through a system of comprehensive long-range planning, promote the development and the maximum wise use of the energy, natural, and human resources of the state and develop and implement a cost-effective, balanced, reliable, and environmentally responsible energy strategy to promote economic growth. The department shall do all of the following:

(1) Collect, analyze, interpret and, in cooperation with the other state agencies, maintain the comprehensive data needed for effective state agency planning and effective review of those plans by the governor and the legislature.

(2) Perform research to evaluate and measure alternative objectives and administrative actions.

(3) Stimulate and encourage all state agencies to comprehensively plan and advance proposals for their area of state government services, and assist the state agencies to develop a necessary planning capacity.

(4) Prepare and maintain plans for those state agencies which do not have an adequate planning capacity, at the request and in cooperation with those agencies.

(5) Advise and assist state agencies in their development and maintenance of comprehensive plans, providing them with technical and program information, and advising them of the impact of related plans of other state agencies.

(6) Stimulate the consideration and possible use of creative techniques and actions that may better accomplish the objectives of this section.

(7) Evaluate the plans of all state agencies, identify both duplication and program gaps in the plans and measure the agency plans with the state goals enacted by the governor and the legislature.

(8) Advise and assist the governor and the legislature in establishing long-range development policies and programs in considering state agency plans with regard to those policies and programs.

(9) Develop and submit to the governor's office and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature, as determined by the speaker of the assembly and the president of the senate on or before September 1 of each even-numbered year a 5-year and 10-year plan for the resolution of the energy needs of low-income households. The department shall consult with the public service commission, the department of health services and other agencies and groups related to low-income energy assistance. The department shall include in each plan, without limitation due to enumeration, items such as target populations, income eligibility, goals and funding.

(10) Assist in implementing agency plans in accordance with policies and programs established by the governor and the legislature.

(11) Administer federal planning grants for state planning, when so designated by the governor pursuant to s. 16.54. The department may contract with other state agencies for the preparation of all or part of a facet of the state plan which is financed in whole or in part by federal planning grants.

(13) Implement the priorities under s. 1.12 (4) in designing the department's energy programs and in awarding grants or loans for energy projects.

(14) By rule, establish a standardized method for measuring the energy efficiency of the state's economy to be used in preparing the report under sub. (15). In establishing the methodology, the department shall consider methodologies currently in use for this purpose, including the methodology used by the world bank.

(15) Before April 1 annually, submit a report to the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) regarding progress made in meeting the energy efficiency goal under s. 1.12 (3) (a).

(16) Require public utilities to provide the department with energy billing and use data regarding public schools, if the department determines that the data would facilitate any effort by the department to administer or provide energy assistance for public schools, including any effort to direct energy assistance to public schools with the highest energy costs.

History: 1977 c. 29; 1985 a. 29; 1993 a. 414; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19); 2001 a. 16; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a); 2011 a. 32; 2017 a. 136.