Committee advances amended S.65 after split votes on energy-efficiency and reporting provisions

A legislative committee on Natural Resources & Energy advanced S.65, draft 6.1, voting separately on the bill’s energy-efficiency provision (section 1) and on sections 2 through 7 before recommending S.65 as amended to the floor.

The draft replaces several references to the Public Utility Commission with the Department (identified in the transcript as the Department and later referenced as the Department of Public Service), requires covered entities to register by June 30, requires the Department to share registration information for greenhouse-gas inventory updates, and directs the Department of Public Service to report by Jan. 15, 2026, on approaches to collecting data on heating fuel deliveries and on-site heating fuel use.

Why it matters: the changes reassign administrative responsibilities for registration and data-sharing and create a timetable for a staff report about fuel-delivery and heating fuel data collection. Those data and registration processes feed the statewide greenhouse-gas inventory and shape how regulators and agencies collect emissions-related information.

Key amendments and requirements - Agency references: Draft 6.1 substitutes references to the Public Utility Commission with the Department in multiple places beginning on page 19 (section 3) and continuing through page 20 (subsections B, C) and subsection G. The draft text in the transcript indicates the Department is responsible for registration and related duties…