§3209-A. Net energy billing

The commission may adopt or amend rules governing net energy billing. Rules adopted or amended under this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.   [PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (AMD).]

1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings.

A. "Customer" means a customer of a transmission and distribution utility in the State.   [PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

B. "Distributed generation resource" means an electric generating facility that uses a renewable fuel or technology under section 3210, subsection 2, paragraph B‑3 and is located in the service territory of a transmission and distribution utility in the State.   [PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

C. "Net energy billing" means a billing and metering practice under which a customer is billed on the basis of the difference between the kilowatt‑hours delivered by a transmission and distribution utility to the customer over a billing period and the kilowatt‑hours delivered by the customer to the transmission and distribution utility over the billing period, taking into account accumulated unused kilowatt‑hour credits from the previous billing period.   [PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

[PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

2.  Financial interest required.  The commission shall allow a customer to participate in net energy billing if the customer has a financial interest in a distributed generation resource or in a generation resource that has a net energy billing arrangement on the effective date of this section, including facility ownership, a lease agreement or a power purchase agreement.

[PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

3.  Shared financial interest for investor-owned utility customers; limitation.  Multiple customers of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that have distinct billing accounts with that utility may share a financial interest in a distributed generation resource under subsection 2. Any number of customers of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility with a shared financial interest in a distributed generation resource may participate in net energy billing, except that the number of eligible customers or meters is limited to 10 for a shared financial interest in a distributed generation resource located in the service territory of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine unless the commission determines that the utility's billing system can accommodate more than 10 accounts or meters for the purpose of net energy billing.

[PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

4.  System size.  The nameplate capacity of a distributed generation resource that may be used for net energy billing must be less than 5 megawatts, except that, if a municipality is the customer participating in net energy billing, the nameplate capacity of a distributed generation resource located in that municipality that may be used for the net energy billing may be 5 megawatts or more, as long as less than 5 megawatts of metered electricity from the resource is used for net energy billing.

[PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 2011, c. 262, §1 (NEW). RR 2017, c. 1, §32 (COR). PL 2019, c. 16, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3 (AMD).