The proposed bill, HB1370, amends the Arkansas Renewable Energy Development Act of 2001, renaming it the Arkansas Cost-Shifting Prevention Act of 2023. The legislation aims to prevent cost-shifting among ratepayers and enhance protections for net-metering customers. Key provisions include the establishment of a billing option for customer-owned net-metering facilities, allowing these customers to offset their electric consumption, and the introduction of new definitions such as "monthly grid charge" and "net-metering surplus." The bill also mandates that electric utilities allow for the interconnection of net-metering facilities using a standard two-channel digital meter and permits utilities to impose charges to recover costs associated with these meters.

Additionally, the bill outlines specific requirements for net-metering customers, including the submission of interconnection and facilities agreements by September 30, 2024, and the separate metering and billing of each net-metering facility. It establishes a standard one-time fee for interconnection costs and allows for increased generating capacity limits for non-residential facilities under certain conditions. The legislation also ensures that customers with contracts signed before December 31, 2022, can remain under the previous rate structure until June 1, 2040. Overall, HB1370 seeks to streamline the interconnection process, clarify billing practices, and promote fairness and sustainability in the electric utility sector while enhancing protections for net-metering customers.