APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 26, 2023 307
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
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S.P. 148 - L.D. 327
An Act to Provide Maine Ratepayers with Equitable Access to
Interconnection of Distributed Generation Resources
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §107, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2021, c. 398, Pt. UUU, §3,
is further amended to read:
1. Appointment. The commission shall appoint:
A. An administrative director, a director of telephone and water utility industries, a
director of electric and gas utility industries, a director of consumer assistance and
safety and a director of emergency services communication;
B. With the approval of the Attorney General, a general counsel; and
C. An assistant administrative director.; and
D. An interconnection ombudsman to assist with interconnection under section 3474.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §107, sub-§2, ¶F is enacted to read:
F. Notwithstanding section 116 or any other provision of this Title, the interconnection
ombudsman is funded only through fees assessed under section 3474, federal money
and contributions from private and public sources.
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3473, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 562, §1, is repealed
and the following enacted in its place:
1. Monitoring. The commission shall monitor the level of solar energy development
in the State in relation to the goals in section 3474, basic trends in solar energy markets and
the relative costs and benefits from solar energy development, including but not limited to:
A. Revenue from the sale of renewable energy credits;
B. Societal benefits through avoided greenhouse gas emissions;
C. Reduced electricity prices; and
D. Avoided or reduced costs associated with:
(1) Electricity capacity requirements;
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 (2) Environmental compliance requirements;
(3) Portfolio requirements established in section 3210;
(4) Renewable energy credit price suppression; and
(5) Electricity transmission and distribution costs.
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3473, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A. Reporting. By January 1st of each year, the commission shall provide a
summary report of its findings under subsection 1 to the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over energy matters.
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3474, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 264, §1, is amended
to read:
3. Interconnection rules. The commission shall adopt rules related to the
interconnection of renewable capacity resources, as defined in section 3210‑C, subsection
1, paragraph E, using solar power, referred to in this subsection as "solar resources," and
energy storage systems, as defined in section 3481, subsection 6, whether or not colocated
with solar resources, to investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities, as defined
in section 3201, subsection 11‑A, in a manner that supports the goals in this section and
ensures:
A. The State's interconnection rules reflect nationally recognized best practices, which
may include, but are not limited to, those established by the Interstate Renewable
Energy Council, or successor organization, and prioritize interconnection of solar
resources and energy storage systems owned by customers of investor-owned
transmission and distribution utilities and used to serve an on-site load;
B. Customers affected by deficiencies in the rules are able to access timely resolution
processes that do not place an undue burden on the customer; and
C. Investments in investor-owned transmission and distribution utility distribution
upgrades related to load are coordinated with utility infrastructure upgrades required
for the interconnection of renewable capacity resources using solar power and energy
storage systems.
Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §3474, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4. Interconnection ombudsman; fund. The interconnection ombudsman appointed
pursuant to section 107, subsection 1 shall assist persons seeking interconnections
governed by rules adopted under subsection 3. The commission shall appoint an
interconnection ombudsman who possesses technical expertise related to interconnection
and interconnection procedures.
A. The duties of the interconnection ombudsman include but are not limited to:
(1) Tracking interconnection disputes;
(2) Facilitating the efficient and fair resolution of disputes between customers
seeking to interconnect and investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities;
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 (3) Reviewing investor-owned transmission and distribution utility interconnection
policies to assess opportunities for reducing interconnection disputes;
(4) Convening stakeholder groups as necessary to facilitate effective
communication between interconnection stakeholders; and
(5) Preparing reports that detail the number, type, resolution timeline and outcome
of interconnection disputes.
B. The commission by rule shall establish a fee to be paid by persons seeking
interconnections to fund the interconnection ombudsman. Notwithstanding Title 5,
section 8071, rules adopted under this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
C. The interconnection ombudsman fund is established within the commission as a
nonlapsing fund for the purposes of funding the interconnection ombudsman. The
commission shall deposit all fees collected under this subsection into the fund and all
money in the fund must be used to fully fund the interconnection ombudsman. In
addition to the fees established in accordance with this subsection, the fund may accept
federal money and contributions from private and public sources.
Sec. 7. Solar interconnection cost allocation method and rules. The Public
Utilities Commission shall:
1. Within 6 months of the effective date of this Act, adopt interconnection rules in
accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3474, subsection 3 that
prioritize interconnection of solar resources and energy storage systems owned by
customers of investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities and used to serve an
on-site load;
2. Within 12 months of the effective date of this Act, make a good faith effort to appoint
an interconnection ombudsman with expertise related to interconnection of distributed
generation resources, including solar resources and energy storage systems; and
3. Within 6 months of the effective date of this Act, contract with an expert to evaluate
whether treating distributed generation resources that use the tariff rate program under the
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3209-B as load-reducing resources would
provide greater value to all ratepayers than the treatment of those resources as wholesale
generation resources. The expert shall also evaluate whether the tariff rate program has
been implemented in a way that maximizes the value of the portfolio of the resources to all
ratepayers. By September 1, 2024, the commission shall provide a copy of the expert's
report and a description of any actions the commission recommends with respect to the
findings in the report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
over energy matters. The joint standing committee may report out a bill to the 132nd
Legislature in 2025 related to the report.
Sec. 8. Interconnection working group. The Public Utilities Commission shall
convene a working group, referred to in this section as "the working group," to collaborate
to prevent and resolve disputes relating to the implementation of the State's small generator
interconnection procedures for Level 1 and Level 2 facilities, as defined in Chapter 324 of
the commission's rules.
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 1. The working group's duties include the identification and discussion of issues related
to:
A. Transparency of investor-owned transmission and distribution utility activities in
the interconnection process;
B. Current and emerging technical issues resulting in disputes between the State's
investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities and customers seeking to
interconnect;
C. Circuits and line sections that have been determined to be unsafe for the
interconnection of Level 1 facilities; and
D. Topics that would be appropriately included in the duties of the interconnection
ombudsman.
2. The working group shall hold monthly meetings for its first year, and thereafter the
working group shall meet at least quarterly until the commission submits its final report in
2025.
3. The members of the working group must include:
A. One or more representatives from Central Maine Power Company;
B. One or more representatives from Versant Power;
C. Representatives from 2 or more companies engaged in the development and
construction of Level 1 and Level 2 facilities in the Central Maine Power Company
service territory;
D. Representatives from 2 or more companies engaged in the development and
construction of Level 1 and Level 2 facilities in the Versant Power service territory;
and
E. Any other person that the commission determines necessary to ensure that all
interests related to interconnection issues are fairly represented.
4. By December 6, 2023, the commission shall submit a report summarizing the
working group's activities under this section to the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over energy matters. The commission shall submit to the
committee an additional report by December 6, 2024 and a final report of the working
group by December 6, 2025. The committee may report out a bill to the Second Regular
Session of the 132nd Legislature regarding the contents of the final report.
Sec. 9. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Public Utilities - Administrative Division 0184
Initiative: Provides one-time allocations for expenditures related to contracted consulting
services and related STA-CAP.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2023-24 2024-25
All Other $110,210 $0
__________ __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $110,210 $0
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PUC - Interconnection Ombudsman Fund N467
Initiative: Provides allocations to establish one Utility Analyst position to serve as the
Interconnection Ombudsman and associated All Other costs.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2023-24 2024-25
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 1.000 1.000
Personal Services $118,414 $122,203
All Other $15,391 $15,391
__________ __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $133,805 $137,594
PUC - Interconnection Ombudsman Fund N467
Initiative: Provides allocations to establish the program and account.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2023-24 2024-25
All Other $500 $500
__________ __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $500 $500
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2023-24 2024-25
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS $244,515 $138,094
__________ __________
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS $244,515 $138,094
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 307: 35-A.107, 35-A.3473, 35-A.3474