SPONSOR: Banderman
This bill modifies the definitions of "customer-generator" and "net metering" for the purposes of the Net Metering and Easy Connection Act. The bill also clarifies the Public Service Commission or the governing body of an electric cooperative or a municipal utility are to offer net metering to customers who generate their own electricity at rates identical in certain ways to rates if the customer did not generate electricity. In the alternative, the rates may be reasonably calculated to recover the portion of the electric supplier's fixed and demand costs that are not eliminated by the customer's operation of an electric energy generation unit.
The bill also requires that an electric energy generation unit must not only meet all applicable safety and performance standards, it must be installed and maintained in accordance with the standards. All generation units using battery backup must operate completely isolated from the supplier's system.
Currently, a customer must provide a supplier with a certification of proper installation from a qualified professional electrician or engineer before connecting to the supplier's system. This bill requires the supplier to approve the electrician or engineer. In the event that the electrician or engineer is not licensed, the supplier may require a bond or other form or surety.
Any person who is not a retail electric supplier that sells an electric energy generation unit or provides net metering service must provide a prospective or existing customer-generator at least five business days to evaluate a proposal to construct an electric energy generation unit, which must include certain information as specified in the bill; perform an energy efficiency audit on the premises to be served by the unit and inform the prospective or existing customer-generator of available energy efficiency measures to address the results of the audit; and demonstrate to the customer-generator that the person selling the unit or providing the service meets certain requirements. Any violation may be enforced by the Office of the Attorney General under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
This bill is the same as HB 1854 (2024) and similar to HB 991 (2023).
Statutes affected: