This bill amends the Limited Electrical Energy Producers Act to establish new requirements for large customer-generators participating in net energy metering. Specifically, it mandates that facilities with a generating capacity greater than one megawatt but less than five megawatts, which come into service after January 1, 2026, must consume at least 33 percent of their own generated electricity annually. This consumption requirement does not apply to low- and moderate-income customers as defined by the Public Utilities Commission. Additionally, the bill introduces the definition of "industrial host," which refers to customer-generators that serve a group of commercial, industrial, or institutional entities, and allows for compensation for excess generation beyond the group's total annual electricity usage.

The bill also modifies existing definitions and provisions related to eligible customer-generators, including the insertion of new language that clarifies the eligibility criteria for net metering. It specifies that eligible customer-generators must be interconnected and operate in parallel with the electric grid to offset their electricity requirements. Furthermore, it establishes alternative tariffs for net energy metering, allowing customer-generators to choose between existing and new tariffs under certain conditions. The bill is set to take effect 60 days after its passage and is expected to have indeterminable fiscal impacts on state and local expenditures due to increased utility costs associated with the expanded net metering provisions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 362-A:1-a, 362-A:9
As Amended by the Senate: 362-A:1-a, 362-A:9
As Amended by the Senate (2nd): 362-A:1-a, 362-A:9