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History
- Referred to energy
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 54–7
- Ordered to third reading cal.1150
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Eliminates any requirement that solar electric generating equipment of less than 25 kilowatts have an external disconnect switch
In Assembly Committee · Energy · Sponsor Steven Englebright
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law and the public authorities law, in relation to external disconnect switches on solar electric generating equipment
Purpose or general idea of bill
To eliminate any requirement that solar electric generating equipment of less than 25 kilowatts have an external disconnect switch.
Summary of specific provisions
Under no circumstances shall such standards require the use of such a manual lockable disconnect switch on residential solar electric equipment of not more than twenty-five kilowatts, when such equipment is in compliance with Underwriters Laboratories ,interconnection standard 1747. The authority shall comply with the provisions of section sixty-six-j of the public service law.
Justification
In February 2009, the state's Public Service Commission issued a ruling requiring that all utility companies eliminate the requirement for the external disconnect switch used in solar installations sized 25kW and smaller.
Since that ruling, all the state's utility companies have complied however the Long Island power Authority (LIPA), a state owned utility company, has not.
All solar energy converting equipment currently sold on the market today, are required to meet the rigid standards of IEEE 1547 and UL 1741 anti Islanding provisions, preventing "grid connected" inverter equipment from back feeding power to the grid when there is a utility power failure.
Requiring a redundant manual disconnect switch only adds to the cost of an already expensive solar installation between $700 and $1400 to the customer.
This amendment changes the current law to reflect the February PSC decision.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.