Expand Solar and Wind Metering

Section 1. Sections 66-j and 66-l of the public service law are REPEALED and a new section 66-j is added to read as follows:

§ 66-j. Net energy metering for solar, wind, fuel cell or farm waste electric generating systems, or micro-combined heat and power generating equipment, and micro-hydroelectric generating equipment. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Customer-generator" means: (i) any customer of an electric corporation, who owns or operates solar, wind or fuel cell electric generating equipment, or any hybrid equipment of these three technologies located and used at his or her premises; (ii) a customer of an electric corporation, who owns or operates farm waste electric generating equipment located and used at his or her "farm operation," as such term is defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law; (iii) a residential customer of an electric corporation who owns, leases or operates micro-combined heat and power generating equipment located on the customer's premises; (iv) a residential customer of an electric corporation, who owns or operates micro-hydroelectric generating equipment located and used at his or her residence; and (v) a non-residential customer of an electric corporation

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD09748-01-9

A. 5927 2

which owns or operates micro-hydroelectric generating equipment located and used at its premises.

(b) "Net energy meter" means a meter that measures the reverse flow of electricity to register the difference between the electricity supplied by an electric corporation to the customer-generator and the electricity provided to the corporation by that customer-generator.

(c) "Net energy metering" means the use of a net energy meter to measure, during the billing period applicable to a customer-generator, the net amount of electricity supplied by an electric corporation and provided to the corporation by a customer-generator.

(d) "Solar electric generating equipment" means a photovoltaic system (i) with a rated capacity of not more than two thousand kilowatts; and (ii) that is manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the electric system and operated in parallel with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in compliance with any standards and requirements established under this section.

(e) "Farm waste electric generating equipment" means equipment that generates electric energy from biogas produced by the anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste, such as livestock manure, farming wastes and food processing wastes with a rated capacity of not more than two thousand kilowatts, that is:

(i) manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards;

(ii) connected to the electric system and operated in conjunction with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities;

(iii) operated in compliance with any standards and requirements established under this section;

(iv) fueled at a minimum of ninety percent on an annual basis by biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste such as livestock manure materials, crop residues, and food processing waste; and

(v) fueled by biogas generated by anaerobic digestion with at least fifty percent by weight of its feedstock being livestock manure materials on an annual basis.

(f) "Micro-combined heat and power generating equipment" means an integrated, cogenerating building heating and electrical power generation system, operating on any fuel and of any applicable engine, fuel cell, or other technology, with a rated capacity of at least one kilowatt and not more than ten kilowatts electric and any thermal output that at full load has a design total fuel use efficiency in the production of heat and electricity of not less than eighty percent, and annually produces at least two thousand kilowatt hours of useful energy in the form of electricity that may work in combination with supplemental or parallel conventional heating systems, that is manufactured, installed and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the electric system and operated in conjunction with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities.

(g) "Fuel cell electric generating equipment" means:

(i) a solid oxide, molten carbonate, proton exchange membrane or phosphoric acid fuel cell with a combined rated capacity of not more than two thousand kilowatts; and

(ii) that is manufactured, installed and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the

A. 5927 3

electric system and operated in parallel with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in compliance with any standards and requirements established under this section.

(h) "Micro-hydroelectric generating equipment" means a hydroelectric system (i) (A) in the case of a residential customer, with a rated capacity of not more than twenty-five kilowatts; and (B) in the case of a non-residential customer, with a rated capacity of not more than two thousand kilowatts; and (ii) that is manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the electric system and operated in conjunction with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in compliance with any standards and requirements established under this section.

(i) "Wind electric generating equipment" means a wind generator or generators with a combined rated capacity of not more than two thousand kilowatts that is manufactured, installed and operated in accordance with applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the electric system and operated in parallel with an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in compliance with any standards and requirements established under this section.

(j) "Electric corporation" means any public or privately owned entity that offers retail electrical service to end-use electric consumers.

(k) "Eligible technologies" means the solar, wind, fuel cell or farm waste electric generating equipment.

2. Interconnection and net energy metering. An electric corporation shall provide for the interconnection of eligible technologies, microcombined heat and power generating equipment, and micro-hydroelectric generating equipment owned or operated by a customer-generator and for net energy metering, provided that the customer-generator enters into a net energy metering contract with the corporation or complies with the corporation's net energy metering schedule and complies with standards and requirements established under this section.

3. Conditions of service. (a) On or before three months after the effective date of this section, each electric corporation shall develop a model contract and file a schedule that establishes consistent and reasonable rates, terms and conditions for net energy metering to customer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The commission shall render a decision within three months from the date on which the schedule is filed.

(b) An electric corporation shall impose no other charge or fee, including, but not limited to, back-up, stand by and demand charges, for the provision of net energy metering to a customer-generator, except as provided in paragraph (d) of subdivision four of this section.

(c) A customer who owns or operates a farm operation as such term is defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law, or a residential customer-generator as defined by subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section that locates solar electric generating equipment or farm waste electric generating equipment with a net energy meter on property owned or leased by such customer-generator may designate all or a portion of the net metering credits generated by such equipment to meters at any property owned or leased by such customer-generator within the service territory of the same electric corporation to which the customergenerator's net energy meters are interconnected and being within the

A. 5927 4

same load zone as determined by the location based marginal price as of the date of initial request by the customer-generator to conduct net metering. The electric corporation will credit the accounts of the customer by applying any credits to the highest use meter first, then subsequent highest use meters until all such credits are attributed to the customer. Any excess credits shall be carried over to the following month.

(d) A customer who owns or operates a farm operation as such term is defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law, or a non-residential customer-generator as defined by subparagraph (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section that locates micro-hydroelectric generating equipment with a net energy meter on property owned or leased by such customer-generator may designate all or a portion of the net metering credits generated by such equipment to meters at any property owned or leased by such customergenerator within the service territory of the same electric corporation to which the customer-generator's net energy meters are interconnected and being within the same load zone as determined by the location based marginal price as of the date of initial request by the customer-generator to conduct net metering. The electric corporation will credit the accounts of the customer by applying any credits to the highest use meter first, then subsequent highest use meters until all such credits are attributed to the customer. Any excess credits shall be carried over to the following month.

4. Rates. An electric corporation shall use net energy metering to measure and charge for the net electricity supplied by the corporation and provided to the corporation by a customer-generator, according to these requirements:

(a) In the event that the amount of electricity supplied by the corporation during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity provided by a customer-generator, the corporation shall charge the customer-generator for the net electricity supplied at the same rate per kilowatt hour applicable to service provided to other customers in the same service class which do not generate electricity onsite.

(b) In the event that the amount of electricity produced by a customer-generator during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer-generator, the corporation shall apply a credit to the next bill for service to the customer-generator for the net electricity provided at the same rate per kilowatt hour applicable to service provided to other customers in the same service class which do not generate electricity onsite, except for micro-combined heat and power or fuel cell customer-generators, who will be credited at the corporation's avoided costs. The avoided cost credit provided to microcombined heat and power or fuel cell customer-generators shall be treated for ratemaking purposes as a purchase of electricity in the market that is includable in commodity costs.

(c) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service is supplied by means of net energy metering, the corporation shall promptly issue payment at its avoided cost to the customer-generator, as defined in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, for the value of any remaining credit for the excess electricity produced during the year or over the annualized period by the customer-generator.

(d) In the event that the corporation imposes charges based on kilowatt demand on customers who are in the same service class as the customer-generator but which do not generate electricity on site, the

A. 5927 5

corporation may impose the same charges at the same rates to the customer-generator, provided, however, that the kilowatt demand for such demand charges is determined by the maximum measured kilowatt demand actually supplied by the corporation to the customer-generator during the billing period.