Archive for May, 2008

On May 2, 2008, the Virginia Corporation Commission opened Docket PUE-2008-00008 to amend its existing net metering regulations to conform to the requirements of the 2007 Virginia Electric Utility Restructuring Act (Chapter 23, Sections 56-576 to 56-594). The law requires that the total aggregate net metering capacity for each utility to be increased from 0.1 ... Read More

On May 20, 2008, the Illinois Commerce Commission held a public forum to collect commentary concerning the federal standard on interconnection, as proposed by the ICC staff (see Case # 06-0525, document dated 4/25/08, Staff’s Initial Verified Comments, Appendix A). On March 26, 2008, the ICC issued an interim order which adopted an “emergency rule” ... Read More

On April 24, 2008, Governor Steve Beshear enacted a new net metering law (S.B. 83). Highlights: eligible capacity limit is increased from 15 kW to 30 kW; eligible types of renewables now include solar, wind, biomass, and hydro; credits can be carried over indefinitely for the life of the customer’s account, but no residual cash ... Read More

On May 4, 2008, an organization named Renew Missouri announced that it has the 170,000 signatures required to put a Renewable Energy Initiative referendum on the November ballot. This initiative requires Missouri utilities to ramp up their total use of renewables to equal a maximum of 15 percent of demand by 2020. The initiative cannot ... Read More

On May 1, 2008, Governor Ted Strickland enacted S.B. 221, a comprehensive energy bill which includes some provisions which encourage the use of distributed generation and the facilitation of net metering. Highlights: systems eligible for net metering must be sized to meet the customer’s typical load and can include solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, hydro, ... Read More

On May 8, 2008, Governor Bob Riley enacted a bill (H.B. 234) called the Alternative and Renewable Energy Act. This bill would permit small distributed generators up to 100 kW to interconnect to a utility, but receive no more than the utility’s avoided cost for power fed back to the grid. On April 24, 2008, ... Read More

On April 30, 2008, a bill (HB 7135) was sent to Governor Charlie Crist which requires each utility, including coops and munis, to develop a standardized interconnection and net metering program for customer-owned renewable generation by July 1, 2009. (The PSC has already established the rules necessary to administer this legislation, as described below.) The ... Read More

On May 13, 2008, Governor Mark Sanford signed a joint legislative resolution (H.B. 3395 / S.B. 684 / R.247) regarding net metering. This resolution requires the Public Service Commission staff and the State Energy Office to draft a report for the legislature by January 1, 2009 regarding the establishment of net metering programs at all ... Read More

In response to legislation (L.D. 2149) enacted in April 2008 (see below), the Maine Public Utilities Commission has opened two inquiries regarding small distributed generator interconnection and net billing. The state’s interconnection standards will be studied in Docket 2008-186, opened April 23, 2008. Public commentary will be accepted in this docket until May 30, 2008. ... Read More