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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 952
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3926
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT CONCERNING CE RTAIN SOLAR ENERGY P ROJECTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) On or before January 1, 2023, 1
and annually thereafter, the Department of Energy and Environmental 2
Protection and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall report, in 3
accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 4
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 5
matters relating to energy regarding the quantifiable progress of energy 6
storage deployment against the following goals: 7
(1) Three hundred megawatts by December 31, 2024; 8
(2) Six hundred fifty megawatts by December 31, 2027; and 9
(3) One thousand megawatts by December 31, 2030. 10
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) On or before January 1, 2022, 11
the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall initiate a proceeding to 12
develop and implement one or more programs, and associated funding 13
mechanisms, for electric energy storage resources connected to the 14 Raised Bill No. 952
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electric distribution system. The authority shall establish (1) one or more 15
programs for the residential class of electric customers, (2) one or more 16
programs for commercial and industrial classes of electric customers, 17
and (3) a program for energy storage systems connected to the 18
distribution system in front of the meter and not located at a customer 19
premises. The authority shall solicit input from the Department of 20
Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Green Bank, the 21
electric distribution companies and the Office of Consumer Counsel in 22
developing such programs. 23
(b) On or before January 1, 2022, the authority shall report the status 24
of the proceeding described in subsection (a) of this section, in 25
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 26
to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 27
cognizance of matters relating to energy. 28
(c) The authority shall consider one or more programs and rate 29
designs to incentivize the deployment of electric energy storage 30
technologies connected to the electric distribution system that most 31
effectively leverage the value of such technologies to achieve objectives 32
including, but not limited to, (1) providing positive net present value to 33
all ratepayers, or a subset of ratepayers paying for the benefits that 34
accrue to that subset of ratepayers; (2) providing multiple types of 35
benefits to the electric grid, including, but not limited to, customer, local, 36
or community resilience, ancillary services, leveling out peaks in 37
electricity use or that support the deployment of other distributed 38
energy resources; (3) fostering the sustained, orderly development of a 39
state-based electric energy storage industry; and (4) maximizing the 40
value from the participation of energy storage systems in capacity 41
markets. The authority shall include consideration of all energy storage 42
configurations that are connected to the distribution system, including 43
systems connected in front of the meter and not located at a customer 44
premises. The authority shall also consider programs and rate designs 45
to incentivize uses of electric energy storage technologies connected to 46
the electric distribution system that avoid or defer investment in 47
traditional electric distribution system capacity upgrades. 48 Raised Bill No. 952
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(d) The authority may select the Connecticut Green Bank, the 49
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the electric 50
distribution companies, a third party it deems appropriate or any 51
combination thereof, to implement one or more programs for electric 52
energy storage resources connected to the electric distribution system, 53
as directed by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. 54
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) The Commissioner of Energy 55
and Environmental Protection, in consultation with the procurement 56
manager identified in subsection (l) of section 16-2 of the general 57
statutes and the Office of Consumer Counsel, may issue requests for 58
proposals for energy storage projects connected at the transmission or 59
distribution level, including stand-alone energy storage projects and 60
energy storage projects paired with Class I renewable energy sources, 61
that would achieve the goals in section 1 of this act in combination with 62
programs established by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. If the 63
Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection determines that 64
procuring energy storage is cost effective, the commissioner shall 65
proceed with the selection of proposals. In making this determination, 66
the commissioner shall publish and make available for public comment 67
a cost-effectiveness test that considers each applicable benefit provided 68
by energy storage. 69
(b) In making any selection of such proposals, the commissioner shall 70
consider factors, including, but not limited to, (1) whether the proposal 71
is in the best interest of ratepayers, including, but not limited to, the 72
delivered price of such sources, (2) whether the proposal promotes 73
electric distribution system reliability, including during winter peak 74
demand, (3) any positive impacts on the state's economic development, 75
(4) whether the proposal is consistent with the requirements to reduce 76
greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with section 22a-200a of the 77
general statutes, and (5) whether the proposal is consistent with the 78
policy goals outlined in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy adopted 79
pursuant to section 16a-3d of the general statutes and the Integrated 80
Resources Plan adopted pursuant to section 16a-3a of the general 81
statutes. In considering whether a proposal has any positive impacts on 82 Raised Bill No. 952
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the state's economic development, the Commissioner of Energy and 83
Environmental Protection shall consult with the Commissioner of 84
Economic and Community Development. 85
(c) Any agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be 86
subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory 87
Authority, which review shall be completed not later than one hundred 88
twenty days after the date on which such agreement is filed with the 89
authority. The authority shall approve any such agreement if it is cost 90
effective and in the best interest of electric ratepayers. The net costs of 91
any such agreement, including costs incurred by the electric distribution 92
companies under the agreement and reasonable costs incurred by the 93
electric distribution companies in connection with the agreement, shall 94
be recovered through a fully reconciling component of electric rates for 95
all customers of electric distribution companies. Any net revenues from 96
the sale of products purchased in accordance with long-term contracts 97
entered into pursuant to this section shall be credited to customers 98
through the same fully reconciling rate component for all customers of 99
the contracting electric distribution company. 100
Sec. 4. Subdivision (1) of subsection (e) of section 16-244u of the 101
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 102
thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 103
(e) (1) On or before October 1, 2013, the Public Utilities Regulatory 104
Authority shall conduct a proceeding to develop the administrative 105
processes and program specifications, including, but not limited to, a 106
cap of [twenty] thirty million dollars per year apportioned to each 107
electric distribution company based on consumer load, for credits 108
provided to beneficial accounts pursuant to subsection (b) of this section 109
and payments made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, provided 110
the municipal, state and agricultural customer hosts, each in the 111
aggregate, and the designated beneficial accounts of such customer 112
hosts, shall receive not more than forty per cent of the dollar amount 113
established pursuant to this subdivision. At least five million dollars per 114
year, of the thirty million dollars per year cap, shall be designated for 115 Raised Bill No. 952
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municipalities located in an alliance school district, as defined in section 116
10-262u. 117
Sec. 5. Section 16-244v of the general statutes is amended by adding 118
subsection (e) as follows (Effective from passage): 119
(NEW) (e) An electric distribution company may submit a proposal 120
to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to own one 121
or more solar power electrical generation facilities up to an aggregate of 122
one hundred fifty megawatts from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2024. The 123
aggregate ownership for an electric distribution company pursuant to 124
this section shall not exceed such company's respective share for the 125
state's total distribution system load as of July 1, 2021. Each solar power 126
electrical generation facility shall be greater than one megawatt but not 127
more than the total number of megawatts allocated to the electric 128
distribution company under this subsection. At least fifty per cent of 129
such solar power electrical generation facilities shall be sited in 130
municipalities located in an alliance school district, as defined in section 131
10-262u. The department shall evaluate such proposals pursuant to 132
sections 16-19 and 16-19e and may approve one or more of such 133
proposals if it finds that the proposal serves the long-term interest of 134
ratepayers. Any such proposal approved by the department shall also 135
be subject to review and approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory 136
Authority. 137
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions in subsection (b) of this section, 138
the electric distribution company shall sell all power, capacity and 139
related products resulting from such solar power electrical generating 140
facilities (A) into applicable markets or through bilateral contracts with 141
third parties, and (B) in accordance with any applicable guidelines 142
established by the department, as approved or modified by the 143
authority, with the net proceeds of all such transactions being 144
recoverable from or credited to all customers of the electric distribution 145
company through a fully reconciling nonbypassable component of 146
electric rates for all customers of electric distribution companies. 147 Raised Bill No. 952
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(2) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may authorize an 148
electric distribution company to recover its prudently incurred costs 149
and investments for any solar power electrical generation facility, as 150
described in this subsection, such electric distribution company builds, 151
owns or operates through a fully reconciling component of electric rates 152
for all customers of electric distribution companies, until the electric 153
distribution company's next rate case, at which time such costs and 154
investments shall be recoverable through base distribution rates 155
consistent with the principles set forth in sections 16-19 and 16-19e. 156
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On or before January 15, 2022, 157
and annually thereafter, each municipal utility, as defined in section 12-158
265 of the general statutes, shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a 159
of the general statutes, on the quantifiable progress of its carbon 160
reduction to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. 161
Such report shall be in a manner prescribed by the department to 162
determine such municipal utility's contribution toward the state's 163
emission reduction requirements pursuant to section 22a-200a of the 164
general statutes. 165
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On or before January 15, 2022, the 166
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall submit a 167
report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the 168
joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 169
matters relating to energy on recommendations (1) to spread the cost of 170
large-scaled power purchase agreements to municipal utilities, as 171
defined in section 12-265 of the general statutes, and (2) to impose the 172
systems benefits charge, pursuant to section 16-245l of the general 173
statutes, against municipal utilities. 174
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On or before January 1, 2022, the 175
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall submit a report, in 176
accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 177
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 178
matters relating to energy relating to the development and 179
implementation of one program to consolidate all existing solar energy 180 Raised Bill No. 952
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programs within the state. 181
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) On or before August 1, 2021, the 182
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall initiate a proceeding to 183
investigate renewable energy certificate programs with a reverse 184
auction process for residential, commercial, industrial and utility solar 185
energy development. On or before January 1, 2022, the authority shall 186
submit a report to joint standing committee of the General Assembly 187
having cognizance of matters relating to energy detailing the authority's 188
suggestions to accomplish each renewable energy certificate program. 189
Sec. 10. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Notwithstanding any provision 190
of the general statutes, on or before January 1, 2022, the Department of 191
Energy and Environmental Protection shall create an expedited 192
permitting process for solar energy systems sited on farmland. 193
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 16-244u(e)(1)
Sec. 5 from passage 16-244v
Sec. 6 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 8 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 9 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 10 July 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) create solar energy storage goals, (2) increase the virtual net
metering cap, (3) permit ownership of solar power generation facilities
by electric distribution companies, and (4) direct the Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection and the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority to investigate solar energy development
programs.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.] Raised Bill No. 952
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