Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
Public Act No. 22-14
AN ACT CONCERNING CLEAN ENERGY TARIFF PROGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 16-244z of the
2022 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022):
(2) Not later than July 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, each electric
distribution company shall solicit and file with the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority for its approval one or more projects selected
resulting from any procurement issued pursuant to subdivision (1) of
this subsection that are consistent with the tariffs approved by the
authority pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subdivision (1) of
this subsection and that are applicable to (A) customers that own or
develop new generation projects on a customer's own premises that are
less than [two] five megawatts in size, serve the distribution system of
the electric distribution company, are constructed after the solicitation
conducted pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection to which the
customer is responding, and use a Class I renewable energy source that
either (i) uses anaerobic digestion, or (ii) has emissions of no more than
0.07 pounds per megawatt-hour of nitrogen oxides, 0.10 pounds per
megawatt-hour of carbon monoxide, 0.02 pounds per megawatt-hour of
volatile organic compounds and one grain per one hundred standard Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
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cubic feet, (B) customers that own or develop new generation projects
on a customer's own premises that are less than [two] five megawatts in
size, serve the distribution system of the electric distribution company,
are constructed after the solicitation conducted pursuant to subdivision
(4) of this subsection to which the customer is responding, and use a
Class I renewable energy source that emits no pollutants, and (C)
customers that own or develop new generation projects that are a shared
clean energy facility, [as defined in section 16-244x, and subscriptions,
as defined in such section, associated with such facility,] consistent with
the program requirements developed pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
subdivision (1) of this subsection. For purposes of this section, "shared
clean energy facility" means a Class I renewable energy source, as
defined in section 16-1, that (i) is served by an electric distribution
company, as defined in section 16-1, (ii) is within the same electric
distribution company service territory as the individual billing meters
for subscriptions, (iii) has a nameplate capacity rating of five megawatts
or less, and (iv) has at least two subscribers. Any project that is eligible
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this subdivision shall not be eligible
pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision.
Sec. 2. Subdivisions (6) and (7) of subsection (a) of section 16-244z of
the 2022 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022):
(6) The program requirements for shared clean energy facilities
developed pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this
subsection shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(A) The department shall allow cost-effective projects of various
nameplate capacities that may allow for the construction of multiple
projects in the service area of each electric distribution company that
operates within the state.
(B) The department shall determine the billing credit for any Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
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subscriber of a shared clean energy facility that may be issued through
the electric distribution companies' monthly billing systems, and
establish consumer protections for subscribers and potential subscribers
of such a facility, including, but not limited to, disclosures to be made
when selling or reselling a subscription.
(C) Such program shall utilize one or more tariff mechanisms with
the electric distribution companies for a term not to exceed twenty years,
subject to approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, to pay
for the purchase of any energy products and renewable energy
certificates produced by any eligible shared clean energy facility, or to
deliver any billing credit of any such facility.
(D) The department shall limit subscribers to (i) low-income
customers, (ii) moderate-income customers, (iii) small business
customers, (iv) state or municipal customers, (v) commercial customers,
and (vi) residential customers who can demonstrate, pursuant to criteria
determined by the department in the program requirements
recommended by the department and approved by the authority, that
they are unable to utilize the tariffs offered pursuant to subsection (b) of
this section.
(E) The department shall require that (i) not less than [ten] twenty per
cent of the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold,
given or provided to low-income customers, and (ii) [in addition to the
requirement of clause (i) of this subparagraph,] not less than [ten] sixty
per cent of the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold,
given or provided to low-income customers, moderate-income
customers or low-income service organizations.
(F) The department may allow preferences to projects that serve low-
income customers and shared clean energy facilities that benefit
customers who reside in environmental justice communities. Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
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(G) The department may create incentives or other financing
mechanisms to encourage participation by low-income customers.
(H) The department may require that not more than fifty per cent of
the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold to
commercial customers.
(7) For purposes of this subsection:
(A) "Environmental justice community" has the same meaning as
provided in subsection (a) of section 22a-20a;
(B) "Low-income customer" means an in-state retail end user of an
electric distribution company (i) whose income does not exceed [eighty]
sixty per cent of the [area] state median income, [as defined by the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, ]
adjusted for family size, or (ii) that is an affordable housing facility; [as
defined in section 8-39a;]
(C) "Low-income service organization" means a for-profit or
nonprofit organization that provides service or assistance to low-income
individuals;
(D) "Moderate-income customer" means an in-state retail end user of
an electric distribution company whose income is between [eighty] sixty
per cent and one hundred per cent of the area median income as defined
by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,
adjusted for family size.
Sec. 3. Subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section
16-244z of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and
the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022):
(c) (1) (A) The aggregate total megawatts available to all customers
utilizing a procurement and tariff offered by electric distribution Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
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companies pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be up to
eighty-five megawatts in year one and increase by up to an additional
[eighty-five] one hundred sixty megawatts per year in each of the years
two through six of such a tariff, provided the total megawatts available
to customers eligible under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of
subsection (a) of this section shall not exceed ten megawatts per year,
the total megawatts available to customers eligible under subparagraph
(B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not exceed
[fifty] one hundred megawatts per year and the total megawatts
available to customers eligible under subparagraph (C) of subdivision
(2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not exceed [twenty-five] fifty
megawatts per year. The authority shall monitor the competitiveness of
any procurements authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of this section
and may adjust the annual purchase amount established in this
subsection or other procurement parameters to maintain
competitiveness. Any megawatts not allocated in any given year shall
[not] roll into the next year's available megawatts. The obligation to
purchase energy and renewable energy certificates shall be apportioned
to electric distribution companies based on their respective distribution
system loads, as determined by the authority.
Sec. 4. Section 16-244z of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes
is amended by adding subsection (f) as follows (Effective October 1, 2022):
(NEW) (f) Notwithstanding the size -to-load provisions of
subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section, the entire rooftop space
of a customer's own premises developed pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section and owned by a
commercial or industrial customer may be used for purposes of
electricity generation and participation in the solicitation conducted by
each electric distribution company pursuant to subdivision (4) of
subsection (a) of this section.
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) The Office of Policy and Management Substitute Senate Bill No. 176
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shall, in consultation with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities,
the Connecticut Council of Small Towns and industry representatives,
study the application of property taxes to commercial solar generation
projects with a nameplate capacity rating of fifty kilowatts or more. Not
later than January 1, 2023, the Office of Policy and Management shall
submit a report to the joint standing committees of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy and
technology and planning and development. Such report shall include,
but need not be limited to, (1) a summary of the current statutory
framework for the application of personal and real estate property taxes
on commercial solar generation projects with a nameplate capacity
rating of fifty kilowatts or more, and (2) recommendations for statutory
changes that would remove inconsistencies in the current statutory
framework and allow for equitable property tax treatment of
commercial solar generation projects across the state.