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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 997
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3823
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO THE CLEAN ENERGY
STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-244z of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 2
(a) (1) (A) On or before September 1, 2018, the Public Utilities 3
Regulatory Authority shall initiate a proceeding to establish a 4
procurement plan for each electric distribution company pursuant to 5
this subsection and may give a preference to technologies 6
manufactured, researched or developed in the state, provided such 7
procurement plan is consistent with and contributes to the requirements 8
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with section 22a-9
200a. Each electric distribution company shall develop such 10
procurement plan in consultation with the Department of Energy and 11
Environmental Protection and shall submit such procurement plan to 12
the authority not later than sixty days after the authority initiates the 13
proceeding pursuant to this subdivision, provided the department shall 14
submit the program requirements pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this 15 Raised Bill No. 997
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subdivision on or before July 1, 2019. The authority may require such 16
electric distribution companies to conduct separate solicitations 17
pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection for the resources in 18
subparagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of said subdivision, including separate 19
solicitations based upon the size of such resources to allow for a 20
diversity of selected projects. 21
(B) On or before September 1, 2018, the authority shall initiate a 22
proceeding to establish tariffs that provide for twenty-year terms of 23
service described in subdivision (3) of this subsection for each electric 24
distribution company pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 25
subdivision (2) of this subsection. In such proceeding, the authority shall 26
establish the period of time that will be used for calculating the net 27
amount of energy produced by a facility and not consumed, provided 28
the authority shall assess whether to incorporate time-of-use rates or 29
other dynamic pricing and such period of time shall be either (i) in real 30
time, (ii) in one day, (iii) in any fraction of a day not to exceed one day, 31
or (iv) in any period of time greater than one day up to and including 32
one month. In such proceeding, the authority shall consider the findings 33
of the study of the value of distributed energy resources conducted 34
pursuant to section 16a-3o. The rate for such tariffs shall be established 35
by the solicitation pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection. 36
(C) On or before September 1, 2018, the Department of Energy and 37
Environmental Protection shall (i) initiate a proceeding to develop 38
program requirements and tariff proposals for shared clean energy 39
facilities eligible pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (2) of this 40
subsection, including, but not limited to, the requirements in 41
subdivision (6) of this subsection, and (ii) establish either or both of the 42
following tariff proposals: (I) A tariff proposal that includes a price cap 43
on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis for any procurement for such 44
resources based on the procurement results of any other procurement 45
issued pursuant to this subsection, and (II) a tariff proposal that includes 46
a tariff rate for customers eligible under subparagraph (C) of 47
subdivision (2) of this subsection based on energy policy goals identified 48
by the department in the Comprehensive Energy Strategy pursuant to 49 Raised Bill No. 997
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section 16a-3d. On or before July 1, 2019, the department shall submit 50
any such program requirements and tariff proposals to the authority for 51
review and approval. On or before January 1, 2020, the authority shall 52
approve or modify such program requirements and tariff proposals 53
submitted by the department. If the authority approves two tariff 54
proposals pursuant to this subparagraph, the authority shall determine 55
how much of the total compensation authorized for customers eligible 56
under this subparagraph pursuant to subparagraph (A) of subdivision 57
(1) of subsection (c) of this section shall be available under each tariff. 58
(2) [Not later than July 1, 2022, and annually thereafter] Not less than 59
once per year, each electric distribution company shall jointly or 60
individually solicit and file with the Public Utilities Regulatory 61
Authority for its approval one or more projects selected resulting from 62
any procurement issued pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection 63
that are consistent with the tariffs approved by the authority pursuant 64
to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection and 65
that are applicable to (A) customers that own or develop new generation 66
projects on a customer's own premises that are less than five megawatts 67
in size, serve the distribution system of [the] an electric distribution 68
company, are constructed after the solicitation conducted pursuant to 69
subdivision (4) of this subsection to which the customer is responding, 70
and use a Class I renewable energy source that either (i) uses anaerobic 71
digestion, or (ii) has emissions of no more than 0.07 pounds per 72
megawatt-hour of nitrogen oxides, 0.10 pounds per megawatt-hour of 73
carbon monoxide, 0.02 pounds per megawatt-hour of volatile organic 74
compounds and one grain per one hundred standard cubic feet, (B) 75
customers that own or develop new generation projects on a customer's 76
own premises that are less than five megawatts in size, serve the 77
distribution system of [the] an electric distribution company, are 78
constructed after the solicitation conducted pursuant to subdivision (4) 79
of this subsection to which the customer is responding, and use a Class 80
I renewable energy source that emits no pollutants, and (C) customers 81
that own or develop new generation projects that are a shared clean 82
energy facility, consistent with the program requirements developed 83 Raised Bill No. 997
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pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection. For 84
purposes of this section, "shared clean energy facility" means a Class I 85
renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1, that (i) is served by 86
an electric distribution company, as defined in section 16-1, (ii) [is within 87
the same electric distribution company service territory as the 88
individual billing meters for subscriptions, (iii)] has a nameplate 89
capacity rating of five megawatts or less, and [(iv)] (iii) has at least two 90
subscribers. Any project that is eligible pursuant to subparagraph (C) of 91
this subdivision shall not be eligible pursuant to subparagraph (A) or 92
(B) of this subdivision. 93
(3) A customer that is eligible pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of 94
subdivision (2) of this subsection may elect in any such solicitation to 95
utilize either (A) a tariff for the purchase of all energy and renewable 96
energy certificates on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis, or (B) a tariff for 97
the purchase of any energy produced by a facility and not consumed in 98
the period of time established by the authority pursuant to 99
subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection and all renewable 100
energy certificates generated by such facility on a cents-per-kilowatt-101
hour basis, subject to any tariff terms, conditions or other stipulations of 102
the authority. 103
(4) Each electric distribution company shall jointly or individually 104
conduct an annual solicitation or solicitations, as determined by the 105
authority, for the purchase of energy and renewable energy certificates 106
produced by eligible generation projects under this subsection over the 107
duration of each applicable tariff. Generation projects eligible pursuant 108
to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (2) of this subsection shall 109
be sized so as not to exceed the load at the customer's individual electric 110
meter or a set of electric meters, when such meters are combined for 111
billing purposes, [from the electric distribution company providing 112
service to such customer, as determined by such electric distribution 113
company] as determined by the authority, unless such customer is a 114
state, municipal or agricultural customer, then such generation project 115
shall be sized so as not to exceed the load at such customer's individual 116
electric meter or a set of electric meters at the same customer premises, 117 Raised Bill No. 997
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when such meters are combined for billing purposes, and the load of up 118
to five state, municipal or agricultural beneficial accounts, as defined in 119
section 16-244u, identified by such state, municipal or agricultural 120
customer, and such state, municipal or agricultural customer may 121
include the load of up to five additional nonstate or municipal beneficial 122
accounts, as defined in section 16-244u, when sizing such generation 123
project, provided such accounts are critical facilities, as defined in 124
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 16-243y, and are connected to 125
a microgrid. 126
(5) The maximum selected purchase price of energy and renewable 127
energy certificates on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis in any given 128
solicitation shall not exceed such maximum selected purchase price for 129
the same resources in the prior year's solicitation, unless the authority 130
makes a determination that there are changed circumstances in any 131
given year. For the first year solicitation issued pursuant to this 132
subsection, the authority shall establish a cap for the selected purchase 133
price for energy and renewable energy certificates on a cents-per-134
kilowatt-hour basis for any resources authorized under this subsection. 135
(6) The program requirements for shared clean energy facilities 136
developed pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this 137
subsection shall include, but not be limited to, the following: 138
(A) The department shall allow cost-effective projects of various 139
nameplate capacities that may allow for the construction of multiple 140
projects in the service area of each electric distribution company that 141
operates within the state. 142
(B) The department shall determine the billing credit for any 143
subscriber of a shared clean energy facility that may be issued through 144
the electric distribution companies' monthly billing systems, and 145
establish consumer protections for subscribers and potential subscribers 146
of such a facility, including, but not limited to, disclosures to be made 147
when selling or reselling a subscription. 148
(C) Such program shall utilize one or more tariff mechanisms with 149 Raised Bill No. 997
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the electric distribution companies for a term not to exceed twenty years, 150
subject to approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, to pay 151
for the purchase of any energy products and renewable energy 152
certificates produced by any eligible shared clean energy facility, or to 153
deliver any billing credit of any such facility. 154
(D) The department shall limit subscribers to (i) low-income 155
customers, (ii) moderate-income customers, (iii) small business 156
customers, (iv) state or municipal customers, (v) commercial customers, 157
and (vi) residential customers who can demonstrate, pursuant to criteria 158
determined by the department in the program requirements 159
recommended by the department and approved by the authority, that 160
they are unable to utilize the tariffs offered pursuant to subsection (b) of 161
this section. 162
(E) The department shall require that (i) not less than twenty per cent 163
of the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold, given or 164
provided to low-income customers, and (ii) not less than sixty per cent 165
of the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold, given or 166
provided to low-income customers, moderate-income customers or 167
low-income service organizations. 168
(F) The department may allow preferences to projects that serve low-169
income customers and shared clean energy facilities that benefit 170
customers who reside in environmental justice communities. 171
(G) The department may create incentives or other financing 172
mechanisms to encourage participation by low-income customers. 173
(H) The department may require that not more than [fifty] forty per 174
cent of the total capacity of each shared clean energy facility is sold to 175
commercial customers. 176
(7) For purposes of this subsection: 177
(A) "Environmental justice community" has the same meaning as 178
provided in subsection (a) of section 22a-20a; 179 Raised Bill No. 997
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(B) "Low-income customer" means an in-state retail end user of an 180
electric distribution company (i) whose income does not exceed sixty 181
per cent of the state median income, adjusted for family size, or (ii) that 182
is an affordable housing facility; 183
(C) "Low-income service organization" means a for-profit or 184
nonprofit organization that provides service or assistance to low-income 185
individuals; 186
(D) "Moderate-income customer" means an in-state retail end user of 187
an electric distribution company whose income is between sixty per cent 188
and one hundred per cent of the [area] state median income, [as defined 189
by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,] 190
adjusted for family size. 191
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2020, the authority shall initiate a 192
proceeding to establish (A) tariffs for each electric distribution company 193
pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, (B) a rate for such tariffs, 194
which may be based upon the results of one or more competitive 195
solicitations issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or on the 196
average cost of installing the generation project and a reasonable rate of 197
return that is just, reasonable and adequate, as determined by the 198
authority, and shall be guided by the Comprehensive Energy Strategy 199
prepared pursuant to section 16a-3d, and (C) the period of time that will 200
be used for calculating the net amount of energy produced by a facility 201
and not consumed, provided the authority shall assess whether to 202
incorporate time-of-use rates or other dynamic pricing and such period 203
of time shall be either (i) in real time, (ii) in one day, (iii) in any fraction 204
of a day not to exceed one day, or (iv) in any period of time greater than 205
one day up to and including one month. In such proceeding, the 206
authority shall consider the findings of the study of the value of 207
distributed energy resources conducted pursuant to section 16a-3o. The 208
authority shall issue a final decision in such proceeding on or before July 209
1, 2021. The authority may modify such rate for new customers under 210
this subsection based on changed circumstances and may establish an 211
interim tariff rate prior to the expiration of the residential solar 212 Raised Bill No. 997
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investment program pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16-245ff as an 213
alternative to such program, provided any residential customer 214
utilizing a tariff pursuant to this subsection at such customer's electric 215
meter shall not be eligible for any incentives offered pursuant to section 216
16-245ff at the same such electric meter and any residential customer 217
utilizing any incentives offered pursuant to section 16-245ff at such 218
customer's electric meter shall not be eligible for a tariff pursuant to this 219
subsection at the same such electric meter. 220
(2) On and after January 1, 2022, each electric distribution company 221
shall offer the following options to residential customers for the 222
purchase of products generated from a Class I renewable energy source 223
that is located on a customer's own premises and has a nameplate 224
capacity rating of twenty-five kilowatts or less for a term not to exceed 225
twenty years: (A) A tariff for the purchase of all energy and renewable 226
energy certificates on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis; and (B) a tariff for 227
the purchase of any energy produced and not consumed in the period 228
of time established by the authority pursuant to subparagraph (C) of 229
subdivision (1) of this subsection and all renewable energy certificates 230
generated by such facility on a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis, subject to 231
any tariff terms, conditions or other stipulations of the authority. A 232
residential customer shall select either option authorized pursuant to 233
subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, consistent with the 234
requirements of this section. Such generation projects shall be sized so 235
as not to exceed the load at the customer's individual electric meter or, 236
in the case of a multifamily dwelling that qualifies under this subsection, 237
the load of the premises, from the electric distribution company 238
providing service to such customer, pursuant to any rules established 239
by the authority and as determined by such electric distribution 240
company. For purposes of this section, "residential customer" means a 241
customer of a single-family dwelling, a multifamily dwelling consisting 242
of two to four units, or a multifamily dwelling consisting of five or more 243
units, provided in the case of a multifamily dwelling consisting of five 244
or more units, (i) not less than sixty per cent of the units of the 245
multifamily dwelling are occupied by persons and families with income 246 Raised Bill No. 997
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that is not more than sixty per cent of the area median income for the 247
municipality in which it is located, as determined by the United States 248
Department of Housing and Urban Development, or (ii) such 249
multifamily dwelling is determined to be affordable housing by the 250
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in consultation with the 251
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Department of 252
Housing, Connecticut Green Bank, Connecticut Housing Finance 253
Authority and United States Department of Housing and Urban 254
Development. In the case of a multifamily dwelling consisting of five or 255
more units, a generation project shall only qualify under this subsection 256
if: (I) Each of the dwelling units receives an appropriate share of the 257
benefits from the generation project, and (II) no greater than an 258
appropriate share of the benefits from the generation project is used to 259
offset common area usage. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 260
shall initiate an uncontested proceeding to implement the distribution 261
of the benefits from the generation project pursuant to this section. 262
(c) (1) (A) The aggregate total megawatts available to all customers 263
utilizing a procurement and tariff offered by electric distribution 264
companies pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be up to 265
eighty-five megawatts in year one and increase by up to an additional 266
one hundred sixty megawatts per year [in each of the years two through 267
six of such a tariff] on and after January 1, 2023, provided the total 268
megawatts available to customers eligible under subparagraph (A) of 269
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not exceed ten 270
megawatts per year, the total megawatts available to customers eligible 271
under subparagraph (B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this 272
section shall not exceed one hundred megawatts per year and the total 273
megawatts available to customers eligible under subparagraph (C) of 274
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not exceed fifty 275
megawatts per year. The authority shall monitor the competitiveness of 276
any procurements authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 277
and may adjust the annual purchase amount established in this 278
subsection or other procurement parameters to maintain 279
competitiveness. Any megawatts not allocated in any given year shall 280 Raised Bill No. 997
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roll into the next year's available megawatts. The obligation to purchase 281
energy and renewable energy certificates shall be apportioned [to 282
electric distribution companies based on their respective distribution 283
system loads,] as determined by the authority. 284
(B) The electric distribution companies shall offer any tariffs 285
developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section for six years. At the 286
end of the tariff term pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision (2) of 287
subsection (b) of this section, residential customers that elected the 288
option pursuant to said subparagraph shall be credited all cents-per-289
kilowatt-hour charges pursuant to the tariff rate for such customer for 290
energy produced by the Class I renewable energy source against any 291
energy that is consumed in real time by such residential customer. 292
(C) The authority shall establish tariffs for the purchase of energy on 293
a cents-per-kilowatt-hour basis at the expiration of any tariff terms 294
authorized pursuant to this section. 295
(2) [At the beginning of year six of the procurements authorized 296
pursuant to this subsection, the] The department, in consultation with 297
the authority, shall assess the tariff offerings pursuant to this section and 298
determine if such offerings are competitive compared to the cost of the 299
[technologies. The department] technologies and shall report, in 300
accordance with section 11-4a, the results of such determination to the 301
General Assembly not later than January 15, 2027. 302
(3) For any tariff established pursuant to this section, the authority 303
shall examine how to incorporate the following energy system benefits 304
into the rate established for any such tariff: (A) Energy storage systems 305
that provide electric distribution benefits, (B) location of a facility on the 306
distribution system, (C) time-of-use rates or other dynamic pricing, and 307
(D) other energy policy benefits identified in the Comprehensive Energy 308
Strategy prepared pursuant to section 16a-3d. 309
(d) In accordance with subsection (h) of section 16-245a, the authority 310
shall determine which of the following two options is in the best interest 311
of ratepayers and shall direct each electric distribution company to 312 Raised Bill No. 997
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either (1) retire the renewable energy certificates it purchases pursuant 313
to subsections (a) and (b) of this section on behalf of all ratepayers to 314
satisfy the obligations of all electric suppliers and electric distribution 315
companies providing standard service or supplier of last resort service 316
pursuant to section 16-245a, or (2) sell such renewable energy certificates 317
into the New England Power Pool Generation information system 318
renewable energy credit market. The authority shall establish 319
procedures for the retirement of such renewable energy certificates. Any 320
net revenues from the sale of products purchased in accordance with 321
this section shall be credited to customers through a nonbypassable fully 322
reconciling component of electric rates for all customers of the electric 323
distribution company. 324
(e) The costs prudently and reasonably incurred by an electric 325
distribution company pursuant to this section shall be recovered on a 326
timely basis through a nonbypassable fully reconciling component of 327
electric rates for all customers of the electric distribution company. Any 328
net revenues from the sale of products purchased in accordance with 329
any tariff offered pursuant to this section shall be credited to customers 330
through the same fully reconciling rate component for all customers of 331
such electric distribution company. 332
(f) Notwithstanding the size-to-load provisions of subdivision (4) of 333
subsection (a) of this section, the entire rooftop space of a customer's 334
own premises developed pursuant to subparagraph (B) of subdivision 335
(1) of subsection (a) of this section and owned by a commercial or 336
industrial customer may be used for purposes of electricity generation 337
and participation in the solicitation conducted by each electric 338
distribution company pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of 339
this section. 340
(g) State, municipal and agricultural customers shall be exempt from 341
the requirement that generation projects owned or developed pursuant 342
to subparagraph (A) or (B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this 343
section be located on a customer's own premises. 344 Raised Bill No. 997
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 16-244z
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) facilitate the procurement of projects under the state's renewable
energy programs by authorizing joint procurement of such projects and
permitting multiple solicitations per year, (2) modify and clarify the
rules of these programs and electric utilities' required purchases under
the programs, and (3) make conforming changes.
[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.]