Florida 2022 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0741 Analysis / Analysis

Filed 02/24/2022

                    This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives. 
STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS  
 
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 741    Net Metering 
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee, McClure and others 
TIED BILLS:   IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 1024 
 
REFERENCE 	ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or 
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF 
1) Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee 13 Y, 3 N, As CS Walsh Keating 
2) State Administration & Technology 
Appropriations Subcommittee 
9 Y, 6 N Lee Topp 
3) Commerce Committee 	17 Y, 4 N, As CS Walsh Hamon 
SUMMARY ANALYSIS 
The role of the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) is to ensure that Florida's consumers receive some 
of their most essential services in a safe, affordable, and reliable manner. Current law requires the PSC to 
allow investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs) to recover honestly and prudently invested costs of providing 
service, including investments in infrastructure and operating expenses used to provide electric service. 
 
Net energy metering, commonly referred to as net metering, is a billing arrangement designed to compensate 
customers who own on-site renewable energy generation systems and export electricity generated on-site to 
an electric utility’s system. Net metering is most commonly referenced in relation to customer-owned solar 
panels. Net metering requires customers who own on-site renewable energy generation systems to 
interconnect with the electric grid.  
 
In 2008, the Legislature required all electric utilities to develop standardized interconnection agreements and a 
net metering program for customer-owned renewable generation systems. Under Florida’s current net metering 
framework for IOUs, the credit the customer receives on their monthly bill equates the value of the excess 
energy to the utility’s retail rate.   
 
The bill establishes a revised net metering program that credits excess energy delivered to an IOU’s system by 
customer-owned renewable generation in accordance with a graduated schedule as described in the bill. 
Under the bill, the value of credit a customer who owns or leases renewable generation receives will be 
determined by the date a net metering application is approved for the customer-owned or leased renewable 
generation, and credits will be netted on a monthly basis. 
 
The bill provides that if the PSC finds that the penetration rate of customer-owned or leased renewable 
generation across all IOU service territories in the state exceeds a certain threshold, the PSC must initiate 
rulemaking to adopt a new rule. The bill also states that the program requirements referenced in the bill 
establish minimum requirements for IOU customer-owned or leased renewable generation programs. An IOU 
may petition the PSC at any time for approval to offer a program that is not less favorable to customers who 
own or lease renewable generation.  
 
The bill permits an IOU to petition the PSC for approval to recover, through its fuel and purchased power cost 
recovery charge, lost revenue resulting from the incremental addition of residential customer-owned or leased 
solar photovoltaic generation within the IOU’s service territory between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. 
 
The bill has no fiscal impact on state or local government revenues or expenditures.  
 
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2022.    STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 2 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
FULL ANALYSIS 
I.  SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS 
 
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES: 
Present Situation 
 
Florida Public Service Commission 
 
The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) is an arm of the legislative branch of government.
1
 The 
role of the PSC is to ensure that Florida's consumers receive some of their most essential services – 
electric, natural gas, telephone, water, and wastewater – in a safe, affordable, and reliable manner. In 
doing so, the PSC exercises regulatory authority over utilities in one or more of three key areas: rate 
base/economic regulation; competitive market oversight; and monitoring of safety, reliability, and 
service issues.
2
  
 
Investor-Owned Electric Utilities 
 
The PSC regulates the rates and services of investor-owned electric utilities (IOUs).
3
 There are four 
IOUs in Florida: Florida Power & Light Company (FPL),
4
 Duke Energy Florida (Duke), Tampa Electric 
Company (TECO), and Florida Public Utilities Corporation.
5
 Together, these four IOUs serve over 8.1 
million customers in Florida.
6
 IOU rates and revenues are regulated by the PSC.
7
 The IOUs must file 
periodic earnings reports, which allow the PSC to monitor earnings levels on an ongoing basis and 
adjust customer rates quickly if a company appears to be overearning.
8
 
 
IOUs must provide sufficient and adequate service to customers.
9
 To fulfill that obligation, utilities 
monitor customer usage patterns in order to plan for future energy needs. Utilities use billing data to 
predict the future energy needs of customers and make investments in their infrastructure based on 
these predictions.
10
 Current law requires the PSC to allow IOUs to recover honestly and prudently 
invested costs of providing service, including investments in infrastructure and operating expenses 
used to provide electric service.
11
  
 
Full Avoided Costs 
 
An IOU’s full avoided cost is the incremental cost of electric energy or capacity,
12
 which, but for a 
purchase from a non-utility generator, the IOU would have to generate itself or purchase from another 
source.
13
 Full avoided cost is based upon either the utility’s cost to construct and operate its next 
                                                
1
 S. 350.001, F.S. 
2
 Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), http://www.psc.state.fl.us/ (last visited Jan. 17, 2022). 
3
 The PSC does not regulate the rates of municipal electric utilities or rural electric cooperatives.  
4
 FPL acquired Gulf Power Company in 2019 and merged as of January 3, 2022.  
5
 Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Electric Utilities, https://www.fdacs.gov/Energy/Florida-
Energy-Clearinghouse/Electric-Utilities (last visited Jan. 19, 2022).  
6
 PSC, Facts & Figures of the Florida Utility Industry (2021), p, 4, available at 
http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Files/PDF/Publications/Reports/General/Factsandfigures/April%202021.pdf (last visited Jan. 19, 
2022). 
7
 Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Electric Utilities, supra note 5.  
8
 PSC, Florida PSC 2020 Annual Report, p. 6, available at 
http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Files/PDF/Publications/Reports/General/Annualreports/2020.pdf (last visited Jan. 19, 2022). 
9
 S. 366.03, F.S. 
10
 PSC, Agency Analysis of 2022 House Bill 741, p. 2 (Jan. 3, 2022).  
11
 S. 366.06, F.S. 
12
 Capacity is the maximum electric output, in megawatts, that an electricity generator can produce under ideal conditions. 
See U.S. Energy Information Administration, What is the difference between electricity generation capacity and electricity  
generation?, https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=101&t=3 (last visited Jan. 22, 2022). 
13
 S. 366.051, F.S.  STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 3 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
planned generating unit or the cost of purchasing capacity and energy from generating units owned by 
other utilities in the wholesale market.
14
 
 
An IOU’s full avoided costs is not the same as the rate it pays for energy provided on an as-available 
basis. Full avoided costs can include avoided capacity and energy costs, while an as-available energy 
rate only includes avoided energy costs, which are largely comprised of fuel costs.
15
 In 2021, as-
available energy rates ranged for Florida IOUs from $0.025 to $0.037 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
16
 
 
Peak Demand 
 
An electric utility must supply the power necessary to meet the total demand of all its customers at any 
given time. Electric utility customers use different amounts of electricity at different times of a day, 
week, or year, as well as with changes in the weather. Due to the customers’ different levels of demand 
based on these factors, the power the utility must provide changes as well. Peak demand refers to the 
maximum amount of demand placed on a utility’s system over a specific period.
17
 Given that customer 
demand differs based on weather and location, the peak demand may vary for each IOU for any given 
period of time. Each IOU reports to the PSC its peak demand for summer and winter.  
 
Net Metering 
 
Net energy metering, commonly referred to as net metering, is a billing arrangement designed to 
compensate customers who own on-site, renewable energy
18
 generation systems and export electricity 
generated on-site to the utility grid.
19
 Net metering essentially allows customers to sell excess electricity 
to an electric utility, and the utility credits the customer’s energy bill on a per kWh basis.
20
 The 
compensation structure for utility customers who engage in net metering varies by location depending 
on state and local policies.
21
  
 
Common customer-owned renewable energy generation sources around the country include solar 
panels, natural gas micro-turbines, methane digesters, and small wind power generators;
22
 however, 
net metering is most commonly referenced in relation to customer-owned solar panels.  
 
Net metering requires customers who own on-site renewable energy generation systems to 
interconnect with the electric grid, which allows customers to reliably power their homes even when 
their systems are not generating enough power to meet their energy needs.
23
 The U.S. Department of 
Energy defines the term “interconnection” as “the technical procedures and legal requirements 
surrounding energy customers’ ability to connect their small-scale renewable energy projects to the 
                                                
14
 PSC, States’ Electric Restructuring Activities Update: Wholesale Sales, 
http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Publications/ElectricRestructuringDetails#4 (last visited Jan. 22, 2022).  
15
 PSC, supra note 10, at 2. 
16
 Email from Kaley Slattery, Legislative Director, Florida Public Service Commission, Request for information (Feb. 1, 
2022).  
17
 PSC, Reducing Electric Costs, http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Publications/ReducingCosts (last visited Feb. 21, 2022).  
18
 “Renewable energy” means electrical energy produced from a method that uses one or more of the following fuels or 
energy sources: hydrogen produced from sources other than fossil fuels, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind 
energy, ocean energy, and hydroelectric power. The term includes the alternative energy resource, waste heat, from 
sulfuric acid manufacturing operations and electrical energy produced using pipeline-quality synthetic gas produced from 
waste petroleum coke with carbon capture and sequestration. S. 366.91(2)(d), F.S. 
19
 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Net Metering, https://www.nrel.gov/state-local-tribal/basics-net-metering.html 
(last visited Jan. 20, 2022).  
20
 Id. 
21
 Id.  
22
 National Conference of State Legislatures, State Net Metering Policies (Nov. 20, 2017), 
https://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/net-metering-policy-overview-and-state-legislative-updates.aspx (last visited Jan. 
20, 2022).  
23
 U.S. Department of Energy, Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Systems, https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/grid-
connected-renewable-energy-systems (last visited Jan. 22, 2022).   STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 4 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
electricity grid.”
24
 Utility customers primarily benefit from interconnected renewable generation systems 
through personal use and reducing the amount of electricity they purchase from the utility.
25
 
 
As of August 2021, thirty-seven states, including Florida, have state-developed mandatory net metering 
rules for certain utilities, eight states have statewide compensation rules other than net metering, two 
states have some utilities that allow net metering, and three states offer no form of net metering or 
compensation.
26
 
 
Net Metering in Florida 
 
In 2008, the Legislature required all electric utilities to develop standardized interconnection 
agreements
27
 and a net metering
28
 program for customer-owned renewable generation
29
 systems.
30
 
Under this section, the PSC is tasked with establishing requirements relating to expedited 
interconnection and net metering of customer-owned renewable generation by IOUs and may adopt 
rules to accomplish this task.
31, 32
  
 
In response to the net metering requirements passed by the Legislature in 2008, the PSC amended r. 
25-6.065, F.A.C.,
33
 to expand the applicability of the rule to all renewable energy types up to two 
megawatts (MW) in capacity.
34
 The rule creates a billing mechanism by which net metering customers 
can offset their usage through self-generated energy, with any excess energy delivered to the IOU’s 
system. The amount of any excess energy delivered to the IOU is applied to the customer’s next 
monthly bill as a kWh credit. At the end of the calendar year, the IOU pays for any remaining unused 
energy credits at a rate based on the utility’s avoided cost of generating electricity.
35
 
 
Under Florida’s current net metering framework, the credit the customer receives on their monthly bill 
equates the value of the excess energy to the utility’s retail rate. The retail rates for each of the IOUs 
range from roughly $0.12 to $0.15 per kWh.
36
 A utility’s retail rate accounts for its cost to provide power 
to customers, which includes, but is not limited to, the cost of generation, transmission, distribution, 
fuel, and operating and maintenance expenses.
37
  
 
IOUs must charge net metering customers the applicable rates and charges for the electricity provided 
                                                
24
 U.S. Department of Energy, Renewable Energy: Distributed Generation Policies and Programs, 
https://www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/renewable-energy-distributed-generation-policies-and-programs (last visited Jan. 22, 
2022)  
25
 PSC, supra note 10, at 1.  
26
 DSIRE, Net Metering, NC Clean Energy Technology Center (August 2021), https://ncsolarcen-
prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/DSIRE_Net_Metering_August2021.pdf (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).  
27
 An interconnection agreement is a contract between a customer and a utility to interconnect the customer’s renewable 
generation system to the utility’s electric grid. See e.g. Florida Public Utilities Company, Interconnection of Customer-
Owned Renewable Generation Systems Application, p. 1, available at https://fpuc.com/wp-content/uploads/FPU17-
123_Interconnection-Form.pdf (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).  
28
 S. 366.091(2)(d), F.S., defines the term “net metering” as a metering and billing methodology where customer-owned 
renewable generation is allowed to offset the customer’s electricity consumption.  
29
 S. 366.091(2)(c), F.S., defines the term “customer-owned renewable generation” as an electric generating system 
located on a customer’s premises that is primarily intended to offset part or all of the customer’s electricity requirements 
with renewable energy. 
30
 S. 366.091(5) and (6), F.S. 
31
 S. 366.091(5), F.S. 
32
 Municipal electric utilities and rural cooperatives are required to develop their own standardized interconnection 
agreements and net metering programs, but each year they must file a report detailing customer participation in such 
programs with the PSC. S. 366.91(6), F.S. 
33
 This rule was initially promulgated by the PSC in 2002 for the purpose of standardizing and expediting the 
interconnection of small solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for customers of IOUs. PSC, supra note 10, at 1.  
34
 Id. at 2.  
35
 Id.  
36
 PSC, Florida Investor-Owned Electric Utilities Total Cost for 1,000 Kilowatt Hours – Residential Service, available at 
http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Files/PDF/Utilities/Electricgas/BillingAdjustments/ba_total-2022.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).  
37
 Id.   STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 5 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
by the utility.
38
 The applicable rates and charges are dependent on the rate class the customer falls 
under, and these rates and charges can include a fixed monthly customer charge or base facility 
charge, volumetric rates based on consumption, demand rates based on the maximum electric demand 
in a monthly billing cycle, or a combination of the above.
39
 Additionally, FPL and Duke were recently 
authorized to charge customers a monthly minimum bill of $25 and $30 respectively.
40
  
 
In 2020, Florida electric utilities reported 90,552 customer-owned renewable generation 
interconnections, reflecting more than 30,000 new interconnections since the 59,508 interconnections 
reported in 2019.
41
 Of the 90,552 customer-owned renewable generation interconnections reported in 
2020, Florida’s four IOUs accounted for 71,567 of those interconnections.
42
 Almost all customer-owned 
renewable generation installations in Florida are solar.
43
 As of year-end 2020, less than one percent of 
Florida’s 10,504,960 electric utility customers had installed renewable generation equipment.
44
 
 
Concerns of cross-subsidization of customers who partake in net metering by non-net metering 
customers have been raised before the PSC.
45
 There is debate as to the components of the utility’s 
cost of service that are offset by energy generated by net metering customers and, accordingly, the 
appropriate credit to provide for such energy.
46
 
 
Net Billing 
 
Net billing is similar to net metering in that the owner of a customer-owned renewable energy 
generation system can consume electricity generated by their system in real time and export any 
excess energy generated to the utility grid. However, net billing differs from net metering because 
customers who own renewable energy generation systems may not bank energy within a billing cycle 
to offset future consumption. Instead, all net energy exports are metered and credited to the customer 
at a predetermined rate at the moment the energy is sent to the grid.
47
 At the end of a billing cycle, the 
total amount credited is netted against the total amount billed for service from the utility to establish the 
balance due from the customer.  
 
Effect of the Bill 
 
The bill establishes a revised net metering program that credits excess energy delivered to an IOU’s 
system by customer-owned renewable generation in accordance with a graduated schedule as 
described below.  
 
The bill provides that, effective January 1, 2024, IOU net metering programs must provide the following 
terms: 
 IOU net metering programs must continue to provide that all electricity used by a customer in 
excess of the generation supplied by the customer’s owned or leased renewable generation is 
                                                
38
 R. 25-6.065, F.A.C. 
39
 PSC, supra note 10, at 2.  
40
 Florida Power & Light Company, Building a more resilient and sustainable energy future, EnergyNews (January 2022), 
available at https://www.fpl.com/#home (last visited Feb. 1, 2022); Sam Sachs, Duke Energy Florida customers to have 
minimum $30 bills, News Channel 8 (Jan. 28, 2022), https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/duke-energy-florida-customers-to-
have-minimum-30-bills/ (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).  
41
 PSC, Review of the 2021 Ten-Year Site Plans of Florida’s Electric Utilities (Oct. 2021), p. 29, available at 
http://www.psc.state.fl.us/Files/PDF/Utilities/Electricgas/TenYearSitePlans/2021/Review.pdf (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).  
42
 PSC, Interconnection and Net Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation (2020), available at 
https://www.floridapsc.com/Files/PDF/Utilities/Electricgas/CustomerRenewable/2020/2020%20Net%20Metering%20Sum
mary%20Spreadsheet/2020%20Net%20Metering%20Report.pdf (last visited Jan. 20, 2022).  
43
 PSC, supra note 42.  
44
 PSC, supra note 10, at 3. 
45
 Id. at 4.  
46
 See Id. (“For example, questions have been raised as to whether the excess energy offsets the utility’s cost of power 
plants, given that power plants must be available to meet a renewable energy customer’s electric needs when their 
systems are not operating or when their demand exceeds the capability of their renewable energy system.”).  
47
 Owen Zinaman et al., Grid-Connected Distributed Generation: Compensation Mechanism Basics, National Renewable 
Energy Laboratory, https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy18osti/68469.pdf (last visited Feb. 21, 2022).   STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 6 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
billed by the IOU under normal billing practices.  
 Excess electricity produced by customer-owned or leased renewable generation delivered to the 
IOU’s electric grid during the customer’s regular billing cycle must be credited to the customer’s 
energy consumption for the next month’s billing cycle as follows: 
o For energy credits produced from customer-owned or leased renewable generation for 
which a net metering application is approved between January 1, 2024, and December 
31, 2025, the customer’s energy usage shall be offset by 75 percent of the amount 
credited. 
o For energy credits produced from customer-owned or leased renewable generation for 
which a net metering application is approved between January 1, 2026, and December 
31, 2026, the customer’s energy usage shall be offset by 60 percent of the amount 
credited.  
o For energy credits produced from customer-owned or leased renewable generation for 
which a net metering application is approved between January 1, 2027, and December 
31, 2028, the customer’s energy usage shall be offset by 50 percent of the amount 
credited.  
 
In summary, the value of credit owed to a customer for excess generation delivered to the grid from the 
customer’s renewable generation is determined by the date the net metering application for the 
customer’s renewable generation is approved, and such credits will be netted on a monthly basis.  
 
Under the bill, customers who own or lease renewable generation for which a net metering application 
is approved before January 1, 2029, pursuant to a standard interconnection agreement with an IOU, 
will be granted 20 years to continue to use the net metering design and rates that applied at the time 
the net metering application was approved for the renewable generation. The bill provides that the 20-
year period applies to customers who purchase or lease real property upon which customer-owned or 
leased renewable generation is installed for all or part of that 20-year period.  
 
The bill provides that after the new net metering programs become effective on January 1, 2024, an 
IOU may petition the PSC for approval to impose any combination of fixed charges, including base 
facilities charges, electric grid access fees, or monthly minimum bills to ensure that the IOU recovers 
the fixed costs of serving customers who own or lease renewable generation and that the general body 
of ratepayers does not subsidize customer-owned or leased generation. Within 180 days, the PSC 
must issue a final order on any such petition filed by an IOU.  
 
The bill requires the PSC to adopt new rules to establish a new program design to become effective 
January 1, 2029, for customers who own or lease renewable generation for which a net metering 
application is approved after that date. The new program design must ensure that: 
 IOU customers who own or lease renewable generation pay their full cost of electric service 
and are not cross-subsidized by the general body of ratepayers; 
 All energy delivered by the IOU is purchased at its applicable retail rate; 
 All energy delivered by the customer-owned or leased renewable generation to the IOU is 
credited to the customer at the IOU’s full avoided costs; and 
 
The bill provides that if the PSC finds that the penetration rate of customer-owned or leased renewable 
generation in an IOU’s service territory exceeds 6.5 percent within the succeeding 12 months, the PSC, 
upon petition or its own motion, must initiate rulemaking to adopt a program design that complies with 
the program requirements for customer-owned or leased renewable generation after January 1, 2029. 
The new program design becomes effective 60 days after rule adoption or 60 days after the date the 
commission determines the actual penetration rate has reached 6.5 percent. The bill states that the 
penetration rate shall be calculated by dividing the total summer peak demand of all IOUs in the state 
by the aggregate gross power rating (alternating current) of all in-service customer-owned or leased 
renewable generation in the IOU’s service territory.  
 
The bill states that the program requirements are minimum requirements for IOU net metering 
programs, and that an IOU may petition the PSC at any time for approval to offer a net metering 
program that is not less favorable to customers who own or lease renewable generation.   STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 7 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
 
The bill permits an IOU to petition the PSC for recovery, through the IOU’s fuel and purchased power 
cost recovery charge, lost revenue resulting from the incremental addition of residential customer-
owned or leased solar photovoltaic generation within the IOU’s service territory between July 1, 2022, 
and December 31, 2023. In order to do so, this additional customer-owned or leased solar photovoltaic 
generation must be above the level that such generation was estimated to be installed within the IOU’s 
service territory during the same period. The bill requires an IOU seeking recovery of lost revenues to 
demonstrate that the relief requested does not cause the IOU to exceed the rate of return on equity 
authorized by the PSC in the IOU’s most recent rate proceeding.  
  
B. SECTION DIRECTORY: 
 
Section 1: Amends s. 366.91, F.S., relating to renewable energy.  
 
Section 2: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2022. 
 
II.  FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT 
 
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT: 
 
1. Revenues: 
None. 
 
2. Expenditures: 
The bill requires the PSC to adopt new rules implementing and establishing new program designs 
for customers that own or lease renewable generation systems. However, the PSC can absorb the 
costs within existing resources.
48
 
 
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: 
 
1. Revenues: 
None. 
 
2. Expenditures: 
None. 
 
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR: 
The bill may have an indeterminate impact on private businesses that install and public utility 
customers that purchase or lease renewable generation systems. 
 
D. FISCAL COMMENTS: 
None. 
III.  COMMENTS 
 
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES: 
 
 1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision: 
Not applicable. The bill does not appear to impact county or municipal governments. 
 
 2. Other: 
                                                
48
 PSC, supra note 10, at 3.  STORAGE NAME: h0741d.COM 	PAGE: 8 
DATE: 2/24/2022 
  
None. 
 
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY: 
The bill requires the PSC to adopt revised rules implementing and establishing new program designs 
for customers that own or lease renewable generation systems. Existing section 366.91(5), F.S., 
provides the PSC sufficient rulemaking authority. 
 
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS: 
None.  
 
IV.  AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES 
 
On February 3, 2022, the Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee adopted an amendment to the 
bill and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The amendment changes the period in which 
customers who own or lease renewable generation prior to January 1, 2023, can utilize the existing net 
metering rate design from 10 years to 20 years.  
 
On February 23, 2022, the Commerce Committee adopted a proposed committee substitute (PCS) with a 
strike-all amendment and an amendment to the strike-all. The Commerce Committee reported the bill 
favorably as a committee substitute. The PCS as amended: 
 Maintains the current net metering program design through the end of 2023. 
 Creates a graduated schedule for the value of credit a customer who owns or leases renewable 
generation receives based on the date a net metering application is approved for a customer-owned 
or leased renewable generation system.  
 Includes a 20-year grandfather clause that allows customers to continue receiving the benefits of 
the net metering rate design that was in effect at the time the net metering application was 
approved.  
 Requires the PSC to adopt a new program design effective January 1, 2029, for customer-owned or 
leased renewable generation for which a net metering application is approved on or after that date.  
 Provides that the new program design may go into effect sooner for an individual utility if customer-
owned or leased renewable generation on its system reaches a penetration rate of 6.5% before 
January 1, 2029.  
 Gives each IOU the choice to continue offering a net metering program on terms that are more 
favorable to net metering customers than the terms listed in the bill or in PSC rules adopted under 
the bill. 
 Allows a public utility to request PSC approval to recover lost revenues associated with 
unanticipated increases in renewable system installations between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 
2023. 
 
This analysis is drafted to the committee substitute as approved by the Commerce Committee.