25 LC 55 0478
House Bill 507
By: Representatives Camp of the 135
th
, Powell of the 33
rd
, Stephens of the 164
th
, Drenner of
the 85
th
, and Gullett of the 19
th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
1
electrical service, so as to enact the "Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2025"; to provide2
definitions; to allow customers of an electric utility to aggregate demand from multiple3
locations and subscribe to certain off-site solar facilities; to provide for nondiscriminatory4
interconnection of such facilities; to provide for consumer protections for customers; to allow5
customers to access their own meter usage and provide such usage data to authorized third6
parties; to provide legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective7
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9
SECTION 1.10
Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to electrical service,11
is amended by adding a new part to Article 1, relating to generation and distribution of12
electricity generally, and amending Article 2, which is reserved, as follows:13
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"Part 614
46-3-80.15
This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2025.'16
46-3-81.17
The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest to:18
(1) Continue to encourage private investment in solar resources in the service territory19
of Georgia's largest electric utility;20
(2) Stimulate economic growth and job creation in this state;21
(3) Promote energy resilience; and22
(4) Enable customers in this state to access solar technologies that help them manage23
their electric bills.24
25
46-3-82.
26
As used in this part, the term:27
(1) 'Avoided cost' means the incremental cost to an electric utility which, but for the28
provision of energy and capacity from a solar technology, such electric utility would29
incur to generate or procure electricity from another source.30
(2) 'Bill credit' means the monetary value of kilowatt hours generated by a community31
solar facility allocated to a subscriber's electricity bill pursuant to the community solar32
program created by the commission and subject to commission jurisdiction as described33
in this part.34
(3) 'Community solar facility' means a system that:35
(A) Generates electric energy that is fueled solely by ambient sunlight and is connected36
to the electric utility's distribution system;37
(B) Is located within the same electric service territory as the customers it serves; 38
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(C) Has no subscribers that own a subscription for more than 40 percent of such39
facility's output;40
(D) Is not selling its energy outside of the community solar program; and41
(E)(i) Except as provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph, is not located on the42
same parcel as another system that meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A)43
through (D) of this paragraph if the total capacity of the systems would exceed 544
megawatts alternating current; provided, however, that such parcel shall not have45
been subdivided in order to meet such requirements.46
(ii) The requirements of division (i) of this subparagraph shall not apply to an47
aggregate of multiple systems that together do not exceed 5 megawatts alternating48
current if such systems are located on the rooftops of buildings, on brownfield49
properties, as such term is defined in Code Section 48-5-7.6, deemed to be in50
compliance with risk reduction standards, on landfills, or over parking lots or51
roadways.52
(4) 'Community solar organization' means any for profit or nonprofit entity that owns,53
operates, or manages subscriptions for one or more community solar facilities.54
(5) 'Electric utility' means any retail supplier of electricity whose rates are fixed by the55
commission, and shall not include any electric membership corporation or municipal56
electric utility.57
(6) 'Subscriber' means a retail customer of an electric utility that owns one or more58
subscriptions of a community solar facility.59
46-3-83.60
A community solar organization:61
(1) May sell subscriptions at a rate that shall result in bill savings for the subscriber;62
provided, however, that such subscriptions shall be sized such that the estimated credits63
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do not exceed 90 percent of the subscriber's average or expected annual bill for the64
customer account to which the subscription is attributed;65
(2) Shall not require credit checks or up-front, sign-on, or exit fees to purchase, transfer66
or terminate a subscription;67
(3) Shall provide the electric utility with information necessary to allocate bill credits to68
each subscriber;69
(4) May bank unsubscribed energy for no more than 24 months at which point such70
energy shall be purchased by the electric utility at avoided cost;71
(5) May transfer or retire on behalf of subscribers the renewable energy credits produced72
by its community solar facilities; and73
(6) Shall be subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to74
this part; provided, however, that the sale or transfer of subscriptions shall not be75
considered the provision of electric service to the public, retail electric service, or retail76
supply of electricity and neither the subscriber nor the community solar organization shall77
be considered an electric supplier within the meaning of Part 1 of this article or in78
violation of exclusive electric service rights arising therein.79
46-3-84.80
(a) On or before January 1, 2027, the commission shall establish a program that affords81
customers the opportunity to participate in community solar projects and which shall82
reasonably allow for the creation, financing, and accessibility of community solar facilities. 83
Under such program:84
(1) Electric utilities shall provide bill credits to subscribers derived from the utility's total85
aggregate retail rate on a per-customer-class basis, less commission approved distribution86
cost components;87
(2) Excess credits on a subscriber's bill shall role over from month to month until the end88
of each calendar year and any such excess credits shall automatically be applied to the89
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next electric bill of a subscriber when the subscriber's subscription is terminated for any90
reason;91
(3) Electric utilities shall provide to community solar organizations a web based hosting92
capacity tool to indicate where and how much available capacity exists on the distribution93
system, updated on at least a semiannual basis;94
(4) Electric utilities may impose fees on community solar organizations which fees, if95
any, shall be:96
(A) Just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory;97
(B) Based on the actual cost of providing the service for which the fee is imposed;98
(C) Approved by the commission after public notice, a public hearing, and an99
opportunity for public comment; and100
(D) Not more than 1 percent of the bill credit value accrued from such organization's101
subscriptions during the term for which the fee is imposed, unless found by the102
commission to be necessary to protect the public interest; and103
(5) Electric utilities may, notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 46-3A-3, enter104
into a long-term purchase agreement with a community solar organization.105
(b) The commission may establish rules and regulations that provide for the protection of106
customers that have subscriptions with or are prospective subscribers of a community solar107
facility. Such rules and regulations may relate to the totality of the subscription and the bill108
crediting process, including requiring standardized customer disclosure forms that identify109
key information that shall be provided by community solar organizations to potential110
subscribers.111
46-3-85.112
(a) On and after July 1, 2025, an electric utility shall accept interconnection applications113
for community solar facilities on a nondiscriminatory basis and study the impact of114
interconnecting such facilities to the grid using the current commission approved115
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interconnection rules, regulations, standards, and tariffs and in accordance with best116
practices.117
(b) On or before January 1, 2026, the commission shall establish an Interconnection118
Working Group between electric utilities and stakeholders with oversight from commission119
staff. The Interconnection Working Group shall review and recommend changes or120
adoption of any policies, processes, rules, regulations, standards, and tariffs associated with121
the interconnection of community solar facilities with the goal of transparency, accuracy,122
and efficiency to support the achievement of the objectives in this part. The123
Interconnection Working Group shall report its findings and recommendations to the124
commission on or before July 1, 2026. The commission shall review the findings and125
recommendations of the Interconnection Working Group and take any action that the126
commission deems necessary.127
(c) On or before October 1, 2026, each electric utility shall submit for commission review128
and approval a standard interconnection agreement for community solar facilities that129
meets the following requirements:130
(1) An electric utility may recover any direct costs associated with interconnecting and131
administering metering services as approved by the commission. Any fees imposed shall132
be:133
(A) Just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory;134
(B) Based on the actual cost of providing the service for which the fee is imposed; and135
(C) Approved by the commission after public notice, a public hearing, and an136
opportunity for public comment;137
(2) A community solar facility shall include, at the interconnection applicant's own138
expense, all equipment necessary to meet applicable safety, power quality, and139
interconnection requirements established by the National Electrical Code, National140
Electrical Safety Code, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and141
Underwriters Laboratories;142
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(3) An electric utility shall not require an interconnection applicant whose community143
solar facility meets the standards in paragraph (2) of this subsection to comply with144
additional safety or performance standards, perform or pay for additional tests, or145
purchase additional liability insurance; and146
(4) No electric utility shall be liable to any person, directly or indirectly, for any loss of147
property, injury, or death that may result from the interconnection of a community solar148
facility.149
46-3-86.150
On or before January 1, 2027, each electric utility shall file for commission review a data151
access program. Such data access program shall be designed to better enable customers'152
investments in or subscriptions to conservation and clean energy technologies, including,153
but not limited to, photovoltaic solar, energy efficiency technologies, battery storage, smart154
thermostats, and electric vehicles. Following public notice and an opportunity for public155
comment, the commission shall adopt or amend such proposed program, which the electric156
utility shall make available to customers within nine months of the commission's final157
order. An electric utility's data access program shall conform to the following158
requirements:159
(1) As part of basic utility service, an electric utility shall provide meter usage data in160
electronic machine-readable form, without additional charge, to the customer or to any161
third-party recipient to whom the customer has authorized disclosure of the customer's162
meter usage data. Such access shall conform to nationally recognized open standards and163
best practices and shall be provided in 15 minute intervals or the shortest interval164
available through existing meters;165
(2) An electric utility shall maintain and provide at least 24 months of meter usage data166
or the period of time that a customer has had an account at a given address, whichever is167
less; and168
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(3) If requests are made for information other than meter usage data or data older than169
24 months preceding the request, the electric utility may charge customers a reasonable170
fee to provide such data that is established by the commission based on the electric171
utility's marginal cost to provide such data.172
ARTICLE 2173
46-3-70. 46-3-90.174
Reserved."175
SECTION 2.176
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.177
SECTION 3.178
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.179
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