Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB1022 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb1022
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 1022
8	8	C5, M5 5lr3608
9	9	CF HB 1233
10	10	By: Senator C. Jackson
11	11	Introduced and read first time: February 5, 2025
12	12	Assigned to: Rules
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Community Solar Energy Generating Systems – Subscription Eligibility 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of authorizing a certain LMI subscriber to hold a subscription to a 3
21	21	community solar energy generating system located in a different electric service 4
22	22	territory than the one in which the LMI subscriber resides; providing that a certain 5
23	23	LMI subscriber shall receive the same bill credit value as an LMI subscriber that 6
24	24	resides in a certain electric service territory; requiring the Public Service 7
25	25	Commission to establish a process for the exchange of community solar bill credits 8
26	26	between community solar energy generating systems that are located in different 9
27	27	electric service territories; and generally relating to community solar energy 10
28	28	generating systems. 11
29	29
30	30	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 12
31	31	Article – Public Utilities 13
32	32	Section 7–306.2(a)(1), (8), (9), (12), and (14), (b), (c), (d)(1) and (2), and (j)(2) 14
33	33	Annotated Code of Maryland 15
34	34	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 16
35	35
36	36	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
37	37	Article – Public Utilities 18
38	38	Section 7–306.2(a)(4) and (7) and (d)(3) 19
39	39	Annotated Code of Maryland 20
40	40	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 21
41	41
42	42	BY adding to 22
43	43	Article – Public Utilities 23
44	44	Section 7–306.2(o) 24
45	45	Annotated Code of Maryland 25
46	46	(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 26
47	47	2 SENATE BILL 1022
48	48
49	49
50	50	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
51	51	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2
52	52
53	53	Article – Public Utilities 3
54	54
55	55	7–306.2. 4
56	56
57	57	(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 5
58	58
59	59	(4) “Community solar energy generating system” means a solar energy 6
60	60	system that: 7
61	61
62	62	(i) is connected to the electric distribution grid serving the State; 8
63	63
64	64	(ii) [is located in the same electric service territory as its subscribers; 9
65	65
66	66	(iii)] is attached to the electric meter of a subscriber or is a separate 10
67	67	facility with its own electric meter; 11
68	68
69	69	[(iv)] (III) credits its generated electricity, or the value of its 12
70	70	generated electricity, to the bills of the subscribers to that system through virtual net 13
71	71	energy metering; 14
72	72
73	73	[(v)] (IV) has at least two subscribers but no limit to the maximum 15
74	74	number of subscribers; 16
75	75
76	76	[(vi)] (V) does not have subscriptions larger than 200 kilowatts 17
77	77	constituting more than 60% of its kilowatt–hour output; 18
78	78
79	79	[(vii)] (VI) has a generating capacity that does not exceed 5 19
80	80	megawatts as measured by the alternating current rating of the system’s inverter; 20
81	81
82	82	[(viii)] (VII) may be owned by any person; and 21
83	83
84	84	[(ix)] (VIII) with respect to community solar energy generating 22
85	85	systems constructed under the Program, serves at least 40% of its kilowatt–hour output to 23
86	86	LMI subscribers unless the solar energy system is wholly owned by the subscribers to the 24
87	87	solar energy system. 25
88	88
89	89	(7) “LMI subscriber” means a subscriber that: 26
90	90
91	91	(i) is low–income; 27
92	92
93	93	(ii) is moderate–income; or 28
94	94
95	95	(iii) resides in a census tract that is an: 29 SENATE BILL 1022 3
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99	1. overburdened community; [and] OR 1
100	100
101	101	2. underserved community. 2
102	102
103	103	(8) “Low–income” means: 3
104	104
105	105	(i) having an annual household income that is at or below 200% of 4
106	106	the federal poverty level; or 5
107	107
108	108	(ii) being certified as eligible for any federal, State, or local 6
109	109	assistance program that limits participation to households whose income is at or below 7
110	110	200% of the federal poverty level. 8
111	111
112	112	(9) “Moderate–income” means having an annual household income that is 9
113	113	at or below 80% of the median income for Maryland. 10
114	114
115	115	(12) “Program” means the Community Solar Energy Generating Systems 11
116	116	Program. 12
117	117
118	118	(14) “Subscriber” means a retail customer of an electric company that: 13
119	119
120	120	(i) holds a subscription to a community solar energy generating 14
121	121	system; and 15
122	122
123	123	(ii) has identified one or more individual meters or accounts to which 16
124	124	the subscription shall be attributed. 17
125	125
126	126	(b) The General Assembly finds that: 18
127	127
128	128	(1) community solar energy generating systems: 19
129	129
130	130	(i) provide residents and businesses, including those that lease 20
131	131	property, increased access to local solar electricity while encouraging private investment in 21
132	132	solar resources; 22
133	133
134	134	(ii) enhance continued diversification of the State’s energy resource 23
135	135	mix to achieve the State’s renewable energy portfolio standard and Greenhouse Gas 24
136	136	Emissions Reduction Act goals; and 25
137	137
138	138	(iii) provide electric companies and ratepayers the opportunity to 26
139	139	realize the many benefits associated with distributed energy; and 27
140	140
141	141	(2) it is in the public interest that the State enable the development and 28
142	142	deployment of energy generation from community solar energy generating systems in order 29
143	143	to: 30
144	144	4 SENATE BILL 1022
145	145
146	146
147	147	(i) allow renters and low–income and moderate–income retail 1
148	148	electric customers to own an interest in a community solar energy generating system; 2
149	149
150	150	(ii) facilitate market entry for all potential subscribers while giving 3
151	151	priority to subscribers who are the most sensitive to market barriers; and 4
152	152
153	153	(iii) encourage developers to promote participation by renters and 5
154	154	low–income and moderate–income retail electric customers. 6
155	155
156	156	(c) A community solar energy generating system, subscriber, subscriber 7
157	157	organization, or subscription coordinator is not: 8
158	158
159	159	(1) an electric company; 9
160	160
161	161	(2) an electricity supplier; or 10
162	162
163	163	(3) a generating station if the generating capacity of the community solar 11
164	164	energy generating system does not exceed 2 megawatts. 12
165	165
166	166	(d) (1) (i) The Commission shall establish and maintain a Community 13
167	167	Solar Energy Generating Systems Program. 14
168	168
169	169	(ii) The structure of the Program is as provided in this subsection. 15
170	170
171	171	(2) All rate classes may participate in the Program. 16
172	172
173	173	(3) (I) Subscribers served by electric standard offer service, community 17
174	174	choice aggregators, and electricity suppliers may hold subscriptions to the same community 18
175	175	solar energy generating system. 19
176	176
177	177	(II) 1. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSUBPARAGRAPH 2 OF 20
178	178	THIS SUBPARAGRAPH , A SUBSCRIBER MUST RE SIDE IN THE SAME ELE CTRIC 21
179	179	SERVICE TERRITORY AS THE COMMUNITY SOLAR ENERGY GENERATING SY STEM TO 22
180	180	WHICH THE SUBSCRIBER HOLDS A SUBSCRIPTION . 23
181	181
182	182	2. AN LMI SUBSCRIBER MAY HOLD A SUBSCRIPTION TO 24
183	183	A COMMUNITY SOLAR EN ERGY GENERATING SYST EM LOCATED IN A DIFF ERENT 25
184	184	ELECTRIC SERVICE TER RITORY THAN THE ONE IN WHICH THE LMI SUBSCRIBER 26
185	185	RESIDES. 27
186	186
187	187	(j) (2) (i) This paragraph applies to electric companies, electric 28
188	188	cooperatives, and municipal utilities that participate in the Program. 29
189	189
190	190	(ii) A subscriber who has a change in the service address associated 30
191	191	with the subscriber’s subscription may maintain the subscription for the new address if the 31
192	192	new address is within the same electric territory as the old address. 32 SENATE BILL 1022 5
193	193
194	194
195	195
196	196	(iii) An electric company or a subscriber organization may not 1
197	197	terminate a subscriber’s subscription due to a change of address for the service address 2
198	198	associated with the subscription if the requirements under subparagraph (ii) of this 3
199	199	paragraph are met. 4
200	200
201	201	(iv) An electric company shall make any changes necessary to 5
202	202	accommodate a subscriber’s change of address on notification by a subscriber organization. 6
203	203
204	204	(O) (1) AN LMI SUBSCRIBER THAT RESI DES IN A DIFFERENT E LECTRIC 7
205	205	SERVICE TERRITORY THAN THE C OMMUNITY SOLAR ENERG Y GENERATING SYSTEM 8
206	206	SHALL RECEIVE THE SA ME BILL CREDIT VALUE AS AN LMI SUBSCRIBER THAT 9
207	207	RESIDES IN THE SAME ELECTRIC SERVICE TER RITORY AS THE COMMUN ITY SOLAR 10
208	208	ENERGY GENERATING SY STEM. 11
209	209
210	210	(2) BY ORDER OR REGULATIO N, THE COMMISSION SHALL ESTA BLISH 12
211	211	A PROCESS FOR THE EX CHANGE OF COMMUNITY SOLAR BILL CREDITS B ETWEEN 13
212	212	COMMUNITY SOLAR ENER GY GENERATING SYSTEM S THAT ARE LOCATED I N 14
213	213	DIFFERENT ELECTRIC S ERVICE TERRITORIES . 15
214	214
215	215	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act sha ll take effect 16
216	216	October 1, 2025. 17
217	217