Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB386 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE BILL NO. 386
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR TRENT.
6	6	1344S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	To amend chapter 386, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to a community solar
9	9	pilot program.
10	10
11	11	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
12	12	Section A. Chapter 386, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
13	13	one new section, to be known as section 386.875, to read as 2
14	14	follows:3
15	15	386.875. 1. As used in this section, the following 1
16	16	terms shall mean: 2
17	17	(1) "Bill credit", the commission -approved monetary 3
18	18	value of each kilowatt hour of electricity generate d by a 4
19	19	community solar facility and allocated to a subscriber's 5
20	20	monthly bill to offset the subscriber's retail electric bill; 6
21	21	(2) "Community solar facility", a facility that: 7
22	22	(a) Generates electricity by means of a solar 8
23	23	photovoltaic device whereby subscribers receive a bill 9
24	24	credit for the electricity generated based on the size of 10
25	25	the subscriptions; 11
26	26	(b) Is located within the state of Missouri; 12
27	27	(c) Is connected to and delivers electricity to a 13
28	28	distribution system operated by a retail electric supplier 14
29	29	operating in the state of Missouri and in compliance with 15
30	30	requirements under this section; 16
31	31	(d) Has a nameplate capacity greater than one hundred 17
32	32	AC kilowatts and no greater than five thousand AC kilowatts; 18 SB 386 2
33	33	(e) Has at least ten subscribers; 19
34	34	(f) Credits some or all of the electricity generated 20
35	35	from a community solar facility to the bills of subscribers; 21
36	36	(g) May be located remotely from a subscriber's 22
37	37	premises and shall not be required to provide energy to an 23
38	38	on-site load; 24
39	39	(3) "Community solar organization", an entity that 25
40	40	owns or operates one or more community solar facilities; 26
41	41	(4) "Customer-generator", the same meaning as set 27
42	42	forth in section 386.890; 28
43	43	(5) "Low-income customer", a retai l residential 29
44	44	customer of a retail electric supplier whose household 30
45	45	income adjusted for family size does not exceed either two 31
46	46	hundred percent of the federal poverty level or eighty 32
47	47	percent of the median income of the county in which the 33
48	48	customer is located, whichever is higher. Owners or 34
49	49	managers of apartment buildings or rental units that serve 35
50	50	low-income customers may be considered low -income customers 36
51	51	if fifty percent or more of the tenants qualify under this 37
52	52	definition. Further, certain ent ities, organizations, and 38
53	53	institutions that are focused on social welfare and that 39
54	54	serve the low-income customer community may also qualify, 40
55	55	including but not limited to: homeless shelters, halfway 41
56	56	houses, soup kitchens, foster homes, orphanages, and other 42
57	57	similar organizations; 43
58	58	(6) "Retail electric supplier", an electrical 44
59	59	corporation regulated under chapter 386 that provides retail 45
60	60	electric service in this state; 46
61	61	(7) "Subscriber", a retail customer of a retail 47
62	62	electric supplier who ow ns one or more subscriptions to a 48
63	63	community solar facility interconnected with the customer's 49
64	64	retail electric supplier. The term includes a retail 50 SB 386 3
65	65	customer who owns a portion of a community solar facility. 51
66	66	A subscriber's subscription size shall be on e hundred 52
67	67	percent or less of their twelve -month rolling average 53
68	68	kilowatt hour usage for any one subscriber meter; 54
69	69	(8) "Subscriber administrator", an entity that 55
70	70	recruits and enrolls subscribers, administers subscriber 56
71	71	participation in community s olar facilities, and manages the 57
72	72	subscription relationship between subscribers and a retail 58
73	73	electric supplier; 59
74	74	(9) "Subscription", a contract between a subscriber 60
75	75	and subscriber administrator of a community solar facility 61
76	76	that entitles the subscr iber to a bill credit against the 62
77	77	subscriber's retail electric bill; 63
78	78	(10) "Unsubscribed energy", the output of a community 64
79	79	solar facility, measured in kilowatt hours, that is not 65
80	80	allocated to subscribers. 66
81	81	2. Each retail electric supplier sha ll implement a 67
82	82	three-year community solar pilot program to run during 68
83	83	calendar years 2026 through 2028. Retail electric suppliers 69
84	84	shall allow subscriber administrators and owners or 70
85	85	operators of community solar facilities to recruit customers 71
86	86	as subscribers, and shall process subscribers' bill credits 72
87	87	as required by subdivision (8) of subsection 3 of this 73
88	88	section. Each retail electric supplier shall continue 74
89	89	operating its community solar pilot program until the total 75
90	90	solar electricity demand from subscribers equals five 76
91	91	percent of the retail electric supplier's electricity sales 77
92	92	for the previous year. 78
93	93	3. Community solar facilities shall be operated as 79
94	94	follows: 80
95	95	(1) A community solar facility may be built, owned, or 81
96	96	operated by a third party entity under contract with an 82 SB 386 4
97	97	owner or operator of a community solar facility or a 83
98	98	subscriber administrator. A subscriber administrator may 84
99	99	contract to administer bill credits to the subscriber's 85
100	100	electricity bill generated by the subscriber's share of the 86
101	101	community solar facility, subject to the requirements of 87
102	102	this section. A subscriber administrator that provides bill 88
103	103	credits to a subscriber pursuant to this section shall not 89
104	104	be considered an electrical corporation or public utility 90
105	105	under section 386.020 for purposes of determining 91
106	106	jurisdiction of the commission; 92
107	107	(2) The owner or operator of a community solar 93
108	108	facility may serve as a subscriber administrator or may 94
109	109	contract with a third party to serve as a subscriber 95
110	110	administrator on behalf of the owner or operator. Nothing 96
111	111	in this section shall prevent a retail electric supplier 97
112	112	from owning or operating a community solar facility or from 98
113	113	acting as a subscriber administrator as part of its own 99
114	114	community solar pilot program; 100
115	115	(3) Except as provided under subdivision (4) of this 101
116	116	subsection, the price paid for a subscription in a community 102
117	117	solar facility shall not be subject to regulation by the 103
118	118	commission; 104
119	119	(4) Not later than nine months after the effective 105
120	120	date of this section, the commission shall establish the 106
121	121	value of the bill credit for each retail electric supplier 107
122	122	to offset each subscriber's retail electric bill for each 108
123	123	kilowatt hour subscribed from a community solar facility. 109
124	124	The commission shall est ablish the bill credit value in such 110
125	125	a way as to allow for the creation, financing, 111
126	126	accessibility, and operation of community solar facilities 112
127	127	and to maximize customer participation so as to meet the 113
128	128	goal of five percent of electricity sales per year a s 114 SB 386 5
129	129	required by subsection 2 of this section. The commission 115
130	130	shall establish an additional bill credit value for 116
131	131	subscribers who are low -income customers in such a way as to 117
132	132	ensure that low-income subscribers save money on their 118
133	133	retail electric bills; 119
134	134	(5) A retail electric supplier shall allow for the 120
135	135	transferability and portability of subscriptions, including 121
136	136	allowing a subscriber to retain a subscription to a 122
137	137	community solar facility if the subscriber relocates within 123
138	138	the same retail electri c supplier's service territory; 124
139	139	(6) On a monthly basis, a subscriber administrator 125
140	140	shall update the subscriber administrator's list of 126
141	141	subscribers and provide all of the following information 127
142	142	about each subscriber to the retail electric supplier i n a 128
143	143	standardized electronic format approved by the commission 129
144	144	for the purpose of bill credit to subscribers: 130
145	145	(a) The name, address, account number, and meter 131
146	146	number; 132
147	147	(b) The kilowatt hours of electricity generation 133
148	148	attributable to each subs criber; 134
149	149	(c) If a subscriber administrator is using the retail 135
150	150	electric supplier's billing methods to collect subscription 136
151	151	fees, the subscription fee for the month owed by each 137
152	152	subscriber to the subscriber administrator; 138
153	153	(7) A subscriber administrator or third party owning 139
154	154	or operating a community solar facility shall not be 140
155	155	considered a retail electric supplier or an electric 141
156	156	generation provider solely as a result of involvement with a 142
157	157	community solar facility; 143
158	158	(8) Duties of retail electric suppliers shall include 144
159	159	the following: 145 SB 386 6
160	160	(a) On a monthly basis, a retail electric supplier 146
161	161	shall provide to a subscriber administrator a report in a 147
162	162	standardized electronic format indicating the total value of 148
163	163	the bill credit generated by the community solar facility in 149
164	164	the prior month and the amount of the bill credit applied to 150
165	165	each subscriber; 151
166	166	(b) A retail electric supplier shall provide a bill 152
167	167	credit to a subscriber's next monthly electric bill for the 153
168	168	proportional output of a community solar facility 154
169	169	attributable to the subscriber in the same manner as if the 155
170	170	solar facility were located on the customer's property; 156
171	171	(c) If requested by a subscriber administrator, a 157
172	172	retail electric supplier shall include a subscriber's 158
173	173	subscription fee on the monthly bill and forward the 159
174	174	collected subscription fees to the subscriber administrator 160
175	175	on a monthly basis; 161
176	176	(d) Not later than August 28, 2026, a retail electric 162
177	177	supplier shall make available and update, in a commercially 163
178	178	reasonable manner, a system map showing the loading of the 164
179	179	distribution system and indicating where in the service area 165
180	180	the distribution system could accommodate new solar 166
181	181	generation; 167
182	182	(9) Compensation for retail electric suppliers shall 168
183	183	be as follows: 169
184	184	(a) A subscriber administrator shall compensate a 170
185	185	retail electric supplier for the retail electric supplier's 171
186	186	reasonable direct costs of interconnection of a community 172
187	187	solar facility. Such compensation shall be in the form of a 173
188	188	one-time payment upon interconnection; 174
189	189	(b) A retail electric supplier shall be entitled to 175
190	190	recover its reasonable direct costs of complying with the 176
191	191	requirements of this section and enabling a community solar 177 SB 386 7
192	192	facility within its service territory, includin g but not 178
193	193	limited to: added billing costs and added costs of net 179
194	194	metering and interconnection for community solar 180
195	195	facilities. Such reasonable direct costs shall be in the 181
196	196	form of an annual fee invoiced to the subscriber 182
197	197	administrator based on the to tal final system size of the 183
198	198	community solar facility; 184
199	199	(10) Each community solar facility shall be subscribed 185
200	200	with at least ten percent low -income customers and twenty 186
201	201	percent residential customers; 187
202	202	(11) A retail electric supplier shall purc hase 188
203	203	unsubscribed energy from a community solar facility at the 189
204	204	retail electric supplier's avoided cost as approved by the 190
205	205	commission. No later than nine months after August 28, 191
206	206	2025, the commission shall promulgate rules to implement the 192
207	207	provisions of this section regarding the purchase of 193
208	208	unsubscribed energy; 194
209	209	(12) No entity, affiliated entity, or entities under 195
210	210	common control may develop, own, or operate more than one 196
211	211	community solar facility on the same parcel or contiguous 197
212	212	parcels of land. 198
213	213	4. Interconnection standards for community solar 199
214	214	facilities under one hundred kilowatts shall be the same as 200
215	215	the standards for net -metered customers pursuant to section 201
216	216	386.890. For systems larger than one hundred kilowatts, the 202
217	217	commission shall develop technical and net metering 203
218	218	interconnection rules for customer -generators intending to 204
219	219	operate community solar facilities or renewable onsite 205
220	220	generators in parallel with the electric utility grid, 206
221	221	consistent with rules defined in other state s within the 207
222	222	service region of the regional transmission organization 208
223	223	that manages the transmission system in any part of the 209 SB 386 8
224	224	state. In developing its rules, the commission shall 210
225	225	convene a stakeholder process to develop statewide technical 211
226	226	and net metering rules for customer generators with systems 212
227	227	larger than one hundred kilowatts. 213
228	228	5. The commission shall promulgate rules and 214
229	229	regulations to implement the provisions of this section 215
230	230	within nine months of August 28, 2025. Any rule or portion 216
231	231	of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that 217
232	232	is created under the authority delegated in this section 218
233	233	shall become effective only if it complies with and is 219
234	234	subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if 220
235	235	applicable, section 536. 028. This section and chapter 536 221
236	236	are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the 222
237	237	general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay 223
238	238	the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are 224
239	239	subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 225
240	240	rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 226
241	241	August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void. 227
242	242	