By: Zwiener H.B. No. 4332
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to distributed renewable generation and energy storage
resources.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 113 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 113. SALES AND LEASING OF DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE GENERATION
RESOURCES
Sec. 113.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Distributed renewable generation" has the
meaning assigned by Section 39.916, Utilities Code.
(2) "Small commercial customer" has the meaning
assigned by Section 39.202(o), Utilities Code.
Sec. 113.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies to a
seller or lessor of distributed renewable generation resources.
(b) This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a transaction involving the sale or transfer of
the real property on which a distributed renewable generation
resource is located;
(2) a person, including a person acting through the
person's officers, employees, brokers, or agents, who markets,
sells, solicits, negotiates, or enters into an agreement for the
sale or financing of a distributed renewable generation resource as
part of a transaction involving the sale or transfer of the real
property on which the distributed renewable generation resource is
or will be affixed; or
(3) a third party that enters into an agreement for the
financing of a distributed renewable generation resource.
Sec. 113.003. LEASE, SALES, AND INSTALLATION DISCLOSURES. A
seller or lessor who enters into a purchase, lease, or power
purchase agreement with a residential or small commercial customer
for the operation of a distributed renewable generation resource
shall provide to the customer in writing:
(1) contact information of the salesperson and
installer of the generation resource;
(2) a description of all equipment to be installed;
(3) the cost of all equipment to be installed;
(4) a detailed accounting of fees associated with the
installation or operation of the generation resource;
(5) representations, if any, made as part of the
agreement regarding the expected operational performance and
financial performance of the generation resource; and
(6) all applicable warranties.
Sec. 113.004. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES FOR LEASE AGREEMENTS.
In addition to the disclosures required under Section 113.003, a
lessor shall provide to a leasing residential or small commercial
customer in writing:
(1) the term and rate of the lease, including any
payment escalators or other terms that affect the customer's
payments; and
(2) a statement of whether the lease and any
applicable warranty or maintenance agreement is transferable to the
purchaser of the property where the distributed renewable
generation resource is installed.
Sec. 113.005. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES FOR POWER PURCHASE
AGREEMENTS. A residential or small commercial customer who enters
into a power purchase agreement is entitled to receive in writing:
(1) the disclosures required under Sections
113.003(2), (3), (5), and (6);
(2) the term and rate of the power purchase agreement,
including any payment escalators or other terms that affect the
customer's payments; and
(3) whether the power purchase agreement and any
applicable warranty or maintenance agreement is transferable to the
subsequent purchaser of the property where the distributed
renewable generation resource is installed.
SECTION 2. Chapter 229, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. REGULATION OF SOLAR ENERGY DEVICES
Sec. 229.101. REGULATION OF SOLAR ENERGY DEVICES. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Municipally owned utility" has the meaning
assigned by Section 11.003, Utilities Code.
(2) "Small commercial customer" has the meaning
assigned by Section 39.202(o), Utilities Code.
(3) "Solar energy device" has the meaning assigned by
Section 171.107, Tax Code.
(b) A municipality may not prohibit or restrict the
installation of a solar energy device by a residential or small
commercial customer except to the extent:
(1) a property owner's association may prohibit the
installation under Sections 202.010(d)(1) through (7), Property
Code; or
(2) the interconnection guidelines and
interconnection agreement of a municipally owned utility serving
the customer's service area, the rules of the Public Utility
Commission of Texas, or the protocols of an independent
organization certified under Section 39.151, Utilities Code, limit
the installation of solar energy devices due to reliability, power
quality, or safety of the distribution system.
(c) A municipality may not assess one or more fees or other
charges on a person related to the installation of a solar energy
device by a residential or small commercial customer that exceeds
in the aggregate $250.00.
(d) Pursuant to the following compliance schedule in this
subsection, a city or county shall implement an online, automated
permitting platform that verifies code compliance and
instantaneously issues permits for a residential photovoltaic
solar energy system or an energy storage system paired with a
residential photovoltaic solar energy system consistent with the
system parameters and configurations, including an inspection
checklist.
(1) A city or county with a population of less than
10,000 is exempt from this subsection.
(2) A city of county with a population of
10,001-50,000 shall satisfy the requirements of this subsection no
later than December 31, 2023.
(3) A city or county with a population greater than
50,000 shall satisfy the requirements of this subsection no later
than December 31, 2022.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 202.010, Property Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 202.010. REGULATION OF CERTAIN [SOLAR] ENERGY DEVICES.
SECTION 4. Section 202.010(a), Property Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
(3) "Distributed renewable generation" has the
meaning assigned by Section 39.916, Utilities Code.
SECTION 5. Section 202.010(d)(5)(B), Property Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(B) is located in an area other than an area
designated by the property owners' association, unless the
alternate location decreases the cost of the system by more than
$1000 or increases the estimated annual energy production of the
device, as determined by using a publicly available modeling tool
provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, by more than
10 percent above the energy production of the device if located in
an area designated by the property owners' association. The
property owner shall provide to the property owners' association
documentation prepared by an independent solar panel design
specialist who is certified by the North American Board of
Certified Energy Practitioners and is licensed in Texas to show
that the alternate location satisfies one of the applicable
exception;
SECTION 6. Section 202.010(e), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) A property owners' association or the association's
architectural review committee may not withhold approval for
installation of a solar energy device if the provisions of the
dedicatory instruments to the extent authorized by Subsection (d)
are met or exceeded. If a property owner's application is not denied
in writing by property owners' association or the association's
architectural review committee within 90 days from date of receipt
of the application, the application is deemed approved unless the
delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional
information.[, unless the association or committee, as applicable,
determines in writing that placement of the device as proposed by
the property owner constitutes a condition that substantially
interferes with the use and enjoyment of land by causing
unreasonable discomfort or annoyance to persons of ordinary
sensibilities. For purposes of making a determination under this
subsection, the written approval of the proposed placement of the
device by all property owners of adjoining property constitutes
prima facie evidence that such a condition does not exist.]
SECTION 7. Section 202.010, Property Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A property owners' association may not include or
enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that:
(1) requires three or more inspections by the property
owners' association of a distributed renewable generation or energy
storage resource before the resource is operational;
(2) is more onerous than interconnection rules adopted
by the Public Utility Commission of Texas; or
(3) imposes any inspection or approval requirements or
changes more onerous than those required for a proposed
modification or improvement of an owner's property that is
unrelated to a distributed renewable generation or energy storage
resource.
SECTION 8. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.9165 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.9165. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN DISTRIBUTED
RENEWABLE GENERATION AND ELECTRIC STORAGE RESOURCES. (a) A
residential or small commercial customer is entitled to have access
to distributed renewable generation and energy storage resources
to:
(1) generate and export electricity to the grid;
(2) consume electricity from the grid; and
(3) reduce the customer's use of electricity from the
grid.
(b) A residential or small commercial customer is entitled
to store energy at the location of the customer's connection to the
grid.
(c) A residential or small commercial customer that
installs a distributed renewable generation or energy storage
resource is entitled to timely approval of an interconnection
agreement and interconnection of the distributed renewable
generation or energy storage resource with the customer's
transmission and distribution utility or electric utility in
accordance with Section 39.554 or 39.916, as applicable. A
residential or small commercial customer is entitled to timely
approval of any permission to operate or any other approval
required for the customer to use the customer's distributed
renewable generation or energy storage resource.
(d) A residential or small commercial customer is entitled
to timely notice from the customer's transmission and distribution
utility or electric utility of an improvement and the cost of the
improvement to the distribution grid that must be made to allow the
customer to install or expand existing distributed renewable
generation or energy storage resources.
(e) Except for a charge to recover a cost described by
Subsection (d), an electric utility or a retail electric provider
may not impose a rate or charge on a residential or small commercial
customer or require a residential or small commercial customer to
take service under a tariff or service plan that applies only to
customers who have installed distributed renewable generation or
energy storage resources.
(f) An electric utility or a retail electric provider may
not charge a residential or small commercial customer a fee solely
because the customer elects to discontinue service from the utility
or provider.
(g) An electric utility may not charge a residential or
small commercial customer with a distributed renewable generation
or energy storage resource a fee to reconnect to the electric grid
that is more than the fee charged to a customer in the same rate
class who does not have a distributed renewable generation or
energy storage resource, except the interconnection fee applicable
to the original installation of the distributed renewable
generation or energy storage resource.
(h) A residential or small commercial customer is entitled
to interconnect in a manner that allows the customer to receive
power from the customer's energy storage resource when the electric
grid is not operating if the customer's distributed renewable
generation resource is equipped with an inverter or other
technology that complies with a standard developed by a federal
agency or standards widely used by industry and other states that
enables the distributed renewable generation resource to safely
provide power to the customer when the electric grid is not
operating.
(i) A residential or commercial customer that installs a
distributed renewable generation or energy storage resource,
regardless of ownership or financing structure of the resource, is
entitled to the same interconnection rules, metering rules and
programs, and incentive programs that may be provided by their
retail electric utility, transmission and distribution utility,
municipally owned utility, or an electric cooperative.
(j) The commission shall adopt a rule within 1 year of the
effective date of this Act that provides standards for billing and
crediting mechanisms for distributed renewable generators.
(1) The standards shall calculate the value and
benefits of distributed renewable generation. The value shall
consider benefits of distributed renewable generation to the
distribution grid, including time-based and performance-based
benefits, technology capabilities, increased resiliency, and
present and future grid needs. The billing and crediting mechanism
shall be understandable and easy to use for customers.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title,
the standards adopted by the Commission pursuant to this section
shall be made available to a customer with distributed renewable
generation installed anywhere in this state regardless of whether
the customer is served by a retail electric utility, transmission
and distribution utility, municipally owned utility, or an electric
cooperative.
SECTION 9. Section 202.010(f), Property Code, is repealed.
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
agreement governing the sale or lease of a distributed renewable
generation system, as defined by Section 39.916, Utilities Code, as
added by this Act, entered into on or after the effective date of
this Act. An agreement entered into before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.