SB1083: Shared solar programs; SCC to establish by regulation

Legislative Summary

Shared solar programs; Phase I Utility; report. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program that allows customers of a Phase I Utility to purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility, defined in the bill as a facility that, among other criteria, generates electricity by means of a solar photovoltaic device with a nameplate capacity that does not exceed 5,000 kilowatts. The bill provides that a customer's net bill for participation in the shared solar program shall not exceed the minimum bill that the Commission is required to establish, provides considerations for the Commission in establishing such minimum bill, such as minimizing the costs shifted to nonparticipating customers, and provides that the calculation of a customer's minimum bill each month shall be based on kilowatt hours billed by the utility rather than the subscriber's portion of shared solar utility generation. The bill provides that the Commission shall approve a shared solar program of 150 megawatts with a minimum requirement of 30 percent low-income customers and that an additional 50 megawatts shall be approved by the Commission upon determining that at least 45 megawatts of the aggregated shared solar capacity in the Commonwealth are subscribed to by low-income customers. The bill requires that any rule or utility implementation filings approved by the Commission shall allow all jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional customer classes to participate in the program, create a stakeholder work group to facilitate low-income customer and low-income service organization participation in the program, and encourage public-private partnerships to further the Commonwealth's clean energy and equity goals among other requirements. Shared solar programs; Phase I Utility; report. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish by regulation a shared solar program that allows customers of a Phase I Utility to purchase electric power through a subscription in a shared solar facility, defined in the bill as a facility that, among other criteria, generates electricity by means of a solar photovoltaic device with a nameplate capacity that does not exceed 5,000 kilowatts. The bill provides that a customer's net bill for participation in the shared solar program shall not exceed the minimum bill that the Commission is required to establish, provides considerations for the Commission in establishing such minimum bill, such as minimizing the costs shifted to nonparticipating customers, and provides that the calculation of a customer's minimum bill each month shall be based on kilowatt hours billed by the utility rather than the subscriber's portion of shared solar utility generation. The bill provides that the Commission shall approve a shared solar program of 150 megawatts with a minimum requirement of 30 percent low-income customers and that an additional 50 megawatts shall be approved by the Commission upon determining that at least 45 megawatts of the aggregated shared solar capacity in the Commonwealth are subscribed to by low-income customers. The bill requires that any rule or utility implementation filings approved by the Commission shall allow all jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional customer classes to participate in the program, create a stakeholder work group to facilitate low-income customer and low-income service organization participation in the program, and encourage public-private partnerships to further the Commonwealth's clean energy and equity goals among other requirements.