II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1219 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide 

for the safe and reliable interconnection of distributed resources and 

to provide for the examination of the effects of net metering. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

to provide for the safe and reliable interconnection of 

distributed resources and to provide for the examination 

of the effects of net metering. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. RELIABILITY AND DISTRIBUTED RESOURCES. 

4 Section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli5 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(20) CONSIDERATION OF SAFE AND RELIABLE

8 INTERCONNECTION OF DISTRIBUTED RESOURCES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

2 ‘‘(i) ANCILLARY SERVICE.—The term 

3 ‘ancillary service’ includes— 

4 ‘‘(I) reactive supply; 

5 ‘‘(II) regulation and frequency 

6 response; 

7 ‘‘(III) energy imbalance; 

8 ‘‘(IV) operating reserves; 

9 ‘‘(V) generation imbalance; and 

10 ‘‘(VI) flexibility and ramping 

11 services. 

12 ‘‘(ii) DISTRIBUTED RESOURCE.—The 

13 term ‘distributed resource’ means an elec14 tric power source connected directly to the 

15 distribution network or on the customer 

16 side of the meter. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR PROCEEDINGS

18 RELATED TO DISTRIBUTED RESOURCES.—Each 

19 State regulatory authority shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) establish proceedings to examine 

21 the degree to which distributed resources 

22 contribute ancillary services; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) prescribe appropriate measures 

24 to ensure adequate ancillary services so 


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1 that grid interconnection for distributed 

2 resources is safe, reliable, and efficient.’’. 

3 SEC. 2. NET METERING EFFECTS. 

4 Section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli5 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)) (as amended by sec6 tion 1) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(21) NET METERING EFFECTS.—Each State 

8 regulatory authority shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) establish proceedings to examine the 

10 effects of net metering and customer-owned dis11 tributed generation on resource planning of 

12 each electric utility, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) the effects on resource utilization, 

14 fuel diversity, grid security, and shifting of 

15 grid costs to customers who do not use net 

16 metering or customer-owned distributed 

17 generation; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the impact on— 

19 ‘‘(I) the financial health of the 

20 entity providing distribution services; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) the ability of the entity to 

23 attract investment in light of net me24 tering and customer-owned distributed 

25 generation within the State; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) establish proceedings to determine 

2 whether electricity rates established for net me3 tering service are just and reasonable and not 

4 unduly preferential or discriminatory, in accord5 ance with State law.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE. 

7 (a) TIME LIMITATIONS.—Section 112(b) of the Pub8 lic Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

9 2622(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(7)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

11 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

12 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

13 which the authority has ratemaking authority) and 

14 each nonregulated electric utility shall, with respect 

15 to the standard established by paragraphs (20) and 

16 (21) of section 111(d)— 

17 ‘‘(i) commence the consideration required 

18 under those paragraphs; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) set a hearing date for such consider20 ation, with respect to the standard established 

21 by paragraphs (20) and (21) of section 111(d). 

22 ‘‘(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

23 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

24 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

25 which the authority has ratemaking authority) and 


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1 each nonregulated electric utility shall, with respect 

2 to the standards established by paragraphs (20) and 

3 (21) of section 111(d)— 

4 ‘‘(i) complete the consideration required 

5 under those paragraphs; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) make the determination referred to in 

7 section 111 with respect to the standards estab8 lished by those paragraphs.’’. 

9 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Section 112(c) of the 

10 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

11 2622(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘In the case of the standard established by paragraphs 

13 (20) and (21) of section 111(d), the reference contained 

14 in this subsection to the date of enactment of this Act 

15 shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment 

16 of those paragraphs.’’. 

Æ 


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