An Act To Protect Electric Ratepayers from Gross Output Metering Costs
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0143
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: HUBBELL
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3209-A

Legislative Document
No. 143
H.P. 125
House of Representatives, January 17, 2019
An Act To Protect Electric Ratepayers from Gross Output Metering 
Costs
(EMERGENCY)
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HUBBELL of Bar Harbor.
Emergency preamble.  Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the Public Utilities Commission has recently changed the rules governing 
net energy billing in a way that discourages customers from generating and consuming 
their own renewable energy; and
Whereas, the costs and complexities of implementing these rule changes are 
disruptive to customers; and
Whereas, passage of this legislation as emergency legislation will protect electricity 
customers from additional costs; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, as corrected by RR 2017, c. 1, §32, is repealed and 
the following enacted in its place:
§3209-A.  Net energy billing
An eligible customer may elect net energy billing for the customer's accounts or 
meters in accordance with this section.
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Eligible customer" means a person or an entity that takes electricity service 
through a transmission and distribution utility and that owns or has an interest in an 
eligible facility located in that transmission and distribution utility's service territory.
B.  "Eligible facility" means an electric generating facility that meets eligibility 
requirements established by the commission by rule.
C.  "Gross output" means all of the energy generated by an eligible facility during an 
applicable period, including all energy that is used to offset the usage of eligible 
customers.
D.  "Net energy" means the difference between the kilowatt-hours delivered by the 
transmission and distribution utility to an eligible customer over a billing period and 
the kilowatt-hours exported by the customer from an eligible facility to the 
transmission and distribution system over the same billing period.
E.  "Net energy billing" means a billing and metering practice under which eligible 
customers are billed on the basis of net energy over the billing period taking into 
account accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits from the previous billing period.
F.  "Total retail rate" means, with respect to an eligible customer's bill during a billing 
period, the sum of the rate charged for any kilowatt-hours supplied through standard-
offer or competitive electricity provider service and the rate charged by the 
transmission and distribution utility for its service to that eligible customer.
2.  Billing; metering; data collection.  A transmission and distribution utility:
A.  Shall credit all kilowatt-hours exported from an eligible facility to the 
transmission and distribution system over a billing period by an eligible customer 
participating in net energy billing at the total retail rate for that electricity; and
B.  May not require an eligible customer to meter the gross output of an eligible 
facility or to have a meter installed to record gross output in order to participate in net 
energy billing but may collect gross output data from an eligible customer if a meter 
to record gross output of the eligible customer's eligible facility was installed prior to 
the effective date of this section.
3.  Rules.  The commission shall adopt rules governing net energy billing to 
implement this section.  Rules adopted or amended under this section are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  Rulemaking.  The Public Utilities Commission shall amend its net energy 
billing rules within 90 days of the effective date of this Act to conform with the changes 
to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3209-A under this Act.
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a transmission and distribution utility from requiring a customer to 
meter the gross output of a facility for net energy billing purposes and from requiring a 
customer to have a meter installed to measure gross output in order to participate in net 
energy billing.  The bill requires that a net energy billing customer be credited for 
kilowatt-hours exported from an eligible facility at the total retail rate for electricity.  It 
allows a transmission and distribution utility to collect data on gross output only if a 
meter to measure gross output was installed prior to the effective date of this legislation.  
Finally, it requires the Public Utilities Commission to amend its rules to conform with the 
changes made in this legislation within 90 days of the effective date.