An Act To Reduce the Nameplate Capacity of Distributed Generation Resource Projects to Qualify for Net Energy Billing and Decrease Tariff Rates for Customers Participating in Net Energy Billing Programs
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1596
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: CAIAZZO
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3209-A, 35-A MRSA §3209-B

Legislative Document
No. 1596
H.P. 1185
House of Representatives, April 27, 2021
An Act To Reduce the Nameplate Capacity of Distributed 
Generation Resource Projects to Qualify for Net Energy Billing and 
Decrease Tariff Rates for Customers Participating in Net Energy 
Billing Programs
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CAIAZZO of Scarborough.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3, is 
amended to read:
4.  System size.  The nameplate capacity of a distributed generation resource that may 
be used for net energy billing must be less than 5 megawatts one megawatt, except that, if 
a municipality is the customer participating in net energy billing, the nameplate capacity of 
a distributed generation resource located in that municipality that may be used for the net 
energy billing may be 5 megawatts or more, as long as less than 5 megawatts one megawatt 
of metered electricity from the resource is used for net energy billing.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§5, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:
A-1.  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph A, for a project subject to a contract 
entered into after January 1, 2021:
(1)  Beginning January 1, 2022, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit plus 50% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class 
that includes the smallest commercial customers of the investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility;
(2)  Beginning January 1, 2023, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit plus 40% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class 
that includes the smallest commercial customers of the investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility;
(3)  Beginning January 1, 2024, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit plus 30% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class 
that includes the smallest commercial customers of the investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility;
(4)  Beginning January 1, 2025, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit plus 20% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class 
that includes the smallest commercial customers of the investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility;
(5)  Beginning January 1, 2026, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit plus 10% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class 
that includes the smallest commercial customers of the investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility; and
(6)  Beginning January 1, 2027, the tariff rate must equal the standard offer service 
rate established under section 3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the 
credit.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§5, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, 
§4, is amended to read:
D.  A customer participating in the program who remains eligible to participate in the 
program must be allowed to receive a bill credit based on the tariff rate for a period of 
no less than 20 10 years from the date of first receiving the credit.
Sec. 4.  Voluntary buyout.  The Public Utilities Commission, either directly or 
through a transmission and distribution utility or another 3rd party, shall offer a voluntary 
buyout to a commercial or institutional customer of an investor-owned transmission and 
distribution facility that has a shared financial interest in a project under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3209-B and has not started commercial operation on the 
effective date of this Act.  A buyout under this subsection must be in the interest of the 
ratepayers and may not equal more than 2¢ per kilowatt-hour multiplied by the 
commission's estimate of the project's expected energy production over the life of its 
contract.  To receive a buyout under this subsection, the customer must file with the 
commission an application developed by the commission within the time period specified 
by the commission.  The Public Utilities Commission may not offer a buyout under this 
section after June 30, 2022.
Sec. 5.  Application.  A distributed generation resource with a nameplate capacity 
of one megawatt or more and less than 5 megawatts that qualified for net energy billing 
prior to the effective date of this Act under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 
3209-A, subsection 4 and is subject to a contract entered into prior to January 1, 2021 may 
continue to qualify for net energy billing if the Public Utilities Commission determines 
there is sufficient viability of the project based upon developer investment and the 
achievement of project development milestones under Title 35-A, section 3484, subsection 
7.
SUMMARY
This bill reduces the nameplate capacity of a distributed generation resource project 
that qualifies for net energy billing from less than 5 megawatts to less than one megawatt, 
and allows a project subject to a contract entered into prior to January 1, 2021 that 
previously qualified for net energy billing and no longer qualifies upon the enactment of 
this provision to continue to qualify for net energy billing as determined by the Public 
Utilities Commission based upon the project's viability as indicated by developer 
investment and achievement of project milestones.  This bill decreases tariff rates for 
customers participating in the net energy billing program for commercial and institutional 
customers of investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities from the standard offer 
service rate plus 75% of the transmission and distribution rate for the class of the smallest 
customers of the utility in annual incremental reductions until arriving at the standard offer 
service rate after 5 years.  It also reduces the time in which a customer participating in the 
program may receive the bill credit from 20 years to 10 years.  This bill also directs the 
Public Utilities Commission to offer buyouts to commercial or institutional customers of 
transmission and distribution utilities who have a shared financial interest in a distributed 
generation resource project who have not yet started commercial operations on the effective 
date of this bill.