An Act To Facilitate Net Energy Billing
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1955
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: VITELLI, LAWRENCE
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3209-A

Legislative Document
No. 1955
S.P. 693
In Senate, February 3, 2022
An Act To Facilitate Net Energy Billing
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 1, 2022.  Referred to the Committee 
on Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator VITELLI of Sagadahoc.
Cosponsored by Senator: LAWRENCE of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§1, ¶C-1 is enacted to read:
C-1.  "Net energy billing data" means customer information in the possession of a 
transmission and distribution utility that is necessary to conduct and administer a net 
energy billing arrangement, including but not limited to a customer's electricity usage, 
energy production and historical payment information, as determined by rules adopted 
by the commission.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A.  Customer protection; energy assistance.  Notwithstanding any provision of law 
to the contrary, a customer's participation in net energy billing and any credits received 
through such participation may not limit, reduce or otherwise affect a customer's 
qualification for or receipt of benefits from any energy conservation or assistance program 
administered by the Maine State Housing Authority or the Efficiency Maine Trust.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
8.  Utility data and crediting.  Net energy billing data is the property of the customer 
to which it relates.  A transmission and distribution utility shall release net energy billing 
data to 3rd parties, including project sponsors, when directed to do so by the customer in 
writing.  A transmission and distribution utility shall release net energy billing data to a 
project sponsor in accordance with this subsection if the project sponsor provides to the 
utility a signed sales contract with the customer and the customer's written consent to the 
release of the data.  In accordance with rules adopted by the commission, a transmission 
and distribution utility shall:
A.  At no cost to the customer, provide access by the customer to that customer's net 
energy billing data through an appropriate computer application or programming 
interface;
B.  At no cost to the customer, transmit in near real time, and no later than 7 days after 
the data is generated, to a project sponsor net energy billing data necessary for the 
project sponsor to produce a net energy billing statement or bill;
C.  At no cost to the customer, when the customer is entering into a net energy billing 
arrangement with a project sponsor, provide confirmation of acceptance and 
implementation of the net energy billing arrangement to the customer and the project 
sponsor within 7 days of that acceptance;
D.  Synchronize the customer's net energy billing cycle with the project sponsor's net 
energy billing cycle so that net energy billing credits are applied in real time;
E.  Implement automated billing and crediting procedures determined by the 
commission to be necessary to ensure billing accuracy and timeliness;
F.  Apply:
(1)  Unused net energy billing credits available from the oldest previous billing 
cycle to the customer's bill before applying newer unused credits;
(2)  Newly generated net energy billing credits to the customer's bill after all 
previously generated credits have been applied; and
(3)  All available net energy billing credits up to the full amount of the charges that 
are billed in that billing cycle;
G.  In the case of a customer in a billing assistance program provided by the 
transmission and distribution utility, apply net energy billing credits as cash against the 
balance of the bill on a monthly basis and excess credits to the customer's credit 
account;
H.  Provide to a project sponsor, within 7 days after the end of a net energy billing 
cycle:
(1)  The total energy production for the project;
(2)  For each customer, the number of new kilowatt-hours credited to the customer 
account, the credit rate for each kilowatt-hour, the total credits applied for the 
billing cycle and the monetary value of the applied credits, any unused credit 
amounts applied from prior billing cycles and the months in which those credits 
were generated, unused kilowatt-hour or dollar credits being carried over to the 
next billing cycle, the expiration date of any unused credits and the customer's 
energy supply rate if the customer is not receiving the standard offer service and 
the name of that supplier;
(3)  Notice of the customer's enrollment in any special billing arrangement, 
participation in any energy conservation or assistance program, participation in any 
other net energy billing or demand-response program or in any electric vehicle 
charging program; and
(4)  Any additional data that the commission may require by rule; and
I.  Provide to a net energy billing customer:
(1)  The identity of the project sponsor providing the kilowatt-hours;
(2)  The number of new kilowatt-hours credited;
(3)  The credit rate for each kilowatt-hour;
(4)  The total credit applied for the billing cycle and the monetary value of the 
applied credit amount;
(5)  Any unused credit amounts applied from prior billing cycles and the months 
in which those credits were generated;
(6)  Unused kilowatt-hour or dollar credits being carried over to the next billing 
cycle; and
(7)  The expiration date of any unused credits.
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9.  Billing errors.  A transmission and distribution utility shall correct any net energy 
billing errors made by the transmission and distribution utility within one billing cycle of 
the error and provide written confirmation to the customer and the project sponsor 
describing the error and what was done to correct the error. The commission may direct a 
transmission and distribution utility to pay to a customer any costs the commission finds to 
have been incurred by the customer as a direct result of that transmission and distribution 
utility's billing error.
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§10 is enacted to read:
10.  Complaints.  The commission shall establish a process for receiving complaints 
from project sponsors related to transmission and distribution utility compliance with 
subsections 8 and 9. The commission shall publish on its publicly accessible website useful 
information about the complaints received and any evaluative information the commission 
determines would be useful to current or prospective net energy billing customers.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes various requirements for transmission and distribution utilities to 
share information, handle billing and otherwise interact with customers and project 
sponsors in net energy billing arrangements, including timely delivery of net energy billing 
data, synchronization of billing cycles, application of net energy billing credits and 
development of a mechanism for electronic access to data in near real time. The bill requires 
the Public Utilities Commission to establish a complaint handling process for project 
sponsor complaints about transmission and distribution utility compliance with data 
sharing and billing requirements and provides that the commission may direct a 
transmission and distribution utility to pay costs resulting from billing errors.