An Act To Repeal the Changes Made by Public Law 2019, Chapter 478, "An Act To Promote Solar Energy Projects and Distributed Generation Resources in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0583
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: HANLEY, FARRIN
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3201, 35-A MRSA §3209-A, 35-A MRSA §3209-B

Legislative Document
No. 583
H.P. 426
House of Representatives, February 24, 2021
An Act To Repeal the Changes Made by Public Law 2019, Chapter 
478, "An Act To Promote Solar Energy Projects and Distributed 
Generation Resources in Maine"
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 22, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HANLEY of Pittston.
Cosponsored by Senator FARRIN of Somerset.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3201, sub-§11-A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §1, 
is repealed.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3201, sub-§13-A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §2, 
is repealed.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 16, §1 and c. 478, Pt. A, 
§3, is further amended to read:
§3209-A.  Net energy billing
The commission may adopt or amend rules governing net energy billing. Rules adopted 
or amended under this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2‑A.  "Net energy billing" means a billing and metering practice under which a 
customer is billed on the basis of the difference between the kilowatt-hours delivered by a 
transmission and distribution utility to the customer over a billing period and the kilowatt-
hours delivered by the customer to the transmission and distribution utility over the billing 
period, taking into account accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits from the previous 
billing period.
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, the following terms have the following 
meanings.
A.  "Customer" means a customer of a transmission and distribution utility in the State.
B.  "Distributed generation resource" means an electric generating facility that uses a 
renewable fuel or technology under section 3210, subsection 2, paragraph B‑3 and is 
located in the service territory of a transmission and distribution utility in the State.
C.  "Net energy billing" means a billing and metering practice under which a customer 
is billed on the basis of the difference between the kilowatt‑hours delivered by a 
transmission and distribution utility to the customer over a billing period and the 
kilowatt‑hours delivered by the customer to the transmission and distribution utility 
over the billing period, taking into account accumulated unused kilowatt‑hour credits 
from the previous billing period.
2.  Financial interest required.  The commission shall allow a customer to participate 
in net energy billing if the customer has a financial interest in a distributed generation 
resource or in a generation resource that has a net energy billing arrangement on the 
effective date of this section, including facility ownership, a lease agreement or a power 
purchase agreement.
3.  Shared financial interest for investor-owned utility customers; limitation.  
Multiple customers of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that have 
distinct billing accounts with that utility may share a financial interest in a distributed 
generation resource under subsection 2.  Any number of customers of an investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility with a shared financial interest in a distributed 
generation resource may participate in net energy billing, except that the number of eligible 
customers or meters is limited to 10 for a shared financial interest in a distributed generation 
resource located in the service territory of an investor-owned transmission and distribution 
utility located in an area administered by the independent system administrator for northern 
Maine or any successor of the independent system administrator for northern Maine unless 
the commission determines that the utility's billing system can accommodate more than 10 
accounts or meters for the purpose of net energy billing.
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, 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 of metered electricity from 
the resource is used for net energy billing.
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §4 and 
corrected by RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §51, is repealed.
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA c. 34-C, as amended, is repealed.
Sec. 6.  PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §5 is repealed. 
Sec. 7.  PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §6 is repealed.
Sec. 8.  PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §7 is repealed.
Sec. 9.  PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. B, §2 is repealed.
Sec. 10.  PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. B, §3 is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill repeals the changes to statutory law made by Public Law 2019, chapter 478 
and repeals related provisions of chapter 478.