An Act to Provide Greater Equity in and Reduce Costs Related to
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1936
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: GROHOSKI
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3209-A, 35-A MRSA §3209-B

Legislative Document
No. 1936
S.P. 754
In Senate, May 6, 2025
An Act to Provide Greater Equity in and Reduce Costs Related to 
the State's Net Energy Billing Program
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator GROHOSKI of Hancock.
Cosponsored by Senator: HARRINGTON of York, Representative: WARREN of 
Scarborough.
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.  "Nonresident program owner" means an owner of a distributed generation 
resource used for net energy billing whose principal place of business is located outside 
of the State.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 478, Pt. A, §3, is 
amended to read:
2.  Financial interest required.  The Except as otherwise provided in this section, 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.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Net energy billing term length.  Except as provided in subsections 11 and 12, a 
person may not participate in net energy billing under this section after the expiration of 
the person's net energy billing agreement with the transmission and distribution utility for 
the distributed generation resource.  An amendment, revision or reissuance of an agreement 
made after May 1, 2025 may not include an end date that is later than the agreement that is 
subject to the amendment, revision or reissuance.
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A.  Low-income customers; replacement of terminated customers.  If a customer 
with a shared financial interest in a distributed generation resource participating in net 
energy billing terminates the customer's participation in the net energy billing arrangement, 
the transmission and distribution utility shall replace that customer by enrolling a customer 
receiving low-income assistance pursuant to section 3214, subsection 2 who is located in 
the same transmission and distribution utility service territory as the terminated customer.  
The replacement customer must be enrolled with terms no less financially favorable than 
those applicable to the customer whose participation was terminated.  The commission 
shall adopt rules to implement this subsection and to create a process for the random 
selection and automatic enrollment of a customer receiving low-income assistance pursuant 
to section 3214, subsection 2 into the distributed generation resource's net energy billing 
arrangement.  The commission shall allow a customer, when enrolling in a low-income 
assistance program pursuant to section 3214, subsection 2, to opt out of automatic 
enrollment in a net energy billing arrangement as described in this subsection.  
Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, rules adopted by the 
commission pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 411, §2, is 
amended to read:
9.  Applicability to projects between greater than one megawatt and not more 
than 2 megawatts.  A distributed generation resource with a nameplate capacity of at least 
greater than one megawatt and not more than 2 megawatts may be used for net energy 
billing under this section only if the requirements of paragraph A are met.
A.  On or before December 31, 2024, the proposed distributed generation resource must 
reach commercial operation by the date specified in the net energy billing agreement 
or by the date specified with an allowable modification to that agreement.
An entity proposing the development of a distributed generation resource that does not 
meet the requirement of this subsection may petition the commission for a good-cause 
exemption due to external delays outside of the entity's control, which the commission may 
grant if it finds that without the external delays the entity could reasonably have been 
expected to meet the requirement, except that a distributed generation resource that receives 
a good-cause exemption may not be used for net energy billing under this section unless it 
reaches commercial operation by December 31, 2025.
Sec. 6.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§10 is enacted to read:
10.  Limitation; October 1, 2025.  Except as provided in subsections 11 and 12, a 
distributed generation resource may not be used for net energy billing unless the distributed 
generation resource reaches commercial operation by the date specified in the net energy 
billing agreement entered into by October 1, 2025.
An entity proposing the development of a distributed generation resource that does not 
meet the requirement of this subsection may petition the commission for a good-cause 
exemption due to external delays outside of the entity's control, which the commission may 
grant if it finds that without the external delays the entity could reasonably have been 
expected to meet the requirement.
Sec. 7.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
11.  Consumer-owned small project exception; rules.  In accordance with this 
subsection, the commission may approve the use of a consumer-owned small project in net 
energy billing under this section. 
A. For the purposes of this subsection, "consumer-owned small project" means a 
distributed generation resource with a nameplate capacity of one megawatt or less that 
is wholly owned by the customers receiving the net energy billing credits associated 
with the output of the distributed generation resource. 
B. A consumer-owned small project is not subject to the limitations established in 
subsection 2-A. 
C. The commission may adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 8.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§12 is enacted to read:
12.  Single customer-owned on-site project exception.  Notwithstanding any 
provision of this section to the contrary, a distributed generation resource may be used for 
net energy billing if the distributed generation resource is owned by a customer and:
A.  Is used to serve the electric load of that customer only; and
B.  Meets the criterion that 100% of the net energy billing credits associated with the 
output of the distributed generation resource are allocated to the retail account of that 
customer.
Sec. 9.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§13 is enacted to read:
13.  Nonresident program owner; compensation.  Notwithstanding any provision of 
this section to the contrary, the commission shall establish by rule compensation rates, 
starting January 1, 2026, applicable to all customers participating in net energy billing with 
distributed generation resources owned by nonresident program owners.  The commission 
shall revise the compensation rates established by rule as often as it determines necessary 
to ensure that the rates are just and reasonable to a nonresident program owner and the 
customers of the distributed generation resource by providing that a nonresident program 
owner has a reasonable opportunity to earn a fair profit from the operation of the distributed 
generation resource while ensuring a cost-to-benefit ratio for ratepayers as close to equal 
as possible.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 10.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  "Nonresident program owner" has the same meaning as in section 3209-A, 
subsection 1, paragraph C-1.
Sec. 11.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§5, ¶A-2 is enacted to read:
A-2.  Starting January 1, 2026, the tariff rate for a customer participating in net energy 
billing under this section with a distributed generation resource not owned by a 
nonresident program owner must equal 9.5¢ and increase by 2.25% on January 1st of 
each subsequent year.  If the tariff rate established under this paragraph would cause a 
project that has reached commercial operation by January 1, 2026 to no longer be 
financially viable, the owner of a distributed generation resource may petition the 
commission for an adjustment to the tariff rate.  The petition must include sufficient 
financial information to allow the commission to determine financial viability, and the 
commission shall issue a protective order for the contents of the petition in accordance 
with section 1311-A to protect the interests of the owner filing the petition.  If the 
commission determines that the owner cannot reasonably operate the project under the 
tariff rate established in accordance with this paragraph, the commission shall 
determine a tariff rate for the project that provides the owner a reasonable opportunity 
to earn a fair profit from the operation of the project while balancing the financial 
interests of all ratepayers.
Sec. 12.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A.  Net energy billing term length.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 
contrary, a person may not participate in net energy billing under this section after the 
expiration of the person's net energy billing agreement with the transmission and 
distribution utility for the distributed generation resource.  An amendment, revision or 
reissuance of an agreement made after May 1, 2025 may not include an end date that is 
later than the agreement that is subject to the amendment, revision or reissuance.
Sec. 13.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9.  Nonresident program owner; compensation.  Starting January 1, 2026, the 
commission shall establish by rule compensation rates applicable to all customers 
participating in net energy billing with distributed generation resources owned by 
nonresident program owners.  The commission shall revise the compensation rates 
established by rule as often as it determines necessary to ensure that the rates are just and 
reasonable to a nonresident program owner and the customers of the distributed generation 
resource by providing that a nonresident program owner has a reasonable opportunity to 
earn a fair profit from the operation of the distributed generation resource while ensuring a 
cost-to-benefit ratio for ratepayers as close to equal as possible.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2‑A.
SUMMARY
This bill does the following.
1. It provides that a person is prohibited from participating in the kilowatt-hour credit 
and tariff rate net energy billing programs after the expiration of the person's net energy 
billing agreement with the transmission and distribution utility for the distributed 
generation resource, with some exceptions. 
2. It provides that a distributed generation resource that is greater than one megawatt 
and not more than 2 megawatts that receives a good-cause exemption from the Public 
Utilities Commission must reach commercial operation by December 31, 2025 to 
participate in the kilowatt-hour credit net energy billing program and the tariff rate net 
energy billing program. 
3. It creates a limited exception from the kilowatt-hour credit net energy billing 
program limitations to allow a distributed generation resource with a nameplate capacity 
of one megawatt or less to participate in net energy billing if the distributed generation 
resource is wholly owned by the customers receiving the net energy billing credits 
associated with the output of the distributed generation resource. 
4. It allows a distributed generation resource to be used in the kilowatt-hour credit net 
energy billing program if the distributed generation resource is owned by the customer and 
is used to serve the electric load of that customer only and 100% of the net energy billing 
credits associated with the distributed generation resource are allocated to the retail account 
of that customer. 
5. It directs the commission, starting January 1, 2026, to establish by routine technical 
rule the compensation rates applicable to all customers participating in net energy billing 
with distributed generation resources owned by nonresident program owners. 
6. It requires a transmission and distribution utility, if a customer with a shared 
financial interest in the resource terminates the customer's participation in the net energy 
billing arrangement, to replace that customer by enrolling a customer receiving low-income 
assistance under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3214, subsection 2 who is 
located in the same transmission and distribution utility service territory as the terminated 
customer. 
7. Starting January 1, 2026, it establishes that the tariff rate set by the commission by 
rule for a customer participating in the tariff rate net energy billing program with a 
distributed generation resource not owned by a nonresident program owner must equal 9.5¢ 
and increase by 2.25% on January 1st of each subsequent year.  If the tariff rate established 
would cause a project that has reached commercial operation by January 1, 2026 to no 
longer be financially viable, the owner of a distributed generation resource may petition 
the commission for an adjustment to the tariff rate.