An Act to Prohibit Net Energy Billing by Certain Customers
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0359
Sponsors: BICKFORD
Amends: 26 MRSA §1304, 35-A MRSA §3209-A, 35-A MRSA §3209-B, 35-A MRSA §3209-C, 35-A MRSA §3209-D, 36 MRSA §655, 36 MRSA §656

Legislative Document
No. 359
S.P. 146
In Senate, February 3, 2025
An Act to Prohibit Net Energy Billing by Certain Customers
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on January 30, 2025.  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 BICKFORD of Androscoggin.
Cosponsored by Senators: BRADSTREET of Kennebec, CYRWAY of Kennebec, 
HARRINGTON of York, Representative: WADSWORTH of Hiram.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §1304, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 705, §2, is amended 
by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
"Assisted project" does not include a project for which the Public Utilities Commission 
approved a term sheet or contract or otherwise provided project-specific authorization or 
approval pursuant to Title 35-A on or before June 29, 2021 or a project that is participating 
in net energy billing and that meets the requirements of Title 35-A, section 3209-A, 
subsection 7 or Title 35-A, section 3209-B.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 230, §1 and c. 411, §2, 
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.
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.:
(1)  Uses a renewable fuel or technology under section 3210, subsection 2, 
paragraph B‑3;
(2)  Is located in the service territory of a transmission and distribution utility in 
the State;
(3)  Is located on the same side of the meter as the net energy billing customer;
(4)  Is used primarily to serve the electric load of that customer; and
(5)  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.
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.
D.  "Project sponsor" means an entity or its successor or assignee that solicits customers 
to participate in a net energy billing arrangement based upon a shared financial interest 
in a distributed generation resource.
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.
5.  Consumer protection.  To protect customers who participate in or are solicited to 
participate in a net energy billing arrangement based upon a shared financial interest in a 
distributed generation resource from fraud or unfair and deceptive business practices, a 
project sponsor:
A.  Must obtain a customer's explicit affirmative authorization before serving the 
customer;
B.  Must provide to a residential customer such information as the commission may 
require by rule or order in a standard disclosure form before entering into an agreement 
with the residential customer to participate in a net energy billing arrangement based 
upon a shared financial interest in a distributed generation resource;
C.  Must allow a customer to rescind the customer's decision to participate in a net 
energy billing arrangement based upon a shared financial interest in a distributed 
generation resource, as long as the customer requests such rescission orally or in 
writing within 5 days of the customer's receipt of the first bill or invoice under the 
arrangement that the customer is responsible for paying in full;
D.  May not collect or seek to collect unreasonable costs from a customer who is in 
default;
E.  Must comply with any other applicable standards or requirements adopted by the 
commission by rule or order;
F.  May not release to any other entity, other than for purposes of debt collection or 
credit reporting pursuant to state and federal law or to law enforcement agencies 
pursuant to lawful process, any personal information regarding a customer, including 
name, address, telephone number and usage and historical payment information, 
without the explicit affirmative consent of the customer;
G.  Must comply with the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act;
H.  Must comply with all applicable provisions of the federal Equal Credit Opportunity 
Act, 15 United States Code, Sections 1691 to 1691f; and
I.  Must comply with all federal and state laws, federal regulations and state rules 
regarding the prohibition or limitation of telemarketing.
6.  Enforcement.  The commission, through its own counsel or through the Attorney 
General, may apply to the Superior Court of any county of the State to enforce any lawful 
order made or action taken by the commission pursuant to subsection 5, paragraphs A to 
E, and the court may issue any preliminary or final order that the court determines proper.  
The commission may impose administrative penalties under chapter 15 upon a project 
sponsor and may order restitution for any party injured by a violation for which a penalty 
may be assessed pursuant to chapter 15.  If the commission has reason to believe a project 
sponsor has violated subsection 5, paragraphs F to I, the commission shall report this 
information to the Attorney General for appropriate action.  A violation of subsection 5 is 
a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.
7.  Applicability.  A distributed generation resource with a nameplate capacity of 
greater than 2 megawatts and not more than 5 megawatts may be used for net energy billing 
under this section only if the requirements of paragraph A, B or C are met and all the 
requirements of paragraphs D and E are met.
A.  In order for a distributed generation resource to be used for net energy billing, one 
of the following must have been met on or before December 31, 2020:
(1)  There is a signed interconnection agreement between the entity proposing the 
development of the distributed generation resource and a transmission and 
distribution utility governing the connection of the resource to the utility's system 
and the ongoing operation of the resource after it is connected to the system; or
(2)  There is a net energy billing agreement between the entity proposing the 
development of the distributed generation resource and the transmission and 
distribution utility.
An amendment, revision or reissuance of an agreement under this paragraph that occurs 
after December 31, 2020 may not be interpreted to affect the date on which the initial 
agreement was signed.
B.  In order for a distributed generation resource to be used for net energy billing, one 
of the following must have been met on or before April 30, 2021:
(1)  A complete application for a customer net energy billing agreement has been 
submitted for the distributed generation resource and a customer has or customers 
have financial interest in 90% or more of the capacity of that distributed generation 
resource; or 
(2)  There is a fully executed net energy billing agreement between a customer or 
sponsor of the distributed generation resource and the transmission and distribution 
utility for the distributed generation resource and a customer has or customers have 
financial interest in 90% or more of the capacity of that distributed generation 
resource.
C.  In order for a distributed generation resource to be used for net energy billing, the 
following must have been met on or before June 1, 2021:
(1)  The interconnection study process has commenced for a distributed generation 
resource located in those portions of the service territory of an investor-owned 
transmission and distribution utility that are not connected to the ISO-NE region 
as defined in section 1902, subsection 3.
D.  In order for a distributed generation resource to be used for net energy billing, all 
of the following must be met on or before December 31, 2021:
(1)  There is a fully executed interconnection agreement between the entity 
proposing the development of the distributed generation resource and the 
transmission and distribution utility;
(2)  The entity proposing the development of the distributed generation resource 
certifies to the commission that the entity has submitted all applicable permit 
applications to the Department of Environmental Protection and the department 
has accepted those applications for processing; and
(3)  The entity proposing the development of the distributed generation resource 
certifies to the commission that the entity has received all necessary local, 
nonministerial permits.  For purposes of this subparagraph, "nonministerial permit" 
means a permit for which one or more officials consider various factors and 
exercise discretion in deciding whether to issue or deny the permit.
An amendment, revision or reissuance of an agreement under this paragraph that occurs 
after December 31, 2021 may not be interpreted to affect the date on which the 
agreement was initially executed.
E.  In order for a distributed generation resource to be used for net energy billing, the 
following must be met on or before December 31, 2024:
(1)  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 one or more of the requirements 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 requirements.
The goal for development of commercially operational distributed generation resources 
under this subsection and section 3209‑B, subsection 7 is 750 total megawatts.
8.  Unused kilowatt-hour credits; rules.  To the extent rules adopted under this 
section provide for the periodic expiration of unused kilowatt-hour credits accumulated by 
a customer participating in a net energy billing arrangement, the commission shall require 
by rule that each transmission and distribution utility with a net energy billing arrangement 
shall account for and, on or before January 1st of each year, remit the value of all unused 
kilowatt-hour credits that were accumulated and that expired during the prior calendar year 
to the commission for the benefit of individuals receiving low‑income assistance in 
accordance with section 3214, subsection 2.  The rules adopted by the commission pursuant 
to this subsection must:
A.  Establish the manner by which a transmission and distribution utility must account 
for unused kilowatt-hour credits that were accumulated by all customers of the utility 
with net energy billing arrangements during the prior calendar year and that expired 
during the prior calendar year; and
B.  Establish the manner by which a transmission and distribution utility must remit 
the value of the unused and expired kilowatt‑hour credits.
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.
9.  Applicability to projects between one megawatt and 2 megawatts.  A distributed 
generation resource with a nameplate capacity of at least one megawatt and not more than 
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.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3209-B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 411, §§3 and 4, is further 
amended to read:
§3209-B.  Commercial and institutional net energy billing
The commission shall establish by rule, in accordance with this section, a net energy 
billing program for commercial and institutional customers of investor‑owned utilities.
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, the following terms have the following 
meanings.
A.  "Commercial and institutional net energy billing program" or "program" "Program" 
means the net energy billing program established pursuant to this section.
B.  "Commercial or institutional customer" or "customer" means a nonresidential 
customer of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility in the State.
C.  "Distributed generation resource" has the same meaning as in section 3209‑A, 
subsection 1, paragraph B.
D.  "Net energy billing" means the system of bill credits available under the program 
as described in subsection 5.
2.  Financial interest.  The program must allow a commercial or institutional customer 
to participate in the program if the customer has a financial interest in a distributed 
generation resource, including facility ownership, a lease agreement or a power purchase 
agreement.
3.  System size.  The nameplate capacity of a distributed generation resource that may 
be used for net energy billing under this section must be less than 5 megawatts.
4.  Shared financial interest; limitation.  Multiple commercial or institutional 
customers that have distinct billing accounts with an investor‑owned transmission and 
distribution utility may share a financial interest in a distributed generation resource under 
subsection 2.  Any number of commercial or institutional customers may participate in net 
energy billing with a shared interest in a distributed generation resource, except that the 
number of customers or meters is limited to 10 for a shared 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.
5.  Tariff rate; bill credits.  The commission shall establish by rule tariff rates for 
customers participating in the program.  The initial tariff rate must be established no later 
than December 1, 2019.
A.  The tariff rate for a customer participating in net energy billing with a distributed 
generation resource described in this paragraph with a nameplate capacity of one 
megawatt or less must equal the standard-offer service rate established under section 
3212 that is applicable to the customer receiving the credit plus 75% 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.  The 
tariff rate under this paragraph applies to net energy billing with a distributed 
generation resource:
 (1)  With a nameplate capacity of greater than one megawatt if:
(a)  The entity developing the distributed generation resource certifies by 
affidavit with accompanying documentation to the commission that the entity, 
before September 1, 2022, commenced on-site physical work of a significant 
nature on the distributed generation resource and the entity has made and will 
continue to make continuous on-site construction efforts to advance toward 
completion of the distributed generation resource. For the purpose of this 
paragraph, continuous on-site construction efforts include, but are not limited 
to, in the context of a solar facility, the continuous installation of racks or other 
structures to affix photovoltaic panels, collectors or solar cells to a site.  The 
commission may share information contained in the affidavit submitted in 
accordance with this paragraph with a transmission and distribution utility, as 
necessary, to verify a distributed generation resource's compliance with this 
section. In administering this subsection, the commission may adopt rules 
including, but not limited to, requiring the entity that submits a sworn affidavit 
under this subparagraph to provide updated documentation to the commission 
after submission of the affidavit; or
(b)  The distributed generation resource is collocated with a net energy billing 
customer that is or net energy billing customers that are subscribed to at least 
50% of the facility's output; or
(2)  With a nameplate capacity of one megawatt or less.
A-1.  The tariff rate for a customer participating in net energy billing under this section 
with a distributed generation resource not governed by paragraph A must:
(1)  In 2022, equal the standard-offer service rate established pursuant to section 
3212 that was applicable to the rate class of the customer receiving the credit on 
December 31, 2020 plus 75% of the effective transmission and distribution rate 
that was in effect on December 31, 2020 for the rate class that includes the smallest 
commercial customers of the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility; 
and
(2)  Increase by 2.25% on January 1st of each subsequent year, beginning January 
1, 2023.
B.  A customer participating in the program must receive for electricity delivered to 
the electric grid from a distributed generation resource in which the customer has a 
financial interest a bill credit based on the tariff rate to apply against the costs of 
electricity delivered to the customer by the investor‑owned transmission and 
distribution utility.
C.  A bill credit under the program as described in paragraph B may be applied to any 
portion of a customer's electricity bill.  Credits that remain unused at the end of any 
billing period may be carried forward for up to one year from the end of that billing 
period.
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 years from the date of first receiving the credit.
6.  Rules.  The commission shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted 
under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2‑A.
7.  Applicability.  The applicability of this section is limited by the requirements of 
section 3209‑A, subsection 7 and subsection 9.
8.  Limitation.  After December 31, 2023, a distributed generation resource may be 
used for net energy billing under this section only if the distributed generation resource is 
collocated with all of the distributed generation resource's net energy billing customers and 
those customers are subscribed to 100% of the facility's output under this section. This 
limitation does not apply to a distributed generation resource with a net energy billing 
agreement that was executed on or before December 31, 2023. An amendment, revision or 
reissuance of an agreement under this subsection that occurs after December 31, 2023 may 
not be interpreted to affect the date on which the agreement was initially executed.
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3209-C, sub-§1, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 411, §5, is 
amended to read:
C.  "Net energy billing costs" means all legitimate and verifiable costs incurred by a 
transmission and distribution utility directly attributable to net energy billing.  "Net 
energy billing costs" does not include any costs incurred by a project sponsor as defined 
in section 3209‑A, subsection 1, paragraph D, a net energy billing customer or any 
other entity, as determined by the commission by rule.
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3209-D, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 411, §6, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
A.  "Distributed generation resource" means an electric generating facility that uses a 
renewable fuel or technology under section 3210, subsection 2, paragraph B‑3, is 
located in the service territory of a transmission and distribution utility in the State, has 
a nameplate capacity of at least one megawatt and not more than 2 megawatts and:
(1)  Is a member of a cluster study conducted by the transmission and distribution 
utility with which the distributed generation resource is seeking to interconnect; or
(2)  Is likely to receive required transmission approval from the New England 
independent system operator on or before April 30, 2024.
Sec. 6.  36 MRSA §655, sub-§1, ¶V, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 682, §3, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
V.  For property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2025, solar energy equipment 
that generates heat or electricity, if all of the energy is used on the site where the 
property is located.
On or before April 1st of the first property tax year for which a taxpayer claims an 
exemption under this paragraph, the taxpayer claiming the exemption shall file a report 
with the assessor. The report must identify the property for which the exemption is 
claimed and must be made on a form prescribed by the State Tax Assessor or a 
substitute form approved by the State Tax Assessor. The State Tax Assessor shall 
furnish copies of the form to each municipality in the State and make the forms 
available to taxpayers.
Sec. 7.  36 MRSA §656, sub-§1, ¶L, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 682, §5, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
L.  For property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2025, solar energy equipment 
that generates heat or electricity, if all of the energy is used on the site where the 
property is located.
On or before April 1st of the first property tax year for which a taxpayer claims an 
exemption under this paragraph, the taxpayer claiming the exemption shall file a report 
with the assessor.  The report must identify the property for which the exemption is 
claimed and must be made on a form prescribed by the State Tax Assessor or a 
substitute form approved by the State Tax Assessor.  The State Tax Assessor shall 
furnish copies of the form to each municipality in the State and make the forms 
available to taxpayers.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the net energy billing programs established under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 35-A, sections 3209-A and 3209-B to prohibit customers from having a 
shared financial interest in distributed generation resources used for the programs. The bill 
limits the applicability of the net energy billing programs to distributed generation 
resources that are located on the same side of the meter as the net energy billing customer 
and are used primarily to serve the electric load of that customer. To participate in the 
programs, all of the net energy billing credits associated with the output of the distributed 
generation resource must be allocated to the retail account of that customer. The bill also 
amends other statutes to reflect the changes made to the net energy billing programs by this 
bill.