Report Title:

Net Energy Metering; Public Utilities

Description:

Increases the capacity amount of an "eligible customer-generator" from not more than 50 kilowatts to not more than 500 kilowatts. Amends the billing period for net energy metering from monthly to every 12 months. Allows an eligible customer-generator to be billed monthly upon request. (HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1018

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO NET ENERGY METERING.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part VI to read as follows:

"§269- Request for monthly billing. Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, an electric utility, upon the request of an eligible customer-generator, shall permit the eligible customer-generator to pay monthly for net energy consumed; provided that in calculating the monthly billing, all references to a twelve-month billing period in this part shall be changed to a monthly billing period."

SECTION 2. Section 269-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§269-101 Definitions. As used in this part:

"Eligible customer-generator" means a metered residential or commercial customer, including a government entity, of an electric utility who owns and operates a solar, wind turbine, biomass, or hydroelectric energy generating facility, or a hybrid system consisting of two or more of these facilities, with a capacity of not more than [fifty] five hundred kilowatts, that is:

(1) Located on the customer's premises;

(2) Operated in parallel with the utility's transmission and distribution facilities;

(3) In conformance with the utility's interconnection requirements; and

(4) Intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements.

"Net energy metering" means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied through the electric grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electric grid over a [monthly] twelve-month billing period; provided that:

(1) Net energy metering shall be accomplished using a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions;

(2) An additional meter or meters to monitor the flow of electricity in each direction may be installed with the consent of the customer-generator, at the expense of the electric utility, and the additional metering shall be used only to provide the information necessary to accurately bill or credit the customer-generator, or to collect solar, wind turbine, biomass, or hydroelectric energy generating system performance information for research purposes;

(3) If the existing electrical meter of an eligible customer-generator is not capable of measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, the electric utility shall be responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that is able to measure electricity flow in two directions;

(4) If an additional meter or meters are installed, the net energy metering calculation shall yield a result identical to that of a single meter; and

(5) An eligible customer-generator who already owns an existing solar, wind turbine, biomass, or hydroelectric energy generating facility, or a hybrid system consisting of two or more of these facilities, is eligible to receive net energy metering service in accordance with this part."

SECTION 3. Section 269-102, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be identical, with respect to rate structure, to the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. The charges for all retail rate components for eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatt-hour consumption over a [monthly] twelve-month billing period. Any new or additional demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection charge, or other charge that would increase an eligible customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers in the rate class to which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise be assigned are contrary to the intent of this section, and shall not form a part of net energy metering contracts or tariffs."

SECTION 4. Section 269-105, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§269-105[]] Calculation. The net energy metering calculation shall be made by measuring the difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electric grid over a [monthly] twelve-month billing period."

SECTION 5. Section 269-107, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§269-107[]] Net electricity consumers. At the end of each [monthly] twelve-month billing period, where the electricity supplied during the period by the electric utility exceeds the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator during that same period, the eligible customer-generator is a net electricity consumer and the electric utility shall be owed compensation for the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatt-hour consumption over that same period. The compensation owed for the eligible customer-generator's net [monthly] twelve-month kilowatt-hour consumption shall be calculated at the retail rate of the rate class the customer is normally assigned to. For all customer-generators and for each billing period, the net balance of moneys owed to the electric service provider for net consumption of electricity or credits owed to the customer-generator for net generation of electricity shall be carried forward as a monetary value until the end of each twelve-month period."

SECTION 6. Section 269-108, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§269-108[]] Net electricity producers. At the end of each [monthly] twelve-month billing period, where the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator during the [month] twelve-month period exceeds the electricity supplied by the electric utility during that same period, the eligible customer-generator is a net electricity producer and the electric utility shall retain any excess kilowatt-hours generated during the prior [monthly] twelve-month billing period. The eligible customer-generator shall not be owed any compensation for those excess kilowatt-hours unless the electric utility enters into a purchase agreement with the eligible customer-generator for those excess kilowatt-hours."

SECTION 7. Section 269-109, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§269-109[]] Net electricity consumption or production information. The electric utility shall provide every eligible customer-generator with net electricity consumption or production information with each regular [monthly] twelve-month bill, which shall include the current monetary balance owed the electric utility for net electricity consumed or net electricity produced since the end of the last [monthly] twelve-month billing period."

SECTION 8. Section 269-110, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§269-110[]] Termination by eligible customer-generators. If an eligible customer-generator terminates the customer relationship with the electric utility, the electric utility shall reconcile the eligible customer-generator's consumption and production of electricity during any part of a [monthly] twelve-month billing period following the last reconciliation, according to the requirements set forth in this part[.], provided that those requirements shall apply only to the months since the most recent twelve-month bill."

SECTION 9. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 10. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.