STAND. COM. REP. NO.843
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 1385
H.D. 3
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1385, H.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NET ENERGY METERING,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to encourage the use of renewable energy systems by amending the State's net metering law. Net energy metering measures the difference between the electricity supplied through the electric grid and the electricity generated by an eligible consumer-generator (ECG) and fed back to the electric grid.
ECGs can make a significant contribution to the State's efforts to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, particularly in the production of electricity. As defined in the bill, an ECG is a residential or commercial customer of the electric utility (Utility). The ECG primarily produces electricity to satisfy its own needs by owning and operating an energy generating facility on its own premises. The facility cannot have a capacity of more than ten kilowatts and must be fueled by certain alternative energy sources to produce electricity. The facility must also operate in conformity with the Utility's transmission, distribution, and interconnection requirements.
The bill is modeled after California's net metering law, and as received by your Committee, this measure:
(1) Broadens the definition of "eligible customer-generator" to include commercial customers, in addition to the present residential customer;
(2) Requires net energy metering to be accomplished by a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions, and if the ECG's meter is not capable of two directions, the Utility is required to install an appropriate meter at its expense;
(3) Requires Utilities to develop a standard net metering contract and to make it available to ECGs, on a first-come-first-served basis, until an unspecified percentage of the Utility's aggregate customer peak electricity demand is met by electricity generated by ECGs;
(4) Requires Utilities to annually report, commencing 2003, to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) the total rated generating capacity of ECGs that will be used by the PUC to determine if the Utility has met the required amount of ECG produced electricity;
(5) Provides that the net energy metering calculation shall be made by measuring the difference between the electricity supplied to the ECG and the electricity generated by the ECG and fed back to the electric grid over a 12-month period, and the ECG is accordingly billed at the end of the 12-month period;
(6) Establishes the rules applicable to the annualized net energy metering calculation, such as billings, credits, payment periods and tariff rates;
(7) Provides that the Utility does not have to pay an ECG who is a net producer for the excess electricity produced by the ECG, unless the parties have entered into a purchase contract; and allows the Utility to resell the excess electricity as green power and charge a premium for the service;
(8) Requires the Utility to provide the ECG at each regular billing, net electricity consumption information, and gives the ECG the option to pay monthly for the net energy consumed;
(9) Provides for the contingency that the ECG may terminate the customer relationship with the Utility during the 12-month cycle, such as reconciliation of accounts and entering into a net metering contract with a new Utility; and
(10) Exempts solar, wind turbine, biomass, or hydroelectric energy generating system, or hybrid systems, used by an ECG that meets certain national standards and rules, such as the National Electrical Code, from requirements to install additional controls, perform additional tests, or purchase additional liability insurance.
The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Office of Economic Development of the County of Kauai, five members of the Maui County Council, Maui Recycling Group, Inter-Island Solar Supply, Life of the Land, Vertical Wind Turbine Technologies, and four individuals offered testimony in support of this bill. Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Company and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Hawaii Audubon Society, Sierra Club, The Hydrogen Renewable Energy Enterprise, and Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance offered support to the bill and suggested amendments. Kauai Electric, PUC, and the Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs offered comments.
Upon careful consideration of the testimony, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Creating a new part entitled "NET ENERGY METERING," as opposed to a section, to chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(2) Substituting the 12-month billing period with a monthly billing period and providing that where the ECG is a net consumer of electricity, the Utility will submit a monthly billing for the net balance of moneys due the Utility. In the event the ECG is a net producer of electricity of any particular month, the credit due the ECG will to carried forward to the next month billing, until the reconciliation. The amendment provides for a reconciliation of accounts at the end of each 12 months, commencing from the date of interconnection between the systems of the Utility and the ECG; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1385, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1385, H.D. 3.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,
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____________________________ DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair |
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