SB0680 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 07321 MJR 27460 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB0680

Introduced 2/8/2007, by Sen. Michael Bond

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

220 ILCS 5/16-107.5 new

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers must provide "net metering" to retail customers that own and operate a solar or wind electrical generating facility with a capacity of not more than 40 kilowatts located on the customer's premises and intended to offset part of the customer's electrical requirements. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding Section 16-107.5 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/16-107.5 new)

Sec. 16-107.5. Net electricity metering.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that a program to provide net energy metering, as defined in this Section, for eligible customers can encourage private investment in renewable energy resources, stimulate economic growth, enhance the continued diversification of Illinois' energy resource mix, and protect the Illinois environment.

(b) As used in this Section, (i) "eligible customer" means a retail customer that owns and operates a solar or wind electrical generating facility with a capacity of not more than 40 kilowatts that is located on the customer's premises and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements and (ii) "net energy metering" means the measurement, during the billing period applicable to an eligible customer, of the net amount of electricity delivered by an electric utility to the customer's premises or provided to the electric utility by the customer.

(c) An electric utility shall provide for, and bear the costs of, meters, meter fittings and associated wiring in excess of standard metering, and any other equipment on the utility side of the meter required by the utility in order to effect net energy metering.

(d) An electric utility and an alternative retail electric supplier shall measure and charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or provided by eligible customers in the following manner:

(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, the electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer at the same rates applicable to electricity provided by the electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier to other residential customers and small commercial retail customers of similar end-use consumption characteristics.

(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that billing period, the electric utility or alternative electric supplier supplying that customer shall apply a credit to the next bill for service to the customer for the net electricity supplied to the utility at the same rate, including delivery charges, applicable to electricity provided to other residential customers and small commercial retail customers of similar end-use consumption characteristics. The number of kilowatt-hours credited to the customer on the bill in any given billing period shall not exceed the amount of kilowatt-hours delivered to the customer by the utility in that billing period. The balance of kilowatt-hours uncredited shall be carried forward and applied to kilowatt-hours delivered to the customer by the utility in future billing periods.

(3) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service is supplied by means of net energy metering, the electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier supplying a customer shall promptly issue payment at its avoided cost to the customer for the value of the balance of any remaining uncredited kilowatt-hours provided by the customer during the year or annualized period.

(e) An electric utility may use separate meters to measure the gross amount of electricity delivered by the utility to the customer and the electricity supplied to the utility by the customer and may bill customers for taxes, franchise charges, or infrastructure maintenance fees, instrument funding charges, and decommissioning charges applicable to the gross amount of electricity delivered to the customer, if the electric utility does not charge the customer for the installation or use of the separate meters in excess of standard metering.

(f) An electric utility may, instead of using separate meters, use a single meter to measure the net amount of electricity delivered to or from a customer during the billing period.

(g) Within 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish standards for net energy metering and the interconnection of solar and wind electric generating equipment to the utility system if the Commission determines that such standards are necessary for safe and adequate service and further the public policy set forth in this Section. The standards shall conform to the "Recommended Practice for Utility Interface, of Photo-voltaic Systems" set forth by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers). If a utility desires equipment or standards in excess of these standards, the utility shall bear the costs of those additional standards.

(h) Before February 1, 2008, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall determine how alternative retail electric suppliers will be required to credit delivery service charges.

(i) All electric utilities shall begin to offer net energy metering no later than April 1, 2008.

(j) All alternative retail electric suppliers shall begin to offer net energy metering no later than April 1, 2008.

(k) An electric utility and an alternative retail electric supplier must offer net energy metering to eligible customers until the load of its net energy metering customers equals 0.1% of the total peak demand supplied by that electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier during the previous year. Electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers are authorized to offer net energy metering beyond the 0.1% level if they so choose.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.