The Public Utility Commission this week began the rulemaking process to revise its net metering and interconnection regulations to reflect the requirements of Act 35 of 2007 -- House Bill 1203 (Hornaman-D-Erie) -- which recently amended a number of provisions of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.

The PUC approved a motion of Commissioner Kim Pizzingrilli, which noted that the Commission previously promulgated final regulations related to net metering and interconnection standards.

“The statutory amendments necessitate changes to the Commission’s regulations,” said Commissioner Pizzingrilli in her motion. “The Commission will begin the process of promptly revising its net metering and interconnection regulations to reflect the requirements of Act 35. However, because the Act takes effect immediately, its provisions will be given immediate effect while the rules are being revised.

“Electric distribution companies will be required to amend and file revised net metering tariffs with the Commission. They should also begin to apply the new compensation standard beginning with the first full billing period after the effective date of Act 35.”

The purpose of the Commission’s action is to initiate the rulemaking process and to ensure that parties are informed of the statutory changes. The following briefly describes some of the changes to definitions and the frequency of compensation for customer-generators:

· Revises the definition of “customer-generator” to increase the capacity limit on non-residential systems from one to three megawatts generally, and from two to five megawatts for those systems that operate in parallel with the grid during emergencies or that maintain critical infrastructure;

· Revises the definition of “net metering” to include a restriction on virtual meter aggregation; and

· Revises the frequency of when customer-generators are to be compensated for excess generation to an annual basis at the full retail rate, as opposed to the current monthly standard.

Electric distribution companies are directed to work with Commission staff to revise their currently effective net metering tariffs to reflect the requirements of Act 35.

For more information, visit the PUC’s Alternative Energy webpage.

7/27/2007