Improve Customer Use Distributed Energy Resources

The bill defines, and creates requirements for, portable-scale solar generation devices. In addition, the bill prohibits a provider of retail electric service or wholesale energy from, among other things, requiring a customer to obtain the provider's approval before installing or using a portable-scale solar generation device. The bill also prohibits a person from restricting, prohibiting, or imposing unreasonable conditions on directly or indirectly unreasonably prohibiting the installation, use, or operation of a portable-scale solar generation device. A covenant or restriction that explicitly or indirectly unreasonably prohibits or restricts the installation, use, or operation of a portable-scale solar generation device is unenforceable and void as a matter of public policy, though a real property owner may require reasonable restrictions.

The bill specifies that a provider of retail electric service or wholesale energy is not liable for any damage caused by a portable-scale solar generation device and requires that the installation of a portable-scale solar generation device be in accordance with fire code requirements and applicable building codes that pertain to health and safety.

Under current law, a utility that is subject to regulation by the public utilities commission (commission) must allow for customer ownership and use of a meter collar adapter through the utility's interconnection standards. The bill requires the commission, on or before December 31, 2026, to revise existing commission interconnection rules to explicitly require commission-regulated utilities to allow for customer ownership and use of meter collar adapters that are approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory and to prohibit commission-regulated utilities from requiring a production meter as a condition of interconnection for a customer-sited distributed energy resource that has a power output of no more than 10 kilowatts . The bill also requires a commission-regulated utility to facilitate the installation of a meter collar adapter by an electrical contractor registered with the state electrical board.

The bill requires municipally owned utilities and cooperative electric associations to also allow for customer ownership and use of meter collar adapters and prohibits municipally owned utilities and cooperative electric associations from requiring a production meter as a condition of interconnection for a customer-sited distributed energy resource.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)