Connecticut2026Passed Legislature
HB05340
New Rules for Renewable Energy Programs and Solar Power
Last scannedAug 25, 2026, 6:19 AM
In one sentence
This law requires state agencies to create new programs that pay customers for using small solar systems, including special rates for low-income families and residents of distressed areas, while also studying consumer protections.
What it does
- Requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to start a process by August 1, 2026, to design replacement programs for existing renewable energy solutions.
- Mandates that electric companies offer special rates to residential customers with small solar systems starting January 1, 2028.
- Creates separate payment rates specifically for low-income families and residents of distressed municipalities.
- Requires the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to implement a program combining farming with solar panel installation (agrivoltaics).
- Orders a study on how to protect consumers who lease or buy solar power systems from unfair practices.
Who it affects
- Homeowners in single-family homes and residents of small apartment buildings meeting specific income requirements.
- Low-income families earning less than sixty percent of the state median income.
- Electric distribution companies that supply power to customers.
- The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Limits and unknowns
- The specific dollar amounts for the new payment rates have not been decided yet and will be determined by future agency proceedings.
- The law does not state when the study on consumer protections must be finished or what its final recommendations will be.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Distributed energy resource
- A small power source, like a solar panel system, located on or near where electricity is used.
- Agrivoltaics
- The practice of using the same land for both growing crops and generating solar energy.
- Tariff
- A set price or rate that an electric company pays to a customer for electricity they generate with their own system.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
To (1) require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to develop successor programs for the RRES, NRES and SCEF programs, (2) require a study of consumer protections for solar photovoltaic system leasing and sales, (3) allow the use of portable solar photovoltaic systems, (4) require the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to implement an agrivoltaics program, and (5) require the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection to establish a pilot program concerning the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in environmental justice communities.
Official activity
Bill history
- Signed by the Governor
- Transmitted to the Secretary of State
- Transmitted by Secretary of the State to Governor
- Public Act 26-127LCO
- Senate Adopted House Amendment Schedule A
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule A 5892
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule B 6103
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule D 6094
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule E 6143
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule F 5920
- Senate Rejected Senate Amendment Schedule G 6224
- Senate Passed as Amended by House Amendment Schedule A
- In Concurrence
- Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
- Senate Calendar Number 528
- House Adopted House Amendment Schedule A 5450
- House Rejected House Amendment Schedule B 5350
- House Passed as Amended by House Amendment Schedule A
- Immediate Transmittal to the Senate
- Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' OfficeLCO