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SB1606 • 2026

plug in solar energy; requirements

SB1606 - plug in solar energy; requirements

Energy
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Lauren Kuby, Lela Alston, Eva Diaz, Denise “Mitzi” Epstein, Rosanna Gabaldón, Catherine Miranda, Analise Ortiz, Priya Sundareshan, Brian Garcia
Last action
2026-02-04
Official status
Senate second read
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not provide specific details about enforcement mechanisms and penalties for non-compliance.

Plug-in Solar Energy Requirements

This bill sets rules for portable solar generation devices, including requirements for public utilities and protections against fees or additional equipment installation.

What This Bill Does

  • Public power entities cannot require customers to get approval before installing a portable solar device.
  • Customers do not have to pay extra fees or install additional controls when using these devices.
  • Utilities are protected from liability if there is an injury or death due to the customer's use of a portable solar generation device during a power outage.
  • Portable solar generation devices must meet certain standards, such as having a maximum output of 1200 watts and being certified by recognized testing labs.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Customers who want to install portable solar generation devices
  • Public utilities that provide electricity

Terms To Know

Portable Solar Generation Device
A moveable device that generates power from the sun, designed to connect to a building's electrical system through a standard outlet.
Public Power Entity
An organization that provides electricity to customers in a specific area.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the portable solar generation device exceeds its power output limit.
  • It is unclear how utilities will recognize national interoperability profiles and programs for plug-in solar energy resources.
  • There are no details on enforcement or penalties for non-compliance with these requirements.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-04 Senate

    Senate second read

  2. 2026-02-03 Senate

    Senate Rules: None

  3. 2026-02-03 Senate

    Senate Natural Resources: None

  4. 2026-02-03 Senate

    Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1606 - plug in solar energy; requirements

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB1606 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
plug in solar energy; requirements

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1606

Introduced by

Senators
Kuby: Alston, Diaz, Epstein, Gabald�n, Miranda, Ortiz, Sundareshan;�
Representative Garcia

AN
ACT

amending title 30, Arizona Revised
Statutes, by adding chapter 9; amending title 40, chapter 2, article 1, arizona
revised statutes, by adding SECTION 40-207; amending section 44-1761,
Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 44, chapter 11, article 11, arizona
revised statutes, by adding section 44-1765; relating to solar power.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 30, Arizona Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding chapter 9, to read:

CHAPTER 9

SOLAR ENERGY

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL
PROVISIONS

START_STATUTE
30-1101.

Portable solar generation devices; requirements; liability;
definition

A. A public power entity may not
require a customer that uses a portable solar generation device to:

1. Obtain approval before installing
or using the portable solar generation device.

2. Pay a fee or charge.

3. Install additional controls or
equipment beyond what is integrated into the system.

B. A public power entity is not
liable for damages in any civil action for any injury or death due to a
customer's operation of a portable solar generation device if an electric
utility disconnects power.

C. For the purposes of this section,
"portable solar generation device":

1. Means a moveable photovoltaic generation
device that:

(
a
) Has a
maximum power output of not more than one thousand two hundred watts.

(
b
) Is designed
to be connected to a building's electrical system through a standard one
hundred twenty volt alternating current outlet.

(
c
) Is intended
primarily to offset part of the customer's electricity consumption.

(
d
) Meets the
standards of the most recent version of the national electrical code.

(
e
) Is
certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

(
f
) Is listed
and labeled in compliance with a national standards institute.

2. Does not include:

(
a
) a
generating facility.

(
b
) A
distributed generation facility.

(
c
) A net
metering facility.

(
d
) A Cord and
plug distributed energy device that either:

(
i
) Operates
within an electrical capacity envelope as established by the commission in
rule.

(
ii
) Is capable
of exporting electricity to the premises' wiring and when authorized, to the
electric grid.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title
40, chapter 2, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
section 40-207, to read:

START_STATUTE
40-207.

Portable solar generation devices; requirements; liability;
definition

A. A public service corporation may
not require a customer that uses a portable solar generation device to:

1. Obtain approval before installing
or using the portable solar generation device.

2. Pay a fee or charge.

3. Install any additional controls or
equipment beyond what is integrated into the system.

B. A public service corporation shall
recognize national interoperability profiles and programs that enable secure
participation of plug-in solar energy resources in aggregated or managed
programs.

C. A public service corporation is
not liable for damages in any civil action for any injury or death due to a
customer's operation of a portable solar generation device if an electric
utility disconnects power.

D. For the purposes of this section,
"portable solar generation device":

1. Means a moveable photovoltaic
generation device that:

(
a
) Has a
maximum power output of not more than one thousand two hundred watts.

(
b
) Is designed
to be connected to a building's electrical system through a standard one
hundred twenty volt alternating current outlet.

(
c
) Is intended
primarily to offset part of the customer's electricity consumption.

(
d
) Meets the
standards of the most recent version of the national electrical code.

(
e
) Is certified
by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

2. Does not include a generating
facility, distributed generation facility or net metering facility.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 44-1761, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
44-1761.

Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Collector" means a component of a
solar energy device that is used to absorb solar radiation, convert it to heat
or electricity and transfer the heat to a heat transfer fluid or to storage.

2. "Distributed energy generation system":

(a) Means a device or system that is used to
generate or store electricity, that has an electric delivery capacity, singly
or in connection with other similar devices or systems, greater than one
kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour, and that is primarily for on-site energy
consumption.

(b) Does not include
either:

(
i
)
An electric generator that is intended for
occasional use.

(
ii
) A portable
solar generation device as defined in section 30-1101 or 40-207.

3. "Energize" or "energized"
means that the distributed energy generation system is installed and
operational for its intended purposes of generating or storing electricity.

4. "Heat exchanger" means a component of a
solar energy device that is used to transfer heat from one fluid to another.

5. "Interconnected" or
"interconnection" means a distributed energy generation system that
is connected to the power grid and that is able to transfer electricity to the
power grid.

6. "Seller or marketer" means an
individual or a company acting through its officers, employees or agents that
markets, sells or solicits the sale, financing or lease of distributed energy
generation systems or negotiates or enters into agreements for the sale,
financing or lease of distributed energy generation systems.

7. "Solar daylighting" means a device that
is specifically designed to capture and redirect the visible portion of the
solar beam spectrum, while controlling the infrared portion, for use in
illuminating interior building spaces in lieu of artificial lighting.

8. "Solar energy device":

(a) Means a system or series of mechanisms that is
designed primarily to provide heating, to provide cooling, to produce
electrical power, to produce mechanical power, to provide solar daylighting or
to provide any combination of the foregoing by means of collecting and
transferring solar generated energy into such uses either by active or passive
means. Such systems may also have the capability of storing such
energy for future utilization. Passive systems shall clearly be
designed as a solar energy device such as a trombe wall and not merely a part
of a normal structure such as a window.

(b) Includes a distributed energy generation system.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Title 44, chapter 11, article 11,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 44-1765, to read:

START_STATUTE
44-1765.

Portable solar generation device

A portable solar generation device as defined in
section 30-1101 or 40-207 shall include a device or feature that
prevents the system from energizing the building's electrical system during a
power outage.
END_STATUTE