An Act to Increase Disclosure of Utility Charges and Improve Access to Distributed Generation Resources in the State

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STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
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H.P. 1310 - L.D. 1966
An Act to Increase Disclosure of Utility Charges and Improve Access to
Distributed Generation Resources in the State
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §301-A is enacted to read:
§301-A. Administrative charge limitation
1. "Administrative charge" defined. "Administrative charge" means a fee or charge
for services that is added to the actual cost of materials or supplies or labor performed by
or on behalf of a transmission and distribution utility with over 50,000 customers and
charged to a transmission and distribution utility customer for work funded directly by that
customer through a proposal, estimate, invoice or final accounting for the cost of
interconnection, line extensions or other work funded directly by the customer other than
charges for the customer's regular electricity service. "Administrative charge" includes,
but is not limited to, an administrative service charge, overhead costs, an indirect overhead
cost or a cost adder. "Administrative charge" does not include:
A. Expenses for a transmission and distribution utility employee's labor while directly
engaged in the work for which a customer is billed if the customer bill states that those
expenses are included in the cost of labor; or
B. Expenses related to the purchase, storage or delivery of materials or supplies
incorporated into the work if the customer bill states that those expenses are included
in the cost of materials or supplies.
2. Administrative charge disclosure. A transmission and distribution utility with
over 50,000 customers shall disclose any administrative charges included in a customer bill
for work funded directly by that customer. If any line item in a customer bill includes an
administrative charge, the customer bill must specifically identify the administrative charge
and include a description of the charge. All administrative charges must comply with the
requirements of section 301, subsection 2 and any other applicable provisions of this Title.
3. Violations. If the commission finds that a transmission and distribution utility with
over 50,000 customers has violated any provision of this section or improperly assessed an
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administrative charge, the commission may order the transmission and distribution utility
to refund all or part of the administrative charge paid by the customer.
4. Rules. The commission may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted
by the commission pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3107, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 88, §1 and
reallocated by RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §49, is amended to read:
2. Consumer assistance. Require a customer bill issued by an investor-owned
transmission and distribution utility to display clearly and prominently the toll-free
telephone number for the commission's consumer assistance and safety division and a
statement of the consumer assistance services available by calling the division; and
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3107, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 88, §1 and
reallocated by RR 2019, c. 1, Pt. A, §49, is amended to read:
3. Correction of misleading information. Establish a process by which, if the
commission finds that an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility has included
on customer bills, or inserts or attachments to customer bills, information that is
misleading, deceptive or inaccurate, the transmission and distribution utility is required to
provide to customers a statement that corrects the misleading, deceptive or inaccurate
information that was disseminated. Upon request of the Public Advocate, the commission
shall investigate the truth and accuracy of information included on customer bills, or inserts
or attachments to customer bills.; and
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3107, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4. Expenses that may be recovered in rates; disclosure. If an investor-owned
transmission and distribution utility does not include all expenses that may be recovered in
rates in a customer's delivery cost, prohibit the utility from labeling such expenses or any
combination thereof as public policy charges or a substantially similar term on customer
bills. The rules must require the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to
label such expenses or combination of expenses on customer bills in a way that the
commission determines is objective and assists customers in understanding these expenses.
The commission shall also require, to the extent practicable without incurring additional
costs for ratepayers, an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to include a
brief, objective description of each of the expenses that may be recovered in rates paid by
the customer or include a link to the utility's publicly accessible website where a customer
may obtain an objective description of such expenses. For the purposes of this subsection,
"expenses that may be recovered in rates" means charges or costs paid by a customer, other
than those charges or costs for electricity supply, delivery and transmission, including, but
not limited to, charges or costs for energy efficiency programs and services, renewable
energy programs and low-income energy assistance programs.
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3209-A, sub-§12 is enacted to read:
12. Billing and disclosure standards. The commission shall adopt rules to establish
billing and disclosure standards applicable to distributed generation resources with
customers who participate in a net energy billing arrangement based upon a shared financial
interest in accordance with this section or section 3209-B. The rules must include
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standardized methods for presenting savings rates in a clear and consistent manner and
require the identification of all charges.
A violation of a billing and disclosure standard adopted by the commission by rule in
accordance with this subsection is a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, rules adopted by the
commission pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5,
chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §3210-L is enacted to read:
§3210-L. Renewable energy procurement; low-income and moderate-income
consumer-owned projects
The commission shall direct investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities to
enter into one or more contracts for energy from eligible projects in accordance with this
section.
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Distributed generation resource" has the same meaning as in section 3481,
subsection 5.
B. "Eligible project" means a distributed generation resource:
(1) With a nameplate capacity of no more than 200 kilowatts;
(2) That serves only low-income customers and moderate-income households;
(3) That is wholly owned by its customer or customers or wholly owned by a
cooperative corporation organized under Title 13, chapter 85;
(4) That provides discounts or payments to its customers to offset its customers'
electricity bills in a manner similar to customers receiving kilowatt-hour credits in
accordance with section 3209-A as determined by the commission;
(5) That is placed in service on or after August 1, 2026; and
(6) That is connected to the electric grid of an investor-owned transmission and
distribution utility in the State.
C. "Low-income customer" means a customer of a transmission and distribution utility
receiving benefits under the utility's program to assist low-income customers or a
customer who has qualified at any time in the prior 12-month period to receive
assistance through any state or federal program in which low income or limited assets
are criteria for eligibility.
D. "Moderate-income household" means a household in which gross income does not
exceed 150% of the median income of the county or metropolitan statistical area in
which the household is located.
E. "Renewable energy credit" has the same meaning as in section 3210, subsection 2,
paragraph B-2.
2. Competitive solicitation; procurement. By September 1, 2026, the commission
shall initiate a competitive solicitation in order to procure up to 4 megawatts of energy from
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one or more eligible projects. The commission shall select an eligible project or eligible
projects for a contract or contracts under this section as expeditiously as possible, taking
into account a bidder's ability to receive federal grants or tax credits in connection with the
operation of an eligible project.
A. The commission shall determine the value of kilowatt-hour credits received by
customers of a distributed generation resource in accordance with section 3209-A at
the time of the competitive solicitation and require a bidder to state the bid price of the
eligible project's energy as a percentage of that kilowatt-hour credit value over a
proposed contract length not to exceed 20 years.
B. Notwithstanding any provision of this Title to the contrary, the commission shall
select an eligible project for a contract if:
(1) At least one bid is received for an eligible project that meets the requirements
of this subsection; and
(2) The bid price for the eligible project's energy is not greater than the credit value
determined by the commission in accordance with paragraph A.
3. Contract award; terms. A contract entered into pursuant to this section must:
A. Be for a term of no more than 20 years;
B. Include provisions allowing for the commission to periodically increase the contract
price to account for inflation, but only in an amount that the commission determines
necessary to ensure eligible project viability while minimizing impacts to ratepayers;
C. Include provisions ensuring that an eligible project meets the requirements of this
section for the term of the contract;
D. Provide for the sharing of customer usage data and allocation and billing
information between the eligible project and the investor-owned transmission and
distribution utility in whose service territory the eligible project is located;
E. Prohibit the release of a customer's personal information by the eligible project
owner or an entity acting on behalf of the owner or owners without the explicit
affirmative consent of the customer other than for purposes of debt collection or credit
reporting pursuant to state and federal law or to law enforcement agencies pursuant to
lawful process; and
F. Require the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to sell all of the
renewable energy credits generated by the eligible project.
4. Cost recovery. The commission shall ensure that all costs and direct financial
benefits associated with contracts entered into under this section are allocated to ratepayers
in accordance with section 3210-F. A price differential existing at any time during the term
of the contract between the contract price and the prevailing market price at which the
energy generated by an eligible project is sold or any gains or losses derived from contracts
for differences must be reflected in the amounts charged to ratepayers and may not be
considered imprudent.
5. Rules. The commission may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375,
subchapter 2-A.
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Sec. 7. Net energy billing; consumer protections. The Public Utilities
Commission shall amend its rules adopted pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title
35-A, section 3209-A, subsection 5, paragraph E and Public Law 2025, chapter 430, section
15 to:
1. Exempt from the requirements described in Public Law 2025, chapter 430, section
15, subsections 1 and 2, distributed generation resources that are wholly owned by the
customer or customers receiving the net energy billing credits associated with the output
of the distributed generation resource; and
2. Ensure that the prohibition on simultaneous participation in more than one net
energy billing agreement pursuant to Title 35-A, section 3209-A, subsection 3 per
residential account does not apply to net energy billing agreements related to distributed
generation resources in which a customer has an ownership interest. The rules must allow
a customer to have multiple net energy billing agreements with distributed generation
resources in which the customer has an ownership interest and prohibit the customer from
having more than one net energy billing agreement pursuant to Title 35-A, section 3209-A,
subsection 3 per residential account if the customer does not have an ownership interest in
the distributed generation resource.
Notwithstanding any provision of Title 35-A, section 3209-A to the contrary, rules
amended by the commission pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.