Read the full stored bill text
As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 832
2025-2026
Representatives Fischer, Thomas, D.
To
amend section 4928.67 and to enact sections 4928.675, 4928.676,
4928.677, 4928.678, 4928.679, 4928.6710, and 4928.6711 of the Revised
Code
regarding
virtual net metering and meter aggregation.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section
4928.67 be amended and
sections
4928.675, 4928.676, 4928.677, 4928.678, 4928.679, 4928.6710,
and
4928.6711 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
4928.67.
(A)(1)
Except as provided in
division
divisions
(A)(2)
and (3)
of this section, an electric utility shall develop a standard
contract or tariff providing for net metering.
That
contract or tariff shall be identical in rate structure, all retail
rate components, and any monthly charges to the contract or tariff to
which the same customer would be assigned if that customer were not a
customer-generator.
(2)
An electric utility shall also develop a separate standard contract
or tariff providing for net metering for a hospital, as defined in
section 3701.01 of the Revised Code, that is also a
customer-generator, subject to all of the following:
(a)
No limitation, including that in divisions (A)(31)(a) and (d) of
section 4928.01 of the Revised Code, shall apply regarding the
availability of the contract or tariff to such hospital
customer-generators.
(b)
The contract or tariff shall be based both upon the rate structure,
rate components, and any charges to which the hospital would
otherwise be assigned if the hospital were not a customer-generator
and upon the market value of the customer-generated electricity at
the time it is generated.
(c)
The contract or tariff shall allow the hospital customer-generator to
operate its electric generating facilities individually or
collectively without any wattage limitation on size.
(3)
An electric utility shall also develop a separate standard contract
or tariff providing for net metering for a mercantile customer that
is also a customer-generator, subject to all of the following:
(a)
The contract or tariff shall be based upon the rate structure, rate
components, and any charges to which the mercantile customer would
otherwise be assigned if the mercantile customer was not a
customer-generator, except for the customer's transmission rate
structure, transmission rate components, and transmission charges.
(b)
The contract or tariff shall have the option for the mercantile
customer's transmission service costs to be billed and collected by
the mercantile customer's competitive retail electric service
supplier instead of by the mercantile customer's electric utility.
(c)
The capacity of the mercantile customer's net metering system is less
than fifty megawatts.
(B)(1)
Net metering under this section shall be accomplished using a single
meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in each
direction. If its existing electrical meter is not capable of
measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, the
customer-generator shall be responsible for all expenses involved in
purchasing and installing a meter that is capable of measuring
electricity flow in two directions.
(2)
The electric utility, at its own expense and with the written consent
of the customer-generator, may install one or more additional meters
to monitor the flow of electricity in each direction.
(3)
Consistent with the other provisions of this section, the measurement
of net electricity supplied or generated shall be calculated in the
following manner:
(a)
The electric utility shall measure the net electricity produced or
consumed during the billing period, in accordance with normal
metering practices.
(b)
If the electricity supplied by the electric utility exceeds the
electricity generated by the customer-generator and fed back to the
utility during the billing period, the customer-generator shall be
billed for the net electricity supplied by the utility, in accordance
with normal metering practices. If electricity is provided to the
utility, the credits for that electricity shall appear in the next
billing cycle.
(4)
A net metering system used by a customer-generator shall meet all
applicable safety and performance standards established by the
national electrical code, the institute of electrical and electronics
engineers, and underwriters laboratories.
(C)
The public utilities commission shall adopt rules relating to
additional control and testing requirements for customer-generators
that the commission determines are necessary to protect public and
worker safety and system reliability.
(D)
An electric utility shall not require a customer-generator whose net
metering system meets the standards and requirements provided for in
divisions (B)(4) and (C) of this section to do any of the following:
(1)
Comply with additional safety or performance standards;
(2)
Perform or pay for additional tests;
(3)
Purchase additional liability insurance.
Sec.
4928.675.
As
used in sections 4928.675 to 4928.6711 of the Revised Code:
(A)
"Large industrial customer" means any manufacturer that
primarily uses electricity in a process that transforms raw or
unfinished materials into a different form or product and that
receives service from an electric distribution utility at primary
voltage, subtransmission voltage, or transmission voltage.
(B)
"Virtual net metering" means measuring the difference in an
applicable billing period between the electricity supplied by an
electric utility and the electricity from a virtual net metering
system attributed to a virtual net metering customer that is fed to
the electric utility.
(C)
"Virtual net metering customer" means a person, including a
hospital as defined in section 3701.01 of the Revised Code, that
contracts for or otherwise acquires electricity generated by a
virtual net metering system. "Virtual net metering customer"
does not include a residential customer.
(D)
"Virtual net metering system" means a facility that
satisfies all of the requirements of section 4928.676 of the Revised
Code.
Sec.
4928.676.
A
virtual net metering system shall satisfy all of the following:
(A)
The system is a facility for the production of electrical energy.
(B)(1)
The system, subject to divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, uses
as its fuel either solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or hydropower,
or uses a microturbine, natural gas-fired generator, battery-storage
system, or a fuel cell.
(2)
If the system uses either a battery-storage system or natural
gas-fired generator, then the battery-storage system or generator
shall not be sized so as to exceed the size of any co-located
facility using solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or hydropower as
its fuel.
(3)
If the system uses both a battery-storage system and natural
gas-fired generator, then the combined nameplate capacity of the
system and the generator shall not be sized so as to exceed the size
of any co-located facility using solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas,
or hydropower as its fuel.
(C)
The system is not a net metering system.
(D)
The system is not located on agricultural land as defined in section
901.61 of the Revised Code.
(E)
The system is located on one of the following:
(1)
A mine as defined in section 1561.01 of the Revised Code;
(2)
A brownfield as defined in section 122.6511 of the Revised Code;
(3)
A site, location, tract of land, installation, or building for
incineration, composting, sanitary landfilling, or other approved
methods of disposal of solid wastes as defined in section 3734.01 of
the Revised Code;
(4)
Property owned by a county land reutilization corporation as defined
in section 1724.01 of the Revised Code;
(5)
A disposal system as defined in section 6111.01 of the Revised Code;
(6)
The roof of a facility that is used exclusively for commercial or
industrial purposes.
(F)
The system is in the certified territory of the electric utility that
provides electric service to all electric meters that the virtual net
metering customer intends to attribute electricity to or aggregate
with under section 4928.6710 of the Revised Code.
(G)
The system operates in parallel with the electric utility's
transmission and distribution facilities.
(H)
The system is sized so as to not exceed one hundred twenty per cent
of the customer's requirements for electricity at the time of
interconnection, as determined pursuant to section 4928.678 of the
Revised Code, regardless of whether the customer intends to take
service through an electric utility or a competitive retail electric
service provider.
(I)
The virtual net metering customer maintains an electric meter where
the system is located.
(J)
The system serves exactly one virtual net metering customer.
Sec.
4928.677.
A
virtual net metering system may be located on the same site as one or
more other virtual net metering systems.
Sec.
4928.678.
(A)
The electric utility shall communicate with and assist a virtual net
metering customer or person interested in becoming a virtual net
metering customer in calculating the customer's or prospective
customer's requirements for electricity based on both of the
following:
(1)
The average amount of electricity supplied by the electric utility to
the customer annually over the previous three years;
(2)
The average amount of electricity supplied by the electric utility in
any hour within the previous three years, including during electric
system coincidental peak hours.
(B)
In instances in which the electric utility cannot provide data
without divulging confidential or proprietary information, or in
circumstances in which the electric utility does not have the data or
cannot calculate the requirements for electricity described in
division (A) of this section due to new construction, vacant
properties, facility expansions, or other unique circumstances, the
electric utility shall use any available consumption data or measures
to establish an appropriate consumption estimate.
(C)
Upon request from any virtual net metering customer or person
interested in becoming a virtual net metering customer, the electric
utility shall provide or make available to the customer or
prospective customer either the average electricity supplied and
coincident peak power to the customer over the previous three years
or a reasonable consumption estimate for the customer.
Sec.
4928.679.
(A)(1)
An electric utility shall develop a standard contract or tariff
providing for virtual net metering. The contract or tariff shall be
similar in rate structure, all retail rate components, and any
monthly charges to the contract or tariff to which the same customer
would be assigned if that customer was not a virtual net metering
customer, except for the customer's transmission rate structure,
transmission rate components, and transmission charges. The contract
or tariff shall provide that any credit for electricity supplied or
generated by the virtual net metering system applies only to the
generation and transmission charges imposed on the virtual net
metering customer, and the virtual net metering customer shall be
billed for all distribution related charges.
(2)
The contract or tariff providing for virtual net metering shall have
the option for the mercantile customer's transmission service costs
to be billed and collected by the mercantile customer's competitive
retail electric service supplier instead of by the mercantile
customer's electric utility.
(B)
Consistent with the other provisions of this section, the measurement
of net electricity supplied or generated for virtual net metering
shall be calculated in the following manner:
(1)
The electric utility shall measure the amount of electricity
generated by the virtual net metering system and attributed to the
virtual net metering customer during the billing period.
(2)
The electric utility shall measure the amount of electricity consumed
by the virtual net metering customer during the billing period.
(3)
The electric utility shall measure the net electricity produced or
consumed during the billing period using the difference between the
amounts measured in divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, in
accordance with normal metering practices.
(C)
If the electricity supplied by the electric utility exceeds the
electricity generated by the virtual net metering system attributed
to the virtual net metering customer and fed to the utility during
the billing period, the virtual net metering customer shall be billed
for the net electricity supplied by the utility, in accordance with
normal metering practices.
(D)
If the electric utility receives more electricity from the virtual
net metering customer than the utility supplied to the customer
during the billing period, the excess electricity generated shall be
converted to a monetary credit equivalent to the value of all
standard charges associated with transmission, whether based in
kilowatt hours or kilowatts, other than disaster recovery fees
approved by the public utilities commission, and all standard charges
associated with generation of the electric utility's standard service
offer and shall carry forward as a monetary credit on the customer's
future bills until applied completely against the customer's charges.
The monetary credit shall not exceed generation and transmission
savings realized by the electric utility. The monetary credit shall
be applied only to the generation and transmission portions of the
virtual net metering customer's bills. The electric utility shall not
be required to pay the monetary credit, other than to credit it to
future bills, and the monetary credit may be lost if a virtual net
metering customer does not use the credit or stops taking service
from the electric utility.
(E)
A virtual net metering system shall meet all applicable safety and
performance standards established by the national electrical code,
the institute of electrical and electronics engineers, and
underwriters laboratories.
(F)
An electric utility shall not require a virtual net metering customer
or other person who owns a virtual net metering system that meets the
standards and requirements provided for in division (E) of this
section and in section 4928.6711 of the Revised Code to do any of the
following:
(1)
Comply with additional safety or performance standards;
(2)
Perform or pay for additional tests;
(3)
Purchase additional liability insurance.
(G)
No residential customer or large industrial customer shall be
required to incur any costs or be charged, directly or indirectly,
for any costs related to virtual net metering.
Sec.
4928.6710.
A
virtual net metering customer may aggregate any or all of the
customer's electric meters that are in the same electric utility
certified territory as a virtual net metering system where the
electricity generated by the system is attributable to the customer.
Sec.
4928.6711.
The
public utilities commission shall adopt rules to administer virtual
net metering and meter aggregation under sections 4928.675 to
4928.6710 of the Revised Code, including rules relating to additional
control and testing requirements for virtual net metering systems
that the commission determines are necessary to protect public and
worker safety and system reliability.
Section
2.
That
existing section 4928.67 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.