Establish community energy program and pilot program

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
S. B. No. 231

2025-2026

Senators Romanchuk, Smith

To
amend
section

4928.02
and to enact sections 1.66
,
519.216
,
4934.01, 4934.011, 4934.04, 4934.05, 4934.06, 4934.07, 4934.071,
4934.072, 4934.08, 4934.09, 4934.10, 4934.11, 4934.12, 4934.13,
4934.14
,
4934.15, 4934.16
,
4934.17, 4934.18, 4934.20, 4934.21, 4934.23, 4934.25, 4934.26,
4934.27, 4934.35, 4934.36, 4934.37, and 4934.38 of the Revised Code

to
establish the community energy program and pilot program and to
define electricity measurement in alternating current.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That

section

4928.02
be amended and sections 1.66
,
519.216
,
4934.01, 4934.011, 4934.04, 4934.05, 4934.06, 4934.07, 4934.071,
4934.072, 4934.08, 4934.09, 4934.10, 4934.11, 4934.12, 4934.13,
4934.14
,
4934.15, 4934.16
,
4934.17, 4934.18, 4934.20, 4934.21, 4934.23, 4934.25, 4934.26,
4934.27, 4934.35, 4934.36, 4934.37, and 4934.38 of the Revised Code
be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
1.66.

As used in the Revised Code, unless the context requires otherwise,
all measures of electricity described in watts, kilowatts, megawatts,
or any derivative thereof means such electricity expressed in
alternating current.

Sec.
519.216.
(A)
As used in this section, "community energy facility" has
the same meaning as in section 4934.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
Not later than ninety days after the public meeting regarding the
construction and operation of a community energy facility is held
pursuant to section 4934.16 of the Revised Code, or rules adopted
under division (B)(1)(b) of section 4934.15 of the Revised Code
regarding a modified facility proposal, the board of township
trustees may adopt a resolution that does either of the following:

(1)
Prohibits the construction of the facility;

(2)
Limits the boundaries of the proposed facility to a smaller
geographic area of the township, completely within what was proposed
by the person proposing to construct and operate the facility.

(C)
If no resolution is adopted within the time required under this
section, or rules adopted under division (B)(1)(b) of section 4934.15
of the Revised Code regarding a modified facility proposal,
construction of the facility may commence.

(D)
No resolution adopted under this section prevents a person from
filing another proposal for consideration by the board of township
trustees at a later date.

Sec.
4928.02.
It
is the policy of this state to do the following throughout this
state:

(A)
Ensure the availability to consumers of adequate, reliable, safe,
efficient, nondiscriminatory, and reasonably priced retail electric
service;

(B)
Ensure the availability of unbundled and comparable retail electric
service that provides consumers with the supplier, price, terms,
conditions, and quality options they elect to meet their respective
needs;

(C)
Ensure diversity of electricity supplies and suppliers, by giving
consumers effective choices over the selection of those supplies and
suppliers and by encouraging the development of distributed and small
generation facilities;

(D)
Encourage innovation and market access for cost-effective supply- and
demand-side retail electric service including, but not limited to,
demand-side management, time-differentiated pricing, waste energy
recovery systems, smart grid programs, and implementation of advanced
metering infrastructure;

(E)
Encourage cost-effective and efficient access to information
regarding the operation of the transmission and distribution systems
of electric utilities in order to promote both effective customer
choice of retail electric service and the development of performance
standards and targets for service quality for all consumers,
including annual achievement reports written in plain language;

(F)
Ensure that an electric utility's transmission and distribution
systems are available to a customer-generator or owner of distributed
generation, so that the customer-generator or owner can market and
deliver the electricity it produces;

(G)
Recognize the continuing emergence of competitive electricity markets
through the development and implementation of flexible regulatory
treatment;

(H)
Ensure effective competition in the provision of retail electric
service by avoiding anticompetitive subsidies flowing from a
noncompetitive retail electric service to a competitive retail
electric service or to a product or service other than retail
electric service, and vice versa, including by prohibiting the
recovery of any generation-related costs through distribution or
transmission rates;

(I)
Ensure retail electric service consumers protection against
unreasonable sales practices, market deficiencies, and market power;

(J)
Provide coherent, transparent means of giving appropriate incentives
to technologies that can adapt successfully to potential
environmental mandates;

(K)
Encourage implementation of distributed generation across customer
classes through regular review and updating of administrative rules
governing critical issues such as, but not limited to,
interconnection standards, standby charges, and net metering;

(L)
Protect at-risk populations, including, but not limited to, when
considering the implementation of any new advanced energy or
renewable energy resource;

(M)
Encourage the education of small business owners in this state
regarding the use of, and encourage the use of, energy efficiency
programs and alternative energy resources in their businesses;

(N)
Facilitate the state's effectiveness in the global economy.

(O)
Encourage cost-effective, timely, and efficient access to and sharing
of customer usage data with customers and competitive suppliers to
promote customer choice and grid modernization.

(P)
Ensure that a customer's data is provided in a standard format and
provided to third parties in as close to real time as is economically
justifiable in order to spur economic investment and improve the
energy options of individual customers.

(Q)
Encourage the development of community energy facilities, as defined
in section 4934.01 of the Revised Code, for the benefit of customers
in this state and to facilitate participation by customers with the
facilities.

(R)
Establish a community energy pilot program, pursuant to sections
4934.04 to 4934.17 and 4934.25 to 4934.27 of the Revised Code.

(S)
Establish program evaluations and consumer protections ensuring
community energy subscribers are effectively and equitably receiving
guaranteed savings, as defined in section 4934.01 of the Revised
Code, from participating in the community energy pilot program.

In
carrying out this policy, the commission shall consider rules as they
apply to the costs of electric distribution infrastructure,
including, but not limited to, line extensions, for the purpose of
development in this state.

Sec.
4934.01.
As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Bill credit" means the monetary value approved or revised
under section 4934.08 or 4934.09 of the Revised Code by the public
utilities commission for each kilowatt hour of electricity generated
by a community energy facility.

(B)
"Certified territory," "electric distribution
utility," and "energy storage" have the same meanings
as in section 4928.01 of the Revised Code.

(C)
"Commercial or public sector rooftop" means either of the
following that is located within an electric distribution utility's
certified territory:

(1)
The roof of a building located on commercial real estate as defined
in section 1311.85 of the Revised Code;

(2)
Any property owned by a public authority as defined in section
1311.25 of the Revised Code.

(D)
"Community energy facility" means a single facility that
does the following:

(1)
Generates electricity by means of a solar photovoltaic device or uses
as its fuel either solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or
hydroelectric power, or uses a microturbine, natural gas-fired
generator, energy storage system, or a fuel cell;

(2)
Meets all of the following requirements:

(a)
The facility is located in this state and is directly connected to an
electric distribution utility's distribution system.

(b)
The facility has at least three subscribers.

(c)
The facility is located on one parcel of land and, except as provided
in section 4934.011 of the Revised Code, there is no community energy
facility on the same or a contiguous parcel that is developed, owned,
or operated by the same entity, affiliated entity, or entity under
common control.

(d)
No subscriber holds more than a forty per cent proportional interest
in the output of the system, which shall be measured as the sum total
of all meters on the subscriber's property.

(e)
Not less than sixty per cent of the facility capacity shall be
subscribed by subscriptions of forty kilowatts or less based on the
average annual demand for the prior twelve-month period. For purposes
of this division, a multi-unit building served by a single meter
shall be considered a single customer provided the average usage,
based on the number of units, is forty kilowatts or less.

(f)
The facility has a nameplate capacity of ten or less megawatts, or
twenty or less megawatts if the facility is on a distressed site or
one or more commercial or public sector rooftops, as measured at the
point of interconnection.

(g)
The facility is not under the control of an electric distribution
utility, but may be under the control of an affiliate of the utility.

(3)(a)
If the facility uses either an energy storage system or natural
gas-fired generator, then the energy storage system or generator is
not sized so as to exceed the size of any co-located facility using
solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or hydroelectric power as its
fuel.

(b)
If the system uses both an energy storage system and natural
gas-fired generator, then the combined nameplate capacity of the
storage system and generator is not sized so as to exceed the size of
any co-located facility using solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, or
hydroelectric power as its fuel.

(E)
"Community energy organization" means a for-profit or
nonprofit entity that operates one or more community energy
facilities.

(F)
"Distressed site" means a site made up of one or more
parcels of land, located within an electric distribution utility's
certified territory where the majority of the acreage is at least one
or more of the following:

(1)
A brownfield as defined in section 122.6511 of the Revised Code;

(2)
A parcel that is within an area where an investor may receive a new
markets tax credit under section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code;

(3)
A solid waste facility licensed by the environmental protection
agency under section 3734.02 of the Revised Code;

(4)
A parcel of land that is described by division (b)(11)(B)(iii) of
section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code;

(5)
Land or structure owned by a metropolitan housing authority, as
described in section 3735.27 of the Revised Code;

(6)
Land owned by a county land reutilization corporation as defined in
section 1724.01 of the Revised Code.

(G)
"Guaranteed savings" means the realized savings by the
subscriber as the difference between the cost of a subscription to a
community energy facility and the bill credit received for the
generation attributed to the subscription.

(H)
"Large industrial customer" means any manufacturer that
uses electricity primarily in a process involving a change of raw or
unfinished materials into another form or product, and that takes
service from an electric distribution utility at primary voltage,
subtransmission voltage, or transmission voltage.

(I)
"Net crediting" means a program offered by an electric
distribution utility under which the electric utility does the
following:

(1)
Issues a customer, who is a subscriber, a consolidated electric bill
that includes on the customer's monthly bill the electric utility
charges for electric service, the community energy subscription
charge, and any bill credit;

(2)
Remits the customer's subscription fee to the owner or operator of
the community energy organization to which the customer subscribes.

(J)
"Non-ministerial permit" means all necessary and
discretionary governmental permits and approvals to construct a
community energy facility notwithstanding any pending legal challenge
to one or more permits or approvals.

(K)
"Subscriber" means any retail electric customer who meets
all of the following:

(1)
The customer has a single unique tax identification number;

(2)
The customer has an electric meter on the customer's property;

(3)
The customer resides within the certified territory of an electric
distribution utility;

(4)
The customer contracts for a subscription from a community energy
facility located in the same certified territory as the customer;

(5)
The customer resides in the same, or a contiguous, county where the
facility is located;

(6)
The customer is not a large industrial customer.

(L)
"Subscription" means the right to obtain from a community
energy organization an allocation of bill credits for electricity
generated by a community energy facility.

(M)
"Unsubscribed electricity" means any electricity generated
by a community energy facility that is not attributable to a
subscription.

(N)
"Value stack" means distributed generation compensation
calculated under section 4934.09 of the Revised Code that recognizes
the benefits that community energy facilities bring to the electrical
grid, including all of the following:

(1)
Avoided costs for generation, capacity, and transmission;

(2)
Deferred transmission distribution investments;

(3)
Avoided line loss;

(4)
Increased resiliency;

(5)
Other benefits associated with locally produced electricity.

Sec.
4934.011.
A
community energy facility may be placed on the same parcel or a
contiguous parcel of land as a community energy facility that is
developed, owned, or operated by the same entity, affiliated entity,
or entity under common control if at least one of the following is
met:

(A)
The parcel or parcels of land are a distressed site or the facility
is on one or more commercial or public sector rooftops, and the total
capacity of all community energy facilities on the parcel or parcels
does not exceed twenty megawatts.

(B)
All of the following are satisfied:

(1)
The community energy facility is to be located on a parcel of land,
or multiple parcels of land, that were created prior to the effective
date of this section.

(2)
The total capacity of all community energy facilities on the parcel
or parcels of land does not exceed ten megawatts.

(3)
Each community energy facility has its own distinct point of
interconnection with the serving electric distribution utility,
including separate and distinct metering and the ability to be
directly connected to or disconnected from the utility.

(4)
The generation components of each community energy facility are
separate, including separate fencing, and not connected with
neighboring facilities other than by the utility's distribution
system.

(5)
Each community energy facility shares only non-operational
infrastructure, including access roads, utility poles, and other
features necessary to provide utility and physical access to each
facility.

Sec.
4934.04.
The
public utilities commission shall establish a community energy pilot
program, as described in sections 4934.05 to 4934.16 and 4934.25 to
4934.27 of the Revised Code, consisting of one thousand five hundred
megawatts to be implemented throughout this state.

Sec.
4934.05.
(A)
The public utilities commission shall annually certify two hundred
fifty megawatts of community energy facilities, based on nameplate
capacity, until one thousand megawatts from such facilities are
certified.

(B)
All megawatts certified pursuant to this section shall be allocated
proportionally based on the size of each utility's retail electric
sales published by the energy information administration.

(C)
Any uncertified megawatts for a year carry over to the subsequent
year until all available megawatts are certified.

(D)
All megawatts certified pursuant to this section shall be certified
in the order that the certification applications were received.

(E)
If applications for certification exceed the total capacity available
for the year, then the applications shall be placed on a wait list as
determined by the commission. Once certification of one thousand
megawatts for community energy facilities has occurred, the wait list
shall be eliminated.

(F)
The commission shall ensure that certification under this section is
separate from a certification process required under sections 4928.64
to 4928.645 of the Revised Code, or any related rules in the Ohio
Administrative Code.

Sec.
4934.06.
(A)
The public utilities commission shall certify five hundred megawatts
of community energy facilities, in addition to the megawatts
certified under section 4934.05 of the Revised Code, which shall be
reserved for community energy facilities constructed exclusively on
distressed sites or one or more commercial or public sector rooftops.

(B)
The commission shall ensure that certification under this section is
separate from a certification process required under sections 4928.64
to 4928.645 of the Revised Code, or any related rules in the
Administrative Code.

(C)
After all megawatts are certified pursuant to this section, a
community energy facility on a distressed site or a commercial or
public sector rooftop may be certified from the megawatts allocated
under section 4934.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4934.07.
(A)
An electric distribution utility with a community energy facility in
its certified territory shall allocate bill credits for all
electricity generated by the facility that is attributable to a
subscription.

(B)(1)
A community energy organization may account for unsubscribed
electricity on a monthly basis and accumulate bill credits for the
unsubscribed electricity for a period of up to twelve months after it
was generated.

(2)
Bill credits for unsubscribed electricity accumulated under division
(B)(1) of this section shall be allocated to future subscribers at
the direction of the community energy organization.

(C)
At least once annually, a community energy organization shall furnish
to the electric distribution utility in whose certified territory the
community energy facility is located an allocation for distribution
of bill credits to subscribers for unsubscribed electricity.

(D)
A community energy organization shall forfeit, to the electric
distribution utility in whose certified territory the community
energy facility is located, any bill credits for unsubscribed
electricity that are not allocated pursuant to division (B) of this
section.

Sec.
4934.071.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Regional governmental aggregator" means a regional council
of governments established under Chapter 167. of the Revised Code
with members in at least seventeen counties that is also a
governmental aggregator under section 4928.20 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Renewable attributes" means any of the following that are
attributable to a community energy facility or the electricity
generated by a facility provided by the federal or state government
or any other legislative authority of a political subdivision in the
state:

(a)
Any credits, certificates, benefits, or offsets and allowances
computed on the basis of a community energy facility's displacement
of fossil fuel-derived, or other conventional, electric generation;

(b)
Any renewable energy credits or any other environmental certificates
issued or administered in connection with electricity generated from
a community energy facility;

(c)
Any voluntary emission reduction credits obtained, or obtainable, in
connection with the electric generation from a community energy
facility.

(B)
A regional governmental aggregator may purchase any amount of
renewable attributes from a community energy facility.

Sec.
4934.072.
A
large industrial customer shall not participate in the community
energy pilot program or be charged, directly or indirectly, for any
costs related to the community energy pilot program.

Sec.
4934.08.
(A)
As used in this section, "retail rate" means all costs of
providing generation service, transmission service, and distribution
service that may be charged by an electric distribution utility.

(B)
A subscriber to a community energy facility shall be eligible for a
bill credit from the subscriber's electric distribution utility for
the proportional output of a community energy facility attributable
to the subscriber.

(C)
The public utilities commission shall establish the bill credit for
each subscriber, subject to divisions (D) and (E) of this section,
that is equal to the utility's retail rate on a per-customer class
basis, minus only the utility's base charge for distribution service
approved under Chapter 4909. of the Revised Code and the utility's
distribution riders or other distribution charges approved under
Chapter 4928. of the Revised Code.

(D)
When determining the bill credit for each utility, the commission
shall ensure that the bill credit is set at a reasonably compensatory
level to create a financeable community energy market.

(E)
When determining the bill credit for each utility, the commission
shall consider all of the following:

(1)
The costs and benefits provided by community energy facilities
participating in the community energy pilot program;

(2)
All proposed rules, fees, and charges;

(3)
Any other item that the commission determines is necessary.

(F)
The bill credit initially established under this section shall not be
modified unless the commission determines, after the community energy
pilot program review under section 4934.37 of the Revised Code is
completed, that such changes are necessary to adjust for unallocated
community energy capacity. Upon making such determination, the bill
credit shall be modified pursuant to section 4934.09 of the Revised
Code.

(G)
The utility shall publish new tariffs or update existing tariffs
based on the bill credit set under this section not later than nine
months after the effective date of this section.

Sec.
4934.09.
(A)
If the public utilities commission determines that a bill credit
modification is necessary pursuant to division (F) of section 4934.08
of the Revised Code, the commission shall calculate the value stack
for each electric distribution utility and use it to revise the bill
credit.

(B)
The commission shall approve a tariff based on the revised bill
credit rate not later than twelve months after the report under
section 4934.37 of the Revised Code is submitted.

Sec.
4934.10.
Any
bill credit exceeding a subscriber's monthly bill amount shall carry
forward until fully allocated to the subscriber's bill or until the
termination of the subscriber's community energy organization
subscription.

Sec.
4934.11.
No
subscriber may obtain a subscription for electricity generated by a
community energy facility representing more than one hundred per cent
of the subscriber's average annual electricity usage.

Sec.
4934.12.
A
subscription shall be considered one of the following:

(A)
A consumer transaction subject to Chapter 1345. of the Revised Code
regarding the enrollment of residential subscribers to obtain an
allocation of bill credits;

(B)
Goods subject to Chapter 1302. of the Revised Code regarding the
enrollment of nonresidential subscribers to obtain an allocation of
bill credits.

Sec.
4934.13.
An
electric distribution utility shall interconnect a community energy
facility that is in that utility's certified territory to its
distribution system within a reasonable time after the facility is
constructed and shall ensure such interconnections are made
efficiently, safely, and in compliance with any applicable federal
and state regulations and standards.

Sec.
4934.14.
An
electric distribution utility shall not discriminate against
community energy facilities or their subscribers, which includes
adding extraordinary fees and charges not applied to similar
facilities.

Sec.
4934.15.
(A)
No person shall commence construction of a community energy facility
in a township unless both of the following apply:

(1)
The person holds a public meeting as described in section 4934.16 of
the Revised Code.

(2)
The board of township trustees where the facility is proposed to be
located fails to adopt a resolution under section 519.216 of the
Revised Code.

(B)
The public utilities commission shall adopt rules to implement this
section and section 4934.16 of the Revised Code, including rules that
provide for the decertification of the megawatts for a community
energy facility if the board of township trustees in the township in
which the facility is to be located adopts a resolution under section
519.216 of the Revised Code. The rules shall also provide for the
following regarding those decertified megawatts:

(1)(a)
In the case of a resolution adopted under division (B)(1) of section
519.216 of the Revised Code, certification of those megawatts for the
next community energy facility on the wait list, if any, pursuant to
division (E) of section 4934.05 of the Revised Code;

(b)
In the case of a resolution adopted under division (B)(2) of section
519.216 of the Revised Code, requirements and procedures for
recertification of some or all of the decertified megawatts for the
community energy facility subject to the resolution if the facility
proposal is modified to meet the limitations of the resolution. The
requirements and procedures shall be consistent with the requirements
of division (A) of this section and sections 519.216 and 4934.16 of
the Revised Code. Decertified megawatts not included in the modified
proposal shall be certified for the next community energy facility on
the wait list, if any, pursuant to division (E) of section 4934.05 of
the Revised Code.

(2)
If a recertified community energy facility under a proposal modified
under rules adopted under division (B)(1)(b) of this section is
subsequently subjected to a resolution adopted under section 519.216
of the Revised Code, certification of those megawatts for the next
community energy facility on the wait list, if any, pursuant to
division (E) of section 4934.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4934.16.
(A)
A person intending to construct a community energy facility in whole
or in part within the boundary of a township shall hold a public
meeting in each township where the facility is to be located.

(B)
The applicant shall provide written notice of the public meeting to
the boards of trustees of every township in which the facility will
be located. Notice shall be provided at least fourteen days prior to
the meeting.

(C)
At the public meeting, the person intending to construct and operate
a community energy facility shall provide the following information
to the board of township trustees:

(1)
The type of fuel source the facility will utilize;

(2)
The maximum nameplate capacity of the facility;

(3)
A map of the proposed geographic boundaries of the project within
that township.

(D)
All of the information described in division (C) of this section
shall be submitted to the board of township trustees in written form
at the public meeting.

Sec.
4934.17.
(A)
An electric distribution utility may establish a net crediting
program under which the electric distribution utility shall enter
into a net crediting agreement with a community energy organization.
The terms of an agreement shall specify that authorization by or on
behalf of a subscriber is required before a subscriber may be billed
by the electric distribution utility under the program. An agreement
also shall specify the terms for payments made by the electric
distribution utility to the community energy organization, which
terms may include a net crediting fee of not more than one per cent
of the subscription fee to be deducted from the electric distribution
utility's payment to the community energy organization.

(B)
Under a net crediting agreement, an electric distribution utility
shall do the following:

(1)
Remit, through an electronic funds transfer, the cash value of the
subscriber's subscription fee, less any net crediting fee, to the
community energy organization not later than thirty days after the
billing period;

(2)
Issue electric distribution utility customers who are subscribers an
itemized monthly bill that includes, in addition to charges described
in division (B)(4) of this section, the subscriber's bill credit for
the billing period and the subscriber's subscription fee;

(3)
Process monthly bills for subscribers who participate in low-income
customer assistance programs or budget billing programs in the same
manner as bills for customers who are not participating in such
programs;

(4)
Bill for all basic electric services, including transmission,
distribution, and generation charges, consistent with this section
and commission regulations.

Sec.
4934.18.
An
electric distribution utility that enters into a net crediting
agreement with a community energy organization shall prioritize
payments from a customer who is a subscriber for each billing period
according to this section. Past due subscriber fees owed to a
community energy organization shall be paid prior to payments to the
electric distribution utility for any arrearages on the customer's
electric service bill. The electric distribution utility shall not
apply a customer's bill credit to a customer's outstanding balance
for electric service for the billing period.

Sec.
4934.20.
A
nonresidential customer that subscribes to multiple community energy
facilities may participate in the net crediting program only if each
facility is included in a net crediting agreement under sections
4934.17 to 4934.23 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4934.21.
The
minimum service requirements established under section 4928.10 of the
Revised Code apply to sections 4934.17 to 4934.23 of the Revised
Code.

Sec.
4934.23.
The
public utilities commission shall adopt rules to implement net
crediting programs authorized under sections 4934.17 to 4934.23 of
the Revised Code.

Sec.
4934.25.
(A)
A community energy organization that constructs a community energy
facility on a distressed site that is a brownfield, as defined in
section 122.6511 of the Revised Code, shall be eligible to receive a
grant awarded by the department of development from the brownfield
remediation program under section 122.6511 of the Revised Code for
costs associated with construction and remediation.

(B)
The department of development shall promulgate rules for awarding
grants described in this section.

Sec.
4934.26.
(A)
The public utilities commission shall convene and facilitate an
ongoing stakeholder working group to assist commission staff with
effectively and efficiently promulgating rules for the community
energy pilot program.

(B)
The working group shall consist of the following:

(1)
Electric distribution utilities;

(2)
Consumer advocates;

(3)
Community energy industry representatives;

(4)
Other interested parties.

Sec.
4934.27.
Not
later than six months after the effective date of this section, the
public utilities commission, with assistance from the working group
established by section 4934.26 of the Revised Code shall promulgate
rules to implement the community energy program, which shall include
rules for the creation and establishment of community energy
facilities, and the following:

(A)
The certification of community energy facilities, which shall include
rules for the commission to approve or deny each facility application
within ninety days, unless good cause is shown for not meeting the
deadline, as determined by the commission;

(B)
Prohibit removing a subscriber from the subscriber's applicable
customer class because of the subscriber's subscription to a
community energy facility;

(C)
Reasonably allow for the transfer and portability of subscriptions,
including allowing a subscriber to retain a subscription to a
facility if the subscriber moves within the same electric
distribution utility's service territory;

(D)
Modify existing interconnection standards, fees, and processes as
needed to facilitate the efficient and cost-effective interconnection
of community energy facilities that allow an electric distribution
utility to recover reasonable interconnection costs for each
facility;

(E)
Require each electric distribution utility to efficiently connect a
community energy facility to its electrical distribution grid and not
to discriminate against facilities or subscribers;

(F)
Provide for consumer protection in accordance with existing laws and
regulations, including any protections against disconnection of
service;

(G)
Establish robust consumer protections for subscribers, including at
least the following:

(1)
A standardized customer disclosure form for residential subscribers;

(2)
Prohibiting upfront sign-on fees or credit checks;

(3)
Preventing early termination charges to any subscriber who
unsubscribes.

(H)
Allow an electric distribution utility to recover reasonable costs
associated with administering the community energy pilot program;

(I)
Ensure that costs associated with the community energy pilot program
only be recovered from customer classes participating in the program
and that no cross-subsidization of costs between customer classes
occurs;

(J)
Ensure facilities qualifying for the community energy pilot program
have a signed interconnection agreement or a system impact study, as
determined by the commission, can demonstrate site control, and have
received all applicable non-ministerial permits;

(K)
Require each community energy organization to send a notice in a
standardized format containing information related to subscriber
enrollment to the electric distribution utility that services the
area where the organization's community energy facility is sited;

(L)
Not later than nine months after the effective date of this section,
require each electric distribution utility to publish new tariffs or
update existing tariffs to implement the community energy pilot
program;

(M)
Establish community energy pilot program evaluations and consumer
protections to ensure that subscribers are effectively and equitably
receiving guaranteed savings from participating in the community
energy pilot program;

(N)
Require a community energy organization to be responsible for the
decommissioning of a community energy facility pursuant to sections
4934.35 and 4934.36 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4934.35.
(A)
Not later than eighteen months after a community energy facility has
ceased generating electricity, a community energy organization shall
commence decommissioning of the facility.

(B)
The decommissioning described in division (A) of this section shall
include the following, to be mutually agreed to in writing by the
property owner or owners and the organization:

(1)
The removal, and potential reuse and recycling, of solar panels and
other community energy equipment, and the remediation of the site;

(2)
The removal of all non-utility-owned equipment, graveled areas, and
access roads;

(3)
The replacement of any topsoil that was removed for the construction
of the facility and reseeding of the cleared area.

(C)
Not more than twenty per cent of the total combined mass of the
community energy facility may enter a landfill.

Sec.
4934.36.
(A)
A community energy organization shall maintain sufficient financial
assurances, in the form of a bond, through the life of a community
energy facility's operation to provide for decommissioning as
described in section 4934.35 of the Revised Code.

(B)
The amount of the bond shall be calculated by a third-party
professional engineer obtained by the organization. Every five years
from the date of the initial assessment, the bond amount shall be
recalculated in the same manner.

(C)
The board of county commissioners where the project is located shall
be the obligee of the bond.

Sec.
4934.37.
(A)
The public utilities commission shall conduct reviews of the
community energy pilot program forty-eight months after the rules for
the program have been promulgated and submit a report to the general
assembly with the following information:

(1)
The number and location of operating community energy facilities;

(2)
The amount of nameplate capacity certified;

(3)
The number of subscribers, how much energy was subscribed to by those
subscribers, and the types of customer classes that subscribed;

(4)
Whether guaranteed savings were achieved by the subscribers.

(B)
The commission shall promulgate rules to require community energy
organizations and electric distribution utilities to provide the
commission with a report containing the relevant information
described in division (A) of this section.

Sec.
4934.38.
Notwithstanding
any provision of section 121.95 of the Revised Code to the contrary,
a regulatory restriction contained in a rule adopted under sections
4934.15, 4934.23, 4934.25, 4934.27, and 4934.37 of the Revised Code
is not subject to sections 121.95 to 121.953 of the Revised Code.

Section
2.
That
existing
section

4928.02
of the Revised Code
is

hereby
repealed.