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HB0183 • 2025
Net metering amendments.
AN ACT relating to electric utilities; amending the generation capacity for net metering systems; providing for the aggregation of net metering systems; authorizing customer-generators with specified net metering systems to charge a customer-generator fee or increase in a monthly fee; providing and amending definitions; and providing for an effective date.
Energy
Did Not Pass
The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.
- Sponsor
- Representative Heiner
- Last action
- 2025-03-04
- Official status
- inactive
- Effective date
- 3/1/2025
Plain English Breakdown
The bill did not pass and was not signed into law, so the exact impact of its provisions cannot be determined.
Changes to Net Metering Rules
The bill changes rules for net metering systems used by customers who generate their own electricity and allows them to charge fees under certain conditions.
What This Bill Does
- Raises the limit on how much power a small home-based system can produce from 25 kilowatts to 200 kilowatts for non-residential use.
- Allows people with larger net metering systems (over 25 kilowatts) to charge fees if approved by the commission.
- Permits customers to combine multiple meters that are part of their net metering system and served by the same power line.
Who It Names or Affects
- Electric utility customers who generate their own electricity using net metering systems.
- Electric utilities that provide service to these customer-generators.
Terms To Know
- Net Metering System
- A system for producing electrical energy, usually at a home or business, which can feed electricity back into the power grid.
- Customer-Generator
- An electric utility customer who generates their own electricity using a net metering system.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill did not pass and was not signed into law.
- Details about how fees will be set for larger systems are limited to approval by the commission, which means specifics depend on future decisions.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment changes rules for net metering systems by allowing certain customer-generators to charge fees and removing some reporting requirements.
- Allows customer-generators with specific net metering systems to charge a fee or increase their monthly fee under certain conditions.
- Removes the requirement for reports from public utilities.
- Limits the ability of electric utilities to impose additional charges on customer-generators unless they operate a system larger than 25 kilowatts and get approval from the commission.
- The amendment text does not provide details about what specific conditions are required for charging fees or getting commission approval.
- Some parts of the original bill's language have been deleted, but it is unclear how this will affect other sections of the bill that were not shown in the amendment.
Plain English: The amendment modifies net metering rules for electric utilities in Wyoming, adding provisions related to cooperative utility rates and customer-generator fees.
- Adds a new provision allowing cooperative electric utilities not subject to commission rate regulation to set separate rates and terms for customer-generators from non-customer generators.
- Inserts language requiring cooperatives exempted under certain sections of Wyoming law to apply retail energy rates equally among member owners in the same rate class, or face state regulation if they do not comply.
- The amendment text is technical and may require additional context for full understanding.
- Specific impacts on customer-generator fees are not fully detailed in the provided amendment text.
Plain English: The amendment removes the ability for customers with net metering systems to combine or 'aggregate' their meters with others.
- Removes the option for customer-generators to aggregate multiple meters within a single net metering system.
- The exact impact on current and future net metering policies is not detailed in this amendment text.
Plain English: The amendment changes a specific date from July to January in an existing bill.
- Changes the month from July to January for a specified provision in the original bill.
- The exact impact of changing this date is not explained in the provided text.
Plain English: The amendment changes the phrase 'customer-generators' to 'net metering systems' in a specific part of the bill.
- Replaces the term 'customer-generators' with 'net metering systems' in a particular section of the bill.
- The amendment text is limited and does not provide context about what this change means or how it affects other parts of the bill.
- It's unclear from this amendment alone how replacing 'customer-generators' with 'net metering systems' will impact the overall legislation.
Plain English: The amendment allows electric utilities to set different rates for customer-generators compared to other electricity users, starting from July 1, 2026.
- Electric utilities can now charge separate rates for customer-generators who produce their own power and sell it back to the grid.
- The new rule applies only to customer-generators established on or after July 1, 2026.
- It is unclear how these separate rates will be determined and what impact they might have on current net metering systems.
Plain English: The amendment adds a new requirement for customer-generators to have an interconnection agreement with their electric utility that includes operational limits and specifies who is responsible for costs if additional facilities are needed.
- Adds a new clause (E) requiring customer-generators to execute an interconnection agreement with the electric utility, which must include specific operational limits such as short circuit interrupting capability and maximum fault current.
- Specifies that if the electric utility needs to install additional facilities to connect the net metering system, these costs will be borne by the applicant.
- The amendment does not specify what happens if the customer-generator cannot afford or refuses to pay for necessary facility installations.
HB0183SS001
Standing Committee • Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development
Adopted
Plain English: The amendment changes how customer-generators with certain net metering systems can charge fees to other customers.
- Replaces the word 'charge' with 'be charged' in a specific part of the bill text.
- Adds the phrase 'to have an' after 'fee or'.
- Deletes section 2 from page 3, lines 2 through 9.
- Inserts and renumbers a new section to repeal W.S. 37-16-102(a)(iii).
- The amendment text is technical and may require additional context for full understanding.
Bill History
-
2025-03-04
Senate
S 3rd Reading:Failed 15-16-0-0-0
-
2025-03-03
Senate
S 3rd Reading:Laid Back
-
2025-02-28
Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-02-27
Senate
S COW:Passed
-
2025-02-19
Senate
S Placed on General File
-
2025-02-19
Senate
S09 - Minerals:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-0-1-0-0
-
2025-02-13
Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S09 - Minerals
-
2025-02-05
Senate
S Received for Introduction
-
2025-02-05
House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 56-4-2-0-0
-
2025-02-04
House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
-
2025-02-03
House
H COW:Passed
-
2025-01-31
House
H Placed on General File
-
2025-01-31
House
H09 - Minerals:Recommend Do Pass 7-0-2-0-0
-
2025-01-20
House
H Introduced and Referred to H09 - Minerals
-
2025-01-15
House
H Received for Introduction
-
2025-01-14
LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
25LSO-0548
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0548
ENGROSSED
3.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0183
Net metering amendments.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Heiner, Allemand, Brady, Davis, Kelly, Lucas, Pendergraft and Winter and Senator(s) Boner and Pearson
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to electric utilities; amending the generation capacity for net metering systems; providing for the aggregation of net metering systems; authorizing customer-generators with specified net metering systems to charge a customer-generator fee or increase in a monthly fee; providing and amending definitions; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 37
‑
16
‑
101(a)(intro), (viii)(B) and by creating a new paragraph (ix) and 37
‑
16
‑
102(a)(iii) and by creating a new paragraph (iv) are amended to read:
37
‑
16
‑
101.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this chapter
,
unless the context or a specific article otherwise requires:
(viii)
"Net metering system" means a facility for the production of electrical energy that:
(B)
Has a generating capacity of not more than
:
(I)
T
wenty
‑
five (25) kilowatts
per meter for residential use
;
(II)
Two hundred (200) kilowatts per meter for nonresidential use.
(ix)
"Primary feeder" means a power line or other facility that carries electricity directly from a substation to distribution transformers.
37
‑
16
‑
102.
Electric utility requirements.
(a)
An electric utility:
(iii)
Shall not charge a customer
‑
generator any fee or charge that would increase the customer
‑
generator's minimum monthly charge to an amount greater than that of other customers of the electric utility in the same rate class as the customer
‑
generator
unless a customer
‑
generator is operating a net metering system with a generating capacity over twenty
‑
five (25) kilowatts and the commission approves the fee or charge;
.
(iv)
Shall, upon request from a customer
‑
generator, aggregate an additional meter that is physically attached to the net metering system with one (1) or more designated meters, if:
(A)
The additional meter is located on the customer
‑
generator's premises;
(B)
The electricity is for the customer
‑
generator's use;
(C)
The designated meter and the additional meter are subject to the same rate schedule; and
(D)
The designated meter and the additional meter are served by the same primary feeder.
Section 2
.
This act is effective July 1, 2025
.
(END)
1
HB0183