§ 66-L — Net energy metering for residential, farm service and non-residential wind electric generating systems

§ 66-l. Net energy metering for residential, farm service and\nnon-residential wind electric generating systems. 1. Definitions. As\nused in this section, the following terms shall have the following\nmeanings:\n (a) "Customer-generator" means a residential customer, farm service\ncustomer or non-residential customer of an electric corporation, who\nowns or operates wind electric generating equipment.\n (b) "Residential customer-generator" means a customer who owns or\noperates wind electric generating equipment located and used at his or\nher primary residence.\n (c) "Farm service customer-generator" means a customer of an electric\ncorporation who owns and operates wind electric generating equipment\nlocated and used on land used in agricultural production as defined in\nsubdivision four of section three hundred one of the agriculture and\nmarkets law, and which is also the location of the customer's primary\nresidence.\n (c-1) "Non-residential customer-generator" means a customer of an\nelectric corporation which owns or operates wind electric generating\nequipment located and used at its premises.\n (d) "Net energy meter" means a meter that measures the reverse flow of\nelectricity to register the difference between the electricity supplied\nby an electric corporation to the customer-generator and the electricity\nprovided to the corporation by that customer-generator.\n (e) "Net energy metering" means the use of a net energy meter to\nmeasure, during the billing period applicable to a customer-generator,\nthe net amount of electricity supplied by an electric corporation or\nprovided to the corporation by a customer-generator.\n (f) "Wind electric generating equipment" means one or more wind\ngenerators with a combined rated capacity of not more than twenty-five\nkilowatts for a residential customer-generator, and not more than five\nhundred kilowatts for a farm service customer-generator, and not more\nthan two thousand kilowatts for a non-residential customer-generator;\nthat is manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with\napplicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the\nelectric system and operated in parallel with an electric corporation's\ntransmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in\ncompliance with any standards and requirements established under this\nsection.\n 2. Interconnection and net energy metering. An electric corporation\nshall provide for the interconnection and net energy metering of wind\nelectric generating equipment owned or operated by a customer-generator;\nprovided that the customer-generator enters into a net energy metering\ncontract with the corporation or complies with the corporation's net\nenergy metering schedule and complies with standards and requirements\nestablished under this section. The customer-generator shall be\nresponsible for payment of one-half of the expense of such\ninterconnection for wind electric generating equipment with a rated\ncapacity of more than twenty-five kilowatts.\n 3. Conditions of service. (a) (i) On or before three months after the\neffective date of this section, each electric corporation shall develop\na model contract and file a schedule that establishes consistent and\nreasonable rates, terms and conditions for net energy metering to\ncustomer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The\ncommission shall render a decision within three months from the date on\nwhich the schedule is filed.\n (ii) On or before three months after the effective date of this\nsubparagraph, each electric corporation shall develop a model contract\nand file a schedule that establishes consistent and reasonable rates,\nterms and conditions for net energy metering to non-residential\ncustomer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The\ncommission shall render a decision within three months from the date on\nwhich the schedule is filed.\n (iii) Each electric corporation shall make such contract and schedule\navailable to customer-generators on a first come, first served basis,\nuntil the total rated generating capacity for wind electric generating\nequipment owned or operated by customer-generators in the corporation's\nservice area is equivalent to three-tenths percent of the corporation's\nelectric demand for the year two thousand five, as determined by the\ndepartment.\n (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a corporation from\nproviding net energy metering to additional customer-generators. The\ncommission shall have the authority, after January first, two thousand\ntwelve, to increase the percent limits if it determines that additional\nnet energy metering is in the public interest.\n (c) In the event that the electric corporation determines that it is\nnecessary to install one or more dedicated transformers or other\nequipment to protect the safety and adequacy of electric service\nprovided to its other customers, a customer-generator shall pay the\nelectric corporation's actual costs of installing the transformer or\ntransformers or other equipment:\n (i) in the case of a residential, farm service or non-residential\ncustomer-generator with a combined rated capacity of not more than\ntwenty-five kilowatts, up to a maximum amount of seven hundred fifty\ndollars; and\n (ii) in the case of a farm service customer-generator with a combined\nrated capacity of not more than five hundred kilowatts, up to a maximum\nof five thousand dollars; and\n (iii) in the case of a non-residential customer-generator with a\ncombined rated capacity of more than twenty-five kilowatts, such cost\nshall be as determined by the electric corporation subject to review,\nupon the request of such customer-generator, by the department.\n (d) An electric corporation shall impose no other charge or fee,\nincluding, but not limited to, back up, stand by or demand charges, for\nthe provision of net metering to a customer-generator.\n (e) A customer who owns or operates land used in agricultural\nproduction as defined in subdivision four of section three hundred one\nof the agriculture and markets law, or a non-residential\ncustomer-generator as defined by paragraph (c-1) of subdivision one of\nthis section that locates wind electric generating equipment with a net\nenergy meter on property owned or leased by such customer-generator may\ndesignate all or a portion of the net metering credits generated by such\nequipment to meters, at any property owned or leased by such\ncustomer-generator within the service territory of the same electric\ncorporation to which the customer-generator's net energy meters are\ninterconnected and being within the same load zone as determined by the\nlocation based marginal price as of the date of initial request by the\ncustomer-generator to conduct net metering. The electric corporation\nwill credit the accounts of the customer by applying any credits to the\nhighest use meter first, then subsequent highest use meters until all\nsuch credits are attributed to the customer. Any excess credits shall be\ncarried over to the following month.\n 4. Rates. An electric corporation shall use net energy metering to\nmeasure and charge for the net electricity supplied by the corporation\nand provided to the corporation by a customer-generator, according to\nthe following requirements:\n (a) In the event that the amount of electricity supplied by the\ncorporation during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity\nprovided by a customer-generator, the corporation shall charge the\ncustomer-generator for the net electricity supplied at the same rate per\nkilowatt hour applicable to service provided to other customers in the\nsame service class which do not generate electricity on site.\n (b) In the event that the amount of electricity produced by a\ncustomer-generator during the billing period exceeds the amount of\nelectricity used by the customer-generator, the corporation shall apply\na credit to the next bill for service to the customer-generator for the\nnet electricity provided at the same rate per kilowatt hour applicable\nto service provided to other customers in the same service class which\ndo not generate electricity on site.\n (c) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service\nis supplied by means of net energy metering, the corporation shall\npromptly issue payment at its avoided cost to a residential or farm\nservice customer-generator for the value of any remaining credit for the\nexcess electricity produced during the year or over the annualized\nperiod by such customer-generator.\n (d) In the event that the corporation imposes charges based on\nkilowatt demand on customers who are in the same service class as the\ncustomer-generator but which do not generate electricity on site, the\ncorporation may impose the same charges at the same rates to the\ncustomer-generator, provided, however, that the kilowatt demand for such\ndemand charges is determined by the maximum measured kilowatt demand\nactually supplied by the corporation to the customer-generator during\nthe billing period.\n 5. Safety standards. (a) Each electric corporation shall establish and\nmaintain standards necessary for net energy metering and the\ninterconnection of wind electric generating equipment to its system and\nthat the commission shall determine are necessary for safe and adequate\nservice and further the public policy set forth in this section. Such\nstandards may include, but shall not be limited to:\n (i) equipment necessary to isolate automatically a wind electric\ngenerating system from the utility system for voltage and frequency\ndeviations; and\n (ii) a manual lockable disconnect switch provided by the\ncustomer-generator which shall be located on the outside of the\ncustomer's premises and/or farm and externally accessible for the\npurpose of isolating the wind electric generating equipment.\n (b) Upon its own motion or upon a complaint, the commission, or its\ndesignated representative, may investigate and make a determination as\nto the reasonableness and necessity of the standards or responsibility\nfor compliance with the standards.\n (c) Unless otherwise determined to be necessary by the commission, an\nelectric corporation may not require a customer-generator to comply with\nadditional safety or performance standards, or perform or pay for\nadditional tests, or purchase additional liability insurance, provided\nthat:\n (i) the electric generating equipment meets the safety standards\nestablished pursuant to this paragraph; and\n (ii) the total rated capacity (measured in kilowatts) of wind electric\ngenerating equipment that provides electricity to the electric\ncorporation through the same local feeder line, does not exceed twenty\npercent of the rated capacity of that local feeder line.\n In the event that the total rated generating capacity of wind electric\ngenerating equipment that provides electricity to the electric\ncorporation through the same local feeder line exceeds twenty percent of\nthe rated capacity of the local feeder line, the electric corporation\nmay require the customer-generator to comply with reasonable measures to\nensure safety of that local feeder line.\n 6. Electric restructuring. Notwithstanding the provisions of this\nsection, including, but not limited to paragraph (c) of subdivision\nthree of this section, a customer-generator shall comply with any\napplicable determinations of the commission relating to restructuring of\nthe electric industry.\n 7. Severability of provisions. The provisions of this section shall be\nseverable and if the application of any clause, sentence, paragraph,\nsubdivision, section, or part thereof to any person or circumstance\nshall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,\nsuch judgment shall not necessarily affect, impair, or invalidate the\napplication of any such clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,\nsection, part or remainder thereof, as the case may be, to any other\nperson or circumstance, but shall be confined in its operation to the\nclause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof\ndirectly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall be\nrendered.\n