Sharing a post from the NH Sustainable Energy Association:

“The PUC released their final Order on net metering late this past Friday.  It is a mix of the two filed settlement proposals, and is generally reasonable and will maintain a strong industry, is good for consumers, and makes positive conclusions about cost-shifting and the benefits of DER, but keep in mind we are still combing through it. Highlights from the Order and listed below. The full Order can be accessed here.

To explain and discussion the Order in greater detail, NHSEA will give a webinar as part of the Local Energy Solutions series on Monday July 3, from noon – 1:00. You can register for this free webinar here.

1. The new NEM rate begins on September 1, 2017.  May be later if utilities can’t update their billing systems in time to reflect the new NEM regime. Customers must be given 30 days notice in advance of the new rate start date.
2. Grandfathering – all existing NEM systems are still grandfathered through 2040.  NEW systems (under new rate) also grandfathered through 2040.
3. Small systems ≤100 kW are still credited monthly at 100% of retail energy and transmission charges but only 25% of distribution charge; the customer will receive monetary bill credits instead of kWh credits (allowing cash payment if customer moves or annual credit balance exceeds $100)
4. Large systems >100kW are still credited monthly at the default energy rate; bill credits now monetary instead of kWh.
5. All customer-generators must pay non-bypassable charges (system benefits, stranded cost recovery, storm recovery) based on full amount of electricity imports without netting exports.
6. Monthly Netting is maintained – all non-bypassable charges are netted on a monthly billing basis still.
7. Value of DER Study: Eversource must perform a marginal cost of service study within twelve months (of Order date) to inform the Value of DER study. Value of DER study will focus on solar and small hydro and use a 10-15 year framework for the analysis.  Staff will direct/manage the study, hire a consultant to help perform it, and will begin by convening a workgroup to develop scope of study within two months’ time of this Order.
8. Statewide Cap- No new cap was set (so effectively the cap has been removed).
9. Pilots – Four pilot programs are approved, including: Time-of-Use (Eversource and Unitil only), shared bill credits for low/moderate income customers, Real-Time-Pricing for one municipality (Lebanon), and a non-wires alternative pilot.
10. 20% Onsite Use – If a customer-generator uses at least 20% of the system generation onsite, they can receive the group net metering rates without registering as a group host and going through the GNM protocol with the PUC, etc.

Practical bill impacts for a customer-generator with solar PV: An example from ReVision Energy (2017 Eversource Electric Rates):

• Customer Charge (per month): $12.89 (unchanged)
• Energy Charge (per kWh): 11.17 cents (still 100%)
• Transmission Charge (per kWh): 2.39 cents (still 100%)
• Distribution Charge (per kWh): 4.21 cents (now 25% = 1.05 cents)
• Stranded Cost Recovery Charge (per kWh): 0.032 cents (no netting)
• System Benefits Charge (per kWh): 0.356 cents (no netting)
• Electricity Consumption Tax (per kWh): 0.055 cents (repealed in state budget)
  Current net metering credit value (systems ≤100kw): 18.16 cents (excl. repealed tax)
  New net metering credit value (≤100kW): 14.61 cents (80% current)
• Difference = 3.55 cents (20% loss)

Questions in the Order requiring response within 30 days (PUC will facilitate):

1. Should the subsequent sale of solar array or property on which it is installed entitle the new owner to continue to be net-metered under the grandfathered tariff provisions?
2. Should the subsequent expansions of/modifications to solar array be entitled to net metering under the grandfathered tariff provisions?

State Budget – I am going to keep this part short and elaborate more in future email, but suffice to say the Renewable Energy Fund was NOT raided and the EERS stayed protected and will continue to move forward with its SBC funding. More details on the budget in a future email.

SB 129 – Is still awaiting the Governors signature, but he will likely let it pass.

This has been an incredibly busy year for NHSEA, and we are glad to say that much of our hard work, and yours, is paying off and keeping NH on the right track toward more clean energy!”

Kate Epsen,  Executive Director, NH CleanTech Council-NHSEA