N.Y. Public Service Law § 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

non-residential wind electric generating systems. 1. Definitions. As

used in this section, the following terms shall have the following

meanings:

(a) "Customer-generator" means a residential customer, farm service

customer or non-residential customer of an electric corporation, who

owns or operates wind electric generating equipment.

(b) "Residential customer-generator" means a customer who owns or

operates wind electric generating equipment located and used at his or

her primary residence.

(c) "Farm service customer-generator" means a customer of an electric

corporation who owns and operates wind electric generating equipment

located and used on land used in agricultural production as defined in

subdivision four of section three hundred one of the agriculture and

markets law, and which is also the location of the customer's primary

residence.

(c-1) "Non-residential customer-generator" means a customer of an

electric corporation which owns or operates wind electric generating

equipment located and used at its premises.

(d) "Net energy meter" means a meter that measures the reverse flow of

electricity to register the difference between the electricity supplied

by an electric corporation to the customer-generator and the electricity

provided to the corporation by that customer-generator.

(e) "Net energy metering" means the use of a net energy meter to

measure, during the billing period applicable to a customer-generator,

the net amount of electricity supplied by an electric corporation or

provided to the corporation by a customer-generator.

(f) "Wind electric generating equipment" means one or more wind

generators with a combined rated capacity of not more than twenty-five

kilowatts for a residential customer-generator, and not more than five

hundred kilowatts for a farm service customer-generator, and not more

than two thousand kilowatts for a non-residential customer-generator;

that is manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with

applicable government and industry standards, that is connected to the

electric system and operated in parallel with an electric corporation's

transmission and distribution facilities, and that is operated in

compliance with any standards and requirements established under this

section.

2. Interconnection and net energy metering. An electric corporation

shall provide for the interconnection and net energy metering of wind

electric generating equipment owned or operated by a customer-generator;

provided that the customer-generator enters into a net energy metering

contract with the corporation or complies with the corporation's net

energy metering schedule and complies with standards and requirements

established under this section. The customer-generator shall be

responsible for payment of one-half of the expense of such

interconnection for wind electric generating equipment with a rated

capacity of more than twenty-five kilowatts.

3. Conditions of service. (a) (i) On or before three months after the

effective date of this section, each electric corporation shall develop

a model contract and file a schedule that establishes consistent and

reasonable rates, terms and conditions for net energy metering to

customer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The

commission shall render a decision within three months from the date on

which the schedule is filed.

(ii) On or before three months after the effective date of this

subparagraph, each electric corporation shall develop a model contract

and file a schedule that establishes consistent and reasonable rates,

terms and conditions for net energy metering to non-residential

customer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The

commission shall render a decision within three months from the date on

which the schedule is filed.

(iii) Each electric corporation shall make such contract and schedule

available to customer-generators on a first come, first served basis,

until the total rated generating capacity for wind electric generating

equipment owned or operated by customer-generators in the corporation's

service area is equivalent to three-tenths percent of the corporation's

electric demand for the year two thousand five, as determined by the

department.

(b) Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a corporation from

providing net energy metering to additional customer-generators. The

commission shall have the authority, after January first, two thousand

twelve, to increase the percent limits if it determines that additional

net energy metering is in the public interest.

(c) In the event that the electric corporation determines that it is

necessary to install one or more dedicated transformers or other

equipment to protect the safety and adequacy of electric service

provided to its other customers, a customer-generator shall pay the

electric corporation's actual costs of installing the transformer or

transformers or other equipment:

(i) in the case of a residential, farm service or non-residential

customer-generator with a combined rated capacity of not more than

twenty-five kilowatts, up to a maximum amount of seven hundred fifty

dollars; and

(ii) in the case of a farm service customer-generator with a combined

rated capacity of not more than five hundred kilowatts, up to a maximum

of five thousand dollars; and

(iii) in the case of a non-residential customer-generator with a

combined rated capacity of more than twenty-five kilowatts, such cost

shall be as determined by the electric corporation subject to review,

upon the request of such customer-generator, by the department.

(d) An electric corporation shall impose no other charge or fee,

including, but not limited to, back up, stand by or demand charges, for

the provision of net metering to a customer-generator.

(e) A customer who owns or operates land used in agricultural

production as defined in subdivision four of section three hundred one

of the agriculture and markets law, or a non-residential

customer-generator as defined by paragraph (c-1) of subdivision one of

this section that locates wind electric generating equipment with a net

energy meter on property owned or leased by such customer-generator may

designate all or a portion of the net metering credits generated by such

equipment to meters, at any property owned or leased by such

customer-generator within the service territory of the same electric

corporation to which the customer-generator's net energy meters are

interconnected and being within the same load zone as determined by the

location based marginal price as of the date of initial request by the

customer-generator to conduct net metering. The electric corporation

will credit the accounts of the customer by applying any credits to the

highest use meter first, then subsequent highest use meters until all

such credits are attributed to the customer. Any excess credits shall be

carried over to the following month.

4. Rates. An electric corporation shall use net energy metering to

measure and charge for the net electricity supplied by the corporation

and provided to the corporation by a customer-generator, according to

the following requirements:

(a) In the event that the amount of electricity supplied by the

corporation during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity

provided by a customer-generator, the corporation shall charge the

customer-generator for the net electricity supplied at the same rate per

kilowatt hour applicable to service provided to other customers in the

same service class which do not generate electricity on site.

(b) In the event that the amount of electricity produced by a

customer-generator during the billing period exceeds the amount of

electricity used by the customer-generator, the corporation shall apply

a credit to the next bill for service to the customer-generator for the

net electricity provided at the same rate per kilowatt hour applicable

to service provided to other customers in the same service class which

do not generate electricity on site.

(c) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service

is supplied by means of net energy metering, the corporation shall

promptly issue payment at its avoided cost to a residential or farm

service customer-generator for the value of any remaining credit for the

excess electricity produced during the year or over the annualized

period by such customer-generator.

(d) In the event that the corporation imposes charges based on

kilowatt demand on customers who are in the same service class as the

customer-generator but which do not generate electricity on site, the

corporation may impose the same charges at the same rates to the

customer-generator, provided, however, that the kilowatt demand for such

demand charges is determined by the maximum measured kilowatt demand

actually supplied by the corporation to the customer-generator during

the billing period.

5. Safety standards. (a) Each electric corporation shall establish and

maintain standards necessary for net energy metering and the

interconnection of wind electric generating equipment to its system and

that the commission shall determine are necessary for safe and adequate

service and further the public policy set forth in this section. Such

standards may include, but shall not be limited to:

(i) equipment necessary to isolate automatically a wind electric

generating system from the utility system for voltage and frequency

deviations; and

(ii) a manual lockable disconnect switch provided by the

customer-generator which shall be located on the outside of the

customer's premises and/or farm and externally accessible for the

purpose of isolating the wind electric generating equipment.

(b) Upon its own motion or upon a complaint, the commission, or its

designated representative, may investigate and make a determination as

to the reasonableness and necessity of the standards or responsibility

for compliance with the standards.

(c) Unless otherwise determined to be necessary by the commission, an

electric corporation may not require a customer-generator to comply with

additional safety or performance standards, or perform or pay for

additional tests, or purchase additional liability insurance, provided

that:

(i) the electric generating equipment meets the safety standards

established pursuant to this paragraph; and

(ii) the total rated capacity (measured in kilowatts) of wind electric

generating equipment that provides electricity to the electric

corporation through the same local feeder line, does not exceed twenty

percent of the rated capacity of that local feeder line.

In the event that the total rated generating capacity of wind electric

generating equipment that provides electricity to the electric

corporation through the same local feeder line exceeds twenty percent of

the rated capacity of the local feeder line, the electric corporation

may require the customer-generator to comply with reasonable measures to

ensure safety of that local feeder line.

6. Electric restructuring. Notwithstanding the provisions of this

section, including, but not limited to paragraph (c) of subdivision

three of this section, a customer-generator shall comply with any

applicable determinations of the commission relating to restructuring of

the electric industry.

7. Severability of provisions. The provisions of this section shall be

severable and if the application of any clause, sentence, paragraph,

subdivision, section, or part thereof to any person or circumstance

shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,

such judgment shall not necessarily affect, impair, or invalidate the

application of any such clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,

section, part or remainder thereof, as the case may be, to any other

person or circumstance, but shall be confined in its operation to the

clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof

directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall be

rendered.