Recent decisions by the Maine Legislature and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) may affect participants in Maine’s Net Energy Billing (NEB) Program. Here are a few updates to keep you up to speed:

Maine Legislature Considering Bills to Repeal Net Energy Billing

The Maine Legislature is considering four bills that aim to eliminate or drastically limit Maine’s NEB program. The fate of the bills is uncertain as they are likely to face significant opposition. The bills are:

• LD 32: An Act to Repeal the Laws Regarding Net Energy Billing
• LD 257: An Act to Eliminate the Practice of Net Energy Billing
• LD 359: An Act to Prohibit Net Energy Billing by Certain Customers
• LD 450: An Act to Lower Electricity Costs by Repealing the Laws Governing Net Energy Billing

Bills LD 32, LD 257, and LD 450 are identical in substance, and would repeal the laws that established the NEB program and prohibit the Maine PUC from requiring transmission and distribution utilities to allow customers to participate in NEB. In addition, they would eliminate references to NEB in other laws, including repealing the provisions of law providing for property tax exemptions for solar equipment used for NEB.

Bill LD 359 would prohibit customers from having a shared financial interest in distributed generation facilities. It would limit the NEB program to distributed generation (DG) resources that are located on the same side of the customer’s meter and that are used primarily to serve the load of that customer. It would also require all NEB credits associated with the output of the DG facility to be allocated to that customer. The bill would further revise the applicability of the tariff rates and amend other statutes to reflect the changes in the NEB program.

All four bills have been scheduled for a public hearing before the Energy, Utilities, and Technology (EUT) Committee on February 25, 2025.

NEB Projects in kWh Program Certified as a Maine Class I Resources Must Retain or Obtain RECs to Meet RPS

Last week, the PUC rejected a Request for Rehearing in Docket No. 2024-00251 and upheld its prior decision that a DG resource owner certified as a Maine Class I or Class IA resource, and participating in Maine’s Net Energy Billing Kilowatt Hour (kWh) Credit program, must retain generation information systems (GIS) certificates or otherwise obtain GIS certificates necessary to satisfy Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for that portion of the load that is served by the facility or the load associated with NEB kWh credits (REC Holdback Requirement).^[1]  

The PUC rejected arguments that the REC Holdback Requirement is an unnoticed and therefore impermissible change to the NEB program rules and beyond the authority granted to it by the Legislature. 

Rather, the PUC found that imposing the REC Holdback Requirement falls within its authority to certify Maine Class I Renewable Resources under Maine's RPS and its authority to determine how much of the output of the facility is eligible to receive such certification. 

The PUC also also found that the REC Holdback Requirement is consistent with a similar long-standing requirement that behind-the-meter generation facilities comply with Maine’s RPS for that portion of the load that is supplied by the behind-the-meter generator.

DG resources participating in Maine's NEB Tariff Program are not subject to this REC Holdback Requirement.