Bill AB 920 Offers Compensation Option for Net-Metered Net Generators
Assembly Bill AB 920 (Huffman, 2009) authored by Assembly member Jared Huffman, and approved by Governor Schwarzenegger in late 2009, will expand the current net-metering programs for wind and solar. The bill provides an enhancement to the current Net Energy Metering (NEM) program by providing a compensation option to the basic NEM program for "net generators," i.e. customers who import more electricity to the grid than they export from the grid, based on a customer's 12-month annual billing cycle. After AB 920 is fully implemented, these net generators will have the option to receive financial compensation at a to-be-determined rate or to apply the net surplus as a credit for the kilowatt hours subsequently supplied. Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) associated with any new surplus electricity sold to the utility will be owned by the utility, while RECs associated with electricity used onsite will be retained by the customer.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) still has to determine the program's details before the new enhancements are fully implemented. This is anticipated to happen some time in 2010. The CPUC also has issued a Ruling asking the investor-owned utilities to file comments on implementing the provisions of AB 920. The program is scheduled to begin on Jan 1, 2011.
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