HB 1645-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2022 SESSION
22-2094
12/08
HOUSE BILL 1645-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Oxenham, Sull. 1; Rep. McWilliams, Merr. 27; Rep. Pimentel, Merr. 6; Rep. Merner, Coos 7; Sen. Prentiss, Dist 5; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Rep. McGhee, Hills. 27
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires the department of energy to provide an annual written notice to customer-generators whose production has been credited to providers of electricity, unless those customer-generators obtained certification to be issued class I or class II certificates.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22-2094
12/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Electric Renewable Portfolio Standard; Definitions. Amend RSA 362-F:2 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV-a. “Customer-generator” shall mean “eligible customer-generator” as defined in RSA 362-A:1-a, II-b.
2 New Paragraph; Electric Renewable Portfolio Standard; Renewable Energy Certificates. Amend RSA 362-F:6 by inserting after paragraph II-a the following new paragraph:
II-b.(a) Within 30 days of the effective date of this paragraph, and by August 31 of every year thereafter, the department of energy shall provide an annual written notice to customer-generators whose production has been credited to providers of electricity pursuant to paragraph II-a, except for customer-generators who subsequently obtained certification to be issued class I or class II certificates. This notice shall inform the customer-generators that their production has been credited to providers of electricity, and will continue to be credited to providers of electricity unless they obtain certification to be issued class I or class II certificates. This notice shall also inform customer-generators of the options available to them and the consequences of their production being credited to providers of electricity. Finally, this notice shall provide instructions on how customer-generators may obtain certification to be issued class I or class II certificates.
(b) Beginning 30 days after the effective date of this paragraph, the department of energy shall ensure that all persons who apply to interconnect a customer-sited source that will be net metered pursuant to RSA 362-A:9 receive, prior to the time their customer-sited source is interconnected, written notice that their production will be credited to providers of electricity unless they obtain certification to be issued class I or class II certificates. This notice shall inform such applicants of the options available to them and the consequences of their production being credited to providers of electricity. This notice shall also provide instructions on how such applicants may obtain certification to be issued class I or class II certificates.
(c) The department of energy shall prescribe the form of the notices required by subparagraphs (a) and (b), both of which shall prominently include the following language in substantially the following form:
This notice is to inform you that if you do not take affirmative action to have your system certified to create renewable energy certificates (RECs), your generation will automatically be credited to utilities and other retail sellers of electricity (electricity providers). These electricity providers can then use your generation to help meet their renewable portfolio standard (RPS) obligations. This means that the renewable energy you generate will not add any renewable energy to the grid beyond the minimum amount that electricity providers must procure under state law.
You should know that your generation may reduce overall renewable energy generation unless your system is certified to create RECs. This is a consequence of the fact that by generating your own energy you reduce the total amount of energy electricity providers sell, which then reduces the total amount of renewable energy that electricity providers are required to procure under the RPS. If you do not certify your renewable energy production via REC certification all of your generation will also be credited towards that reduced total. As a result, unless your system is certified to create RECs, you will reduce the total amount of renewable energy that electricity providers are required to add to the grid by more than the amount of renewable energy that your system will generate. In other words, unless your system is certified to create RECs, you may cause a net reduction in overall renewable energy generation.
If you have not certified your system to create RECs, any renewable energy that your net-metered system generated since 2012 has automatically been credited to electricity providers. Thus, renewable energy that you generated in the past may not have provided any increase in renewable energy production and may have indirectly served to reduce overall renewable energy generation.
You should know that, according to the federal government, you cannot claim to use the renewable energy that you generate if electricity providers are using it for RPS compliance. This remains true even if you consume some or all of the physical electricity that you generate yourself. This rule is meant to prevent renewable energy double-counting, which could occur if a person claimed to generate and use the same unit of renewable energy that is credited to an electricity provider. Therefore, you may lose the right to claim that you are using renewable energy unless you both: (1) have your system certified to create RECs; and (2) you retain the RECs that you create. If you do not create and retain RECs, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may take regulatory action against you for false advertising if you market your home or business as running on the renewable energy that you generate. Failure to comply with any resulting FTC orders may subject you or your business to civil penalties of up to $10,000 for every day the violation continues.
Having your system certified to create RECs, and retaining those RECs will ensure that the renewable energy you generate will be additional to minimum RPS requirements, and ensure that you can legally claim to use your own renewable energy. Having your system certified to create RECs will also allow you to sell RECs for additional income. However, you should know that you will lose the right to claim that you are using renewable energy if you sell your RECs. Electricity providers may use any RECs that you sell for RPS compliance, which means that the renewable energy you generate will not be additional to minimum RPS requirements. You can find instructions on how to have your system certified to create RECs below.
(d) The department of energy may fulfill its obligation to provide customer-generators with the written notice required by subparagraph (a), and ensure that applicants seeking to interconnect customer-sited sources that will be net metered under RSA 362-A:9 receive the notice required by subparagraph (b), by requiring distribution companies to provide such written notices to customer-generators and applicants in their service territory and by requiring installers of renewable energy systems that are eligible for net metering to provide such written notice to their customers.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
22-2094
Redraft 12/21/21
HB 1645-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT:
Due to time constraints, the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to provide a fiscal note for this bill, as introduced, at this time. The Department of Energy was contacted for a fiscal note worksheet initially on 11/10/2021 and again on 12/14/2021. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the House Clerk's Office.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Energy