HOUSE BILL 248

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

G. Andres Romero

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES; REQUIRING PUBLIC UTILITIES TO PROVIDE UPON REQUEST AGGREGATE NET METERING SERVICE TO AN ELECTRIC CUSTOMER; PROVIDING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY TO THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Public Utility Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] AGGREGATE NET METERING--RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--

          A. A public utility shall make available upon request aggregate net metering service to an electric customer that the public utility serves.

          B. For the purpose of measuring an electric customer's electricity usage under the aggregate net metering service, a public utility shall aggregate for billing purposes a designated meter with one or more aggregated meters.

          C. The aggregate net metering service applies only to charges that use kilowatt-hours as the billing determinant. All other charges applicable to each meter account shall be billed to the electric customer.

          D. With the commission's prior approval, a public utility may charge the electric customer requesting meter aggregation a reasonable fee to cover the administrative costs of the aggregate net metering service pursuant to a tariff approved by the commission.

          E. By January 1, 2019, the commission shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section; provided that the adopted rules shall not impose load requirements nor proximity requirements on designated or aggregated meters.

          F. For the purposes of this section:

                (1) "aggregate net metering service" means service to an electric customer under which electric energy generated by that electric customer from an eligible renewable energy distributed generation facility interconnected with the public utility's distribution system may be used to offset the aggregate electric energy provided by the public utility to the electric customer within the applicable billing period;

                (2) "aggregated meter" means a meter located on the premises of an electric customer's owned or leased property that is within the same service area as the electric customer's designated meter;

                (3) "designated meter" means a meter that is physically attached to an electric customer's renewable energy distributed generation facility; and

                (4) "renewable energy distributed generation facility" means a facility located on the premises of an electric customer's owned or leased property that produces electric energy by the use of renewable energy, is sized to supply no more than one hundred twenty percent of the average annual aggregate consumption of electricity by the electric customer and complies with applicable interconnection rules."

     SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2018.

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