Bill Text: NH SB321 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to the purchase of output of limited electrical energy producers in intrastate commerce and including qualifying storage systems.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2022-06-22 - Signed by the Governor on 06/17/2022; Chapter 0218; Effective 06/17/2022 [SB321 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2022-SB321-Introduced.html
SB 321 - AS INTRODUCED
2022 SESSION
22-3054
12/10
SENATE BILL 321
SPONSORS: Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Rep. Cali-Pitts, Rock. 30; Rep. McWilliams, Merr. 27
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill amends the definition of a limited electrical energy producer and permits a limited producer to sell its produced electrical energy to one or more purchasers other than the franchise electric utility.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22-3054
12/10
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 Limited Electrical Energy Producers Act; Definitions. Amend RSA 362-A:1-a, III to read as follows:
III. "Limited producer" or "limited electrical energy producer" means a qualifying small power producer, a qualifying storage system, or a qualifying cogenerator, with a [total] maximum rated generating or discharge capacity of [not more] less than 5 megawatts that:
(a) Does not participate in net energy metering. Non-participation in net energy metering may be achieved by canceling participation in such upon assuming limited production.
(b) Is not registered as a generator, asset, or network resource with ISO New England.
(c) Does not otherwise participate in any FERC jurisdictional wholesale electricity markets, except as an alternative technology regulation resource (ATRR) to the extent ATRRs are deemed by ISO New England to function as retail or network load reducers for all other ISO New England purposes. Such non-participation in FERC jurisdictional interstate wholesale markets may be achieved by retirement from such markets.
2 New Paragraph; Definition; Qualifying Storage System. Amend RSA 362-A:1-a by inserting after paragraph IX the following new paragraph:
IX-a. "Qualifying storage system” means an electric energy storage system as defined in RSA 72:84.
3 Limited Electrical Energy Producers Act; Producers of Output in Intrastate Commerce RSA 362-A:2-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
362-A:2-a Purchase of Output of Limited Producers in Intrastate Commerce.
I. In this section the terms “capacity commitment period,” “capacity supply obligation,” “coincident peak demand,” “forward capacity market (FCM),” and “load-serving entity (LSE)” shall have the meanings as used by ISO New England.
II. A limited producer of electrical energy may sell its produced electrical energy to one or more purchasers other than the franchise electric utility. Such purchasers may be any retail electricity customers located within the same New Hampshire electric distribution utility franchise area as where the limited producer is located or any electricity suppliers serving retail load within such area.
III. Intrastate sales of electricity across the distribution grid shall be facilitated and accounted for by load-serving entities that are either competitive electricity suppliers registered with the commission under RSA 374-F:7 or municipal or county aggregations under RSA 53-E operating as load-serving entities. Electric distribution utility provided default energy service shall not be required to facilitate, account for, or otherwise enable the participation of limited producers in sales of electricity or purchases of power from limited producers, but may opt to do so if approved by the commission in an adjudicated proceeding.
IV. To participate in such intrastate sales of electricity over the distribution grid a limited producer must be equipped with a revenue grade interval meter that can accurately measure hourly imports from and exports to the distribution grid and report such meter data to the distribution utility for daily load settlement purposes. Exports to distribution grid by a limited producer shall be accounted for as reductions or offsets to the load obligation of the load serving entity serving the limited producer for load settlement in the ISO New England wholesale electricity market.
V.(a) A load-serving entity seeking to facilitate and account for sales by limited producers may petition the commission to determine through an adjudicated proceeding how credits for actual avoided transmission charges are to be made for exports to the distribution grid by limited producers during hours of coincident peak on which transmission costs are allocated to the extent such exports reduce the retail load measured at the point of interconnection between the distribution system under state jurisdiction and transmission facilities under federal jurisdiction such that transmission charges allocated to the distribution utility as transmission network customer are reduced from what they otherwise would be absent the electricity exported to the distribution grid by the limited producer. Such credit shall be made pursuant to either subparagraph (b) or (c) below as determined by the commission to be for the public good.
(b) Monthly transmission charges incurred by the distribution utility as the transmission network customer may be allocated to the load serving entity for payment by the load-serving entity for all or part of the retail meters within its retail metering subdomain, under terms and conditions approved by the commission. Such allocation shall be made based on the share of the load-serving entity's network load, or the share of its network load by participating meters, at the monthly hour of coincident peak demand on which the applicable monthly transmission charges are incurred in proportion to the utility’s applicable total network load. In such an event, the customers within such load-serving entity's metering subdomain shall no longer be subject to the distribution utility’s transmission charges, after accounting for any prior period over or under collection of transmission costs such that there is an equitable allocation of transmission costs accounting for applicable leads and lags in how such costs are incurred and paid for as determined by the commission.
(c) The limited producer or their load serving entity may receive credit or payment for actual avoided transmission charges based on measurement of exports to the distribution grid at the retail meter point without additional credit for avoided line and transformation losses in the distribution and transmission grids to provide some sharing of the benefit of reduced transmission charges with other ratepayers who do not participate in such intrastate electricity sales by limited producers. In such an event, the customers within such load-serving entity's metering subdomain shall continue to the pay the utility’s regular transmission charges from which such credits or payments shall be made.
VI. Purchasers of power from limited producers shall pay for the delivery of such power through tariffs, charges, and rates that are generally applicable to the customer’s rate class, except for default energy service charges if not applicable and transmission charges as they may be adjusted pursuant to paragraph V(b).
VII. To the extent that limited producers are exporting power to distribution grid at the annual hour of coincident peak demand on which capacity supply obligations are incurred for any given capacity commitment period and such exports reduce overall capacity supply obligations from what they would otherwise be absent such exports to the grid, such reduced capacity supply obligations shall be assigned to the load serving entity serving such limited producers as approved by the commission. To the extent such exports to the grid are purchased by the load serving entity as an intrastate wholesale transaction the load serving entity may in turn prorate its reduced capacity supply obligation attributable to such exports to reduce the capacity tags for all meters served by it within its applicable meter subdomain at the time of the annual coincident peak demand for the applicable capacity commitment period. To the extent such exports to the grid are sold by the Limited Producer at retail to individual customers such reduced capacity supply obligations attributable to such exports may be assigned to reduce the capacity tags assigned to the meters of such customers, as determined by the load serving entity serving such customers at the time of the applicable annual hour of coincident peak demand for the applicable capacity commitment period. However, in no case shall the capacity tag assigned to any one retail meter, including that of the limited producer, be reduced below zero.
VIII. The commission shall by order and/or by adoption of rules pursuant to RSA 541-A:
(a) Establish procedures to enable limited producers to sell electricity at wholesale within intrastate commerce and at retail, either directly or indirectly, through electricity suppliers and otherwise implement this section;
(b) Establish such requirements and conditions concerning intrastate sales of electricity pursuant to this section that it deems necessary to avoid substantial risk or uncompensated costs to the electric utility in whose franchise area the sales takes place;
(c) Avoid unjust and unreasonable cost shifting of transmission rate effects on retail customers arising from avoided transmission cost credits or payments pursuant to RSA 362-A:2-a, V(c), which may include provisions to reduce, on a prospective basis, the credit for actual avoided transmission charges to some reasonable portion of the value thereof;
(d) Provide for filing or reporting on contracts for such intrastate sales to the commission and the distribution utility to which the limited producer is interconnected, including provision for confidential protection of commercially sensitive financial terms of such contracts; and
(e) Provide reasonable consumer protections for retail sales of electricity from limited producers, which may include a requirement for prior review and approval of such contracts before they go into effect. If such a contract review is required, the rules shall provide that failure to disapprove such contract within 60 days of its filing with the commission shall constitute approval thereof. Any such contract review shall not require a contested case.
4 New Section; Electric Renewable Portfolio Standard; Exclusion to Amount of Electricity Supplied. Amend RSA 362-F by inserting after section 3 the following new section:
362-F:3-a Exclusions to the Amount of Electricity Supplied. If a provider of electricity has revenue grade meter data on the quantity of exports to the grid from a qualifying storage system as defined in RSA 362-A:1-a to the extent that it is charged from the grid, such amounts may be deducted from the calculation of electricity supplied by the provider to its end-use customers for the applicable year for purposes of compliance with RSA 362-F:3 as determined and provided for by the commission.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
