Connecticut Energy Legislation a Mixed Bag for Clean Energy
NECEC President Peter Rothstein released the following statement in reaction to the energy bill passed by the Connecticut General Assembly:
"Advancing policy that keeps Connecticut on a sustainable path to a clean energy-based economy is imperative. The legislation passed today by the Connecticut General Assembly (SB-9) contains a robust expansion of the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which will put Connecticut in a leading position in New England as it now mandates 40 percent of electricity to be from renewable energy by 2030."
"However, SB-9 also included counterproductive provisions that will significantly harm the state's rooftop solar market. The bill limits customers' ability to use the power they generate by requiring that it be credited as it's generated or within a day. Unless the utilities provide customers with metering and communications, and time varying rates, which will give them the information they need to match usage to production, customers will not be able to manage and reduce their energy costs by adopting solar. Net metering, a key driver for residential and commercial solar adoption and the significant job growth that comes with a robust rooftop solar market, will essentially be dismantled. Significant work will be needed to overcome the new barriers to customer adoption of clean energy in Connecticut."
"NECEC urges the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA), which is charged with implementing the new solar programs, to work collaboratively with customers and the solar industry to establish cost-effective, fair solar compensation and rate structures that will enable clean energy and solar to continue to flourish in Connecticut."
"In other areas, NECEC is encouraged to see the extension of the ZREC/LREC program and provisions to move beyond the small shared clean energy facility pilot towards a more significant statewide community shared clean energy program."
NECEC | www.necec.org