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Section 2827 Of Article 3. Rights, Obligations, And Charges From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 3.
2827
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that a program to
provide net energy metering combined with net surplus compensation,
co-energy metering, and wind energy co-metering for eligible
customer-generators is one way to encourage substantial private
investment in renewable energy resources, stimulate in-state economic
growth, reduce demand for electricity during peak consumption
periods, help stabilize California's energy supply infrastructure,
enhance the continued diversification of California's energy resource
mix, reduce interconnection and administrative costs for electricity
suppliers, and encourage conservation and efficiency.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Co-energy metering" means a program that is the same in all other respects as a net energy metering program, except that the local publicly owned electric utility has elected to apply a generation-to-generation energy and time-of-use credit formula as provided in subdivision (i).
(2) "Electrical cooperative" means an electrical cooperative as defined in Section 2776.
(3) "Electric utility" means an electrical corporation, a local publicly owned electric utility, or an electrical cooperative, or any other entity, except an electric service provider, that offers electrical service. This section shall not apply to a local publicly owned electric utility that serves more than 750,000 customers and that also conveys water to its customers.
(4) (A) "Eligible customer-generator" means a residential customer, small commercial customer as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 331, or commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer of an electric utility, who uses a renewable electrical generation facility, or a combination of those facilities, with a total capacity of not more than one megawatt, that is located on the customer's owned, leased, or rented premises, and is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements.
(B) (i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), "eligible customer-generator" includes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation using a renewable electrical generation technology, or a combination of renewable electrical generation technologies, with a total capacity of not more than eight megawatts, that is located on the department's owned, leased, or rented premises, and is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the facility's own electrical requirements. The amount of any wind generation exported to the electrical grid shall not exceed 1.35 megawatt at any time.
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), an electrical corporation shall be afforded a prudent but necessary time, as determined by the executive director of the commission, to study the impacts of a request for interconnection of a renewable generator with a capacity of greater than one megawatt under this subparagraph. If the study reveals the need for upgrades to the transmission or distribution system arising solely from the interconnection, the electrical corporation shall be afforded the time necessary to complete those upgrades before the interconnection and those costs shall be borne by the customer-generator. Upgrade projects shall comply with applicable state and federal requirements, including requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(C) (i) For purposes of this subparagraph, a "United States Armed Forces base or facility" is an establishment under the jurisdiction of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.
(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a United States Armed Forces base or facility is an "eligible customer-generator" if the base or facility uses a renewable electrical generation facility, or a combination of those facilities, the renewable electrical generation facility is located on premises owned, leased, or rented by the United States Armed Forces base or facility, the renewable electrical generation facility is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, the renewable electrical generation facility is intended primarily to offset part or all of the base or facility's own electrical requirements, and the renewable electrical generation facility has a generating capacity that does not exceed the lesser of 12 megawatts or one megawatt greater than the minimum load of the base or facility over the prior 36 months. Unless prohibited by federal law, a renewable electrical generation facility shall not be eligible for net energy metering for privatized military housing pursuant to this subparagraph if the renewable electrical generation facility was procured using a sole source process. A renewable electrical generation facility procured using best value criteria, if otherwise eligible, may be used for net energy metering for privatized military housing pursuant to this subparagraph. For these purposes, "best value criteria" means a value determined by objective criteria and may include, but is not limited to, price, features, functions, and life-cycle costs.
(iii) A United States Armed Forces base or facility that is an eligible customer generator pursuant to this subparagraph shall not receive compensation for exported generation.
(iv) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), an electrical corporation shall be afforded a prudent but necessary time, as determined by the executive director of the commission but not less than 60 working days, to study the impacts of a request for interconnection of a renewable electrical generation facility with a capacity of greater than one megawatt pursuant to this subparagraph. If the study reveals the need for upgrades to the transmission or distribution system arising solely from the interconnection, the electrical corporation shall be afforded the time necessary to complete those upgrades before the interconnection and the costs of those upgrades shall be borne by the eligible customer-generator. Upgrade projects shall comply with applicable state and federal requirements, including requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For any renewable generation facility that interconnects directly to the transmission grid or that requires transmission upgrades, the United States Armed Forces base or facility shall comply with all Federal Energy Regulatory Commission interconnection procedures and requirements.
(v) An electrical corporation shall make a tariff, as approved by the commission, available pursuant to this subparagraph by November 1, 2015.
(5) "Large electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation with more than 100,000 service connections in California.
(6) "Net energy metering" means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied through the electrical grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period as described in subdivisions (c) and (h).
(7) "Net surplus customer-generator" means an eligible customer-generator that generates more electricity during a 12-month period than is supplied by the electric utility to the eligible customer-generator during the same 12-month period.
(8) "Net surplus electricity" means all electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator measured in kilowatthours over a 12-month period that exceeds the amount of electricity consumed by that eligible customer-generator.
(9) "Net surplus electricity compensation" means a per kilowatthour rate offered by the electric utility to the net surplus customer-generator for net surplus electricity that is set by the ratemaking authority pursuant to subdivision (h).
(10) "Ratemaking authority" means, for an electrical corporation, the commission, for an electrical cooperative, its ratesetting body selected by its shareholders or members, and for a local publicly owned electric utility, the local elected body responsible for setting the rates of the local publicly owned utility.
(11) "Renewable electrical generation facility" means a facility that generates electricity from a renewable source listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code. A small hydroelectric generation facility is not an eligible renewable electrical generation facility if it will cause an adverse impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of streamflow.
(12) "Wind energy co-metering" means any wind energy project greater than 50 kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, where the difference between the electricity supplied through the electrical grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period is as described in subdivision (h). Wind energy co-metering shall be accomplished pursuant to Section 2827.8.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (4) and in Section 2827.1, every electric utility shall develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, and shall make this standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, upon request, on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. Net energy metering shall be accomplished using a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions. An additional meter or meters to monitor the flow of electricity in each direction may be installed with the consent of the eligible customer-generator, at the expense of the electric utility, and the additional metering shall be used only to provide the information necessary to accurately bill or credit the eligible customer-generator pursuant to subdivision (h), or to collect generating system performance information for research purposes relative to a renewable electrical generation facility. If the existing electrical meter of an eligible customer-generator is not capable of measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, the eligible customer-generator shall be responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that is able to measure electricity flow in two directions. If an additional meter or meters are installed, the net energy metering calculation shall yield a result identical to that of a single meter. An eligible customer-generator that is receiving service other than through the standard contract or tariff may elect to receive service through the standard contract or tariff until the electric utility reaches the generation limit set forth in this paragraph. Once the generation limit is reached, only eligible customer-generators that had previously elected to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff have a right to continue to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff. Eligibility for net energy metering does not limit an eligible customer-generator's eligibility for any other rebate, incentive, or credit provided by the electric utility, or pursuant to any governmental program, including rebates and incentives provided pursuant to the California Solar Initiative.
(2) An electrical corporation shall include a provision in the net energy metering contract or tariff requiring that any customer with an existing electrical generating facility and meter who enters into a new net energy metering contract shall provide an inspection report to the electrical corporation, unless the electrical generating facility and meter have been installed or inspected within the previous three years. The inspection report shall be prepared by a California licensed contractor who is not the owner or operator of the facility and meter. A California licensed electrician shall perform the inspection of the electrical portion of the facility and meter.
(3) (A) On an annual basis, every electric utility shall make available to the ratemaking authority information on the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators that are customers of that provider in the provider's service area and the net surplus electricity purchased by the electric utility pursuant to this section.
(B) An electric service provider operating pursuant to Section 394 shall make available to the ratemaking authority the information required by this paragraph for each eligible customer-generator that is their customer for each service area of an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electrical utility, or electrical cooperative, in which the eligible customer-generator has net energy metering.
(C) The ratemaking authority shall develop a process for making the information required by this paragraph available to electric utilities, and for using that information to determine when, pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (4), an electric utility is not obligated to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in its service area.
(4) (A) An electric utility that is not a large electrical corporation is not obligated to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in its service area when the combined total peak demand of all electricity used by eligible customer-generators served by all the electric utilities in that service area furnishing net energy metering to eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the aggregate customer peak demand of those electric utilities.
(B) The commission shall require every large electrical corporation to make the standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, continuously and without interruption, until such times as the large electrical corporation reaches its net energy metering program limit or July 1, 2017, whichever is earlier. A large electrical corporation reaches its program limit when the combined total peak demand of all electricity used by eligible customer-generators served by all the electric utilities in the large electrical corporation's service area furnishing net energy metering to eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the aggregate customer peak demand of those electric utilities. For purposes of calculating a large electrical corporation's program limit, "aggregate customer peak demand" means the highest sum of the noncoincident peak demands of all of the large electrical corporation' s customers that occurs in any calendar year. To determine the aggregate customer peak demand, every large electrical corporation shall use a uniform method approved by the commission. The program limit calculated pursuant to this paragraph shall not be less than the following:
(i) For San Diego Gas and Electric Company, when it has made 607 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(ii) For Southern California Edison Company, when it has made 2,240 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(iii) For Pacific Gas and Electric Company, when it has made 2,409 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(C) Every large electrical corporation shall file a monthly report with the commission detailing the progress toward the net energy metering program limit established in subparagraph (B). The report shall include separate calculations on progress toward the limits based on operating solar energy systems, cumulative numbers of interconnection requests for net energy metering eligible systems, and any other criteria required by the commission.
(D) Beginning July 1, 2017, or upon reaching the net metering program limit of subparagraph (B), whichever is earlier, the obligation of a large electrical corporation to provide service pursuant to a standard contract or tariff shall be pursuant to Section 2827.1 and applicable state and federal requirements.
(d) Every electric utility shall make all necessary forms and contracts for net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation service available for download from the Internet.
(e) (1) Every electric utility shall ensure that requests for establishment of net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation are processed in a time period not exceeding that for similarly situated customers requesting new electric service, but not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form for net energy metering service or net surplus electricity compensation, including a signed interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator and the electric inspection clearance from the governmental authority having jurisdiction.
(2) Every electric utility shall ensure that requests for an interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator are processed in a time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form from the eligible customer-generator for an interconnection agreement.
(3) If an electric utility is unable to process a request within the allowable timeframe pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), it shall notify the eligible customer-generator and the ratemaking authority of the reason for its inability to process the request and the expected completion date.
(f) (1) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365, or Section 365.1, with an electric service provider that does not provide distribution service for the direct transactions, the electric utility that provides distribution service for the eligible customer-generator is not obligated to provide net energy metering or net surplus electricity compensation to the customer.
(2) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365 or 365.1 with an electric service provider, and the customer is an eligible customer-generator, the electric utility that provides distribution service for the direct transactions may recover from the customer's electric service provider the incremental costs of metering and billing service related to net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation in an amount set by the ratemaking authority.
(g) Except for the time-variant kilowatthour pricing portion of any tariff adopted by the commission pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2851, each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be identical, with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer did not use a renewable electrical generation facility, except that eligible customer-generators shall not be assessed standby charges on the electrical generating capacity or the kilowatthour production of a renewable electrical generation facility. The charges for all retail rate components for eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the customer-generator's net kilowatthour consumption over a 12-month period, without regard to the eligible customer-generator's choice as to from whom it purchases electricity that is not self-generated. Any new or additional demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection charge, or any other charge that would increase an eligible customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers who are not eligible customer-generators in the rate class to which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise be assigned if the customer did not own, lease, rent, or otherwise operate a renewable electrical generation facility is contrary to the intent of this section, and shall not form a part of net energy metering contracts or tariffs.
(h) For eligible customer-generators, the net energy metering calculation shall be made by measuring the difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period. The following rules shall apply to the annualized net metering calculation:
(1) The eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator, at the end of each 12-month period following the date of final interconnection of the eligible customer-generator's system with an electric utility, and at each anniversary date thereafter, shall be billed for electricity used during that 12-month period. The electric utility shall determine if the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator was a net consumer or a net surplus customer-generator during that period.
(2) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity supplied during the period by the electric utility exceeds the electricity generated by the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator during that same period, the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator is a net electricity consumer and the electric utility shall be owed compensation for the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatthour consumption over that 12-month period. The compensation owed for the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator's consumption shall be calculated as follows:
(A) For all eligible customer-generators taking service under contracts or tariffs employing "baseline" and "over baseline" rates, any net monthly consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned to, or be eligible for, if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. If those same customer-generators are net generators over a billing period, the net kilowatthours generated shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for the baseline quantity of electricity during that billing period, and if the number of kilowatthours generated exceeds the baseline quantity, the excess shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for electricity over the baseline quantity during that billing period.
(B) For all eligible customer-generators taking service under contracts or tariffs employing time-of-use rates, any net monthly consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned, or be eligible for, if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. When those same customer-generators are net generators during any discrete time-of-use period, the net kilowatthours produced shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for retail kilowatthour sales during that same time-of-use period. If the eligible customer-generator's time-of-use electrical meter is unable to measure the flow of electricity in two directions, paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall apply.
(C) For all eligible residential and small commercial customer-generators and for each billing period, the net balance of moneys owed to the electric utility for net consumption of electricity or credits owed to the eligible customer-generator for net generation of electricity shall be carried forward as a monetary value until the end of each 12-month period. For all eligible commercial, industrial, and agricultural customer-generators, the net balance of moneys owed shall be paid in accordance with the electric utility's normal billing cycle, except that if the eligible commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer-generator is a net electricity producer over a normal billing cycle, any excess kilowatthours generated during the billing cycle shall be carried over to the following billing period as a monetary value, calculated according to the procedures set forth in this section, and appear as a credit on the eligible commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer-generator's account, until the end of the annual period when paragraph (3) shall apply.
(3) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator during the 12-month period exceeds the electricity supplied by the electric utility during that same period, the eligible customer-generator is a net surplus customer-generator and the electric utility, upon an affirmative election by the net surplus customer-generator, shall either (A) provide net surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity generated during the prior 12-month period, or (B) allow the net surplus customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to the net surplus customer-generator. For an eligible customer-generator that does not affirmatively elect to receive service pursuant to net surplus electricity compensation, the electric utility shall retain any excess kilowatthours generated during the prior 12-month period. The eligible customer-generator not affirmatively electing to receive service pursuant to net surplus electricity compensation shall not be owed any compensation for the net surplus electricity unless the electric utility enters into a purchase agreement with the eligible customer-generator for those excess kilowatthours. Every electric utility shall provide notice to eligible customer-generators that they are eligible to receive net surplus electricity compensation for net surplus electricity, that they must elect to receive net surplus electricity compensation, and that the 12-month period commences when the electric utility receives the eligible customer-generator's election. For an electric utility that is an electrical corporation or electrical cooperative, the commission may adopt requirements for providing notice and the manner by which eligible customer-generators may elect to receive net surplus electricity compensation.
(4) (A) An eligible customer-generator with multiple meters may elect to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the renewable electrical generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the renewable electrical generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible customer-generator. If the eligible customer-generator elects to aggregate the electric load pursuant to this paragraph, the electric utility shall use the aggregated load for the purpose of determining whether an eligible customer-generator is a net consumer or a net surplus customer-generator during a 12-month period.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Co-energy metering" means a program that is the same in all other respects as a net energy metering program, except that the local publicly owned electric utility has elected to apply a generation-to-generation energy and time-of-use credit formula as provided in subdivision (i).
(2) "Electrical cooperative" means an electrical cooperative as defined in Section 2776.
(3) "Electric utility" means an electrical corporation, a local publicly owned electric utility, or an electrical cooperative, or any other entity, except an electric service provider, that offers electrical service. This section shall not apply to a local publicly owned electric utility that serves more than 750,000 customers and that also conveys water to its customers.
(4) (A) "Eligible customer-generator" means a residential customer, small commercial customer as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 331, or commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer of an electric utility, who uses a renewable electrical generation facility, or a combination of those facilities, with a total capacity of not more than one megawatt, that is located on the customer's owned, leased, or rented premises, and is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical requirements.
(B) (i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), "eligible customer-generator" includes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation using a renewable electrical generation technology, or a combination of renewable electrical generation technologies, with a total capacity of not more than eight megawatts, that is located on the department's owned, leased, or rented premises, and is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the facility's own electrical requirements. The amount of any wind generation exported to the electrical grid shall not exceed 1.35 megawatt at any time.
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), an electrical corporation shall be afforded a prudent but necessary time, as determined by the executive director of the commission, to study the impacts of a request for interconnection of a renewable generator with a capacity of greater than one megawatt under this subparagraph. If the study reveals the need for upgrades to the transmission or distribution system arising solely from the interconnection, the electrical corporation shall be afforded the time necessary to complete those upgrades before the interconnection and those costs shall be borne by the customer-generator. Upgrade projects shall comply with applicable state and federal requirements, including requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(C) (i) For purposes of this subparagraph, a "United States Armed Forces base or facility" is an establishment under the jurisdiction of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.
(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a United States Armed Forces base or facility is an "eligible customer-generator" if the base or facility uses a renewable electrical generation facility, or a combination of those facilities, the renewable electrical generation facility is located on premises owned, leased, or rented by the United States Armed Forces base or facility, the renewable electrical generation facility is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electrical grid, the renewable electrical generation facility is intended primarily to offset part or all of the base or facility's own electrical requirements, and the renewable electrical generation facility has a generating capacity that does not exceed the lesser of 12 megawatts or one megawatt greater than the minimum load of the base or facility over the prior 36 months. Unless prohibited by federal law, a renewable electrical generation facility shall not be eligible for net energy metering for privatized military housing pursuant to this subparagraph if the renewable electrical generation facility was procured using a sole source process. A renewable electrical generation facility procured using best value criteria, if otherwise eligible, may be used for net energy metering for privatized military housing pursuant to this subparagraph. For these purposes, "best value criteria" means a value determined by objective criteria and may include, but is not limited to, price, features, functions, and life-cycle costs.
(iii) A United States Armed Forces base or facility that is an eligible customer generator pursuant to this subparagraph shall not receive compensation for exported generation.
(iv) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), an electrical corporation shall be afforded a prudent but necessary time, as determined by the executive director of the commission but not less than 60 working days, to study the impacts of a request for interconnection of a renewable electrical generation facility with a capacity of greater than one megawatt pursuant to this subparagraph. If the study reveals the need for upgrades to the transmission or distribution system arising solely from the interconnection, the electrical corporation shall be afforded the time necessary to complete those upgrades before the interconnection and the costs of those upgrades shall be borne by the eligible customer-generator. Upgrade projects shall comply with applicable state and federal requirements, including requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For any renewable generation facility that interconnects directly to the transmission grid or that requires transmission upgrades, the United States Armed Forces base or facility shall comply with all Federal Energy Regulatory Commission interconnection procedures and requirements.
(v) An electrical corporation shall make a tariff, as approved by the commission, available pursuant to this subparagraph by November 1, 2015.
(5) "Large electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation with more than 100,000 service connections in California.
(6) "Net energy metering" means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied through the electrical grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period as described in subdivisions (c) and (h).
(7) "Net surplus customer-generator" means an eligible customer-generator that generates more electricity during a 12-month period than is supplied by the electric utility to the eligible customer-generator during the same 12-month period.
(8) "Net surplus electricity" means all electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator measured in kilowatthours over a 12-month period that exceeds the amount of electricity consumed by that eligible customer-generator.
(9) "Net surplus electricity compensation" means a per kilowatthour rate offered by the electric utility to the net surplus customer-generator for net surplus electricity that is set by the ratemaking authority pursuant to subdivision (h).
(10) "Ratemaking authority" means, for an electrical corporation, the commission, for an electrical cooperative, its ratesetting body selected by its shareholders or members, and for a local publicly owned electric utility, the local elected body responsible for setting the rates of the local publicly owned utility.
(11) "Renewable electrical generation facility" means a facility that generates electricity from a renewable source listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code. A small hydroelectric generation facility is not an eligible renewable electrical generation facility if it will cause an adverse impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of streamflow.
(12) "Wind energy co-metering" means any wind energy project greater than 50 kilowatts, but not exceeding one megawatt, where the difference between the electricity supplied through the electrical grid and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period is as described in subdivision (h). Wind energy co-metering shall be accomplished pursuant to Section 2827.8.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (4) and in Section 2827.1, every electric utility shall develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering, and shall make this standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, upon request, on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. Net energy metering shall be accomplished using a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions. An additional meter or meters to monitor the flow of electricity in each direction may be installed with the consent of the eligible customer-generator, at the expense of the electric utility, and the additional metering shall be used only to provide the information necessary to accurately bill or credit the eligible customer-generator pursuant to subdivision (h), or to collect generating system performance information for research purposes relative to a renewable electrical generation facility. If the existing electrical meter of an eligible customer-generator is not capable of measuring the flow of electricity in two directions, the eligible customer-generator shall be responsible for all expenses involved in purchasing and installing a meter that is able to measure electricity flow in two directions. If an additional meter or meters are installed, the net energy metering calculation shall yield a result identical to that of a single meter. An eligible customer-generator that is receiving service other than through the standard contract or tariff may elect to receive service through the standard contract or tariff until the electric utility reaches the generation limit set forth in this paragraph. Once the generation limit is reached, only eligible customer-generators that had previously elected to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff have a right to continue to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff. Eligibility for net energy metering does not limit an eligible customer-generator's eligibility for any other rebate, incentive, or credit provided by the electric utility, or pursuant to any governmental program, including rebates and incentives provided pursuant to the California Solar Initiative.
(2) An electrical corporation shall include a provision in the net energy metering contract or tariff requiring that any customer with an existing electrical generating facility and meter who enters into a new net energy metering contract shall provide an inspection report to the electrical corporation, unless the electrical generating facility and meter have been installed or inspected within the previous three years. The inspection report shall be prepared by a California licensed contractor who is not the owner or operator of the facility and meter. A California licensed electrician shall perform the inspection of the electrical portion of the facility and meter.
(3) (A) On an annual basis, every electric utility shall make available to the ratemaking authority information on the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators that are customers of that provider in the provider's service area and the net surplus electricity purchased by the electric utility pursuant to this section.
(B) An electric service provider operating pursuant to Section 394 shall make available to the ratemaking authority the information required by this paragraph for each eligible customer-generator that is their customer for each service area of an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electrical utility, or electrical cooperative, in which the eligible customer-generator has net energy metering.
(C) The ratemaking authority shall develop a process for making the information required by this paragraph available to electric utilities, and for using that information to determine when, pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (4), an electric utility is not obligated to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in its service area.
(4) (A) An electric utility that is not a large electrical corporation is not obligated to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in its service area when the combined total peak demand of all electricity used by eligible customer-generators served by all the electric utilities in that service area furnishing net energy metering to eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the aggregate customer peak demand of those electric utilities.
(B) The commission shall require every large electrical corporation to make the standard contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, continuously and without interruption, until such times as the large electrical corporation reaches its net energy metering program limit or July 1, 2017, whichever is earlier. A large electrical corporation reaches its program limit when the combined total peak demand of all electricity used by eligible customer-generators served by all the electric utilities in the large electrical corporation's service area furnishing net energy metering to eligible customer-generators exceeds 5 percent of the aggregate customer peak demand of those electric utilities. For purposes of calculating a large electrical corporation's program limit, "aggregate customer peak demand" means the highest sum of the noncoincident peak demands of all of the large electrical corporation' s customers that occurs in any calendar year. To determine the aggregate customer peak demand, every large electrical corporation shall use a uniform method approved by the commission. The program limit calculated pursuant to this paragraph shall not be less than the following:
(i) For San Diego Gas and Electric Company, when it has made 607 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(ii) For Southern California Edison Company, when it has made 2,240 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(iii) For Pacific Gas and Electric Company, when it has made 2,409 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity available to eligible customer-generators.
(C) Every large electrical corporation shall file a monthly report with the commission detailing the progress toward the net energy metering program limit established in subparagraph (B). The report shall include separate calculations on progress toward the limits based on operating solar energy systems, cumulative numbers of interconnection requests for net energy metering eligible systems, and any other criteria required by the commission.
(D) Beginning July 1, 2017, or upon reaching the net metering program limit of subparagraph (B), whichever is earlier, the obligation of a large electrical corporation to provide service pursuant to a standard contract or tariff shall be pursuant to Section 2827.1 and applicable state and federal requirements.
(d) Every electric utility shall make all necessary forms and contracts for net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation service available for download from the Internet.
(e) (1) Every electric utility shall ensure that requests for establishment of net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation are processed in a time period not exceeding that for similarly situated customers requesting new electric service, but not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form for net energy metering service or net surplus electricity compensation, including a signed interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator and the electric inspection clearance from the governmental authority having jurisdiction.
(2) Every electric utility shall ensure that requests for an interconnection agreement from an eligible customer-generator are processed in a time period not to exceed 30 working days from the date it receives a completed application form from the eligible customer-generator for an interconnection agreement.
(3) If an electric utility is unable to process a request within the allowable timeframe pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), it shall notify the eligible customer-generator and the ratemaking authority of the reason for its inability to process the request and the expected completion date.
(f) (1) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365, or Section 365.1, with an electric service provider that does not provide distribution service for the direct transactions, the electric utility that provides distribution service for the eligible customer-generator is not obligated to provide net energy metering or net surplus electricity compensation to the customer.
(2) If a customer participates in direct transactions pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 365 or 365.1 with an electric service provider, and the customer is an eligible customer-generator, the electric utility that provides distribution service for the direct transactions may recover from the customer's electric service provider the incremental costs of metering and billing service related to net energy metering and net surplus electricity compensation in an amount set by the ratemaking authority.
(g) Except for the time-variant kilowatthour pricing portion of any tariff adopted by the commission pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2851, each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be identical, with respect to rate structure, all retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer did not use a renewable electrical generation facility, except that eligible customer-generators shall not be assessed standby charges on the electrical generating capacity or the kilowatthour production of a renewable electrical generation facility. The charges for all retail rate components for eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the customer-generator's net kilowatthour consumption over a 12-month period, without regard to the eligible customer-generator's choice as to from whom it purchases electricity that is not self-generated. Any new or additional demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection charge, or any other charge that would increase an eligible customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers who are not eligible customer-generators in the rate class to which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise be assigned if the customer did not own, lease, rent, or otherwise operate a renewable electrical generation facility is contrary to the intent of this section, and shall not form a part of net energy metering contracts or tariffs.
(h) For eligible customer-generators, the net energy metering calculation shall be made by measuring the difference between the electricity supplied to the eligible customer-generator and the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator and fed back to the electrical grid over a 12-month period. The following rules shall apply to the annualized net metering calculation:
(1) The eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator, at the end of each 12-month period following the date of final interconnection of the eligible customer-generator's system with an electric utility, and at each anniversary date thereafter, shall be billed for electricity used during that 12-month period. The electric utility shall determine if the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator was a net consumer or a net surplus customer-generator during that period.
(2) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity supplied during the period by the electric utility exceeds the electricity generated by the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator during that same period, the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator is a net electricity consumer and the electric utility shall be owed compensation for the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatthour consumption over that 12-month period. The compensation owed for the eligible residential or small commercial customer-generator's consumption shall be calculated as follows:
(A) For all eligible customer-generators taking service under contracts or tariffs employing "baseline" and "over baseline" rates, any net monthly consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned to, or be eligible for, if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. If those same customer-generators are net generators over a billing period, the net kilowatthours generated shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for the baseline quantity of electricity during that billing period, and if the number of kilowatthours generated exceeds the baseline quantity, the excess shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for electricity over the baseline quantity during that billing period.
(B) For all eligible customer-generators taking service under contracts or tariffs employing time-of-use rates, any net monthly consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned, or be eligible for, if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. When those same customer-generators are net generators during any discrete time-of-use period, the net kilowatthours produced shall be valued at the same price per kilowatthour as the electric utility would charge for retail kilowatthour sales during that same time-of-use period. If the eligible customer-generator's time-of-use electrical meter is unable to measure the flow of electricity in two directions, paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall apply.
(C) For all eligible residential and small commercial customer-generators and for each billing period, the net balance of moneys owed to the electric utility for net consumption of electricity or credits owed to the eligible customer-generator for net generation of electricity shall be carried forward as a monetary value until the end of each 12-month period. For all eligible commercial, industrial, and agricultural customer-generators, the net balance of moneys owed shall be paid in accordance with the electric utility's normal billing cycle, except that if the eligible commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer-generator is a net electricity producer over a normal billing cycle, any excess kilowatthours generated during the billing cycle shall be carried over to the following billing period as a monetary value, calculated according to the procedures set forth in this section, and appear as a credit on the eligible commercial, industrial, or agricultural customer-generator's account, until the end of the annual period when paragraph (3) shall apply.
(3) At the end of each 12-month period, where the electricity generated by the eligible customer-generator during the 12-month period exceeds the electricity supplied by the electric utility during that same period, the eligible customer-generator is a net surplus customer-generator and the electric utility, upon an affirmative election by the net surplus customer-generator, shall either (A) provide net surplus electricity compensation for any net surplus electricity generated during the prior 12-month period, or (B) allow the net surplus customer-generator to apply the net surplus electricity as a credit for kilowatthours subsequently supplied by the electric utility to the net surplus customer-generator. For an eligible customer-generator that does not affirmatively elect to receive service pursuant to net surplus electricity compensation, the electric utility shall retain any excess kilowatthours generated during the prior 12-month period. The eligible customer-generator not affirmatively electing to receive service pursuant to net surplus electricity compensation shall not be owed any compensation for the net surplus electricity unless the electric utility enters into a purchase agreement with the eligible customer-generator for those excess kilowatthours. Every electric utility shall provide notice to eligible customer-generators that they are eligible to receive net surplus electricity compensation for net surplus electricity, that they must elect to receive net surplus electricity compensation, and that the 12-month period commences when the electric utility receives the eligible customer-generator's election. For an electric utility that is an electrical corporation or electrical cooperative, the commission may adopt requirements for providing notice and the manner by which eligible customer-generators may elect to receive net surplus electricity compensation.
(4) (A) An eligible customer-generator with multiple meters may elect to aggregate the electrical load of the meters located on the property where the renewable electrical generation facility is located and on all property adjacent or contiguous to the property on which the renewable electrical generation facility is located, if those properties are solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible customer-generator. If the eligible customer-generator elects to aggregate the electric load pursuant to this paragraph, the electric utility shall use the aggregated load for the purpose of determining whether an eligible customer-generator is a net consumer or a net surplus customer-generator during a 12-month period.
