2004 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri
2004-02 RE: Consumer Clean Energy Act
| Submitted by: |
Larry Rice
9823 State Road AE
New Bloomfield, MO 65063 |
Contact Larry Rice at (573) 896-8912 for further information.
Petition sample form approved for circulation on February 5, 2003. Official ballot title certified by Secretary of State on February 19, 2003.
OFFICIAL BALLOT TITLE AS CERTIFIED BY SECRETARY OF STATE
CONSUMER CLEAN ENERGY ACT BALLOT LANGUAGE
Shall the Missouri Clean Energy Act (Section 386.887, RSMo), be amended to require the Missouri Public Service Commission, not the public utility, to set the rates for the sale of excess electricity generated by a customer back to the public utility; require a public utility to pay such a customer any credits owed but unused; require the Missouri Public Service Commission to establish equipment standards and requirements; and require the public utility, not the customer, to pay all expenses for installing the measuring equipment and controls, as well as any additional expenses?
FULL TEXT AS SUBMITTED BY PETITIONER
PROPOSED MEASURE
Section A. Chapter 386 R.S.Mo. is amended by modifying §386.887 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri by deleting the words within brackets and inserting the underlined words as follows:
1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Consumer Clean Energy Act".
2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) "Commission", the public service commission of the state of Missouri;
(2) "Customer-generator", a consumer of electric energy who purchases electric energy from a retail electric energy supplier and is the owner of a qualified net metering unit;
(3) "Local distribution system", facilities for the distribution of electric energy to the ultimate consumer thereof;
(4) "Net energy metering", a measurement of the difference between the electric energy supplied to a customer-generator by a retail electric supplier and the electric energy generated by a customer-generator that is delivered to a local distribution system at the same point of interconnection;
(5) "Qualified net metering unit", an electric generation unit which;
(a) Is owned by a customer-generator;
(b) Is a hydrogen fuel cell or is powered by the sun, wind, or biomass;
(c) Has an electrical generating system with a capacity of not more than one hundred kilowatts;
(d) Is located on the premises that are owned, operated, leased or otherwise controlled by the customer-generator;
(e) Is interconnected and operates in parallel and synchronization with a retail electric supplier; and
(f) Is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer-generator's own electrical requirements;
(6) "Retail electric supplier" or "supplier", any person that sells electric energy to the ultimate consumer thereof;
(7) "Value electric energy", the total resulting from the application of the appropriate rates, which may be time of use rates at the option of the supplier, to the quantity of electric energy produced from qualifies net metering units or to the quantity of electric energy sold to the customer-generators.
3. By [August 28, 2003] January 1, 2005, [each retail electric supplier shall adopt rates, charges, conditions and contract terms for the purchase from and the sale of electric energy to customer-generators. T] the commission, in consultation with the department and retail electric suppliers, shall develop a simple contract for [such transactions and make it available to] eligible customer-generators and retail electric suppliers. Upon agreement of the wholesale generator supplying electric energy to the retail electric supplier at the option of the retail electric retail supplier, the purchase from the customer-generator may be by the wholesale generator. Any time of use or other rates charged for electric energy sold to customer-generators shall be the same as those made available to any other customers with the same net electric energy usage pattern including minimum bills and service availability charges. Rates for electric energy generated by the customer-generator from a qualified net generating unit and sold to the retail electric supplier or its wholesale generator shall be [the avoided cost (time of use or nontime of use) of the generation used by the retail electric supplier to serve its other customers] set by the Missouri Public Service Commission considering the generation costs of the public utility, the rate charged the customer-generator, the public policy to encourage customer and citizens to generate electricity, and shall be equal to or greater than 5 cents per Kilowatt hour. Whenever a customer-generator with a qualified net generating unit uses any energy generation method entitled to eligibility under a minimum renewable energy generation requirement, the total amount of energy generated by that method shall be treated as generated by the generator providing electric energy to the retail electric supplier for purposes of such requirement. The wholesale generator, at the option of the retail electric supplier, shall receive credit for emissions avoided by the wholesale generator because electric energy purchased by the wholesale generator or the retail electric supplier from a qualified net metering unit. [If the supplier is required to file tariffs with the commission the commission shall review the reasonableness of the charges provided in such tariffs.]
4. Each retail electric supplier shall calculate the net energy measurement for a customer-generator in the following manner:
(1) The retail electric supplier shall individually measure both the electric energy produced and the electric energy consumed by the customer-generator during each billing period using an electric metering capable of such function, either by a single meter capable of registering the flow of electricity in two directions or by using multiple meters;
(2) If the value of the electric energy supplied by the retail electric supplier exceeds the value of the electric energy delivered by the customer-generator to the retail electric supplier during a billing period, then the customer-generator shall be billed for the net value of the electric energy supplied by the retail electric supplier in accordance with rates, terms and conditions established by the retail electric supplier for the customer-generators; and
(3) If the value of the electric energy generated by the customer-generator exceeds the value of the electric energy supplied by the retail electric supplier, then the customer-generator:
(a) Shall be billed for the appropriate customer charges for that billing period; [and]
(b) Shall be credited for the excess value of the electric energy generated and supplied to the retail electric supplier during the billing period, with this credit appearing on the bill for the following billing period[.];and
(c) Within 100 days following the end of each calendar year, the retail electric supplier shall pay to the customer generator any credits owed but unused in the prior calendar year.
5. [A retail electric supplier shall not be required to provide net metering service with respect to addition customer-generators after the date during any calendar year on which the total generating capacity of all customer-generators with qualified net metering units served by that retail electric supplier is equal to or in excess of the lesser of ten thousand kilowatts or one-tenth of one percent of the capacity necessary to meet the company's aggregate customer peak demand for the preceding calendar year.] The retail electric supplier shall make available, at its expense, a net metering unit or units, which measure the electricity used by and provided by the customer-generator.
6. Each retail electric supplier shall maintain and make available to the public records of the total generating capacity of customer-generators of the supplier that are using net metering, the type of generating systems and energy source used by the electric generating systems which the customer-generators use.[ Each such retail electric supplier shall notify the commission when the total generating capacity of such customer-generators is equal to or in excess of the lesser of ten thousand kilowatts or one-tenth of one percent of the capacity necessary to meet the company's aggregate customer peak demand for the preceding calendar year.]
7. Each qualified net metering unit used by a customer-generator shall meet all applicable safety, performance, synchronization, interconnection and reliability standards established by the commission [the National Electrical Safety Code, National Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical, Electronics Engineers, and the Underwriters Laboratory]. Each qualified net metering unit used by a customer-generator shall also meet all reasonable standards and requirements established by the [retail electric supplier to enhance employee, consumer and public safety and the reliability of electric service to the customer-generator and other consumers receiving electric service from the retail electric supplier. Each qualified net metering unit used by a customer-generator shall also comply with all applicable local building, electrical and safety codes. The customer-generator shall obtain liability insurance coverage in amounts and coverage set by the] commission [by rule applicable to all qualified net metering units].
8. The cost of meeting the standards of subsection 7 of this section and cost to install addition controls, to install additional metering, to perform or pay for additional tests or analysis of the effect of the operation of the qualified net metering unit on the local distribution system shall be paid by the [customer-generator] retail electric supplier. The customer-generator, with an electric generation system meeting the requirements set forth by the Missouri Public Service Commission, shall not be required to install additional controls, pay any additional taxes, fees, or assessments, obtain any additional insurance, or conduct any additional tests.
9. Applications by a customer-generator for interconnection to the distribution system shall [include a copy of the plans and specifications for the qualified net metering unit for review and acceptance by the retail electric supplier. Prior to connection of the qualified net metering unit to the distribution system, the customer-generator will furnish the retail electric supplier a certification from a qualified professional electrician or engineer that the installation meets the requirements of subsection 7 of this section. Such applications shall be reviewed and responded to by the retail electric supplier within ninety days. If the application for interconnection is approved by the retail electric supplier,] meet the requirements established by the Missouri Public Service Commission [,]. [t] The retail electric supplier shall complete the interconnection within fifteen days if electric service already exists to the premises, unless a later date is mutually agreeable to both the customer-generator and the retail electric supplier.
10. The sale of qualified net metering units shall be subject to the provisions of section 407.700 to 407.720, RSMo. The attorney general shall have the authority to promulgate in accordance with the provisions of chapter 536, RSMO, rules regarding mandatory disclosures of information by sellers of qualified net metering units. Such rules as a minimum require disclosure of the standards of subsection 7 of this section and potential liability of the owner or operator of a qualified net metering unit to third persons for personal injury or property damage as a result of negligent operation of a qualified net metering unit. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provision of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section 536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2002, shall be invalid and void.