House Energy Committee hears HB164 to create rail-belt net‑metering program and reimbursement fund

The Alaska House Energy Committee on April 8 received the introduction of House Bill 164, a bill by request of the governor that would establish a Railbelt net‑metering program and a net‑metering reimbursement fund administered by the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA).

The bill, presented by Anna Latham, deputy commissioner at the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED), Curtis Thayer, executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority, and Connor Erickson, director of planning at AEA, would let Railbelt utilities credit customers who supply excess customer‑generated renewable energy, allow utilities flexibility to set seasonal or time‑of‑use net‑metering rates, and create a fund to reimburse utilities for revenue losses subject to legislative appropriation.

Why it matters: Committee members said the bill aims to encourage consumer‑side renewable generation on the Railbelt while preventing cost shifts to nonparticipating ratepayers. AEA staff told the committee the agency would administer the reimbursement fund but that payments would be contingent on legislative appropriation.

In the presentation, Curtis Thayer said AEA has received substantial federal funding to support energy projects; Thayer cited about $454,000,000 in federal funding AEA has received to date. Connor Erickson provided a sectional analysis, saying the bill would amend utility regulatory statutes to allow utilities to reimburse net‑metering participants at rates reflective of the utility’s avoided cost or at seasonal/time‑of‑use rates and that the bill includes a definition allowing participants to remain under current tariffs. Erickson said the bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2025.

Committee members questioned the fund’s design, potential fiscal exposure to the unrestricted general fund, and what would happen if the legislature did not appropriate money to the reimbursement fund. Thayer and Erickson said the administration intends to work with utilities and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) to model likely program costs and potential payment schedules; they said final costs depend on participation and utility filings.

On regulatory timing, John Espindola, commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, said that once utilities file revised tariffs the commission has a 45‑day timeline to approve or suspend those filings and, if docketed, would review them in a formal proceeding: “that has a 45‑day timeline for us to approve or suspend it into a docketed matter,” Espindola said.

Committee members asked AEA and the RCA for follow‑up information. Erickson said AEA is already modeling a pilot program and can provide cost modeling; he also told the committee that “At present, there’s about 3,300 net metering participants rail belt wide,” a figure the planning staff provided to illustrate current participation. Committee members requested avoided‑cost rates and utility rate structure comparisons from the RCA for Railbelt utilities.

No formal vote was taken. The committee set HB164 aside for further consideration and directed staff and agencies to provide follow‑up modeling, avoided‑cost and tariff data, and additional details on potential fiscal impacts and program administration. The committee also announced it will meet April 10 to take public testimony on House Bill 153; the committee chair said the sponsor is working with utilities and stakeholders on a committee substitute for that bill.

The bill text would: (1) allow utilities to credit consumer generators monthly at a rate that may be seasonal or time‑of‑use; (2) require RCA rules for calculating revenue losses eligible for reimbursement; (3) establish a net‑metering reimbursement fund in statute, subject to appropriation and to be administered by AEA; and (4) set a July 1, 2025 effective date. The draft limits eligible customer systems to 25 kilowatts under the program language discussed.