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Panel weighs bill to direct homeowners' unused solar credits to Low Income Energy Assistance
Summary
House Bill 670 would require that unused residential solar kilowatt‑hour credits flow into the state's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) via the universal systems benefit fund. Supporters said the change would provide modest, sustainable help to low‑income households; utilities and large‑customer representatives described how USB funds
Representative Jill Cohenour presented House Bill 670, which would require that unused residential solar kilowatt‑hour credits that currently revert to the utilities’ universal systems benefit (USB) fund be directed specifically to the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) administered by the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Cohenour said residential customers sometimes generate excess electricity that becomes an unanticipated annual credit; HB 670 would route those particular credits to LIEAP to help low‑income Montanans with their energy bills. “All I’m doing with this bill is requiring that those particular credits … go directly to the LIEAP program,” Cohenour said.
Utilities and program accounting: Alan Olson of Northwestern Energy testified in light opposition, describing the USB fund balances and annual flows. He told the committee that in 2024 USB availability reached $10,285,000, expenditures were about $5,513,000 and a balance carried forward to 2025 of $4,771,000; estimated USB revenue through February 2025 was about $5,200,000. Olson characterized his remarks as “very, very light opposition,” noting the existing USB funding mix and uses.
Proponents including Patrick Yawaki (tribal communities) and Nick Fitzmaurice of the Montana Environmental Information Center supported HB 670, arguing the change would sustain LIEAP funding. Fitzmaurice described customer generation credits as currently forfeited to utilities and said redirecting that small stream to LIEAP would help Montanans facing high bills.
Informational witnesses from the Montana Public Service Commission (Trevor Graf), the Department of Environmental Quality (Ben Brouwer), and the Montana Renewable Energy Association (Makenna Sellers) were available to answer technical questions about net energy metering, the forfeiture process and USB reporting. Sellers noted existing law governs the forfeiture of excess kilowatt‑hour credits and that current statute sets the USB structure and reporting obligations.
Committee discussion touched on how USB funds are allocated. Olson and committee members discussed other authorized uses of the USB fund (conservation, weatherization, research and demonstration) and noted statutory guidance about minimum percentages directed to low‑income programs. Committee members asked the PSC and DOR about historic USB expenditures and requested more detailed reports; PSC indicated it would provide additional materials and Northwestern Energy said it had recently provided its USB report to staff.
Cohenour asked the committee for a do‑pass recommendation, saying the bill would be a modest but sustainable additional revenue source for LIEAP.
