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Committee advances SB 228 with amendment to expand customer‑generator group options; amendment and bill pass by consent
Summary
Senate Bill 228, as amended, was moved out of committee with protections for existing customer‑generators and expanded group participation rules. The committee adopted an amendment and reported the bill out (vote by consent); stakeholders noted remaining implementation questions about utility accounting.
Senate Bill 228, a bill addressing group participation for customer‑generators and related net‑metering issues, was amended in committee and reported as "ought to pass" with amendment 671.
Senator David Waters, who led work on the amendment, said the committee had worked with stakeholders and the Department of Energy to preserve an 18‑megawatt threshold and a 500‑kilowatt cap for certain customers, and to add protections against "double dipping" (compensating a project twice under different programs). Waters said the amendment restored the word "household" where earlier drafts had used "homeowner" and clarified definitions for nonprofits and special‑purpose districts, including public housing authorities.
Committee members debated technical aspects of the amendment, including whether utility billing and accounting methods for group credits need further refinement. Witnesses and senators noted Eversource and other utilities had raised operational questions about the annual accounting process; Waters and others said they would continue to work with utilities on implementation details if the bill moved forward.
On the committee floor the chair called for a motion on SB 228; the motion "ought to pass as amended" was moved and seconded, and the bill was advanced by consent. No roll‑call tally was recorded in the hearing transcript; the committee agreed to place the bill on the consent calendar. Senator Waters and Senator McConkie were recorded as mover and seconder of the amendment in committee discussion.
Supporters argued the changes would encourage customer‑side generation and allow more predictable participation in group net‑metering for projects that already exist or are in the pipeline; opponents and utilities flagged unresolved implementation and accounting questions that they said could be addressed administratively.
The committee closed the item after adopting the amendment and moving the bill forward.
