Energy committee advances package of bills on cybersecurity, net‑metering and plug‑in solar

The Science, Technology and Energy Committee met April 13 in executive session and moved forward on a sweep of energy measures, voting on eight Senate bills and several amendments that will now be reported from committee.

Chair (the presiding officer) opened the session by identifying three early bills that had to be finished that day and set an aggressive schedule that included a caucus break and a lunchtime recess. The committee then handled a string of items that will advance to the next steps of the legislative process.

Cybersecurity for critical utilities — SB 589 FN: Representative McGee presented an amendment to clarify cybersecurity authority and to exclude Federal Energy Regulatory Commission‑regulated devices from state requirements. The panel adopted amendment 1412H without objection and then voted Ought to Pass as amended by a roll call of 18–0. “These cyber security changes are necessary, particularly the ones that apply to water and wastewater treatment plants,” Representative McGee said during debate.

Large customer net‑metering — SB 449 FN: The committee voted 10–8 to recommend ITL (inexpedient to legislate) on SB 449, a bill to allow large customer generators to participate in net‑metering and to treat energy storage in connection with net metering. Supporters said the measure could lower business energy costs; opponents warned it could shift subsidies to large users and create reliability risks. A minority OTPA report will be prepared.

Electric aggregation plans — SB 590: The panel voted 17–1 Ought to Pass on a bill to allow certain electric aggregation arrangements, after a brief discussion about whether community‑use funds could be used for projects. Representative La Rochelle will author the committee report.

Utilities owning generation — SB 591: A larger debate about utility ownership of generation facilities resulted in a 11–7 Ought to Pass vote. Members divided over whether authorizing utilities to own additional distributed generation is consistent with past deregulation policy and whether it risks market distortions.

Renewable Energy Fund — SB 599 FN: The committee split on a bill that would align statute with the enacted budget’s assumptions about sweeping modest excesses from the renewable energy fund to the general fund; the motion passed 10–8. Opponents raised constitutional and policy concerns about using fee‑derived funds for general purposes.

Plug‑in/portable solar devices — SB 540 FN: After extensive debate about safety and enforceability for consumer plug‑in solar devices, committee members agreed to a stakeholder amendment that limits a single plug‑in system per meter and establishes technical and consumer‑information steps. The panel adopted amendment 1452H and then voted Ought to Pass as amended (16–1). Utilities had urged caps on export capacity to reduce inadvertent billing of exports as usage.

Municipal net‑metering — SB 538 FN: The committee considered competing amendments over tariff length and end‑of‑life recycling responsibilities for municipal projects. An amendment that added detailed decommissioning escrow requirements was tied 9–9 and failed. A narrower amendment setting the tariff/financing term at 15 years passed 12–6, and the bill as amended passed the committee unanimously 18–0.

What’s next: Several members were assigned to draft majority and minority reports where requested; the committee set deadlines for those reports and indicated it will continue to refine technical language through committee processes or a committee of conference where stakeholders still disagree. Many bills passed with unanimous or near‑unanimous support and will move to the next committee or the floor according to the legislative calendar.

The committee also announced a May 11 hydroelectric facility tour and scheduled a committee lunch in early May.