As we discussed in our February alert, the Maine Legislature continues to consider bills that would further limit or eliminate Maine’s Net Energy Billing (NEB) program. Since February, the Legislature introduced four new bills geared toward rolling back the NEB program:
- LD 515, An Act to Reverse Recent Changes Made to the Law Governing Net Energy Billing and Distributed Generation, would bring the NEB program back to how it existed prior to 2017 and require the PUC to initiate a rulemaking to amend its NEB rules to that effect.
- LD 839, An Act to Lower Consumer Electricity Costs by Prohibiting the Recovery Through Rates of Costs Attributable to Net Energy Billing, would provide for the payment of NEB costs from the state’s General Fund rather than through electrical rates.
- LD 1317, An Act to Promote Responsible, Cost-effective Energy in Maine by Amending the Tariff Rates Applicable to the Commercial and Institutional Net Energy Billing Program, would amend the commercial and institutional NEB program starting in 2026 by directing the PUC to establish the tariff rates at a rate greater than 12¢ per kilowatt-hour but not exceeding the previous year’s rate. Starting in 2028 and onward, LD 1317 requires the tariff rate to equal 12¢ per kilowatt-hour.
- LD 1321, An Act to Reform Net Energy Billing by Establishing Limitations on the Programs’ Duration and Compensation, would:
- Limit the Kilowatt-Hour Credit Program to distributed generation resources with a nameplate capacity of 20 kilowatts or less; limit to 10 the number of customers or meters to a single project and only allow a customer to have a financial interest in up to five distributed generation resources.
- Allow customers to only offset their electricity supply charges with NEB credits.
- Require all NEB resources to sell their Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) within the state of Maine (and not outside the state).
- Set the tariff rate to the supply rate of the standard-offer service rate.
- Prohibit participation in the program beyond December 31, 2045.
On April 10, 2025, the Energy, Utilities, and Technology (EUT) Committee held a public hearing on LD 1317 and 1321, receiving mixed testimony from proponents and opponents on the proposed changes.
The EUT Committee also held a work session on three of the four NEB bills that we identified in our February alert, voting ought not to pass on two bills—LD 257 (An Act to Eliminate the Practice of Net Energy Billing) and LD 450 (An Act to Lower Electricity Costs by Repealing the Laws Governing Net Energy Billing), and tabling two others—LD 32 (An Act to Repeal the Laws Regarding Net Energy Billing) and LD 515 (An Act to Reverse Recent Changes Made to the Law Governing Net Energy Billing and Distributed Generation).
We will continue to monitor these bills and provide updates as appropriate.