An Act to renumber 196.496 (2); to renumber and amend 196.496 (1); to create 196.496 (1) (a), (c), (d) and (e), 196.496 (2) (title), 196.496 (2) (b) and 196.496 (3) of the statutes; Relating to: net metering for rooftop solar energy systems.
Summary
SB 892 would revise Wisconsin’s net metering rules for customer-owned rooftop solar energy systems. It defines key terms such as “commercial building,” “residential building,” “electric provider,” and “rooftop solar energy system,” and then sets statewide standards for when electric providers must allow interconnection and how they must credit customers for excess solar generation sent to the grid.
The bill would bar an electric provider from refusing interconnection solely because of system size if a rooftop solar system is no larger than 500 kilowatts on a commercial building or 30 kilowatts on a residential building. It also says battery storage attached to the solar system cannot be counted toward those capacity limits or toward the calculation of solar adoption rates. In addition, rooftop solar systems would have to include advanced metering infrastructure and allow meter aggregation in order to interconnect to electric distribution facilities.
Impact
The bill would amend Wisconsin Statutes section 196.496 by creating a new interconnection title and a new net metering billing system for rooftop solar. Electric providers would be required to adopt standardized net metering agreements for qualifying systems, credit customers at 100% of the retail electricity rate for exported power, carry credits forward until March 31 each year, and allow unused credits to transfer to a new owner when a property is sold. The bill also limits cash-out rights unless federal law allows them and requires service or usage fees for solar customers to be comparable to those charged to similar customers.
If rooftop solar adoption in a utility’s service territory exceeds 10% in any of the prior 12 months, the provider could revise the standardized agreement, but the revised version would still have to meet the bill’s minimum standards and would reduce the export credit to 90% of the retail rate. The revised agreement would take effect 60 days after written notice to customers. The bill would affect public utilities and retail electric cooperatives, as well as residential and commercial solar customers, but it failed to pass and therefore did not change current law.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of rooftop solar expansion and customer compensation, with its structure favoring predictable access to interconnection and standardized billing terms. The absence of recorded committee testimony or votes limits the ability to gauge detailed stakeholder reaction, but the bill’s introduction and sponsorship suggest an effort to strengthen net metering protections for solar customers. Its failure to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 indicates it did not advance to enactment.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely to have been the mandated 100% retail-rate credit for exported solar electricity, the requirement that utilities use standardized agreements, and the restriction on when and how providers may revise those agreements. Utilities and electric cooperatives may object to the bill’s limits on their ability to manage interconnection, recover costs, or adjust compensation as rooftop solar adoption grows. Solar advocates and customer-owned generation supporters would likely favor the bill’s stronger crediting rules, transferability of unused credits, and the exclusion of battery storage from capacity calculations. The 10% adoption threshold for allowing a reduced 90% credit is also a likely compromise point between utility and solar interests.
Crossfiled
An Act to renumber 196.496 (2); to renumber and amend 196.496 (1); to create 196.496 (1) (a), (c), (d) and (e), 196.496 (2) (title), 196.496 (2) (b) and 196.496 (3) of the statutes; Relating to: net metering for rooftop solar energy systems.