Net metering is looking uncertain in Maine, after legislators voted in favor of a bill that makes front-of-the-meter projects ineligible for net-energy billing. (PV Magazine)
Maine’s net-energy billing (NEB) program offers credits that offset utility bills 1) to ratepayers with small-scale renewable energy projects (like rooftop solar) and 2) through a subscription to front-of-the-meter projects (like community solar).
This bill requires the Governor’s Energy Office to develop a successor program for front-of-the-meter NEB projects. Maine’s PUC would then need to approve the plan, ensuring the tariff rate is “just and reasonable” for ratepayers.
Key stat: More than 110,000 Maine customers depend on net metering bill savings in the state, which has some of the highest electricity prices in the country.