(Doc Name COUNCIL\DG\4950C031.BBM.DG18.DOCX):
EXPLANATION:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 117, GENERAL
PROVISIONS, page 510, after line 3, by adding an appropriately
numbered paragraph to read:
/ (GP: Prohibited Subsidization on Metering)
(A) The General
Assembly finds:
(1)
the General Assembly passed Act 236 of
2014 to promote the establishment of a reliable, efficient, and
diversified portfolio of distributed energy resources for the
State; and
(2)
Act 236 of 2014 successfully resulted in
the rapid development and expansion of the solar power
marketplace in this State; and
(3)
it is necessary to preserve the important
role of the emerging solar industry as it becomes sustainable,
without subsidies, in our diversifying energy market; and
(4)
the Public Service Commission approved in
Order 2015-194 a settlement agreement that provides for a 1:1
kilowatt hour ("kWh") crediting rate ("1:1
Rate") whereby each kWh of electricity produced by a
customer-generator is credited at the full retail rate.
(B)
In the current fiscal year and from the funds
appropriated and/or authorized to the Public Service Commission,
for purposes of Chapter 40, Title 58 of the 1976 Code:
(1)
an electrical utility shall make net
energy metering available to customer-generators on a
first-come, first-served basis, according to the rights accorded
customer-generators by Commission Order 2015-194 until the total
nameplate generating capacity of net energy metering systems
equals four percent of the previous five-year average of the
electrical utility's South Carolina retail peak demand.
No electrical utility must be required to approve an application
for interconnection from net energy metering customer-generators
if the total rated generating capacity of all applications for
interconnection from net energy metering customer-generators
already approved to date by the electrical utility equals or
exceeds four percent of the previous five-year average of the
electrical utility's South Carolina retail peak demand;
and
(2)
customers of the utility who are not
customer-generators are not required to subsidize the costs of
customer-generators.
(C)(1)
From the funds appropriated and/or authorized to the
Public Service Commission, there is created the "Renewable
Energy Development Joint Study Committee" to support the
development of renewable energy resources and production
facilities to generate electricity. The study committee
specifically shall investigate, examine, and develop appropriate
recommendations addressing:
(a)
ratemaking methodologies, cost
allocations, and rate designs for all retail electric customers
in South Carolina;
(b)
strategies for ensuring the fairest
allocation of system costs and benefits related to renewable
energy resources and Act 236 of 2014 between consumers,
including consumers who either do or do not utilize distributed
energy resources;
(c)
strategies to build upon the successful
deployment of renewable energy generating capacity through the
South Carolina Distributed Resource Act and to continue enabling
market-driven, private investment in distributed energy
resources across the State by reducing regulatory and
administrative burdens to customer installation and utilization
of onsite distributed energy resources;
(d)
the current status of the progress and
implementation of Act 236 of 2014 and strategies to enhance the
act's progress and success; and
(e)
job retention and growth in the renewable
energy industry.
(2)
The study committee must be composed of
the following members:
(a)
one member of the House of
Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives;
(b)
one member of the House of
Representatives appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(c)
one member of the House of
Representatives appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(d)
one member of the Senate appointed by the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(e)
one member of the Senate appointed by the
majority leader of the Senate;
(f)
one member of the Senate appointed by the
minority leader of the Senate;
(g)
one member representing each of the
following organizations to be appointed by the Governor:
South Carolina Public Service Authority
Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc.
South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Manufacturing Alliance
Nucor Steel
Solbridge Energy, LLC
South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
South Carolina Solar Business Alliance, LLC
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Sustainable Energy Solutions, LLC
The Alliance for Solar Choice
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
Duke Energy Progress, Inc.
South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff
Sierra Club
Sunrun Solar
South Carolina Energy Users Committee
Wal-Mart Stores East, LP and Sam's East, Inc.
Municipal Association of South Carolina
South Carolina Association of Counties
Conservation Voters of South Carolina
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
Southern Environmental Law Center
Vote Solar
Solar Energy Industries Association
South Carolina Chapter of the NAACP
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental
Control.
the study committee must be
cochaired by the appointee of the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate and the appointee of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives. The study committee shall conduct its meetings
at places and times it deems necessary to enable it to perform
its duties and accomplish its objectives and purposes. the
study committee may request administrative assistance from
staffs of the House of Representatives Labor, Commerce and
Industry Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. the
members of the study committee shall serve without compensation,
and service on the committee does not constitute an office for
purposes of the South Carolina Constitution's prohibition
against dual officeholding.
(3)
The study committee shall prepare a
report for the General Assembly that sets forth its findings and
recommendations. The study committee shall deliver copies of
its report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate no later than January 8,
2019, at which time the study committee is dissolved.
/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and titles to conform.