Memorandum
From: Seth Handy
To: RI House Committee on Environment & Natural Resources
Date: April 16, 2014
Regarding: House Bill H8010 – Net Metering
This bill simply allows all public entities to produce their own power under our net metering policy without requiring the production to be tied to the site of consumption. The net metering reform passed in 2011 allowed municipalities the right to build renewable energy facilities on any properties they control and be able to apply the generation from those facilities not only to the buildings on the site where the project is located but to any of the municipalities’ facilities. When it comes to net metering, a municipality is not logically treated on a property-by-property basis but according to its total production and total load. There is no good policy reason that other public entities should not be treated the same as municipalities in this regard. All public entities should be given every opportunity to develop their own sources of affordable, clean energy and should not be restricted to siting such energy where their load is located.