Maine Community Solar

Rates outlined in Attachment 1 apply to customers subscribed to systems that do not meet the Tariff Rate program requirements (Section 3(J)(4) of CMR 65-407-313), as well as those that do meet the requirements and have a capacity of 3 MW or more but less than 5 MW. Rates outlined in Attachment 2 apply to customers subscribed to eligible systems under the Tariff Rate program requirements with a capacity of less than 3 MW.Community Solar in the state of Maine is governed by P.L. 2019 c. 478, P.L. 2021 c.390, and Chapter 313 of the Public Utility Commissions (PUC) rules. These rules govern the state's Net Energy Billing (NEB) Policy. Under NEB there are two programs which customers can participate in "Community" or shared renewable projects, a kWh credit program, which is available to all electric utility customers, and a tariff rate program, which is available to non-residential customers. Net Energy Billing kWh Credit ProgramThe kWh program allows customers to choose to participate in a larger project on a “shared” basis with other customers. These projects provide kWh credits on participating customers' electricity bills at the retail kWh rate.Projects less than 5 MW in capacity are eligible for the program. Systems with a capacity of at least 1 MW and no more than 2 MW can be used under the kWh Credit Program if the system is commercially operational by 2025 as specified in a net energy billing agreement or an amended agreement.

Starting in 2026, front-of-the-meter systems that are interconnected or plan to be interconnected to the grid are prohibited from entering into a net energy billing agreement.Net Energy Billing Tariff Rate ProgramThe Tariff Rate Program, for non-residential customers (i.e., commercial or institutional customers, including shared financial-interest customers), provides dollar credits on participating customers' electricity bills. Rates are determined by the PUC. For current rates used to determine the monthly credit, please see the Net Energy Tariff Rates on PUC's website.Originally, the dollar credits were based on the standard offer service rate applicable to the customer receiving a credit, plus 75% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the customer rate class that includes the smallest commercial customers of the corresponding utility from which the customer takes service. The Public Utilities Commission established the rate for systems participating in the program until December 31, 2025, that are less than 1 MW in capacity, systems with a capacity greater than 1 MW if the system was completed or if significant on-site physical work on the system was commenced before September 1, 2022; and eligible systems that are colocated with a customer's or customers' fault, or that are subscribed to at least 50% of the output. Moreover, the tariff rate for a participating customer with a system that is not outlined in the above paragraph continues to be equal to the standard-offer service rate established that applied to the customer’s rate class on December 31, 2020, plus 75% of the effective transmission and distribution rate in effect on that date for the rate class serving the smallest commercial customers of the utility that the customer takes service under. Beginning January 1, 2023, the tariff rate shall increase annually by 2.25%.Beginning in 2026, for customers with a system that has a capacity of less than 3 MW, the applicable tariff rate (referenced above in Attachment 2) shall be the tariff rate that applied in 2025 to the customer’s rate class, which equals the applicable standard-offer service rate plus 75% of the effective transmission and distribution rate for the rate class serving the smallest commercial customers of the utility from which the customer receives service. This tariff rate shall increase annually by 2.25% beginning January 1, 2027.For resources with a capacity of 3 MW or more and less than 5 MW, the applicable tariff rate (referenced above in Attachment 1) is equal to the standard-offer service rate established that applied to the customer’s rate class on December 31, 2020, plus 75% of the effective transmission and distribution rate in effect on that date for the rate class serving the smallest commercial customers of the utility that the customer takes service under; and will increase by 2.25% annually on January 1, beginning January 1, 2027. Under the Tariff Rate Program, a customer who remains eligible must be allowed to receive a bill credit based on the tariff rate for a period of no less than 20 years from the date of first receiving the credit.Lastly, after 2023, a system may be used for the Tariff Rate Program if it is collocated with all the associated customers, and those customers are subscribed to 100% of the output. This rule does not apply to systems with a net energy billing agreement that was executed before 2024.Overall, key features of the NEB program include:NEB programs allow customers to offset their electricity bills using the output from small renewable generators. Customers may own their own project or share in a project with other customers. The generation facility may be located on the customer’s property or on another property within the same utility service territory. For more information, please visit Maine's Public Utilities Commission website for more information.