1. The commission's progress in addressing issues related to the expansion of opportunities for distributed generation including issues relating to interconnection standards, barriers to selling into the wholesale market, transmission and distribution utility core and standby rate structures, transmission and distribution utility use of distributed generators and line extension policies affecting distributed generation; and

2. Identification of any other remaining barriers to the widespread use of distributed generators in the State.

SUMMARY

This bill does the following:

1. It establishes a regulatory structure for distributed generation designed to remove unnecessary barriers to the development of distributed generation in this State;

2. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish rules governing the retail sale of excess electricity from a distributed generator;

3. It authorizes the commission to require a transmission and distribution utility to purchase excess electricity from a distributed generator and resell it at wholesale;

4. It directs the commission to allow certain distributed generators to elect a net energy billing arrangement; and

5. It directs the commission to examine and address issues related to distributed generation and report back to the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy by January 1, 2004.