§269-102  Standard contract or tariff; rate
structure.  (a)  Every electric utility shall develop a standard contract
or tariff providing for net energy metering and shall make this contract
available to eligible customer-generators, upon request, on a first-come-first-served
basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity produced by
eligible customer-generators equals .5 per cent of the electric utility's
system peak demand; provided that the public utilities commission may modify,
by rule or order, the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible
customer-generators; provided further that the public utilities commission
shall ensure that a percentage of the total rated generating capacity produced
by eligible customer-generators shall be reserved for electricity produced by
eligible residential or small commercial customer-generators.  The public
utilities commission may define, by rule or order, the maximum capacity for
eligible residential or small commercial customer-generators.  Notwithstanding
the generating capacity requirements of this subsection, the public utilities
commission may evaluate, on an island-by-island basis, the applicability of the
generating capacity requirements of this subsection and, in its discretion, may
exempt an island or a utility grid system from the generating capacity
requirements.



(b)  Each net energy
metering contract or
tariff shall be identical, with respect to rate structure, to the contract or
tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer was not an
eligible customer-generator.  The charges for all retail rate components for
eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the eligible
customer-generator's net
kilowatt-hour consumption over a monthly billing period.  Any new or additional
demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge,
interconnection charge, or other charge that would increase an eligible
customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers in the rate class to
which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise be assigned are contrary
to the intent of this section, and shall not form a part of net energy metering
contracts or tariffs.



(c)  The public utilities commission may amend
the rate structure or standard contract or tariff by rule or order. [L 2001, c
272, pt of §6; am L 2005, c 104, §3; am L 2008, c 150, §2]