Utilities and related entities must support net metering for public-school solar surplus electricity and related billing/metering steps.
Sec. 39.914. CREDIT FOR SURPLUS SOLAR GENERATION BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (a) An electric utility or retail electric provider shall provide for net metering and contract with an independent school district so that: (1) surplus electricity produced by a school building's solar electric generation panels is made available for sale to the electric transmission grid and distribution system; and (2) the net value of that surplus electricity is credited to the district. (b) For areas of this state in which customer choice has not been introduced, the commission by rule shall require that credits for electricity produced by a school building's solar electric generation panels reflect the value of the electricity that is made available for sale to the electric utility in accordance with federal regulations. (c) For independent school districts in areas in which customer choice has been introduced, the district must sell the school buildings' surplus electricity produced to the retail electric provider that serves the school district's load at a value agreed to between the district and the provider that serves the district's load. The agreed value may be based on the clearing price of energy at the time of day that the electricity is made available to the grid. The independent organization identified in Section 39.151 shall develop procedures so that the amount of electricity purchased from a district under this section is accounted for in settling the total load served by the provider that serves the district's load. A district requesting net metering services for purposes of this section must have metering devices capable of providing measurements consistent with the independent organization's settlement requirements. (d) A transmission and distribution utility shall make available to an independent school district for purposes of this section metering required for services provided under this section, including separate meters that measure the load and generator output or a single meter capable of measuring separately in-flow and out-flow at the point of common coupling meter point. The district must pay the differential cost of the metering unless the meters are provided at no additional cost. Except as provided by this section, Section 39.107 applies to metering under this section. (e) A municipally owned utility or electric cooperative shall consider and complete the determinations regarding net metering service as provided by the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq., as amended by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-58)) after proceedings conducted in accordance with that law. A municipally owned utility or electric cooperative shall report the determinations made under this subsection to the State Energy Conservation Office and include in that report information regarding metering electricity generated by solar panels on public school building rooftops. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 939 (H.B. 3693), Sec. 24, eff. September 1, 2007.