Florida Senate - 2022                                     SB 182
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00067-22                                            2022182__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to renewable energy; amending s.
    3         366.91, F.S.; defining the term “renewable energy
    4         source device”; authorizing owners of commercial or
    5         industrial businesses, or third parties contracted by
    6         such owners, to install, maintain, and operate a
    7         renewable energy source device on or about the
    8         structure in which the business operates or on a
    9         property that the business owns or leases; authorizing
   10         owners or contracted third parties to sell electricity
   11         generated from the device to certain businesses
   12         regardless of whether the device is located in a
   13         utility’s service territory; providing applicability;
   14         authorizing utilities to recover the full cost of
   15         providing services to an energy-producing business or
   16         its customers, under certain circumstances;
   17         authorizing utilities to install, maintain, and
   18         operate certain renewable energy source devices;
   19         exempting the sale of electricity produced by such
   20         devices from regulation; authorizing utilities to
   21         recover certain costs under certain circumstances;
   22         authorizing customers to challenge such cost recovery
   23         and receive refunds following a successful challenge;
   24         clarifying applicability and the eligibility
   25         requirements of certain energy rebate or incentive
   26         programs established by law; authorizing the Florida
   27         Public Service Commission to adopt rules; providing an
   28         effective date.
   29          
   30  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   31  
   32         Section 1. Present paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of
   33  section 366.91, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
   34  (g), a new paragraph (f) is added to that subsection, and
   35  subsection (10) is added to that section, to read:
   36         366.91 Renewable energy.—
   37         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   38         (f)“Renewable energy source device” has the same meaning
   39  as in s. 193.624(1).
   40         (10)(a) An owner of a commercial or industrial business or
   41  a contracted third party may install, maintain, and operate a
   42  renewable energy source device on or about the structure in
   43  which the business operates or on any property that the business
   44  owns or leases. The owner of the business or the contracted
   45  third party may sell the electricity generated from the device,
   46  regardless of whether the device is located in a utility’s
   47  service territory, to a commercial or industrial business that
   48  is located immediately adjacent to the structure, within the
   49  same parcel as the structure, or on an immediately adjacent
   50  parcel. Such sales are not retail sales of electricity for
   51  purposes of this chapter and do not subject the energy-producing
   52  business to regulation under this chapter.
   53         (b) A business entity is not required to purchase directly
   54  or indirectly, by lease or by other contractual arrangement, the
   55  electricity produced pursuant to paragraph (a).
   56         (c) If the energy-producing business or its customers
   57  require additional related services from a utility, such as
   58  backup generation capacity or transmission services, the utility
   59  may recover the full cost of providing these services.
   60         (d) A utility may enter into a contract with a commercial
   61  or industrial business to install, maintain, and operate any
   62  type of renewable energy source device on or about the structure
   63  in which the business operates and to sell the electricity
   64  generated from the device to that business or to a commercial or
   65  industrial business located immediately adjacent to the
   66  structure, within the same parcel as the structure, or on an
   67  immediately adjacent parcel. Such sales are not retail sales for
   68  purposes of this chapter and are not subject to regulation under
   69  this chapter.
   70         (e) If the commission determines that the level of
   71  reduction in electricity purchases by customers using renewable
   72  energy source devices under this section is significant enough
   73  to adversely impact the rates other customers pay in the rate
   74  territory, the commission may approve a utility’s request to
   75  recover its costs of providing capacity, generation, and
   76  distribution of the electricity needed by all customers,
   77  including customers using a renewable energy source device. The
   78  cost recovered must be an appropriate amount of fixed costs to
   79  avoid the adverse impact and may be assessed only to customers
   80  engaged in activity under this section. The cost-recovery
   81  elements that are intended for recovery of the fixed costs of
   82  capacity, generation, and distribution of electricity must be
   83  based on actual costs or on projected costs, must be approved by
   84  the commission by a super majority of the voting members of the
   85  commission, and are subject to adjustment. A customer may
   86  challenge the cost recovery established pursuant to this
   87  paragraph by filing with the commission a petition for a
   88  determination as to whether the costs recovered are excessive.
   89  Upon a determination by the commission of any excessive cost
   90  recovery, the customer must be refunded any excess funds
   91  collected by the utility.
   92         (f) For the purpose of any renewable energy rebate or
   93  incentive program established by law, and for application
   94  exclusively in this section, the rebate or incentive is the sole
   95  property of the owner of the renewable energy source device, and
   96  the customer of any electricity sale pursuant to this section is
   97  not eligible to receive the rebate or incentive unless the
   98  customer owns the renewable energy source device.
   99         (g)The commission may adopt rules to provide guidance,
  100  requirements, and procedures to ensure that each utility
  101  continues to recover costs, including the costs of providing
  102  redundant capacity.
  103         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.