Maine Brings Back Net-Metering, Sets the Stage for Renewable Portfolio Standard Boost

The Maine legislature passed a bill on March 15 that would reestablish net metering for consumers with solar installations, doing away with the previous administration’s gross metering policy. The legislation, introduced by State Representative Seth Berry, a Democrat, will likely be signed by fellow Democratic governor Janet Mills.

Gross metering was developed by the Maine Public Utility Commission with the support of former Republican governor Paul LePage’s administration. Adopted in 2017, the controversial measure sets a valuation for the entire output of a solar system, whether or not this electricity is consumed on site, on top of several fees for the transmission and distribution of that energy. This created the need for a complicated arrangement involving a second meter to measure the amount of energy generated in addition to the standard meter. The measure has been heavily criticized by the solar industry, environmental groups and consumers wanting to install solar panels on their roofs.

A Democratic takeover of the governorship and the statehouse in last year’s Midterm elections means an abrupt shift from the previous administration’s energy policy. Chief among the factors is Mills, who on the campaign trail called for the state to move to 100 percent clean energy by 2050 and since assuming power has put an end to the infamous moratorium on wind turbines.

Maine’s current Renewable Portfolio Standard program calls for the state to get 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2017 and 10 percent from Class I renewables by 2022, in an extension of the previous 2017 deadline. According to the latest official progress report, the state has met its Class I and II requirements for 2015 and was on track to do the same in 2016.