Rhode Island General Laws Title 39. Public Utilities and Carriers § 39-26.6-19. Coordination with energy-efficiency programs

(a) In consultation with the office, the electric-distribution company may make a request to the commission that up to half of the megawatts for the small- and medium-scale solar project enrollments be allocated by the commission for selection through a process coordinated with the energy-efficiency program in order that specified solar incentives may be tied with energy-efficiency program incentives in order to allow the electric-distribution company to implement a coordinated, energy efficiency and solar program offering. In this case, the electric-distribution company will propose criteria for eligibility for performance-based incentives for solar that require certain energy-efficiency standards be met at the customer location in order to be eligible for performance-based incentives for a small-scale and/or medium-scale solar installation.

(b) The electric-distribution company must also include program parameters that do not disrupt competition among small-scale and/or medium-scale solar developers, including, without limitation, safeguards against any one, or subset of, developers in this market being given exclusive rights or other market advantages over competitors. In approving the proposal, the commission must find that there is no such small- and medium-solar-market disruption.

(c) The commission shall approve the request of the distribution company within ninety (90) days, making such modifications as it deems reasonable, provided the modifications are consistent with the legislative purposes of this chapter and the state's energy-efficiency goals.

(d) The allocation of megawatts is for implementation purposes only and shall not authorize funds to be shifted from the distributed-generation growth program to energy-efficiency programs, nor will implementation of the electric distribution company's request cause a reduction of the annual or cumulative capacity goals established for the distributed-generation growth program. To the extent that the megawatts allocated to the energy-efficiency program pursuant to this section are not committed during a program year, such uncommitted megawatts shall be allocated back to the distributed-generation growth program in the following year or such year the board recommends to the commission. Funding for the energy-efficiency measures that are tied to the solar installations must be obtained separately from the energy-efficiency program budget funded through applicable energy-efficiency charges.

(e) Should the small-scale and medium-scale project classes in the renewable energy growth program be oversubscribed in two (2) consecutive enrollments and there are megawatts that have not been committed through the process coordinated with the energy-efficiency program after the second enrollment, the board, after consultation with the office and the electric-distribution company, shall have the authority to move all, or a portion of, the uncommitted megawatts out of the coordinated program back to the renewable-energy growth program to meet the demand of the oversubscription, subject to commission approval. If, in such case, the board does not exercise the authority, any party may file a petition to the commission requesting action to be taken.