CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light Department; establishing updated eligibility requirements for net metering and customer-requested net metering aggregation billing arrangements; and amending Section 21.49.082 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
body
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle supports the renewable energy economy across the utility service area and the city; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Section 21.49.082 is associated with City Light’s Net Metering Program that is aligned with chapter 80.60 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW); and
WHEREAS, in its 2019 session the Washington State Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, legislation concerning net metering by amending and creating new provisions in chapter 80.60 RCW; and
WHEREAS, City Light’s Net Metering Program under SMC 21.49.082 needs to be updated to be aligned with the current chapter 80.60 RCW; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 21.49.082 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 125171, is amended as follows:
21.49.082 Net metering program
A. The Department shall offer a net metering program in accordance with chapter 80.60 RCW and this Chapter 21.49. The Department shall develop and enter into interconnection agreements, consistent with such laws, with customers desiring to participate in the net metering program. Customers are required to enter into interconnection agreements and to comply with their terms as a condition of participation in the net metering program. The Department is authorized to establish policies, procedures, and interconnection standards for implementing the net metering program.
B. The Department may adopt safety, power quality, and interconnection requirements for customer-generators, including, but not limited to, special equipment requirements for secondary distribution networks, and limitations on the number of customer-generators and total capacity of net metering systems that may be interconnected to any distribution feeder line, circuit, or network, that the Department determines are necessary to protect public safety and system reliability.
C. Net metering program customers shall be metered, billed, and credited as follows:
1. In accordance with its normal metering practices, the Department shall measure the net electricity produced or consumed by each net metering program customer during the billing period applicable to that net metering program customer's rate schedule for electric service.
2. If the electricity supplied to a net metering program customer by the Department exceeds the electricity generated by that customer and fed back to the Department during the billing period, that customer shall be billed in accordance with its then-current rate schedule for the net electricity supplied by the Department. If electricity generated by a net metering program customer and fed back to the Department exceeds the electricity supplied by the Department during a billing period, that net metering program customer shall be billed for all charges (including any minimum charges or base service charges) applicable to that customer's rate schedule, and shall be credited for the excess kilowatt-hours generated and fed back to the Department. A KWh credit shall appear on the bill for the following billing period, shall be applied only to reduce the metered amount of KWh billed by the Department to that customer, and any unused credit shall be carried forward to the next bill. On ((April 30)) March 31 of each calendar year, any unused KWh credit accumulated during the previous year shall be granted to the Department, without any compensation to the net metering program customer.
D. If a customer-generator requests, the Department shall provide net meter aggregation ((. KWh credits earned by a net metering system, during the same billing period, shall be credited by the Department to remaining meters located on all premises of a customer-generator at the designated rate of each meter. Not more than a total of 100 KW shall be aggregated among all customer-generators participating in a generating facility under this subsection 21.49.082.D.))
consistent with RCW 80.60.030. Consistent with RCW 80.60.020, the customer-generator may be charged a one-time set-up fee by the Department in accordance with the administrative cost to establish the net meter aggregation billing arrangement.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2020, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)