HB 504 — An Act providing for community energy facilities; imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, electric distribution companies and subscriber organizations; and providing for prevailing wage and labor requirements.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO.

1481 PRINTER'STHE NO.GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL Session of No.

1628 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL Session of No.

WILLIAMS, O'MARA, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, DAVIDSON, STEELE, K.HARRIS, DONAHUE, CIRESI, KHAN, FRIEL, PROKOPIAK, SALISBURY, BOROWSKI, FIEDLER,FIEDLER AND KINKEAD, A.APRIL 23, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, TECHNOLOGY AND UTILITIES, APRIL 23, 2025 AN ACT Providing for community energy facilities;

BROWN, McNEILL, TAKAC, KRAJEWSKI, MADSEN AND T.

DAVIS, APRIL 23, 2025 AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 6, 2025 AN ACT Providing for community energy facilities;

(4) In addition to its provision of standard electricity market commodities and services, local energy generation can 20250HB0504PN1628 - 2 - contribute to a more resilient grid and defer the need for 20250HB0504PN1481 - 2 - costly new transmission and distribution system investment.

"Bill credit." The commission-approved monetary value of 20250HB0504PN1628 - 3 - each kilowatt hour of electricity generated by a community 20250HB0504PN1481 - 3 - energy facility and allocated to a subscriber's monthly bill to offset any part of the subscriber's retail electric bill other than volumetric or demand-based distribution charges.

(A) 5,000 kilowatts of alternating current for a facility that is not a brownfield community energy 20250HB0504PN1628 - 4 - facility;

and 20250HB0504PN1481 - 4 - (B) 20,000 kilowatts of alternating current for a facility that is a brownfield community energy facility.

(3.1) IN THE CASE OF A RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS DEVICE CO- <-- LOCATED WITH AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTER, USES ALL BIODIESEL OR BIOGAS PRODUCED FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM A DIRECTLY CONNECTED GENERATOR, ON-SITE USE AS HEATING OR TRANSPORTATION FUEL OR ON-FARM USE BY AN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION.

20250HB0504PN1628 - 5 - "Community energy organization." As follows:

20250HB0504PN1481 - 5 - (iii) serve electric load independent of the community energy facility;

20250HB0504PN1628 - 6 - "Low income." A family income at or below 150% of the poverty line as defined in 42 U.S.C.

20250HB0504PN1481 - 6 - "Public utility." As defined in 66 Pa.C.S.

For 20250HB0504PN1628 - 7 - the purpose of this definition, a subscriber administrator shall not be considered a public utility solely as a result of the subscriber administrator's operation or ownership of a community energy facility.

"Subscription." A contract between a subscriber and a subscriber administrator of a community energy facility that 20250HB0504PN1481 - 7 - entitles the subscriber to a bill credit, measured in kilowatt hours, and applied against the subscriber's retail electric bill.

A community energy facility that demonstrates all of the following to the 20250HB0504PN1628 - 8 - commission shall have the initial and replacement subscribers of the community energy facility receive a bill credit from the date the community energy facility is authorized by the commission to operate:

(1) An executed interconnection agreement with an electric distribution company obtained in accordance with 52 20250HB0504PN1481 - 8 - Pa.

(b) Establishment of credit.--Within 180 days of the effective date of this subsection, the commission shall establish a bill credit for a public utility that appropriately values the energy, capacity and transmission values produced by a community energy facility and is not less than the bill credit <-- established under 52 Pa.

Code § 75.13(e) (relating to general 20250HB0504PN1628 - 9 - provisions).

PRICE DETERMINED UNDER 66 PA.C.S.

§ 2807(E) <-- (7) (RELATING TO DUTIES OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES) FOR THE SUBSCRIBER'S RATE CLASS AT THE TIME OF ENROLLMENT.

THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RECEIVING THE BILL CREDIT MAY NOT LIMIT, ALTER OR INHIBIT PARTICIPATION OF SUBSCRIBERS FROM ANY RATE CLASS, NOR ALTER THE SUBSCRIPTION'S ORIGINAL RATE CLASS AT ANY TIME ONCE ENROLLED.

(a) Customer protection provisons.--The commission shall promulgate regulations providing for the protection of a 20250HB0504PN1481 - 9 - residential customer who has a subscription with a community energy organization or subscriber administrator.

20250HB0504PN1628 - 10 - (e) Fees prohibited.--A community energy organization may not impose a termination or cancellation fee on a subscriber.

A 20250HB0504PN1481 - 10 - nonresidential customer may subscribe to multiple community energy facilities, except that no more than one of the subscriptions may be under a net credit agreement with an electric distribution company.

(a) Report on bill credit.--On a monthly basis, an electric distribution company shall provide to a community energy organization or subscriber administrator a report in a standardized electronic format indicating the total value of the 20250HB0504PN1628 - 11 - bill credit generated by the community energy facility in the prior month, the calculation used to arrive at the total value of the bill credit and the amount of the bill credit applied to each subscriber.

20250HB0504PN1481 - 11 - (c) Transferability.--An electric distribution company shall permit the transferability and portability of subscriptions if a subscriber relocates within the same electric distribution company territory.

20250HB0504PN1628 - 12 - Section 9.

(2) Include, in an interconnection application for a community energy facility, proof of site control by the 20250HB0504PN1481 - 12 - community energy facility for the purposes of the study under paragraph (1).

20250HB0504PN1628 - 13 - Section 11.

The temporary regulations shall be implemented within 180 days of the effective date of this subsection and expire following the date 20250HB0504PN1481 - 13 - of publication of the permanent regulations under subsection (a) in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

(d) Contents.--The temporary regulations under subsection 20250HB0504PN1628 - 14 - (b) shall meet all of the following criteria:

(e) Low-income customers.--The commission, in collaboration with the Office of Consumer Advocate, electric distribution 20250HB0504PN1481 - 14 - companies, community energy organizations and low-income stakeholders, may promulgate regulations adopting mechanisms to increase participation by low-income customers in community energy programs.

(1) Prohibit an entity or affiliated entity under common control from developing, owning or operating more than one 20250HB0504PN1628 - 15 - community energy facility on the same parcel or contiguous parcels of land.

(a) Prevailing wage.--A community energy facility for which a bill credit is sought and awarded to a subscriber under this act shall be deemed to meet each of the minimum requirements 20250HB0504PN1481 - 15 - necessary to apply the wage and benefit rates and related certification of payroll records required under the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act.

(2) Maintains compliance with the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act, 20250HB0504PN1628 - 16 - the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L.2897, No.1), known as the Unemployment Compensation Law, and bonding and liability insurance requirements as specified in the contract for the energy project.

(5) Has completed a minimum of the United States 20250HB0504PN1481 - 16 - Occupational Safety and Health Administration's 10-hour safety training course or similar training sufficient to prepare workers for any hazards that may be encountered during their work.

In addition to enforcement authorized under the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, if the Department of Labor and Industry determines that the community energy organization intentionally failed to pay prevailing wage rates or benefit rates in violation of section 11(h) of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act for work specified under subsection (a), the community energy organization or the organization's agents, contractors and subcontractors shall pay a fine equivalent to 10% of the value of the bill credit 20250HB0504PN1628 - 17 - multiplied by the estimated 25-year production of the community energy facility.