Senator pushes bill to modernize energy

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) has introduced a bill to encourage the use of new consumer electricity storage and creation technologies.

King’s bill looks to reform state laws that affect so-called “distributed energy resources,” such as rooftop solar panels for energy generation or home batteries meant to store energy taken from the electric grid.

{mosads}Many of the regulations for these energy systems come on the state level. But King said the technologies’ spread has been stymied by “antiquated policies” dealing with how they connect to the electric grid. Utility companies, for example, can charge “grid connection feels” that can make the technology unaffordable.

“Whether it’s solar panels on the roof or battery storage in the basement, advanced technologies are unlocking America’s energy future by literally bringing power to the people,” King said in a statement. “But policies governing how these technologies connect to and interact with our nation’s electricity grid are stuck in the past and, as a result, are holding back the enormous potential for these technologies to flourish.”

King’s bill will would establish parameters for states to follow to rewrite their energy rules. Those rules would “protect the right of consumers to connect their distributed resources to the grid for a reasonable price,” according to King’s office, and have states redesign their electricity metering rules to “ensure that grid-owners and operators receive their due compensation.”