The Kentucky Senate passed SB 100 on Wednesday, which provides changes to how customers are compensated for net-metered electricity generation. The bill passed by a vote of 23-12.

The bill affects solar, wind, biomass or biogas, and hydro energy facilities under 45 kW installed at customer sites. Currently, electricity customers are compensated based on the difference between the electricity supplied by the grid and the amount of electricity fed back to the grid. The bill changes the compensation to be based on the dollar value of the electricity fed back to the grid. The dollar value of the electricity will be determined by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

The bill also requires that compensation be given only as a credit on the electric bill. If the amount of the credit exceeds the total amount of the bill, the excess is carried over to the next bill. The excess credits are not allowed to be transferred to another customer or location. If a customer closes their account, no cash refund will be available for the excess credits.

The bill has been sent to the Kentucky House of Representatives for consideration. If passed, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2020. For electric facilities that are already in place, the new rates for compensation will not apply until after 25 years.

Proponents of the bill state that it is necessary because the current regulations require utilities to pay more for the net electricity than how much it would cost the utility to generate it themselves. Opponents of the bill state that it will have a significantly negative impact on the use of solar panels in the state.

Solar energy has seen a significant amount of new legislation in recent years to increase the use of the form of energy. In December, the California Building Standards Commission required that all new homes built in the state after 2020 be built with solar power capacity. Part of the new energy law signed in Illinois in December 2016 included job training for the solar industry.