AB458 - Revises provisions governing energy. (BDR 58-228)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 458–Assemblymember Watts CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to energy; authorizing the users of a solar- powered affordable housing system to participate in net metering; exempting the owner or operator of a solar- powered affordable housing system from certain provisions of law; requiring the owner or landlord of a qualified multifamily affordable housing property to notify residents and new tenants of certain information relating to a solar- powered affordable housing system; making certain provisions governing public works applicable to contracts for construction work related to certain solar-powered affordable housing systems; establishing requirements for a tariff or contract relating to a solar-powered affordable housing system; revising provisions governing the administration of net metering; revising provisions relating to an expanded solar access program which certain electric utilities are required to offer; revising certain contractual requirements for an agreement for the purchase or lease of a solar-powered affordable housing system; imposing various requirements and restrictions on a contractor who performs work concerning a residential photovoltaic system used to produce electricity on a qualified multifamily affordable housing property; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires each electric utility in this State to offer net metering to customer-generators operating in the service area of the utility. (NRS 704.773) Existing law defines “net metering” to mean measuring the difference between the electricity supplied by a utility and the electricity generated by certain customers which is fed back to the utility. (NRS 704.769) Sections 13 and 14 of this bill authorize the users of a solar-powered affordable housing system to participate in net metering. Sections 2-8 of this bill define certain terms related to solar-powered affordable housing systems. Section 11 of this bill excludes persons who own or operate a solar-powered affordable housing system from the definition of “public utility.” Section 12 of this bill makes a conforming change to make the definitions set forth in sections 2-8 applicable to the provisions of existing law governing net metering. Sections 15 and 16 of this bill revise existing provisions governing net metering to provide for the administration of net metering with respect to solar- powered affordable housing systems, including the measuring of net electricity produced or consumed and the awarding of credit for excess electricity produced by a solar-powered affordable housing system. Sections 9 and 10 of this bill establish certain requirements for any tariff or contract which relates to a solar-powered affordable housing system. Section 9.3 of this bill requires an application to qualify for the tariff submitted to the utility by an owner or operator of a solar-powered – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) affordable housing system to include certain supporting documentation which shows that the system is part of a qualified multifamily affordable housing property. Section 9.7 of this bill requires the owner of a solar-powered affordable housing system, in the initial application for the tariff which the owner submits to the utility, to inform the utility of the proper allocation of capacity and its associated production to customer-generators of the system. Section 18 of this bill provides that, with certain exceptions, certain provisions governing the rates charged for the provision of electric service by the landlord of a manufactured home park or mobile home park or owner of a company town do not apply to the owner or operator of a solar-powered affordable housing system. Section 10.3 of this bill requires the owner or landlord of a qualified multifamily affordable housing property to notify residents and new tenants of certain information relating to a solar-powered affordable housing system that is on the premises or to be installed on the premises. Section 10.7 of this bill provides that certain provisions governing public works apply to any contract for construction work related to a solar-powered affordable housing system financed in whole or in part by a state or local government, even if the construction work does not qualify as a public work. Existing law requires: (1) certain electric utilities in this State to offer an expanded solar access program to residential customers and to certain nonresidential customers who consume less than 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month; (2) the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to adopt certain regulations for the implementation of the expanded solar access program; and (3) an electric utility to submit a plan for the implementation of the expanded solar access program. Under existing law, the customers who are eligible to participate in an expanded solar access program are: (1) low-income residential customers; (2) certain disadvantaged businesses and nonprofit organizations; and (3) certain residential customers who cannot install solar resources on the premises of the customer. In implementing the expanded solar access program, an electric utility is required to: (1) make use of at least a certain number of community-based solar resources; and (2) provide participating low-income residential customers with a lower rate. (NRS 704.7865) Section 17 of this bill: (1) revises the criteria for eligibility so that only low- income residential customers are eligible to participate in an expanded solar access program; and (2) requires customers who are supported with certain funding from the Nevada Clean Energy Fund to comply with certain requirements. Section 17 also authorizes such a participating customer to remain continuously enrolled in the program without having to reapply. For community-based solar resources, section 17: (1) increases the maximum nameplate capacity from not more than 1 megawatt to not more than 5 megawatts; (2) requires a process for open bidding or requests for proposals for the selection of sites; (3) requires prioritizing the selection of sites that provide resiliency for the electric grid and benefits for the community; and (4) requires construction of additional community-based solar resources in proportion to increased participation in the expanded solar access program. Existing law: (1) imposes certain requirements on solar installation companies that sell and install distributed generation systems in this State; (2) prescribes certain contractual requirements for an agreement for the purchase or lease of a distributed generation system and a power purchase agreement; and (3) provides that the violation of those provisions relating to distributed generation systems constitutes a deceptive trade practice. (NRS 598.9801-598.9822) Sections 1 and 19-25 of this bill make these provisions applicable to solar-powered affordable housing systems. – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) Existing law: (1) prohibits a person from performing any work on, or providing a bid for or executing a contract to perform such work on, a residential photovoltaic system used to produce electricity on a single-family residence unless the person holds a license issued by the State Contractors’ Board or is an employee of such a person; (2) imposes certain requirements on contractors who perform work on such systems; (3) establishes requirements for contracts for such work; (4) prohibits or limits certain practices related to such work and contracts; and (5) authorizes certain penalties and disciplinary action for violations of these provisions. (NRS 624.830-624.895) Sections 23, 26 and 29-35 of this bill make these provisions applicable to a residential photovoltaic system, including a solar-powered affordable housing system, located on a qualified multifamily affordable housing property. Section 28 of this bill requires a general building contractor, in the case of a contract for work concerning a residential photovoltaic system to produce electricity on a qualified multifamily affordable housing property, to provide to the owner of the property certain information relating to subcontractors on the project, certain persons who furnished material for the project and liens. Existing law authorizes the State Contractors’ Board to require a contractor who performs work concerning a residential photovoltaic system used to produce electricity to obtain performance and payment bonds if the contractor: (1) is determined by the Board to have committed certain violations; (2) enters into a contract that is later found to be void and unenforceable against an owner; or (3) has five valid complaints filed against him or her with the Board within a 15-day period. (NRS 624.270) Sections 23 and 28 make this provision applicable to a contractor who performs work on a solar-powered affordable housing system located on a qualified multifamily affordable housing property. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 701.540 is hereby amended to read as follows: 701.540 The Legislature hereby declares that each natural person who is a resident of this State has the right to: 1. Generate, consume and export renewable energy and reduce his or her use of electricity that is obtained from the grid. 2. Use technology to store energy at his or her residence. 3. If the person generates renewable energy pursuant to subsection 1, or stores energy pursuant to subsection 2, or any combination thereof, be allowed to connect his or her system that generates renewable energy or stores energy, or any combination thereof, with the electricity meter on the customer’s side that is provided by an electric utility or any other person named and defined in chapters 704, 704A and 704B of NRS: (a) In a timely manner; (b) In accordance with requirements established by the electric utility to ensure the safety of utility workers; and – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) (c) After providing written notice to the electric utility providing service in the service territory and installing a nomenclature plate on the electrical meter panel indicating that a system that generates renewable energy or stores energy, or any combination thereof, is present if the system: (1) Is not used for exporting renewable energy past the electric utility meter on the customer’s side; and (2) Meets all applicable state and local safety and electrical code requirements. 4. Fair credit for any energy exported to the grid. 5. Consumer protections in contracts for renewable energy pursuant to NRS 598.9801 to 598.9822, inclusive [.] , and sections 20 and 21 of this act. 6. Have his or her generation of renewable energy given priority in planning and acquisition of energy resources by an electric utility. 7. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 704.7725 or 704.7732, remain within the existing broad rate class to which the resident would belong in the absence of a net metering system or a system that generates renewable energy or stores energy, or any combination thereof, without any fees or charges that are different than the fees and charges assessed to customers of the same rate class, regardless of the technologies on the customer’s side of the electricity meter, including, without limitation, energy production, energy savings, energy consumption, energy storage or energy shifting technologies, provided that such technologies do not compromise the safety and reliability of the utility grid. Sec. 1.5. Chapter 704 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 10.7, inclusive, of this act. Sec. 2. “Active affordability covenant” means a covenant, condition or restriction contained in a deed, contract or other legal instrument which affects the transfer, sale or any other interest in real property, which: 1. Establishes a period during which the covenant, condition or restriction is active; and 2. During the period described in subsection 1, limits the amount of any rent and utility charges that may be charged to a natural person or household: (a) Who has an income of: (1) Not more than 80 percent of the area median income based on the guidelines published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; or – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) (2) Not more than 150 percent of the federally designated level signifying poverty as provided in the most recent federal poverty guidelines published in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; or (b) Which qualifies as a low-income family pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1437a(b)(2). Sec. 3. “Allocation” means the net metering credits for each kilowatt-hour of excess electricity generated by the solar-powered affordable housing system that are attributed to one of the users of the solar-powered affordable housing system. Sec. 4. “Net metering credits” means the credit, expressed in terms of the number of kilowatt-hours, that the utility is required to allocate to a customer-generator for each kilowatt-hour of excess electricity governed by paragraph (c) of subsection 2 of NRS 704.775 that is generated by the customer-generator. Sec. 5. “Qualified low-income residential building” means a residential rental building which participates in: 1. A federal covered housing program, as defined in 34 U.S.C. § 12491(a)(3), and is wholly or partially financed by or otherwise connected to a grant or program under: (a) Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959, as amended, 12 U.S.C. § 1701q; (b) Section 811 or sections 851 to 863, inclusive, of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 8013 or §§ 12901 et seq.; (c) The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 11360 et seq., including, without limitation, the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, Continuum of Care Program and Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program; (d) The HOME Investment Partnerships Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12741 et seq.; (e) Section 8 or 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. § 1437f or 1437g, and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto, or pursuant to any successor program, including, without limitation, programs for project-based rental assistance, moderate rehabilitation and moderate rehabilitation single-room occupancy; (f) A low-income housing credit received pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 42; [Text truncated for display. 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