# COMAR Title 20 — Public Service Commission ## Subtitle 62 — Community Solar Energy Generation Systems ### Chapter 02 — Program **Authority:** Public Utilities Article, §§2-113, 2-121, 7-306, 7-306.1, and 7-306.2, Annotated Code of Maryland **Administrative History:** Effective date: July 18, 2016 (43:14 Md. R. 781) **Administrative History:** Regulation .01 amended effective June 15, 2020 (47:12 Md. R. 597); March 21, 2022 (49:6 Md. R. 406); March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .02 amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .02A amended effective June 15, 2020 (47:12 Md. R. 597); March 21, 2022 (49:6 Md. R. 406) **Administrative History:** Regulation .02C amended effective March 21, 2022 (49:6 Md. R. 406) **Administrative History:** Regulation .03 amended effective June 15, 2020 (47:12 Md. R. 597); March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .04 amended effective March 21, 2022 (49:6 Md. R. 406); March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .04E amended effective June 15, 2020 (47:12 Md. R. 597) **Administrative History:** Regulation .06 amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .07 amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .09 A, C amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .10 amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) **Administrative History:** Regulation .11B amended effective March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221) #### Regulation .01 Program Structure. *COMAR 20.62.02.01* A. Each electric company shall establish a program to accept and administer community solar energy generating system projects from the earlier of: (1) The first date of application of a subscriber organization to operate a community solar energy generating system after the effective date of the revised program regulations adopted by the Commission under Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2(f), Annotated Code of Maryland; or (2) 6 months from the effective date of the revised program regulations adopted by the Commission under Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2(f), Annotated Code of Maryland. B. An electric company operating a CSEGS program shall continue to operate the program subject to Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2 or an applicable Commission order. C. An electric company shall apply bill credits and virtual net excess generation to a subscriber’s bill in accordance with applicable tariffs. D. An electric company shall pay subscriber organizations for unsubscribed energy in accordance with applicable tariffs. E. An electric company shall maintain program data and records as directed by the Commission. #### Regulation .02 Program Closure. *COMAR 20.62.02.02* The Commission may direct electric companies to close the Program to new applications if the total Statewide net-metered generation exceeds the limit described in Public Utilities Article, §7-306(d), Annotated Code of Maryland. #### Regulation .03 Number of Accounts per Project. *COMAR 20.62.02.03* A. A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may subscribe as many accounts as needed to match each CSEGS’s capacity. B. An electric company may require a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator to maintain a minimum average subscription size of 2 kW per customer for an individual CSEGS during the Program. #### Regulation .04 Subscription Credits. *COMAR 20.62.02.04* A. Subscriber List. (1) List Composition. (a) A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall provide the electric company with electronic data indicating the proportion of a community solar energy generating system’s output that shall be applied to each subscriber’s bill. (b) An electric company may develop an alternative format for processing subscriber lists. (2) Update Frequency. (a) A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may at any time provide an updated subscriber list to an electric company. (b) A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall provide an updated subscriber list via the designated electronic portal maintained by the electric company under §H of this regulation or any other format accepted by the electric company. (c) An electric company shall use the most recent subscriber list provided by a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator, subject to submission deadlines incorporated by tariff and accepted by the Commission. (3) An electric company shall apply credits using the most recently updated subscriber list provided by the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator. B. An electric company shall determine the amount of kilowatt hours to be credited to each subscriber by multiplying the subscriber’s most recent generation proportion from §A of this regulation by the output of the community solar energy generating system as measured by the electric company’s meter. C. Application of Subscription Credits. (1) Unless otherwise directed by the Commission, an electric company may choose to apply the appropriate kilowatt-hour credit from §B of this regulation to each subscriber’s bill as either a reduction in metered kilowatt-hour use or a dollar credit to the subscriber's billed amount. (2) An electric company shall choose the same method for all subscribers in a project. D. If the electric company chooses to apply the credit from §C of this regulation as a dollar amount, the electric company shall apply a credit no less than the value to the subscriber of the credit had it been applied to the subscriber’s bill as a reduction in metered kilowatt hours. E. An electric company shall retain a record of a project’s kilowatt hours applied to each subscriber’s account for a period of 7 years. F. Electronic Portal. (1) An electric company shall establish and maintain an electronic portal that allows a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator to provide subscriber lists to the electric company for crediting as required by this regulation. (2) An electric company that has established an electronic portal prior to the effective date of this regulation shall maintain an electronic portal with the capability that is specified in §H(3) of this regulation for each CSEGS in the Program. (3) An electric company shall allow a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator to input data electronically in batches of up to 1,000 subscriber accounts per CSEGS, including the ability to add new subscribers, remove subscribers, and edit the allocations of existing subscribers. G. Electric Company Credit Allocation Reporting. (1) An electric company shall provide a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator with a report detailing each subscriber’s credit allocation. (2) An electric company shall provide the report described in §G(1) of this regulation no later than the last day of each calendar month following the month of the CSEGS meter reading by the electric company. #### Regulation .05 Subscription Limitations. *COMAR 20.62.02.05* A. A subscriber may not subscribe for an amount of energy that exceeds 200 percent of the value of the subscriber’s baseline annual usage including all subscriptions and any net metered generation. B. Multiple Subscriptions. (1) A customer may purchase multiple subscriptions from one or more CSEGS. (2) A subscriber’s total subscribed credits shall comply with §A of this regulation. C. A subscriber may participate in net metering as described in Public Utilities Article, §7-306, Annotated Code of Maryland, such that the total of all net-metered generation and subscribed energy does not exceed 200 percent of the value of the subscriber’s baseline annual usage. #### Regulation .06 Credit Payments. *COMAR 20.62.02.06* An electric company may not refund generation credits to customers except as electric bill credits or as payment for virtual net excess generation. #### Regulation .07 Virtual Net Excess Generation. *COMAR 20.62.02.07* A. A subscriber shall: (1) Receive credit for virtual net excess generation; and (2) Accrue virtual net excess generation in the same manner as an eligible customer-generator under Public Utilities Article, §7-306(f), Annotated Code of Maryland, using one of the following periods elected by the subscriber: (a) for a period not to exceed 12 months ending with the billing cycle that is complete immediately prior to the end of April of each year; or (b) an indefinite period. B. The requirements of §B of this regulation apply only to a subscriber that has elected to accrue virtual net excess generation for a period not to exceed 12 months. (1) An electric company shall pay a subscriber a dollar amount of excess generation as reasonably adjusted to exclude the distribution, transmission, and noncommodity portion of the customer’s bill unless the electric company records subscriber credits as kilowatt hours. (2) An electric company that serves electric retail choice customers shall pay the subscriber for kilowatt hours of excess generation at the lesser of the subscriber’s retail supply rate or the Standard Offer Service rate in effect at the time of payment. (3) An electric company that does not provide Standard Offer Service shall pay a subscriber for kilowatt hours of excess generation at the electric company’s avoided cost of generation. (4) An electric company may pay a subscriber an amount of excess generation as a bill credit if the amount of payment is less than $25. (5) An electric company shall make a determination to apply §§B(1), B(2), or B(3) of this regulation in accordance with the type of subscription credits used for the subscriber according to Regulation .04 of this chapter. #### Regulation .08 Unsubscribed Energy. *COMAR 20.62.02.08* An electric company shall file tariffs to pay a subscriber organization for unsubscribed energy in accordance with Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2(d)(7), Annotated Code of Maryland. #### Regulation .09 Utility Cost Recovery. *COMAR 20.62.02.09* A. An electric company shall receive full and timely cost recovery of Program credit costs. B. An electric company may not establish a separate surcharge, fee, or rate for recovery of any program costs, including credit and administrative costs. C. An electric company may include Program credit costs in existing rate adjustments for distribution rates or as a revenue or cost component for transmission or commodity rates as accepted by the Commission. #### Regulation .10 Project Duration. *COMAR 20.62.02.10* A. Electric company tariffs requiring payments or credits from an electric company to subscribers in effect during the Program or Pilot Program shall remain in effect for subscribers until the final community solar energy generating system in the service territory of the electric company is decommissioned. B. An electric company shall continue to facilitate the operation of a subscriber organization that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the final community solar energy generating system associated with the subscriber organization or is decommissioned. C. A subscriber organization may continue to operate a community solar energy generating system that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the community solar energy generating system is decommissioned. D. A subscriber organization may create, exchange, and trade subscriptions up to the full project capacity for a community solar energy generating system that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the community solar energy generating system is decommissioned. #### Regulation .11 Billing Accuracy. *COMAR 20.62.02.11* A. The Commission may establish standards for billing accuracy to apply to subscriber credits and billing revenue. B. The Commission may direct an electric company to develop additional automated billing and crediting features in order to improve billing accuracy for the Program.