Connecticut AG Protested Petition that Requested FERC Assert Jurisdiction Over Net Metering

JUNE 15, 2020

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed a protest urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny a petition that requested the commission assert federal jurisdiction over net metering. If approved, the petition would upend existing state-based net metering programs and dramatically slow the growth of rooftop solar and other kinds of distributed electricity generation. In the protest, Attorney General Tong emphasized that an assertion of federal jurisdiction over net metering would be “inconsistent with the clear delineation set forth in the Federal Power Act” and would “undermine the contract expectations and investment decisions of retail customers who have relied upon state specific compensation regimes that were enacted to promote specific state public policy initiatives.” The protest also warned that the petition “represents poor public policy” and would interfere with state regulators’ ongoing efforts to “balance various public goods, including energy affordability, reliability, distributed resources and environmental concerns.”