Nevada’s AB465 (2019) requires electric utilities 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. The bill requires the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) to adopt certain regulations for the implementation of the expanded solar access program and requires an electric utility to submit a plan for the implementation of the expanded solar access program.
In December, 2021, the PUCN approved a final set of rules governing the state’s new expanded solar access program. Low-income customers, disadvantaged businesses, nonprofit organizations, and customers who cannot install solar on their property due to physical or legal constraints are all eligible to apply for expanded solar access programs. Applicants must be selected according to a lottery system.
The approved rules define how electric rates for customers participating in the programs will be calculated, setting a cap on potential charges for low-income customers and creating a mechanism by which utilities may recoup potential costs associated with the program. The rules also require reports on the program and its progress at each utility, to be filed every three years, demonstrating how the utilities will make the financial and economic benefits of rooftop solar available to customers who cannot install solar panels on their own properties.