Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator JEAN STANFIELD
District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Greenstein
SYNOPSIS
Requires BPU to study and implement methods to allow additional distributed energy sources to interconnect to electrical grid.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on January 30, 2023, with amendments.
An Act concerning distributed energy sources and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Board of Public Utilities shall conduct a study for the 1[purpose] purposes1 of 1:
(1)1 identifying, researching, and quantifying the effects of short-term solutions that could 1[open] benefit the reliability of the electrical transmission and distribution system and enable1 segments of the electrical transmission and distribution system 1[that are currently closed]1 to 1host greater amounts of power from1 new distributed energy generation sources 1; and
(2) planning for pilot testing and the adoption of rules and regulations to implement the solutions found pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection1 .
b. The board shall consider the following potential solutions, as well as any additional potential solutions identified by the board:
(1) permitting the flow of electricity, through an electrical substation, from the distribution system to the transmission system;
(2) requiring solar inverters to include 1, activate, and use1 technology that allows the inverter to 1inject and absorb reactive power1 autonomously 1or in response to remote1 control 1[the reactive power passing through the inverter]1 ;
(3) requiring energy storage systems to include 1, activate, and use1 technology that allows the 1energy storage system to inject or absorb real and reactive1 power 1[input and output of the system to vary in relation to the demand for electric power in the transmission and distribution system at a given time]1 ; and
(4) requiring solar photovoltaic systems to include 1, activate, and use1 technology 1and services1 that 1[enables] enable1 the power output of the system to 1[autonomously]1 respond to 1short-term predictions of1 weather conditions 1to control the rate-of-change of the power output, or other system parameters1 .
c. No later than one year after the effective date of this act, the board shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a report containing the findings and recommendations of the board, including any recommendations for legislative, regulatory, or local governmental action to open up additional segments of the transmission and distribution system to new distributed energy generation sources.
d. As used in this section:
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities.
"Reactive power" means the portion of alternating current electricity, measured in volt-amperes reactive, that cannot do useful work due to a misalignment of the current and voltage waveforms of the electricity.
"Transmission and distribution system" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
2. No later than one year after the board transmits the report required pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of this act, the board shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations that implement the report's recommendations for regulatory action. The rules and regulations shall initially implement the recommendations as a pilot program in a small region or regions of the State, and then, if the pilot program is determined by the board to be successful, the board shall provide for Statewide implementation of the rules and regulations.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.