Earlier this month, Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01) introduced the Americans Making Power Act, or AMP Act, which would establish a national standard for net metering. The legislation would allow Americans to feed back into the grid’s excess renewable power they generate through their homes, small businesses, and even places of worship. In addition, the legislation would make the nation’s electric grid more reliable by encouraging a more diffuse means of energy production.
“Our new clean energy economy can start right at home,” Inslee says. “Imagine getting a credit on your bill from your utility company every month because you generated more power than you use.”
The AMP Act addresses two main issues associated with a net metering policy. Mainly, it acknowledge the actual net metering standard with a policy component designed to allow for the connection of a renewable energy system to the electric grid, also known as “interconnection.” The AMP Act would accomplish this by modifying section 113 of the ’78 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. While 40-some states have already adopted a form of net metering and/or interconnection standards, there are many variations in policy. Some states have yet to adopt net metering at all. This bill will set a national standard, but is still flexible enough to allow states to set their own standards, as long as they go above and beyond the outlined language.
Filed Under: Policy
