Member update on end-of-session activities for clean energy and energy efficiency in RI

The Rhode Island General Assembly is concluding its 2026 session this month. The FY 2027 budget passed the House on June 5 and the Senate on June 9, and now heads to Governor McKee. It is expected to become law ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

Net Metering: The Final Article

As reported last week, the budget's final energy article reflects months of engagement by ACT, the Coalition for Community Solar Access, industry members doing business in Rhode Island, labor, and end users including municipalities. The final language passed both chambers unchanged from the House Finance Committee's revision. Key provisions for ACT members:

• The grid access fee and the acceleration of credit reductions to 2045 are out of the final budget.
• The cap on ground-mounted remote net metering is lowered from 275 to 175 MW, 50 MW above the level the Governor originally sought. Behind-the-meter systems and systems serving accounts of the same owner on the same or contiguous parcels are not subject to the cap.
• The construction deadline for capped systems is extended from July 1, 2030 to December 31, 2032.
• Eligible systems may make a one-time, irrevocable election of a fixed credit of $0.19 per kilowatt-hour, compounding at 2.75% annually beginning January 1, 2028, for a 25-year term. The statute directs that the credit rate cannot be reduced once a project has elected the tariff, language intended to support project financing.

Implementation now moves to the Public Utilities Commission. Rhode Island Energy must file the implementing tariff by August 15, with Commission approval due by December 1. The terms set in that docket will determine how the fixed-credit election works in practice, and ACT intends to stay involved and keep members informed as the proceeding develops. The outcome of this session shows what is possible when the industry engages collectively, and ACT was glad to work alongside its partners throughout.

Solar Cost Reduction Act: One Chamber to Go

The Solar Cost Reduction Act (H 7726A), which ACT strongly supports, passed the House with bipartisan support. The bill would modernize residential solar permitting through automated plan review and instant permit issuance within the state's E-Permitting Portal, reducing soft costs for installers and homeowners without changing safety standards and at no cost to the state. Our partners at the Ocean State Climate Alliance have championed this effort and led the push to advance it through the session. Its Senate companion (S 2801) awaits action, and with the session ending this week, the calendar is the principal obstacle. 

Utility Ownership of Generation

S 2645A would have allowed electric distribution companies to own generating facilities, a change to the separation of distribution and generation in place since 1996. The bill emerged late in the session, advanced out of committee on June 2, and drew significant opposition. The sponsor withdrew it from floor consideration on June 8 and has indicated it may return next January. ACT will monitor the issue through the interim and engage with members on it ahead of the next session.

Energy Efficiency

The Governor's January proposal would have capped energy efficiency program budgets at $75 million per year, against a 2026 program budget of $95 million. The final budget contains no such cap. Program funding levels will continue to be set through the three-year plan process at the Commission.

Looking Ahead

Two dates to mark for the legislative off-season:

• The August 15 tariff filing at the Commission, which will propose the terms and conditions governing the fixed-credit election, including the calculation and payment of credits and the rights and obligations of participating systems. The election window for individual projects runs from that tariff's approval, making the docket the place where the budget compromise takes operational shape.
• The Office of Energy Resources' review of behind-the-meter net metering and the Renewable Energy Growth Program, due to the Governor's office by October 1 under Executive Order 26-01. That review is expected to inform next year's budget proposal, and the utility ownership question may return as well.

ACT will be engaged on each front and will keep members current. Save the date of Wednesday, August 5 at 3:30 pm ET for ACT’s annual Legislative Roundup. Details to come!

For more information, please reach out to Tim Snyder, ACT's Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs, at tsnyder@joinact.org.

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