Bill > S2816

This bill requires electric public utilities to submit electric infrastructure improvement plans to the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which is the state agency that regulates utilities, within 120 days of the bill's enactment, and these plans must be implemented. The primary goal of these plans is to reopen electric distribution circuits that have been closed to new renewable energy installations or have limited capacity, and they will not include improvements to the electric transmission system. The plans must include provisions for allowing electricity to flow from the distribution system to the transmission system, require specific solar inverters and energy storage systems on closed circuits to use smart inverter technology to manage power flow, and identify low-cost solutions like "non-wires alternatives" (solutions that don't involve building new traditional electrical infrastructure) to help reopen these circuits. The BPU will then review these plans within 300 days and can approve, modify, or disapprove them, requiring utilities to submit performance metrics showing how many new renewable energy projects were approved due to the plan's implementation and to schedule the necessary work promptly.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S2816