PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

The Public Service Commission is considering modifying the terms of the Uniform Business Practices for Distributed Energy Resource Suppliers (UBP-DERS) that provide distributed energy resource (DER) oversight.

Commission oversight of distributed energy resource suppliers.

To protect customers and utilities in the receipt of services from distributed energy resource suppliers.

The Public Service Commission is considering modifying the terms of the Uniform Business Practices for Distributed Energy Resource Suppliers (UBP-DERS) that provide distributed energy resource (DER) oversight to include provisions related to termination fees, production guarantees, and escalation clauses. Distributed energy resources include a broad category of end-use energy efficiency, demand response, distributed storage, and distributed generation resources not owned by utilities that can have a beneficial impact on the operation of utility distribution systems. DER Suppliers are utility customers or other entities that participate in Commission-authorized DER programs or markets. Regarding a limit on or other standards applicable to early termination fees for all DER suppliers, the Commission is considering (a) whether a limit on early termination fees charge to mass market customers should be applied to all DER suppliers, or to a subset of all DER suppliers; (b) whether the limit on early termination fees, consistent with the limit on ESCO early termination fees, should be set at (i) $100 for any contract with a remaining term of less than 12 months, (ii) $200 for any contract with a remaining term of more than 12 months, (iii) twice the estimated average monthly bill, provided that an estimate of an average monthly bill and amount of any termination fee was provided to the customer at the time of the sales agreement, or (iv) a different amount, or using a different method than a fixed amount; and (c) whether contracts involving the installation of DER equipment on customer property should be excluded from this limit or be subject to a modified version of it. Regarding production guarantees, the Commission is considering (a) whether community distributed generation (CDG) or on-site mass market distributed generation providers should be required to include a production guarantee in their contracts with mass market customers; (b) whether that requirement should be applied to all contract types, or only to a subset of the standard contract types, which are purchases, leases, and power purchase agreements; and (c) whether there should be any further requirements on the level of production guaranteed or on the compensation if a guarantee is not met. Regarding escalation clauses, the Commission is considering (a) whether a limit should be applied to the escalation where a CDG or on-site mass market distributed generation contract with a mass market customer includes provisions for escalation of pricing over the term of the contract; and (b) whether escalation provisions should be limited to a maximum of three percent annually. The full case record may be reviewed online at the Department of Public Service web page: www.dps.ny.gov. The Commission may adopt, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the provisions discussed and may resolve related matters.

John Pitucci, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2655, email: [email protected]

Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 474-6530, email: [email protected]

60 days after publication of this notice.