The Easy Connection Act

From the RENEW MO website at http://www.renewmo.org/easyconnectionact.html

"The Easy Connection Act establishes uniform procedures to allow Missourians to connect a small renewable energy system to the electric grid in a quick, safe, and reliable manner. The Easy Connection Act makes it easier and more cost effective for a Missourian to install a renewable energy system onto a home or business. This victory is a critical first step to bring Missouri's renewable energy policy up to the national standard.

ECA enables Missourians to utilize renewable energy sources more effectively in two ways:

1) Simple Interconnection Simple interconnection procedures that standardize interconnection for all Missourians are necessary to promote the use of renewable energy in Missouri. ECA makes it easier and more cost-effective for Missourians to connect small renewable energy systems to the grid.

2) True Net Metering (One-for-One Electricity Measurement) The ECA establishes "true net metering", which credits an owner of a renewable energy system at a one-to-one rate for electricity "sold" back to the grid. True net metering is used in 41 states and Washington D.C.

The Easy Connection Act signed into law on June 25, 2007:Representative Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City) and Senator Joan Bray (D-St. Louis) sponsored the bill in the Missouri House and Senate respectively. The Easy Connection Act passed as an amendment to the "Green Power Initiative Bill" in the House on May 8, by a vote of 146-6, and passed the Senate on May 14 by a vote of 34-0. Governor Blunt signed the bill into law on June 25, 2007.

Before ECA:The original procedures for connecting small renewable energy systems to the electric grid in Missouri were time consuming, unclear, and costly. As a result, many Missourians chose not to interconnect or connect illegally to avoid the hassle. Additionally, older Missouri law contained a cumbersome and inequitable "dual metering" policy. Under previous rules, if a renewable electricity system produced more energy than was used by the household or business, the excess energy was sent back to the grid and was "bought" back at just 20% of the retail rate."

You can also contact RENEW MO for more information on qualified installers and cost estimates of renewable energy systems.

COURT TELLS DNR TO BUTT OUT OF TAUM SAUK CASE

A Reynolds County judge on May 22 ruled that Attorney General Jay Nixon – not the Missouri Department of Natural Resources – has the legal authority to represent the state in its lawsuit against Ameren Corp. over the December 2005 collapse of the company’s Taum Sauk reservoir that destroyed Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.

Nixon and DNR Director Doyle Childers have battled over who has the authority to negotiate a settlement in the matter, with Childers seeking to have Nixon’s office removed from the case.

PSC GRANT $43 MILLION RATE HIKE TO AMEREN

The Missouri Public Service Commission on May 22 approved an electricity rate hike for Ameren Corp. that will cost the company’s Missouri customers an estimated $43 million a year. The increase, however, fell well short of the $361 million hike Ameren sought.
The Office of the Public Counsel maintained Ameren is already overcharging customers and recommended a $179 million rate decrease. The PSC’s own staff recommended a $168 million decrease. The PSC approved the rate hike on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Steve Gaw as the lone dissenter. Ameren has faced much criticism in the last year for repeated and prolonged outages that left hundreds of thousands of its customers without power.

Rep. Daus Co-Sponsors The Easy Connection Act (HB 869)

The Easy Connection Act allows Missourians to install a small renewable energy system -- typically a wind turbine or solar panel -- in a safe, quick, and cost effective manner.
The usage of renewable energy provides many economic and social benefits including energy independence, electricity reliability, and local job creation -- without the negative public health and environmental impacts that result from the burning of fossil fuels.
The Easy Connection Act enables the installation and operation of small renewable energy systems by establishing the following procedures:

1) Simple Interconnection
Currently, the procedures for connecting small renewable energy systems to the electric grid in Missouri are time consuming, unclear, and costly. As a result, many Missourians choose not to interconnect or connect illegally to avoid the hassle. This bill establishes simple interconnection procedures to allow Missourians to connect a small renewable energy system in a quick, safe, and reliable manner.

2) True Net Metering (One-for-One Electricity Measurement)
Current Missouri law involves a cumbersome and ineffective “dual metering” policy. Dual metering states that if a renewable electricity system produces more energy than is used by the household or business, the excess energy is sent back to the grid and is “bought” back at about 20% of the retail rate.

The Easy Connection Act establishes a more equitable policy called “true net metering.” True net metering, already used in 40 states and Washington D.C., calls for an owner of the renewable energy system to be credited at a one-to-one rate for the clean, renewable electricity contributed to the grid.
Current information about the Easy Connection Act is available on the internet at www.RenewMo.org