SB1697

The guide must give basic information, best practices and resources for deciding whether to install a home solar-energy device. It must suggest questions for the customer’s electricity provider about net metering or buyback programs, rebates/incentives and which solar-related services the provider does or does not offer. Asking whether a program exists is different from requiring the provider to offer it. Final law.

Required design topics include roof condition, direction, orientation, tilt and area; shade; and maintenance. Financial topics include buying versus leasing, financing options, appropriate system size for the home and power needs, federal/state tax credits, continuing fees and interest, maintenance/repairs and expected device life. The guide must also provide a PUC employee or division phone number and email address for solar questions. The act itself does not establish eligibility for any tax credit or guarantee that a particular financing plan saves money. Final law.

PUC must post the guide online and periodically update it; no fixed first-publication date or update interval is stated. For at least 12 months after publication of each version, each electric utility that bills a customer directly and each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility and retail electric provider must link to it on its website and include access information with every bill. This is not limited to the first guide or to one bill insert. It does not require mailing the entire guide. Final law.

All five operative versions match, and no floor amendments are indexed. These information and distribution duties were in the introduced bill rather than added later. Introduced; Senate committee; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Households considering solar may gain a common checklist for comparing design, financing and provider services. PUC must prepare and update the material, and covered providers must maintain links and billing information. The act does not guarantee lower electricity bills, a particular payback period, reliable performance by an installer or existing implementation of the guide. Final law.

The March 17 fiscal note anticipates no significant state or local-government fiscal impact and assumes costs can be absorbed using existing resources. It supplies no dollar estimate of provider compliance costs or household savings. The act makes no appropriation. Fiscal note; Final law.