§ 248c. Fees; Department of Public Service and Public Utility Commission; participation in
certification and siting proceedings
(a) Establishment. This section establishes fees for the purpose of supporting the role of the Department
of Public Service (Department) and the Public Utility Commission (Commission) in reviewing
applications for in-state facilities under section 248 of this title. Companies that pay the gross receipts tax as provided in section 22 of this title shall not be subject to the fees established in this section.
(b) Payment. The applicant shall pay the fee into the State Treasury at the time the application
for a certificate of public good is filed with the Commission in an amount calculated
in accordance with this section. The fee shall be deposited into the gross revenue
fund. Of the fees deposited into the gross revenue fund, 60 percent shall be allocated
to the Department and 40 percent shall be allocated to the Commission.
(c) Definitions. As used in this section, “kW” and “plant capacity” have the same meanings as in section 8002 of this title.
(d) Electric and natural gas facilities. This subsection sets fees for registrations and applications under section 248 of this title.
(1) There shall be a fee of $100.00 for each electric generation facility less than or
equal to 50 kW in plant capacity, or for a rooftop project, or for a hydroelectric
project filing a net metering registration, or for an application filed under subsection 248(n) of this title, or for an energy storage facility less than or equal to 1 MW in nameplate capacity
that is required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and is proposed to be located inside an existing building and that would not require
any ground disturbance work or upgrades to the distribution system.
(2) There shall be a fee of $25.00 for modifications for each electric generation facility
less than or equal to 50 kW in plant capacity, or for a rooftop project, or for a
hydroelectric project filing a net metering registration, or for an application filed
under subsection 248(n) of this title, or for an energy storage facility less than or equal to 1 MW in nameplate capacity
that is required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and is proposed to be located inside an existing building and that would not require
any ground disturbance work or upgrades to the distribution system.
(3) There shall be a fee for electric generation facilities and energy storage facilities
that are required to obtain a certificate of public good under section 248 of this title and that do not qualify for the lower fees in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection,
calculated as follows:
(A) $5.00 per kW; and
(B) $100.00 for modifications.
(4) For applications that include both a proposed electric generation facility and a proposed
energy storage facility, the fee shall be the larger of either the fee for the electric
generation facility or the energy storage facility as set out in subdivisions (1)
and (3) of this subsection.
(5) For applications that propose to add an energy storage facility to a location that
already has a certificate of public good for an electric generation facility, the
fee shall be that for a proposed new energy storage facility as set out in subdivisions
(1) and (3) of this subsection.
(6) For applications that propose to add an electric generation facility to a location
that already has a certificate of public good for an energy storage facility, the
fee shall be that for a proposed new electric generation facility as set out in subdivisions
(1) and (3) of this subsection.
(e) Report. On or before the third Tuesday of each annual legislative session, the Department
and Commission shall jointly submit a report to the General Assembly by electronic
submission. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to this report. The report shall
list the fees collected and refunds approved, if any, under this section and under
section 248d of this title during the preceding fiscal year. (Added 2019, No. 70, § 10; amended 2023, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. May 30, 2024.)