With the legislative session wrapped up, Gov. Janet Mills has signed dozens of new laws related to Maine’s utilities and energy markets that could impact energy costs in the state for decades to come.

Among the hundreds of laws Mills signed this session are changes to the statewide electricity billing procedures, new benchmarks designed to speed up adoption of renewable energy sources and attempts to rein in climbing costs. The governor had until the end of Monday to act on the final slate of bills sent from the Legislature. Those she did not act upon could be revisited in the early days of the next session.

Some of the biggest changes will affect Maine’s controversial net energy billing program, which gives residents and businesses bill credits for electricity they produce with small, renewable generation systems, like rooftop solar panels.

Republicans have criticized — and tried to eliminate — the program for years because it raises costs for ratepayers who don’t install these systems in order to cover the credits.

Starting in January, that balance will shift with a new law that, among other provisions, imposes a monthly fee for most systems intended to produce more than 1 megawatt of power, which is enough to power just under 200 homes when operating at full capacity.

Those charges, which would range from $2,800 to $30,000 depending on the size of the system, are designed to offset the cost of distributing that power that would otherwise fall to ratepayers. The law also requires the Governor’s Energy Office to draft a successor program and submit that plan to the Public Utilities Commission by September 2026.

Public Advocate Heather Sanborn’s office forecasts that the law will save electricity customers about $1.2 billion over the next 16 years. The program is currently forecast to cost Mainers — including those who do not participate — more than $230 million this year.

“We set out to build 750 MW of solar, and instead we’ve built more than 1,600 MW. Now we need to make sure that solar power is delivered affordably to Mainers going forward,” Sanborn said in a written statement. “We can’t afford to let soaring electricity bills undermine public support for renewable energy.”

The legislation drew criticism from Maine’s renewable energy industry, with some arguing that the bill would disincentivize new solar and renewable energy projects and could force developers to halt projects that have already begun. Eliza Donoghue, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, called the bill “misguided” after its passage.

“Our rising electric bills have so much more to do with volatile fossil fuel prices and storm recovery costs that are passed along to Maine consumers,” Donoghue said in a written statement. “There is a false narrative that solar is at fault, and it is not. Our overall electricity costs would be higher if not for solar energy.”

Another proposed measure would create a “Net Energy Billing Cost Stabilization Fund” within the utilities commission, which would reimburse utilities for costs that would otherwise be passed on to ratepayers. Funding would come from a mixture of federal and grant awards, the state budget, and additional public and private funds. The Legislature approved a $500 appropriation to open the fund.

That figure is basically a placeholder that allowed the bill to move forward during a tight budget season, according to a spokesperson from the Maine Senate Republican Office.

Mills took no action on that bill before Monday’s deadline, meaning it will be held until the Legislature reconvenes, likely in January. At that point Mills will have three days to act on the bill before it would become law without her signature.

CODIFYING ELECTRICITY GOALS

Mills also signed a pair of new laws designed to codify her administration’s renewable energy goals and establish a new, cabinet-level Department of Energy Resources to help shepherd Maine’s energy landscape through changing administrations.

The first formalizes the Mills administration’s goal of procuring 100% of the state’s retail electricity from clean and renewable sources by 2040.

The new law specifies that up to 10% of that electricity can be supplied by nonrenewable “clean resources,” which can include existing nuclear power generators, large-scale hydroelectric generators and some other forms of generation deemed to produce the very small amounts of net greenhouse gases. The remaining 90% must come from renewables.

That approach “allows for greater flexibility in how Maine meets its energy needs and makes it possible to leverage various technologies that may become more cost-competitive over time,” Caroline Colan, legislative liaison for the Governor’s Energy Office, testified in May.

That law also allows the PUC to pursue joint energy procurements with other states in the region when they are deemed cost-effective, which could drive down overall electricity rates for consumers.

That goes hand-in-hand with another new law that transforms the Governor’s Energy Office into a new Department of Energy Resources with expanded authorities and responsibilities. That department will formally launch later this year, Mills’ office said.

“This new department will allow the state to build a long-term approach for Maine’s energy needs, respond quickly to emerging challenges and strengthen regional and national energy partnerships to benefit our people and economy,” Mills said in a written statement.

Dan Burgess, director of the energy office, has said the its current format is vulnerable to staff turnover when a new administration takes over and teams are rebuilt, undermining long-term goals.

“A cabinet-level department would be led by a commissioner that is appointed by the governor, but would be better designed to retain and attract high-quality staff with specific expertise necessary to support the ongoing operational capacity and continuity of the department’s work,” Burgess testified in April.

The new department also would be authorized to solicit competitive bids for new energy procurement — a task that has largely been overseen by the PUC until now. Burgess said doing so would help streamline procurements and ensure that they align with overarching clean energy goals.

METRICS, PEAK TIMES, GAS LEAKS

A handful of new laws include relatively simple tweaks that could significantly impact future electricity rates, including one that permits the PUC to develop quantitative metrics to gauge utilities’ operations while reviewing possible rate changes.

The PUC will also be permitted to establish time-of-use rates as part of its standard-offer electricity pricing, meaning rates can fluctuate based on demand throughout the day. Such rates are already available on the distribution side of the bill, which usually makes up about half — or less — of the total cost, but only a fraction of customers participate.

PUC Chair Philip L. Bartlett II has said a time-of-use system would take years to develop, but it could reduce electricity bills for thousands of households and encourage Mainers to use electricity during off-peak hours, easing overall stress on the grid. For Central Maine Power Co. customers, on-peak hours are currently 5-9 p.m. on weekdays.

The commission is also required to update its emergency response plan to include methods of identifying and reaching out to customers who rely on electricity for medical devices, including hemodialysis machines, oxygen concentrators “or any other medical equipment necessary for an individual whose medical condition is likely to be significantly triggered or exacerbated by a continued loss of electricity.”

Gas utilities will now be responsible for finding leaks throughout their entire systems and reporting them to the PUC every three years or less, under another new law.

Another new law, which went into effect without Mills’ signature, extends the Efficiency Maine’s electric vehicle incentive to include vehicles purchased out of state from certain, qualified dealers. Efficiency Maine paused those rebates for most customers last year and for low-income Mainers on July 1 but says a successor program is in the works.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the capacity of a megawatt and that monthly fees under the new net energy billing rules could range from $2,800 to $30,000.