BILL NO A05525A
SAME AS SAME AS S04548
SPONSOR Englebright (MS)
COSPNSR Hooper, Gunther, Jaffee, Maisel, Castro, Markey, Gabryszak, Lavine,
Schroeder
MLTSPNSR Aubry, Boyland, Boyle, Brennan, Magee, McEneny, Reilly, Thiele
Amd S1020-cc, Pub Auth L
Requires the Long Island power authority to conform to safety standards
regarding manual lockable disconnect switches for solar electric generating
equipment.
BILL NO A05525A
02/23/2011 referred to energy
03/08/2011 reported
03/10/2011 advanced to third reading cal.123
03/14/2011 amended on third reading (t) 5525a
03/24/2011 passed assembly
03/24/2011 delivered to senate
03/24/2011 REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
06/13/2011 SUBSTITUTED FOR S4548
06/13/2011 3RD READING CAL.609
06/13/2011 PASSED SENATE
06/13/2011 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
08/05/2011 delivered to governor
08/17/2011 signed chap.413
BILL NUMBER:A5525A
TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public authorities law,
in relation to external disconnect
switches on solar electric generating equipment
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To eliminate any
requirement that solar electric generating equipment of less than 25
kilowatts have an external disconnect switch.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Under no
circumstances shall such standards require the use of such a manual
lockable disconnect switch on residential solar electric equipment of
not more than twenty-five kilowatts, when such equipment is in
compliance with Underwriters Laboratories interconnection standard 1747.
The authority shall comply with the provisions of section sixty-six-j of
the public service law.
JUSTIFICATION:
In February 2009, the state's Public Service Commission issued a ruling
requiring that all utility companies eliminate the requirement for the
external disconnect switch used in solar installations sized 25kW and
smaller.
Since that ruling, all the state's utility companies have complied
however the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), a state owned utility
company, has not.
All solar energy converting equipment currently sold on the market
today, are required to meet the rigid standards of IEEE 1547 and UL 1741
anti-islanding provisions, preventing "grid connected" inverter
equipment from back feeding power to the grid when there is a utility
power failure.
Requiring a redundant manual disconnect switch only adds to the cost of
an already expensive solar installation between $700 and $1400 to the
customer.
This amendment changes the current law to reflect the February PSC
decision.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2009-10 A10245 referred to
energy
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5525--A
Cal. No. 123
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 23, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, HOOPER, GUNTHER, JAFFEE, MAISEL,
CASTRO, MARKEY, GABRYSZAK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. AUBRY,
BOYLAND, BOYLE, BRENNAN, MAGEE, McENENY, REILLY, THIELE -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Energy -- reported from committee,
advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to external
disconnect switches on solar electric generating equipment
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Section 1020-cc of the public authorities law, as added by
2 chapter 517 of the laws of 1986 and as renumbered by chapter 334 of the
3 laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
4 S 1020-cc. Authority subject to certain provisions contained in the
5 state finance law, the public service law, the social services law and
6 the general municipal law. All contracts of the authority shall be
7 subject to the provisions of the state finance law relating to contracts
8 made by the state. The authority shall also establish rules and regu-
9 lations with respect to providing to its residential gas, electric and
10 steam utility customers those rights and protections provided in article
11 two and sections one hundred seventeen and one hundred eighteen of the
12 public service law and section one hundred thirty-one-s of the social
13 services law. THE AUTHORITY SHALL CONFORM TO ANY SAFETY STANDARDS
14 REGARDING MANUAL LOCKABLE DISCONNECT SWITCHES FOR SOLAR ELECTRIC GENER-
15 ATING EQUIPMENT ESTABLISHED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO
16 SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE AND SUBPARAGRAPH
17 (II) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE-A OF SECTION SIXTY-SIX-J OF
18 THE PUBLIC SERVICE LAW. The authority shall let contracts for
19 construction or purchase of supplies, materials, or equipment pursuant
20 to section one hundred three and paragraph (e) of subdivision four of
21 section one hundred twenty-w of the general municipal law.
22 S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08771-02-1
