Technical Review of Georgia’s Net Metering Policies, Procedures and Gaps – FINAL PROJECT REPORT

The Law is currently being amended to bring it into compliance with European Union (EU) requirements. Georgia does not have a national renewable energy policy, but a task force has been formed to develop a National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) which will establish targets for renewable energy development and set out an action plan for meeting those targets. The Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) has a net metering program in place, which is specifically addressed in Article 251 of the Electricity (Capacity) Supply and Consumption Rules. Net metering installations are referred to as "micro-generation power plants" and defined as renewable energy sources with installed capacity less than 100 kW that are connected to the electricity distribution network and are under the ownership of a retail customer and located at the customer's point of electricity consumption. A technical assistance project was undertaken by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) with the main objective of performing a technical review of GNERC's net metering policy and regulations to identify gaps and make recommendations for improvement. The project was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under cooperative agreement # AID-OAA-A-16-00049. The technical review was conducted by Carl Douglas Bowman, who worked with GNERC to draft net metering policies, make revisions to technical requirements, and develop a net metering implementation plan with recommendations for next steps. The project included three tasks: Task 1, which involved performing a technical review of net metering policy, regulations, and gaps; Task 2, which involved providing on-site technical assistance and advisory services to GNERC; and Task 3, which involved drafting and finalizing net metering policies and revisions to technical requirements. The Consultant's final report, dated April 19, 2018, summarizes the work performed, highlights important observations and accomplishments, and specifies future assistance needs related to net metering program implementation. The report includes a re-write of Article 25 of the Electricity (Capacity) Supply and Consumption Rules, which incorporates administration and design improvements agreed to with GNERC during the in-country assistance. The report also includes a net metering implementation plan for Georgia, which identifies the proposed net metering implementation plan, next steps for implementation of the net metering policy, and included drafts for the consideration of GNERC legal staff of a Net Metering Application form, a Net Metering Contract and Connection Agreement, and a report detailing the Net Metering Application Process and Connection Standards. GNERC is in agreement with the Consultant's recommendations relating to primary and secondary legislation requirements, design and administration, and implementation of its net metering program. GNERC now only needs to finalize with input from its legal staff and the Distribution Licensees the representative secondary legislation documents provided by the Consultant and they will have a net metering program that is consistent with best industry practice and the requirements of the EU.