Committee hears plug‑in (balcony) solar bill; supporters tout affordability, utilities cite safety and clustering risks

A proposal to create a statutory category for small plug-in solar devices drew significant public testimony and technical questions. The bill would allow portable solar generation devices up to 1,200 watts to be used without utility interconnection agreements, fees or municipal approval if they meet nationally recognized safety standards and built-in anti‑islanding protections.

Supporters’ case: Itzel Rios Vega (regional director, Boat Solar), Sky Richmond (BrightSaver), and other advocates said the measure would expand access to solar for renters and lower-income households, reduce bills and improve resiliency. Sky Richmond said these systems are widely used internationally and that standards and safeguards (UL certification, NEC compliance, anti‑islanding) address safety concerns.

Utilities’ concerns: Electric co-ops and utilities argued they need awareness of distributed devices to maintain distribution safety and reliability, pointed to clustering risks where many small devices on one circuit could create an unmanaged generation scenario, and asked how compliance would be verified if municipalities and utilities are prohibited from requiring notification or inspection. The committee heard technical questions about back‑feeding risk and limits on devices per service.

Committee action: The chair held HB2843 for further work, requesting more information from utilities, co-ops and stakeholders on safety standards, verification and limits before advancing the bill.