The Indiana General Assembly is currently made up of  50 Indiana State Senators and 100 Members of the Indiana House of Representatives. It is my contention that the key to winning passage of good net metering legislation that will promote development of increased renewable energy resources and distributed generation lies with the Indiana Senate Republican caucus. The Indiana State Senate is comprised of 33 Republicans and 17 Democrats.

Don't get me wrong there are a lot of reasons to support revising our net metering rules in the State of Indiana. We need each and every supporter of renewable energy and distributed generation to contact their state legislators to support pending net metering legislation. But if your State Senator is a member of the Senate Republican caucus this is even more important. 

Please don't misunderstand my message. I think it is very likely that some type of net metering will be enacted this session of the Indiana General Assembly which is now expected to adjourn NEXT WEEK. That's right. If you have not been following this very closely, this short session is expected to adjourn a week early rather than by March 14th. State legislative leadership is now looking at adjournment one week from tomorrow or Thursday, March 4th.

A few words about the state legislative process. It is hard work to pass new state laws. It is much easier to "kill a bill" than it is to "pass a bill". Opponents of good net metering legislation are targetting their resources on the Senate Republicans. That's why right now we need to redouble our efforts to reinforce our supporters. We need them to not only vote for us but to be able to understand the issues and to counteract the misinformation on net metering when Senate Republicans discuss net metering in behind closed door strategy meetings. At a minimum we need to arms State Senators with good questions to ask.

The two net metering bills still in play are as follows:

SB 313 SB 313 is on the second reading calendar in the House today (2/24/2010). This means amendments may be offered by any House member. No House amendments have been posted yet to the Indiana General Assembly website but there is always a time lag. SB 313 will then be on the third reading calendar or final passage tomorrow (2/25/2010).

HB 1094 is on the second reading calendar in the State Senate today. We won't know if any amendments have been filed until later today. The Senate is scheduled to convene at 1:30 pm. If HB 1094 is called down on second reading today, it will be eligible for third reading or final passage in the Senate tomorrow (2/25/2010).

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW! If your State Senator is listed below, you to talk to them. I didn't say just call or email them. You need to talk to them and to engage them in a discussion. That means you need to ask them to call you or agree to meet with you this weekend. Talk to them, explain how and why net metering is important to your business and your customers. Listen to their questions and let us know what they are thinking and what they are hearing from their colleagues. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. We cannot counteract misinformation unless we know what is being said.

If you don't know who your State Senator is, please visit this website http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup/. Then enter your home address (or wherever you are registered to vote) with your zipcode + four. Ask your employees and business associates to do the same thing.

Members of the Senate Republican Caucus are as follows:

To reach these State Senators, see the list below:

An update on the language in both net metering bills will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact me. laura.arnold@indianaDG.org or call (317) 635-1701 office/home or (317) 502-5123 cell.

It is up to you now.