Virginia Law

A. The IC may informally request electric system information for a proposed project for a specific site by providing in writing details of the potential generating facility project, including site address, grid coordinates, project size, and proposed point of interconnection, to the utility's designated employee or office described in 20VAC5-314-10. Electric system information provided to the IC in response to the informal requests shall include relevant system studies, interconnection studies, and other materials useful to providing an understanding of an interconnection at a particular point on the utility's distribution system, to the extent such provision does not violate confidentiality provisions of prior agreements or critical infrastructure requirements. The utility shall comply with reasonable requests for such information in a timely manner, not to exceed 10 business days. The information produced by the utility is nonbinding, does not confer any rights, and the IC shall still successfully apply to interconnect to the utility's system. The IC shall still meet the requirements of 20VAC5-314-40 or 20VAC5-314-50 to apply to interconnect to the utility's system and to obtain a queue number. Any one developer shall have no more than five active informal requests for information at one time.

B. In addition to the option of informally requesting information described in subsection A of this section, an IC may submit a formal written request form along with a nonrefundable fee of $500 for a preapplication report on a proposed project at a specific site. The utility shall provide the preapplication data described in subsection C of this section to the IC within 20 business days of receipt of the completed request form and payment of the fee. The preapplication report produced by the utility is nonbinding, does not confer any rights, and the IC must still successfully apply to interconnect to the utility's system. The written Preapplication Report Request Form shall include all of the information as described in Schedule 4 of 20VAC5-314-170. The utility shall notify the IC if there are any deficiencies in the IC's submittal within five business days of submission of the Preapplication Report Request Form. Any one developer shall have no more than five active formal requests for information at one time.

C. Using the information provided in the Preapplication Report Request Form in subsection B of this section, and as described in Schedule 4 of 20VAC5-314-170, the utility will identify the substation or area bus, bank, or circuit likely to serve the proposed point of interconnection. This selection by the utility does not necessarily indicate, after application of the Level 2 screens or Level 3 study process, that this point of interconnection will be suitable or the most costs effective for interconnection. The IC must request additional preapplication reports if information about multiple points of interconnection is requested. Subject to subsection D of this section, the preapplication report will provide the following information:

1. Total capacity (in MW) of substation or area bus, bank, or circuit based on normal or operating ratings likely to serve the proposed point of interconnection.

2. Existing aggregate generation capacity (in MW) interconnected to a substation or area bus, bank, or circuit (i.e., amount of generation online) likely- to serve the proposed point of interconnection.

3. Aggregate queued generation capacity (in MW) for a substation or area bus, bank, or circuit (i.e., amount of generation in the queue) likely to serve the proposed point of interconnection.

4. Substation nominal distribution voltage or transmission nominal voltage if applicable.

5. Nominal distribution circuit voltage at the proposed point of interconnection.

6. Approximate circuit distance between the proposed point of interconnection and the substation.

7. Relevant line sections actual or estimated peak load and minimum load data, including daytime minimum load and absolute minimum load, when available.

8. Number and rating of protective devices and number and type (standard, bidirectional) of voltage regulating devices between the proposed point of interconnection and the substation or area. At the substation, identify the number of capacitors and if the substation has a load tap changer.

9. Number of phases available at the proposed point of interconnection. If a single phase, distance from the three-phase circuit.

10. Limiting conductor ratings from the proposed point of interconnection to the distribution substation.

11. Whether the proposed point of interconnection is located on a spot network, grid network, or radial supply.

12. Based on the proposed point of interconnection, existing or known constraints such as, but not limited to, electrical dependencies at that location, short circuit interrupting capacity issues, power quality or stability issues on the circuit, capacity constraints, or secondary networks.

13. Other information regarding an affected system the utility deems relevant to the IC (e.g., substation upgrades that allow bidirectional power flows).

D. The preapplication report need only include existing data that is readily available to the utility. A preapplication report request does not obligate the utility to conduct a study or other analysis of the proposed generator in the event that data is not readily available. If the utility cannot complete all or some of a preapplication report due to lack of available data, the utility shall provide the IC with a preapplication report that includes the data that is available as well as a description of any data that was not available. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section, the utility shall, in good faith, include data in the preapplication report that represents the best available information at the time of reporting.