Chapter 315. Regulations Governing Net Energy Metering
20VAC5-315-10. Applicability and scope.
These regulations are promulgated pursuant to the provisions
of §§ 56-594 and 56-594.2 of the Virginia Electric Utility
Regulation Act (§ 56-576 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). They establish requirements
intended to facilitate net energy metering for customers owning and operating,
or contracting with persons to own or operate, or both, electrical generators
that use specific types of renewable energy as the total fuel source. These
regulations will standardize the interconnection requirements for such
facilities and will govern the metering, billing, payment and contract
requirements between net metering customers, electric distribution companies
and energy service providers. Agricultural net metering customers are subject
to the same provisions as nonagricultural net metering customers unless
otherwise specified. On or after July 1, 2019, interconnection of eligible
agricultural customer-generators shall cease for member-owned electric cooperatives
only, and such facilities shall interconnect solely as small agricultural
generators. For member-owned electric cooperatives, agricultural net metering
customers whose agricultural renewable fuel generators were interconnected
before July 1, 2019, may continue to participate in net energy metering for a
period not to exceed 25 years from the date of their agricultural renewable
fuel generator's original interconnection.
These regulations also establish requirements for the
interconnection of small agricultural generators. Small agricultural generators
or agricultural renewable fuel generators may elect to interconnect as a net
metering customer or as small agricultural generators pursuant to
20VAC5-315-75, but not both. Existing eligible agricultural renewable fuel
generators may elect to become small agricultural generators, but may not
revert to being an agricultural renewable fuel generator after such election.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 23, Issue 3, eff. September 26,
2006; Volume 24, Issue 26, eff. August 25, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 18, eff.
April 28, 2010; Volume 30, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2014; Volume 34, Issue 13,
eff. February 1, 2018.
20VAC5-315-20. Definitions.
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Agricultural business" means any sole
proprietorship, corporation, partnership, electing small business (Subchapter
S) corporation, or limited liability company engaged primarily in the
production and sale of plants and animals, products collected from plants and
animals, or plant and animal services that are useful to the public.
"Agricultural net metering customer" means a
customer that operates an electrical generating facility consisting of one or
more agricultural renewable fuel generators having an aggregate generation
capacity of not more than 500 kilowatts as part of an agricultural business
under a net metering service arrangement. An agricultural net metering customer
may be served by multiple meters of one utility that are located at separate
but contiguous sites and that may be aggregated into one account. This account
shall be served under the appropriate tariff.
"Agricultural renewable fuel generator" or
"agricultural renewable fuel generating facility" means one or more
electrical generators that:
1. Use as their sole energy source solar power, wind power, or
aerobic or anaerobic digester gas;
2. The agricultural net metering customer owns and operates, or
has contracted with other persons to own or operate, or both;
3. Are located on land owned or controlled by the agricultural
business;
4. Are connected to the agricultural net metering customer's
wiring on the agricultural net metering customer's side of the agricultural net
metering customer's interconnection with the distributor;
5. Are interconnected and operated in parallel with an electric
company's distribution facilities; and
6. Are used primarily to provide energy to metered accounts of
the agricultural business.
"Billing period" means, as to a particular
agricultural net metering customer or a net metering customer, the time period
between the two meter readings upon which the electric distribution company and
the energy service provider calculate the agricultural net metering customer's
or net metering customer's bills.
"Billing period credit" means, for a nontime-of-use
agricultural net metering customer or a nontime-of-use net metering customer,
the quantity of electricity generated and fed back into the electric grid by
the agricultural net metering customer's agricultural renewable fuel generator
or generators or by the net metering customer's renewable fuel generator or
generators in excess of the electricity supplied to the customer over the
billing period. For time-of-use agricultural net metering customers or
time-of-use net metering customers, billing period credits are determined separately
for each time-of-use tier.
"Contiguous sites" means a group of land parcels in
which each parcel shares at least one boundary point with at least one other
parcel in the group. Property whose surface is divided only by public
right-of-way is considered contiguous.
"Customer" means a net metering customer or an
agricultural net metering customer.
"Demand charge-based time-of-use tariff" means a
retail tariff for electric supply service that has two or more time-of-use
tiers for energy-based charges and an electricity supply demand (kilowatt)
charge.
"Electric distribution company" means the entity
that owns or operates the distribution facilities
delivering electricity to the premises of an agricultural net metering customer
or a net metering customer.
"Energy service provider (supplier)" means the
entity providing electricity supply service, either tariffed or competitive
service, to an agricultural net metering customer or a net metering customer.
"Excess generation" means the amount of electrical
energy generated in excess of the electrical energy consumed by the
agricultural net metering customer or net metering customer over the course of
the net metering period. For time-of-use agricultural net metering customers or
net metering customers, excess generation is determined separately for each
time-of-use tier.
"Generator" or "generating facility" means
an electrical generating facility consisting of one or more renewable fuel
generators or one or more agricultural renewable fuel generators that meet the
criteria under the definition of "net metering customer" and
"agricultural net metering customer," respectively.
"Net metering customer" means a customer owning and
operating, or contracting with other persons to own or operate, or both, an electrical
generating facility consisting of one or more renewable fuel generators having
an aggregate generation capacity of not more than 20 kilowatts for residential
customers and not more than one megawatt for nonresidential customers. The
generating facility shall be operated under a net metering service arrangement.
"Net metering period" means each successive 12-month
period beginning with the first meter reading date following the final
interconnection of an agricultural net metering customer or a net metering
customer's generating facility consisting of one or more agricultural renewable
fuel generators or one or more renewable fuel generators, respectively, with
the electric distribution company's distribution facilities.
"Net metering service" means providing retail
electric service to an agricultural net metering customer operating an
agricultural renewable fuel generating facility or a net metering customer
operating a renewable fuel generating facility and measuring the difference,
over the net metering period, between the electricity supplied to the customer
from the electric grid and the electricity generated and fed back to the
electric grid by the customer.
"Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship,
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, company,
business, trust, joint venture, or other private legal entity, the
Commonwealth, or any city, county, town, authority, or other political
subdivision of the Commonwealth.
"Renewable Energy Certificate" or "REC"
represents the renewable energy attributes associated with the production of
one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electrical energy by a generator.
"Renewable fuel generator" or "renewable fuel
generating facility" means one or more electrical generators that:
1. Use renewable energy, as defined by § 56-576 of the Code of
Virginia, as their total fuel source;
2. The net metering customer owns and operates, or has
contracted with other persons to own or operate, or both;
3. Are located on the net metering customer's premises and
connected to the net metering customer's wiring on the net metering customer's
side of its interconnection with the distributor;
4. Are interconnected pursuant to a net metering arrangement
and operated in parallel with the electric distribution company's distribution
facilities; and
5. Are intended primarily to offset all or part of the net
metering customer's own electricity requirements. The capacity of any
generating facility installed on or after July 1, 2015, shall not exceed the
expected annual energy consumption based on the previous 12 months of billing
history or an annualized calculation of billing history if 12 months of billing
history is not available.
"Small agricultural generating facility" means an
electrical generating facility that:
1. Has a capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts and does
not exceed 150% of the customer's expected annual energy consumption based on
the previous 12 months of billing history or an annualized calculation of
billing history if 12 months of billing history is not available;
2. Uses as its total source of fuel renewable energy;
3. Is located on the customer's premises and is
interconnected with the utility's distribution system through a separate meter;
4. Is interconnected and operated in parallel with an
electric utility's distribution system but not transmission facilities;
5. Is designed so that the electricity generated is expected
to remain on the utility's distribution system; and
6. Is a qualifying small power production facility pursuant
to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-617).
"Small agricultural generator" means a customer
that:
1. Is not an eligible agricultural customer-generator
pursuant to § 56-594 of the Code of Virginia;
2. Operates a small agricultural generating facility as part
of an agricultural business;
3. May be served by multiple meters that are located at
separate but contiguous sites;
4. May aggregate the electricity consumption measured by the
meters, solely for purposes of calculating 150% of the customer's expected
annual energy consumption but not for billing or retail service purposes,
provided that the same utility serves all of its meters;
5. Uses not more than 25% of the contiguous land owned or controlled
by the agricultural business for purposes of the renewable energy generating
facility; and
6. Provides the electric utility with a certification,
attested under oath, as to the amount of land being used for renewable
generation.
"Time-of-use customer" means an agricultural net
metering customer or net metering customer receiving retail electricity supply
service under a demand charge-based time-of-use tariff.
"Time-of-use period" means an interval of time over
which the energy (kilowatt-hour) rate charged to a time-of-use customer does
not change.
"Time-of-use tier" or "tier" means all
time-of-use periods given the same name (e.g., on-peak, off-peak, critical
peak, etc.) for the purpose of time-differentiating energy
(kilowatt-hour)-based charges. The rates associated with a particular tier may
vary by day and by season.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 21, Issue 18, eff. April 26, 2005;
Volume 23, Issue 3, eff. September 26, 2006; Volume 24, Issue 26, eff. August
25, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 18, eff. April 28, 2010; Volume 28, Issue 6, eff.
November 16, 2011; Volume 30, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2014; Volume 32, Issue 9,
eff. December 28, 2015; Volume 34, Issue 13, eff. February 1, 2018.
20VAC5-315-30. Company notification.
A. A prospective agricultural net metering customer,
a prospective net metering customer, or a prospective small
agricultural generator (hereinafter referred to as
"customer") shall submit a completed commission-approved notification
form to the electric distribution company and, if different from the electric
distribution company, to the energy service provider, according to the time
limits in this subsection. If the prospective customer has contracted with
another person to own or operate, or both, the generator or generators, then
the notice will include detailed, current, and accurate contract information
for the owner or operator, or both, including without limitation, the name and
title of one or more individuals responsible for the interconnection and
operation of the generator or generators, a telephone number, a physical street
address other than a post office box, a fax number, and an email address for
each such person.
1. A residential customer shall notify its supplier and receive
approval to interconnect prior to installation or adding capacity to an
electrical generating facility. The electric distribution company shall have 30
days from the date of notification to determine whether the requirements
contained in 20VAC5-315-40 have been met. The date of notification shall be
considered to be the third day following the mailing of the notification form
by the prospective customer.
2. A nonresidential customer shall notify its supplier and
receive approval to interconnect prior to installation or adding capacity to an
electrical generating facility. The electric distribution company shall have 60
days from the date of notification to determine whether the requirements contained
in 20VAC5-315-40 have been met. The date of notification shall be considered to
be the third day following the mailing of the notification form by the
prospective customer.
B. Thirty-one days after the date of notification for a
residential customer, and 61 days after the date of notification for a
nonresidential customer, the prospective customer may interconnect and begin
operation of the generating facility unless the electric distribution company
or the energy service provider requests a waiver of this requirement under the
provisions of 20VAC5-315-80 prior to the 31st or 61st day, respectively. In
cases where the electric distribution company or energy service provider
requests a waiver, a copy of the request for waiver must be mailed simultaneously
by the requesting party to the prospective customer and to the commission's
Division of Public Utility Regulation.
C. The electric distribution company shall file with the
commission's Division of Public Utility Regulation a copy
of each completed notification form within 30 days of final interconnection.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 21, Issue 18, eff. April 26, 2005;
Volume 23, Issue 3, eff. September 26, 2006; Volume 30, Issue 23, eff. July 1,
2014; Volume 32, Issue 9, eff. December 28, 2015; Volume 34, Issue 13, eff.
February 1, 2018.
20VAC5-315-40. Conditions of interconnection.
A. A prospective customer may begin operation of the
generating facility on an interconnected basis when:
1. The customer has properly notified both the electric
distribution company and energy service provider (in accordance with
20VAC5-315-30) of the customer's intent to interconnect.
2. If required by the electric distribution company's tariff,
the customer has installed a lockable, electric distribution company
accessible, load breaking manual disconnect switch at each of the facility's
generators.
3. The licensed electrician who installs the customer's
generator or generators certifies, by signing the commission-approved
notification form, that any required manual disconnect switch or switches are
being installed properly and that the generator or generators have been
installed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications as well as all
applicable provisions of the National Electrical Code. If the customer or licensed
Virginia Class A or B general contractor installs the customer's generator or
generators, the signed final electrical inspection can be used in lieu of the
licensed electrician's certification.
4. The vendor certifies, by signing the commission-approved notification
form that the generator or generators being installed are in compliance
with the requirements established by Underwriters Laboratories or other
national testing laboratories in accordance with IEEE Standard 1547, Standard
for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems, July
2003.
5. In the case of static inverter-connected generators with an
alternating current capacity in excess of 10 kilowatts, the customer has had
the inverter settings inspected by the electric distribution company. The
electric distribution company may impose a fee on the customer of no more than
$50 for each generator that requires this inspection.
6. In the case of nonstatic inverter-connected generators, the
customer has interconnected according to the electric distribution company's
interconnection guidelines and the electric distribution company has inspected
all protective equipment settings. The electric distribution company may impose
a fee on the customer of no more than $50 for each generator that requires this
inspection.
7. The following requirements shall be met before
interconnection may occur:
a. Electric distribution facilities and customer impact
limitations. A customer's generator shall not be permitted to interconnect to
distribution facilities if the interconnection would reasonably lead to damage
to any of the electric distribution company's facilities or would reasonably
lead to voltage regulation or power quality problems at other customer revenue
meters due to the incremental effect of the generator on the performance of the
electric distribution system, unless the customer reimburses the electric
distribution company for its cost to accommodate the interconnection, including
the reasonable cost of equipment required for the interconnection.
b. Secondary, service, and service entrance limitations. The
capacity of the generators at any one service location shall be less than the
capacity of the electric distribution company-owned secondary, service, and
service entrance cable connected to the point of interconnection, unless the
customer reimburses the electric distribution company for the reasonable cost
of equipment required for the interconnection.
c. Transformer loading limitations. A customer's generator
shall not have the ability to overload the electric distribution company's
transformer, or any transformer winding, beyond manufacturer or nameplate
ratings, unless the customer reimburses the electric distribution company for
the reasonable cost of equipment required for the interconnection.
d. Integration with electric distribution company facilities
grounding. The grounding scheme of each generator shall comply with IEEE 1547,
Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems,
July 2003, and shall be consistent with the grounding scheme used by the
electric distribution company. If requested by a prospective customer, the
electric distribution company shall assist the prospective customer in
selecting a grounding scheme that coordinates with its distribution system.
e. Balance limitation. The generator or generators shall not
create a voltage imbalance of more than 3.0% at any other customer's revenue
meter if the electric distribution company transformer, with the secondary
connected to the point of interconnection, is a three-phase transformer, unless
the customer reimburses the electric distribution company for the reasonable
cost of equipment required for the interconnection.
B. A prospective customer or small agricultural
generator shall not be allowed to interconnect a generator if doing
so will cause the total rated generating alternating current capacity of all
interconnected net metered generators, as defined in 20VAC5-315-20, within that
customer's electric distribution company's Virginia service territory to exceed
1.0% of that company's Virginia peak-load forecast for the previous year. In
any case where a prospective customer has submitted a notification form
required by 20VAC5-315-30 and that customer's interconnection would cause the total
rated generating alternating current capacity of all interconnected net metered
generators, as defined in 20VAC5-315-20, within that electric distribution
company's service territory to exceed 1.0% of that company's Virginia peak-load
forecast for the previous year, the electric distribution company shall, at the
time it becomes aware of the fact, send written notification to the prospective
customer and to the commission's Division of Public Utility
Regulation that the interconnection is not allowed. In addition, upon request
from any customer, the electric distribution company shall provide to the
customer the amount of capacity still available for interconnection pursuant to
§ 56-594 D of the Code of Virginia.
C. Neither the electric distribution company nor the energy
service provider shall impose any charges upon a customer for any
interconnection requirements specified by this chapter, except as provided
under subdivisions A 5, A 6, and A 7 of this section,
20VAC5-315-50, and 20VAC5-315-70 as related to additional metering.
D. A customer shall immediately notify the electric
distribution company of any changes in the ownership of, operational
responsibility for, or contact information for any of the customer's
generators.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 21, Issue 18, eff. April 26, 2005;
Volume 23, Issue 3, eff. September 26, 2006; Volume 24, Issue 26, eff. August
25, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 18, eff. April 28, 2010; Volume 30, Issue 23, eff.
July 1, 2014; Volume 32, Issue 9, eff. December 28, 2015; Volume 34, Issue 13,
eff. February 1, 2018.
20VAC5-315-50. Metering, billing, payment and contract or tariff
considerations.
Net metered energy shall be measured in accordance with
standard metering practices by metering equipment capable of measuring (but not
necessarily displaying) power flow in both directions. Each contract or tariff
governing the relationship between a customer, electric
distribution company or energy service provider shall be identical, with
respect to the rate structure, all retail rate components, and monthly charges,
to the contract or tariff under which the same customer would be served if such
customer were not an agricultural net
metering customer or a net metering customer with the
exceptions that a residential net metering
customer or an agricultural net metering customer whose generating facility
has a capacity that exceeds 10 kilowatts shall pay any applicable tariffed
monthly standby charges to the supplier, and that time-of-use
metering under an electricity supply service tariff having no demand charges is
not permitted. Said contract or tariff shall be applicable to both the electric
energy supplied to, and consumed from, the grid by that customer.
In instances where a customer's metering
equipment is of a type for which meter readings are made off site and where
this equipment has, or will be, installed for the convenience of the electric
distribution company, the electric distribution company shall provide the
necessary additional metering equipment to enable net metering service at no
charge to the customer. In instances where a customer has requested, and where the electric distribution
company would not have otherwise installed, metering equipment that is intended
to be read off site, the electric distribution company may charge the customer its actual cost of installing any additional equipment
necessary to implement net metering service. A time-of-use
customer shall bear the incremental metering costs associated with net
metering. Any incremental metering costs associated with measuring the
output of any generator or generators
for the purposes of receiving renewable energy certificates shall be installed
at the customer's expense unless otherwise negotiated between the customer and
the REC purchaser. Agricultural net metering customers may be responsible
for the cost of additional metering equipment necessary to accomplish
account aggregation.
The customer shall receive no
compensation for excess generation unless the customer has
entered into a power purchase agreement with its supplier.
Upon the written request of the customer,
the customer's supplier shall enter into a power purchase agreement for the
excess generation for one or more net metering periods, as requested by the customer. The written request of the customer
shall be submitted prior to the beginning of the first net metering period
covered by the power purchase agreement. The power purchase agreement shall be
consistent with this chapter. If the customer's supplier is an investor-owned
electric distribution company, the supplier shall be obligated by the power
purchase agreement to purchase the excess generation for the requested net
metering periods at a price equal to the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM)
zonal day-ahead annual, simple average LMP (locational marginal price) for the
PJM load zone in which the electric distribution company's Virginia retail
service territory resides (simple average of hourly LMPs, by tiers, for
time-of-use customers), as published by the PJM Market Monitoring Unit, for the
most recent calendar year ending on or before the end of each net metering
period, unless the electric distribution company and the
customer mutually agree to a higher price or unless, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, the commission establishes a different price or
pricing methodology. If the Virginia retail service territory of the
investor-owned electric distribution company does not reside within a PJM load
zone, the power purchase agreement shall obligate the electric distribution
company to purchase excess generation for the requested net metering periods at
a price equal to the systemwide PJM day-ahead annual, simple average LMP
(simple average of hourly LMPs, by tiers, for time-of-use customers), as
published by the PJM Market Monitoring Unit, for the most recent calendar year
ending on or before the end of each net metering period, unless the electric
distribution company and the customer mutually agree to a
higher price or unless, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the commission
establishes a different price or pricing methodology.
If the customer's supplier is a member-owned electric
cooperative, the supplier shall be obligated by the power purchase agreement to
purchase excess generation for the requested net metering periods at a price
equal to the simple average (by tiers for time-of-use customers) of the
electric cooperative's hourly avoidable cost of energy, including fuel, based
on the energy and energy-related charges of its primary wholesale power
supplier for the net metering period, unless the electric distribution company
and the customer mutually agree to a higher price or
unless, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the commission establishes a
different price or pricing methodology.
If the customer's supplier is a competitive supplier, the
supplier shall be obligated by the power purchase agreement to purchase the
excess generation for the requested net metering periods at a price equal to
the systemwide PJM day-ahead annual, simple average LMP (simple average of
hourly LMPs, by tiers, for time-of-use customers), as published by the PJM
Market Monitoring Unit, for the most recent calendar year ending on or before
the end of each net metering period, unless the supplier and the customer mutually agree to a higher price or unless, after notice
and opportunity for hearing, the commission establishes a different price or
pricing methodology.
The customer's supplier shall make full payment annually to
the customer within 30 days following the latter of the end
of the net metering period or, if applicable, the date of the PJM Market
Monitoring Unit's publication of the previous calendar-year's applicable zonal
or systemwide PJM day-ahead annual, simple average LMP, or hourly LMP, as
appropriate. The supplier may offer the customer the choice
of an account credit in lieu of a direct payment. The option of a customer to request payment from its supplier for excess
generation and the price or pricing formula shall be clearly delineated in the
net metering tariff of the electric distribution company or timely provided by
the customer's competitive supplier, as applicable. A copy of such tariff, or
an Internet link to such tariff, at the option of the customer, shall be
provided to each prospective customer requesting
interconnection of a generating facility. A competitive supplier
shall provide in its contract with the customer the price
or pricing formula for excess generation.
For a nontime-of-use customer, in any
billing period in which there is a billing period credit, the customer shall be
required to pay only the nonusage sensitive charges, including any applicable
standby charges, for that billing period. For a time-of-use
customer, in any billing period for which there are billing period credits in
all tiers, the customer shall be required to pay only the demand charge or
charges, nonusage sensitive charges, and any applicable standby charges, for
that billing period. Any billing period credits shall be accumulated, carried
forward, and applied at the first opportunity to any billing periods having
positive net consumptions (by tiers, in the case of time-of-use customers).
However, any accumulated billing period credits remaining unused at the end of
a net metering period shall be carried forward into the next net metering
period only to the extent that such accumulated billing period credits carried
forward do not exceed the customer's billed consumption for
the current net metering period, adjusted to exclude accumulated billing period
credits carried forward and applied from the previous net metering period
(recognizing tiers for time-of-use customers).
A customer owns any renewable energy
certificates associated with the total output of its generating facility.
A supplier is only obligated to purchase a customer's RECs
if the customer has exercised its one-time option at the
time of signing a power purchase agreement with its supplier to include a
provision requiring the purchase by the supplier of all generated RECs over the
duration of the power purchase agreement.
Payment for all whole RECs purchased by the supplier during a
net metering period in accordance with the power purchase
agreement shall be made at the same time as the payment for any excess
generation. The supplier will post a credit to the customer's account, or the
customer may elect a direct payment. Any fractional REC remaining shall not
receive immediate payment, but may be carried forward to subsequent net
metering periods for the duration of the power purchase agreement.
The rate of the payment by the supplier for a customer's RECs
shall be the daily unweighted average of the "CR" component of
Virginia Electric and Power Company's Virginia jurisdiction Rider G tariff in
effect over the period for which the rate of payment for the excess generation
is determined, unless the customer's supplier is not Virginia Electric and
Power Company, and that supplier has an applicable Virginia retail renewable
energy tariff containing a comparable REC commodity price component, in which
case that price component shall be the basis of the rate of payment. The
commission may, with notice and opportunity for hearing, set another rate of
payment or methodology for setting the rate of payment for RECs.
To the extent that RECs are not sold to the
customer's supplier, they may be sold to any willing buyer at any time at a
mutually agreeable price.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 24, Issue 26, eff. August 25, 2008;
Volume 26, Issue 18, eff. April 28, 2010; Volume 28, Issue 6, eff. November 16,
2011; Volume 30, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2014.
20VAC5-315-60. Liability insurance.
A customer operating a
generating facility with an alternating current
capacity not exceeding 10 kilowatts shall maintain homeowners, commercial, or
other insurance providing coverage in the amount of at least $100,000 for the
liability of the insured against loss arising out of the operation
of the facility, and for a generating facility with an alternating current capacity exceeding 10 kilowatts such
coverage shall be in the amount of at least $300,000.
Customers shall not be required to obtain liability insurance with
limits higher than that which is stated in this section; nor shall such
customers be required to purchase additional liability insurance where the
customer's existing insurance policy provides coverage against loss arising out
of the operation of an
electrical generating facility by virtue of not explicitly excluding
coverage for such loss.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2014.
20VAC5-315-70. Additional controls and tests.
An eligible customer-generator's electrical generating system,
and each electrical generating system of an eligible agricultural
customer-generator,
shall meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by the
National Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as Underwriters
Laboratories. Beyond the requirements set forth in this chapter, and to insure
public safety, power quality, and reliability of the supplier's electric
distribution system, an
eligible customer-generator or eligible agricultural
customer-generator whose
electrical generating system meets those standards and rules shall bear all
reasonable costs of equipment required for the interconnection to the
supplier's electric distribution system, including costs, if any, to (i)
install additional controls and (ii) perform additional tests.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May
25, 2000; amended, Volume 26, Issue 18, eff. April 28, 2010; Volume 30, Issue
23, eff. July 1, 2014; Volume 32, Issue 9, eff. December 28, 2015.
20VAC5-315-75. Interconnection of small agricultural generators.
A small agricultural generator electing to interconnect
pursuant to this section shall enter into a power purchase agreement with its
supplier to sell all of the electricity generated from its small agricultural
generating facility. The customer's supplier shall be obligated by the power
purchase agreement to purchase the electricity generated at a price equal to a
rate agreed upon by the parties that is not less than the utility's
commission-approved avoided cost tariff for energy and capacity.
Small agricultural generators with renewable energy
certificates or other environmental attributes generated by the small agricultural
generating facility shall have the rights described in 20VAC5-315-50.
Small agricultural generators shall abide by the small
generator interconnection process described in 20VAC5-314. Such customer shall
be responsible for all costs associated with any interconnection or engineering
studies that may be required prior to interconnection.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 13, eff.
February 1, 2018.
20VAC5-315-80. Request for waivers.
Any request for a waiver of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be
considered by the Virginia State Corporation Commission on a case-by-case
basis, and may be granted upon such terms and conditions as the commission may
impose.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 56-594 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May 25, 2000.
20VAC5-315-90. [Repealed]
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 20, eff. May 25, 2000;
repealed, Virginia Register Volume 21, Issue 18, eff. April 26, 2005.
Forms (20VAC5-315)
Agricultural
Net Metering or Net Metering Interconnection Notification, Form NMIN (eff.
12/2015)
Documents Incorporated by Reference
1547, IEEE Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources
with Electric Power Systems, July 2003, The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Rider
G, Renewable Energy Program, Virginia Electric and Power Company, January 1,
2012
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