Title
Approval of Proposed Changes to the Department of Public Utilities Rules & Regulations, Rule E-5 Interconnection with Cogeneration and Small Power Producers
Recommended Action
I move that the Board of Public Utilities approve the proposed changes to the Department of Public Utilities Rules & Regulations, Rule E-5 Interconnection with Cogeneration and Small Power Producers
Utilities Manager's Recommendation
The Utilities Manager recommends that the Board approve the motion as presented.
Body
At the April 3, 2024 work session, staff presented proposed changes to Rule E-5 Interconnection with Cogeneration and Small Power Producers and updates to the related construction standards as shown in the associated application. Additionally, GDS consultants provided feedback on the billing practices relating to cogeneration supporting the proposed changes to E5.05. The proposed changes are detailed in Attachment A and a clean version of E-5 is included in Attachment B.
At the April 3, 2024 work session, staff distributed an analysis of the new net billing arrangement. There was an error in that handout which incorrectly reported total kwh received from solar customers. The amount shown on April 3rd was the dollars credited, not kwh. A corrected analysis is provided here as Attachment C.
The impact of changing to directly billing the wholesale rate is $113,782 for calendar year 2023. This breaks down to an average annual reduction of $251.73 per household. The last time the annual true up was conducted was for calendar year 2019. DPU is proposing to not retroactively perform the true up for calendar years 2020 through 2023. If this motion is approved by the Board, the changes will take effect immediately.
Alternatives
If the rule changes are not approved, DPU will need to perform the annual true-up and collect the overpayment amounts from solar customers.
Fiscal and Staff Impact
See attachment C
Attachments
A - Rule E-5 ...
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