[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
CUSTOMER
A person or entity which has set up an account with the Electric Department to purchase electricity from the Department and is currently using/purchasing electricity from the Department under said account.
QREG
Qualifying renewable energy generation produced by a customer on such customer's real property for the provision of electricity to that property and the structures, facilities, and equipment located thereon. QREG facilities include solar photovoltaic, wind turbine, steam turbine, hydroelectric, or any other on-site generated source of electricity.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
1. 
A written application for QREG service shall be required by the customer along with the required fee, which shall be set from time to time by Borough Council. This QREG Application shall establish the customer's responsibility for compliance with all relevant laws, rules, regulations, and fees of the Borough. Upon proof that the proposed QREG facility will comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, codes, rules, and regulations, and payment of the appropriate fee, the Borough shall issue the QREG Permit. No QREG facility shall be established, constructed, installed, operated, or connected to the Borough's electrical grid without the application for and issuance of the required QREG Permit.
2. 
A copy of a cut sheet of all proposed equipment, line diagram, and inverter certification indicating the inverter is that of a non-islanding type must accompany every QREG Application.
3. 
In addition to a QREG Application, customers seeking to receive service under the provisions of this Part must submit the net metering interconnection application/agreement (Interconnection Application) for qualifying renewable energy generator (certified inverter-based units of 10 kilowatts or less) demonstrating compliance with the technical requirements and quantifying the total generating capacity of the proposed facility.
4. 
Once a fully completed QREG Application and Interconnection Application, along with all the required supporting technical information, is provided to the Borough, the Borough will review these applications and information and endeavor to provide the applicant notice within 90 days of approval or denial of the applicant's request to install a QREG facility and to connect to the Borough's electricity distribution system promptly. The Borough reserves the right to deny applications that do not comply with all requirements of this Part.
5. 
The fees for these applications shall be listed in the Borough Fee Schedule, along with any and all relevant permit and inspection fees.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
Every QREG facility shall be inspected by a third-party Borough recognized inspection agency upon installation, and every year by July 1st, or when the equipment has been replaced or subject to maintenance. All inspection fees shall be the responsibility of the customer and not the responsibility of the Borough.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
It shall be the responsibility of the customer who has the QREG Permit to test the protection systems associated with the permitted QREG. Testing procedures shall include a functional test of all protective elements of the QREG facility up to and including tripping of generation, inverter, and interconnection point. Every test must be witnessed and approved by Borough personnel.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
All QREG facilities must be in compliance with all the ordinances, codes, rules, and regulations of the Borough of Quakertown, including, but not limited to, the Borough Zoning Code (Chapter 27) and Building Code (Chapter 5).
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
It shall be prohibited for any person to provide an interconnection of QREG facility to any other parcel of land other than the parcel upon which the entire facility is located.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
It shall be the intent of the Borough to permit QREG to offset customer electric charges, and for the Borough to purchase QREG from the customer which is in excess of such electricity used on site. QREG produced by a customer will be reconciled on a monthly basis. Excess energy will be purchased in a quantity and rate set by Borough Council in the Borough's fee schedule.
[Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
1. 
A QREG Permit under this Part is available upon application to customers on a first-come-first-served basis as long as the total rated generating capacity of installed by QREG facilities does not:
A. 
Adversely impact the quality or cost of Borough electric service to other Borough customers.
B. 
Compromise the reliability and safety of the Borough's electric distribution system.
C. 
Represent a hazard to people, property, or equipment.
D. 
Compromise the safety of the Borough Electric Department personnel, emergency services personnel, and/or the general public.
[Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
1. 
It shall be required that every customer who produces and/or uses QREG to use a net meter.
2. 
The Borough will employ the following net metering configurations for QREG facilities, in conjunction with electric service provided under the applicable rate schedule.
A. 
A bidirectional, revenue quality interval meter will be installed to measure the net amount of electricity provided to the customer by the Borough (the billing meter).
B. 
At the Borough's sole discretion, a second interval meter will be installed to measure and monitor all the electricity produced by the QREG facility.
3. 
If the customer's existing electric meter does not meet the above requirement(s), the Borough shall, after final installation of the QREG facility, but before the QREG facility becomes operational, install the net meter(s) for the customer's QREG at the Borough's expense. The meter(s) shall remain the property of the Borough, and the customer shall have no interest in or rights with respect to such meter(s). Any other metering equipment change necessitated by the customer's QREG shall be paid for by the customer.
4. 
To assure system reliability and safety, all interconnections with a QREG facility will be subject to the "Technical Requirements Covering Renewable Inverter- Based Customer Generators of 10 Kilowatts or Less and interconnected with the Borough of Quakertown Electric System" (technical requirements). For QREG inverter-based technology which has been certified compliant by the manufacturer with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 929, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) 1741 (or subsequent approved revisions thereof), the technology will be deemed to be in compliance with the required Borough technical requirements. However, such preliminary technical compliance does not limit, eliminate, or affect in any way the customer's obligation to comply with all other requirements of the Borough Code.
5. 
All QREG facilities shall be capable of being isolated from the Borough's electrical system by means of an outdoor, weatherproof, lockable, visible-break, alternating current (AC) isolation device [customer-owned generation disconnect switch(es)]; accessible to the Borough, emergency services personnel, and the QREG customer; and located adjacent to the Borough's electric meter(s).
6. 
All QREG facilities must prominently display the Borough-supplied warning labels on the meter base(s), customer-owned generation disconnect switch(es), and associated Borough transformer. Failure to do so shall constitute grounds for the refusal or revocation of the QREG Permit for a facility.
7. 
The Borough reserves the right to inspect all QREG facilities upon reasonable notice given to the customer. Failure to grant Borough personnel reasonable access to a facility shall be grounds for refusal or revocation of the QREG Permit for said facility.
[Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
1. 
The following billing provisions apply to customers with QREG facilities in conjunction with electric service under the applicable rate schedules.
A. 
Net Purchase of Electricity. If, at the end of the billing month, a customer with a QREG facility has consumed more kilowatt-hours of electricity than the customer's QREG facility has produced, then all applicable charges of the appropriate rate schedule shall be applied to the net kilowatt-hours of Borough-supplied electricity said customer has consumed.
B. 
Net Sale of Electricity. If at the end of the billing month, a customer with a QREG facility has consumed less kilowatt-hours of electricity than the customer's QREG facility has produced, then said customer will receive a credit for each net excess kilowatt-hour received by the Borough at the QREG power purchase rate as listed in the Borough fee schedule. The QREG customer is, in all cases, responsible for the customer charge and other charges in the applicable rate schedule.
2. 
The applicable charges under the applicable rate schedules apply to all QREG facilities.
3. 
Bills rendered by the Borough under this Part shall be subject to the charges stated in any other applicable provision of the Borough Code or set forth in the Borough Fee Schedule.
4. 
The Borough reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change the rates set forth in the Fee Schedule from time to time.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
The Borough may, upon failure of a customer to comply with any provision of this Part, disconnect or caused to be disconnected that customer's service from the Borough's electric system until such time as the provisions of this Part are complied with.
[Ord. 1160, 7/1/2009; Ord. No. 1254, 10/27/2025]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this Part shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $600 and costs. Each day that a violation of this Part continues shall constitute a separate offense. Each provision of this Part that is violated shall constitute a separate offense.