[Added 11-13-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-21]
For the purposes of this article, the terms below shall have
the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context,
words used in the present tense include the future tense, words in
the plural include the singular, and words in the singular include
the plural.
Incremental costs to the Borough of electric energy, capacity,
or both, which, if not for the purchase from the qualifying facility,
the Borough would generate itself or purchase from another source.
Shall have the meaning specified at 18 CFR 292.202 and 292.205,
as amended.
Costs associated with the removal of a qualifying facility
from the Borough's electric grid.
The reasonable costs of connection, switching, metering,
transmission, distribution, safety provisions, and administration
incurred by the Borough directly related to the installation and maintenance
of physical facilities necessary to permit interconnected operations
with a qualifying facility. Interconnection costs do not include any
costs included in calculation of avoided costs. Interconnection costs
shall include, but not be limited to, the costs associated with municipal
administration, municipal audit, load management and monitoring, load
dispatch or curtailment services, ongoing inspection and monitoring
of interconnection, physical and digital maintenance of both the Borough's
and the qualifying facility's side of the interconnection, interference
with market pricing associated with congestion, delivery, or any other
PJM fee or charge now in effect or imposed in the future, capital
costs associated with the interconnection, costs assessed by the larger
regional grid which may be necessitated by the load associated with
the installation, consulting engineering costs, legal costs, and regulatory
filing costs.
Electric energy or capacity supplied by the Borough subject
to interruption by the Borough under specified conditions.
The following year's guaranteed energy output from a
qualifying facility, that shall be agreed upon by the parties and
held as a required output for planning purposes.
The purchase of electric energy, capacity, or both from a
qualifying facility by the Borough.
A cogeneration facility or a small power production facility.
The sale of electric energy, capacity, or both by the Borough
to a qualifying facility.
Shall have the meaning specified at 18 CFR. 292.202 and 292.204,
as amended.
Electric energy or capacity supplied by the Borough and regularly
used by a qualifying facility in addition to that electric energy
or capacity which the qualifying facility generates/provides itself,
and specifically includes back-up power that is supplied by the Borough
to replace energy ordinarily generated by a facility's own generation
equipment during an unscheduled outage of the facility, and maintenance
power that is supplied by the Borough during scheduled outages of
the qualifying facility.
The facilities, lines, and equipment used to supply electric
energy and/or capacity from suppliers to customers.
A condition on the Borough's system or any interconnected
system that may result in an imminent significant disruption of service
to customers or may imminently endanger life or property.
This article sets forth the manner in which the Borough will
discharge duties imposed upon it by Title II of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978[1] and FERC's implementing orders, including, without
limitation, Qualifying Facility Rates and Requirements Implementation
Issues Under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, Order
No. 872, 85 FR 54638 (Sept. 2, 2020), 172 FERC ¶ 61,041 (2020).
[1]
Editor's Note: See 16 U.S.C.A. § 2601 et seq.
This article shall apply to any purchases from, or sales to,
any qualifying facility made by the Borough.
The criteria for qualification of small power production facilities
and cogeneration facilities as qualifying facilities under this article
are the same as those adopted by FERC, including, but not limited
to, 18 C.F.R. 292.203, 292.204, 292.205, and 292.206, as amended.
The QF must be on a property within the Borough serviced by the Borough
of Chambersburg.
To the extent required by law, the Borough shall, upon request,
make available the data necessary to enable qualifying facilities
to estimate the Borough's then-current estimated avoided cost
with respect to both energy and capacity, using the procedures and
requirements set forth in this article. Likewise, on an annual basis,
or as needed, the operator of the qualifying facility shall make data
and estimates available to the Borough for the proper integration
of the facility into the Borough's load pattern in advance of
each planning year.
B.
The qualifying facility's right to sell power to the Borough and the Borough's obligations under § 135-28A shall be curtailed in periods when, due to operational circumstances, purchases from qualifying facilities will result in costs greater than those which the Borough would incur if it generated an equivalent amount of energy instead of purchasing that energy.
D.
Rates for sales to qualifying facilities. The Borough shall sell power to a qualifying facility except as provided in § 135-28C(2). The Borough shall sell power to a qualifying facility at rates for sale that are just and reasonable, in the public interest, and nondiscriminatory. Rates shall be charged in accordance with the Borough's duly adopted rate schedule. If the Borough provides back-up power or supplementary power to the qualifying facility, then costs associated with that capacity reservation shall be paid by the qualifying facility.
E.
Interconnection.
(1)
The Borough shall make any interconnection with a qualifying facility
that is necessary for the purchase and sale of electric energy and/or
capacity to or from that qualifying facility. Interconnection shall
be performed pursuant to the Borough's specifications and safety
standards. All plans, equipment, and facilities shall be submitted
for approval by the Borough. Prior to installation, the Borough shall
either approve or reject the plans within 60 days of receipt of all
required documents.
(2)
Owners of qualifying facilities shall be required to pay for all
interconnection costs. Payment shall be made over a reasonable period
of time to be determined exclusively by the Borough.
(3)
The Borough shall operate in parallel with a qualifying facility, provided that the qualifying facility complies with applicable standards established in accordance with § 135-30 and all applicable Borough ordinances, rules, regulations, and published tariffs and fees.
(4)
A qualifying facility seeking to interconnect with the Borough shall
submit an application containing all information required by the Borough
and reasonably necessary to study the impacts of the proposed facility
on the Borough's system.
(5)
Following the submission of an application to interconnect pursuant to § 135-28E(4), the qualifying facility shall enter an interactive development period, during which time the Borough will evaluate the qualifying facility's feasibility and all of its potential impacts on the Borough's system based on the information provided in said application or reasonably requested by the Borough. The purpose of this evaluation is to ensure that the integrity of the Borough's system will be preserved if interconnection proceeds, and to address any safety, reliability, practicality, cost, and stability concerns related to the proposed interconnection. The qualifying facility shall pay all costs incurred by the Borough for the research necessary to establish and permit the qualifying facility. The Borough will endeavor to complete this review process within 120 days.
(6)
Prior to and as a condition precedent to the Borough's review and approval of the qualifying facility's application to interconnect pursuant to the procedure set forth in § 135-28E(1) through (5), the Borough and the qualifying facility shall negotiate and execute a written agreement memorializing the obligations and responsibilities of each party relating to interconnection and the purchase and sale of electric energy and/or capacity, which agreement may include, but shall not be limited to, the terms of payment of the costs of evaluation under § 135-28E(5) and any expected interconnection costs. Upon execution of this agreement, the Borough may require that the qualifying facility deposit a sum of money with the Borough to be held in escrow to be used by the Borough as the Borough incurs fees for its costs related to the qualifying facility's interconnection to the Borough's system.
A.
The Borough, in its discretion, may establish rates for purchases
of energy from a qualifying facility based on the locational marginal
price (LMP) calculated by PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) at the applicable
pricing node for the Borough.
B.
To the extent that rates for the purchase of capacity or energy are not established pursuant to § 135-29A, the following factors shall be taken into account when determining the final purchase price:
(1)
The availability of capacity or energy from a qualifying facility
during the Borough's system daily and seasonal peak, including
the ability to dispatch the qualifying facility, reliability, terms
of contract, duration of obligation, termination requirements, ability
to coordinate scheduled outages, usefulness of energy and capacity
during system emergencies, compliance with the requirements of PJM
or any successor thereto, and the individual and aggregate value of
energy and capacity from qualifying facilities on the Borough's
system.
(2)
The ability of the Borough to avoid costs, if any, due to deferral,
cancellation, or downsizing of capacity additions from the qualifying
facility.
C.
All rates for purchases of energy and/or capacity from a qualifying
facility pursuant to either a legally enforceable obligation or on
an as-available basis shall vary through the life of the obligation
and shall be set at the Borough's avoided cost for energy calculated
at the time of delivery.
D.
Nothing in this article shall prevent the Borough from making financial
decisions which are in the best interest of the pool of customers
served by the Borough's electric system, up to and including
requiring reimbursement for any deleterious impact created by the
qualifying facility.
Any qualifying facility operating in the Borough shall provide
adequate staff and equipment to ensure the safety and reliability
of interconnected operations and comply with all Borough requirements
and specifications. This equipment shall be specifically designed,
installed, and operated to protect interconnected operations between
the qualifying facility and the Borough's system. The qualifying
facility shall be solely responsible for the cost of obtaining, installing,
maintaining, repairing, renovating, replacing, removing, and operating
this equipment. Access to the facility and inspection of all equipment
is a required right of interconnection.
Upon request by a qualifying facility, the Borough shall provide,
at rates reasonably determined by the Borough, supplementary power,
back-up power, maintenance power, and interruptible power; provided,
however, that the Borough shall not be obligated to provide such services
if the Borough determines in its sole discretion that such service
would impair its ability to render adequate service to its other customers
or would be unduly burdensome on the Borough's system. Nothing
herein shall require the Borough to offer power to the qualifying
facility or its property owner at the same rate or same regularity
as other commercial or residential customers of the Borough system.
The Borough can curtail supply or adopt a supplementary power rate
as reasonable for these services.
The Borough may wheel power to another utility if the qualifying
facility approves. This provision shall not eliminate the responsibility
of the Borough to purchase power from the qualifying facility if the
qualifying facility does not approve the wheeling transaction. Resale
of power supplied by the qualifying facility is unrestricted.
No legally enforceable obligation will be created until the
qualifying facility has demonstrated, to the Borough's reasonable
satisfaction:
A.
The commercial viability of the qualifying facility's project
("project");
B.
A financial commitment from the qualifying facility to construct
the project;
C.
The project's compliance with all applicable Borough laws, rules,
and regulations, including, but not limited to, this article of the
Borough Code; and
D.
The project's compliance with the then-current requirements
of PURPA and any implementing orders from FERC.
This article shall not restrict the creation and execution of
voluntary, written agreements between a qualifying facility and the
Borough consistent with the provisions of this article concerning
the purchase of electric power and/or capacity from the facility.
A.
The Borough hereby will calculate avoided cost rates for capacity
and energy by a method set forth by resolution adopted and amended
by the Borough from time to time. This calculation of avoided cost
will be in compliance with the then-current requirements of PURPA
and any implementing orders from FERC. From time to time, the Borough's
Town Council may, by resolution, revise this calculation method to
ensure its continuing compliance with PURPA and any implementing orders
from FERC and to account for the specific circumstances unique to
the Borough's system.
B.
The avoided cost estimates to be set forth in the Borough's resolutions will be based on the Borough's current contractual arrangements and supply portfolio and are subject to change. From time to time, the Borough Manager, in consultation with the Director of Electric Utility, may, as necessary, update the Borough's avoided cost rates using the calculation method to be set forth by resolution adopted by Borough's Town Council, as may be revised in accordance with § 135-35A above, to reflect the Borough's then-current avoided cost estimates. The Borough shall publish its estimated avoided cost rates as part of the Borough's annual fee schedule.
C.
Any avoided cost rate adopted pursuant to this article shall ensure
that the Borough's other electric customers and other electric
suppliers do not subsidize the operations of any qualifying facility
selling capacity, energy, or both to the Borough.
A.
In the event that use of a qualifying facility is discontinued, the
owner shall provide written notice to the Borough of its intent to
discontinue use and the date when the use shall be discontinued. Unused
or abandoned qualifying facilities or portions thereof shall be removed
as follows:
(1)
All unused or abandoned qualifying facilities and accessory facilities
shall be removed within two months of the cessation of operations
at the site unless a time extension is approved by the Borough.
(2)
If the qualifying facility and/or accessory facility is not removed
within two months of the cessation of operations at a site, or within
any longer period approved by the Borough, the qualifying facility
and accessory facilities and equipment may be removed by the Borough
and the cost of removal assessed against the owner of the qualifying
facility and/or the owner of the property where the QF is located,
as determined by the Borough.
B.
Indemnification. Each person that owns or operates a qualifying facility
shall, at its sole cost and expense, indemnify, defend and hold harmless
the Borough, its elected and appointed officials, employees and agents
at all times against any and all claims for personal injury, including
death, and property damage arising in whole or in part from, caused
by or connected with any act or omission of the person, its officers,
agents, employees or contractors arising out of, but not limited to,
the construction, installation, operation, maintenance or removal
of the qualifying facility. Each person that owns or operates a qualifying
facility shall defend any actions or proceedings against the Borough
in which it is claimed that personal injury, including death, or property
damage was caused by the construction, installation, operation, maintenance
or removal of a qualifying facility. The obligation to indemnify,
hold harmless and defend shall include but not be limited to the obligation
to pay judgments, injuries, liabilities, damages, reasonable attorneys'
fees, reasonable expert fees, court costs and all other costs of indemnification.
No person shall be issued a permit to own or operate a qualifying
facility unless and until the owner or operator executes a qualifying
facility indemnification agreement in a form as adopted by the Borough
from time to time.
C.
Retention of experts. The Borough may hire any consultant(s) and/or
expert(s) necessary to assist the Borough in reviewing and evaluating
the application for approval of the qualifying facility and, once
approved, in reviewing and evaluating any potential violations of
the terms and conditions of this article. The applicant and/or owner
of the qualifying facility shall establish an escrow deposit to cover
the costs of any consultant(s) and/or expert(s) hired to assist the
Borough in reviewing and evaluating the application for approval of
the qualifying facility. The amount of the escrow deposit is directed
to be established from time to time by resolution of the Mayor and
Town Council.
D.
Owners of qualifying facilities shall be required to pay all costs
associated with their decommissioning. Such costs include, but shall
not be limited to, the costs of decommissioning and liquidating or
redistributing each individual component and any decommissioning studies
to determine the effect on the Borough's system of such decommission.
The Borough may require the owner of the qualifying facility to post
financial security at the time the application to interconnect is
submitted in an amount necessary to guarantee payment of the costs
described in this section as estimated by the Borough in its sole
discretion.
A.
Purpose. This rider sets forth the eligibility, terms, and conditions
applicable to Borough electric customers with installed customer-owned
qualifying renewable energy generation ("QREG") as defined below,
using inverter technology and a net metering system which will be
interconnected to and operated in parallel with the Borough's
electric system.
B.
Applicability.
(1)
This rider applies to customers served under all qualifying rate
schedules available to Borough electric customers who install a device
or devices which, in the Borough's sole judgment:
(a)
Are a bona fide technology for use in generating single-phase
electricity from qualifying solar, wind, or other alternative energy
sources;
(b)
Have a nameplate capacity of not greater than 10 kilowatts;
(c)
Make use of approved inverter technology for the generation
of electricity;
(d)
Will be operated in parallel with the Borough's electric
system;
(e)
Will generate electricity to offset part of, all of, or more
than the customer's requirements for electricity as measured
by a net metering system; and
(f)
Otherwise meet the requirements of this rider.
(2)
A customer qualifying under this rider is a nonutility owner or operator
of a net metered generation system, except for those meters, if any,
to which the Borough retains ownership.
(3)
Service under this rider is available upon request to Borough customers
on a first-come-first-served basis as long as the total rated generating
capacity installed by QREG customers or the location of the QREG facility
does not:
(a)
Adversely impact quality or cost of Borough 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, or the general public.
C.
Metering provisions.
(1)
The Borough will employ the following net metering configurations
for QREG facilities, in conjunction with service 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 the electricity produced
by the QREG facility.
(2)
If the customer's existing electric meter does not meet the
requirement(s), the Borough shall, after final installation of the
QREG, but before the QREG 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 customers 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.
(3)
To assure system reliability and safety, all interconnections will
be subject to the "Technical Requirements Covering Renewable Inverter-Based
Customer Generators of 10 Kilowatts or Less and Interconnected with
the Borough of Chambersburg 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 this rider.
(4)
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 by the Borough, emergency
services personnel, the QREG customer, and located adjacent to the
Borough's electric meter(s).
(5)
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 termination of service under
this rider.
(6)
The Borough reserves the right to inspect all QREG facilities upon
reasonable notice given to the customer.
D.
Billing provisions. The following billing provisions apply to QREG
customers in conjunction with service under the applicable rate schedules.
(1)
QREG customer net purchase of electricity: If, at the end of the
billing month, the QREG customer 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
the QREG customer has consumed.
(2)
QREG customer net sale of electricity: If at the end of the billing
month, the QREG facility has produced more kilowatt-hours of electricity
than the QREG customer has consumed, then the QREG customer will receive
a credit for each net excess kilowatt-hour received by the Borough
from the QREG customer at the QREG power rate. The QREG power rate
will be determined by the Borough using one of the standard avoided
cost methodologies and may be updated from time to time. The QREG
customer is, in all cases, responsible for the customer charge and
other charges in the applicable rate schedule.
(3)
QREG customer net sale of electricity resulting in 50% reduction
in electricity purchases: If, in any calendar year, a QREG customer
receiving service under this rider self-generates electricity equal
to 50% or more of the QREG customer's total purchase of electricity
through the Borough's transmission and distribution network for
the calendar year immediately prior to the installation of the QREG
facility, then the Borough reserves the right to begin to bill the
QREG customer a surcharge equal to its pro rata share of standard
delivery costs (SDC surcharge). The SDC surcharge, if applied, is
intended to prevent inter-class or intra-class shifting of the delivery
cost to other Borough customers, in order to prevent other Borough
customers from being required, in effect, to subsidize service to
QREG customers. The Borough, upon specific determination that a QREG
customer has or will exceed its 50% electricity reduction limitation,
may, at its sole option and at any time, notify the QREG customer
of the Borough's intent to apply the SDC surcharge to the QREG
customer's billing period bill. When deemed necessary or appropriate
by the Borough, the Borough will assess the applicability of any imposed
SDC surcharge. In the event the Borough determines the SDC surcharge
to be no longer applicable, the Borough will discontinue billing the
same to the QREG customer.
E.
Application. Borough customers seeking to receive service under the
provisions of this rider must submit the net metering interconnection
application/agreement 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. Form(s) are available at the Borough
offices during normal business hours and are available on the Borough's
website. Once a fully completed application/agreement and all required
supporting technical information is provided to the Borough, the Borough
will review the application/agreement 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 rider.
F.
Customer charge. The customer charge under the applicable rate schedules
applies to all QREG facilities under this rider.
G.
Application fee. The application fee for service under this rider
shall be established by resolution of Town Council from time to time.
