(1) Each utility
shall interconnect with any qualifying facility which:
(a) Is in its service area;
(b) Requests interconnection;
(c) Agrees to meet system standards specified
in this rule;
(d) Agrees to pay the
cost of interconnection; and
(e)
Signs an interconnection agreement.
(2) Where a utility refuses to interconnect
with a qualifying facility or attempts to impose unreasonable standards, the
qualifying facility may petition the Commission for relief. The utility shall
have the burden of demonstrating to the Commission why interconnection with the
qualifying facility should not be required or that the standards the utility
seeks to impose on the qualifying facility are reasonable.
(3) Upon a showing of credit worthiness, the
qualifying facility shall have the option of making monthly installment
payments over a period no longer than 36 months toward the full cost of
interconnection. However, where the qualifying facility exercises that option
the utility shall charge interest on the amount owing. The utility shall charge
such interest at the 30-day commercial paper rate. In any event, no utility may
bear the cost of interconnection.
(4) Application for Interconnection. A
qualifying facility shall not operate electric generating equipment in parallel
with the utility's electric system without the prior written consent of the
utility. Formal application for interconnection shall be made by the qualifying
facility prior to the installation of any generation related equipment. This
application shall be accompanied by the following:
(a) Physical layout drawings, including
dimensions;
(b) All associated
equipment specifications and characteristics including technical parameters,
ratings, basic impulse levels, electrical main one-line diagrams, schematic
diagrams, system protections, frequency, voltage, current and interconnection
distance;
(c) Functional and logic
diagrams, control and meter diagrams, conductor sizes and length, and any other
relevant data which might be necessary to understand the proposed system and to
be able to make a coordinated system;
(d) Power requirements in watts and
vars;
(e) Expected radio-noise,
harmonic generation and telephone interference factor;
(f) Synchronizing methods; and
(g) Operating/instruction manuals.
Any subsequent change in the system must also be submitted
for review and written approval prior to actual modification. The above
mentioned review, recommendations and approval by the utility do not relieve
the qualifying facility from complete responsibility for the adequate
engineering design, construction and operation of the qualifying facility
equipment and for any liability for injuries to property or persons associated
with any failure to perform in a proper and safe manner for any
reason.
(5)
Personnel Safety. Adequate protection and safe operational procedures must be
developed and followed by the joint system. These operating procedures must be
approved by both the utility and the qualifying facility. The qualifying
facility shall be required to furnish, install, operate and maintain in good
order and repair, and be solely responsible for, without cost to the utility,
all facilities required for the safe operation of the generation system in
parallel with the utility's system.
The qualifying facility shall permit the utility's employees
to enter upon its property at any reasonable time for the purpose of inspection
and/or testing the qualifying facility's equipment, facilities, or apparatus.
Such inspections shall not relieve the qualifying facility from its obligation
to maintain its equipment in safe and satisfactory operating condition.
The utility's approval of isolating devices used by the
qualifying facility will be required to ensure that these will comply with the
utility's switching and tagging procedure for safe working clearances.
(a) Disconnect Switch. A manual disconnect
switch, of the visible load break type, to provide a separation point between
the qualifying facility's generation system and the utility's system, shall be
required. The utility will specify the location of the disconnect switch. The
switch shall be mounted separate from the meter socket and shall be readily
accessible to the utility and be capable of being locked in the open position
with a utility padlock. The utility may reserve the right to open the switch
(i.e., isolating the qualifying facility's generation system) without prior
notice to the qualifying facility. To the extent practicable, however, prior
notice shall be given.
Any of the following conditions shall be cause for
disconnection:
1. Utility system
emergencies and/or maintenance requirements;
2. Hazardous conditions existing on the
qualifying facility's generating or protective equipment as determined by the
utility;
3. Adverse effects of the
qualifying facility's generation to the utility's other electric consumers
and/or system as determined by the utility;
4. Failure of the qualifying facility to
maintain any required insurance; or
5. Failure of the qualifying facility to
comply with any existing or future regulations, rules, orders or decisions of
any governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the
qualifying facility's electric generating equipment or the operation of such
equipment.
(b)
Responsibility and Liability. The utility and the qualifying facility shall
each be responsible for its own facilities. The utility and the qualifying
facility shall each be responsible for ensuring adequate safeguards for other
utility customers, utility and qualifying facility personnel and equipment, and
for the protection of its own generating system. The utility and the qualifying
facility shall each indemnify and save the other harmless from any and all
claims, demands, costs, or expense for loss, damage, or injury to persons or
property of the other caused by, arising out of, or resulting from:
1. Any act or omission by a party or that
party's contractors, agents, servants and employees in connection with the
installation or operation of that party's generation system or the operation
thereof in connection with the other party's system;
2. Any defect in, failure of, or fault
related to a party's generation system;
3. The negligence of a party or negligence of
that party's contractors, agents, servants or employees; or
4. Any other event or act that is the result
of, or proximately caused by, a party.
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term party shall mean
either utility or qualifying facility, as the case may
be.
(c) Insurance.
The qualifying facility shall deliver to the utility, at least fifteen days
prior to the start of any interconnection work, a certificate of insurance
certifying the qualifying facility's coverage under a liability insurance
policy issued by a reputable insurance company authorized to do business in the
State of Florida naming the qualifying facility as named insured, and the
utility as an additional named insured, which policy shall contain a broad form
contractual endorsement specifically covering the liabilities accepted under
this agreement arising out of the interconnection to the qualifying facility,
or caused by operation of any of the qualifying facility's equipment or by the
qualifying facility's failure to maintain the qualifying facility's equipment
in satisfactory and safe operating condition.
1. The policy providing such coverage for a
standard offer contract shall provide public liability insurance, including
property damage, in the amount of $1, 000, 000 for each occurrence.
2. The policy providing such coverage for a
negotiated contract shall provide public liability insurance, including
property damage, in an amount not less than $1, 000, 000 for each occurrence.
The parties may negotiate the amount of insurance over $1, 000, 000.
3. The above required policy shall be
endorsed with a provision requiring the insurance company to notify the utility
thirty days prior to the effective date of cancellation or material change in
the policy.
4. The qualifying
facility shall pay all premiums and other charges due on said policy and keep
said policy in force during the entire period of interconnection with the
utility.
(6)
Protection and Operation. It will be the responsibility of the qualifying
facility to provide all devices necessary to protect the qualifying facility's
equipment from damage by the abnormal conditions and operations which occur on
the utility system that result in interruptions and restorations of service by
the utility's equipment and personnel. The qualifying facility shall protect
its generator and associated equipment from overvoltage, undervoltage,
overload, short circuits (including ground fault condition), open circuits,
phase unbalance and reversal, over or under frequency condition, and other
injurious electrical conditions that may arise on the utility's system and any
reclose attempt by the utility.
The utility may reserve the right to perform such tests as it
deems necessary to ensure safe and efficient protection and operation of the
qualifying facility's equipment.
(a)
Loss of Source: The qualifying facility shall provide, or the utility will
provide at the qualifying facility's expense, approved protective equipment
necessary to immediately, completely, and automatically disconnect the
qualifying facility's generation from the utility's system in the event of a
fault on the qualifying facility's system, a fault of the utility's system, or
loss of source on the utility's system. Disconnection must be completed within
the time specified by the utility in its standard operating procedure for its
electric system for loss of a source on the utility's system.
This automatic disconnecting device may be of the manual or
automatic reclose type and shall not be capable of reclosing until after
service is restored by the utility. The type and size of the device shall be
approved by the utility depending upon the installation. Adequate test data or
technical proof that the device meets the above criteria must be supplied by
the qualifying facility to the utility. The utility shall approve a device that
will perform the above functions at minimal capital and operating costs to the
qualifying facility.
(b)
Coordination and Synchronization. The qualifying facility shall be responsible
for coordination and synchronization of the qualifying facility's equipment
with the utility's electrical system, and assumes all responsibility for damage
that may occur from improper coordination or synchronization of the generator
with the utility's system.
(c)
Electrical Characteristics. Single phase generator interconnections with the
utility are permitted at power levels up to 20 KW. For power levels exceeding
20 KW, a three phase balanced interconnection will normally be required. For
the purpose of calculating connected generation, 1 horsepower equals 1
kilowatt. The qualifying facility shall interconnect with the utility at the
voltage of the available distribution or the transmission line of the utility
for the locality of the interconnection, and shall utilize one of the standard
connections (single phase, three phase, wye, delta) as approved by the utility.
The utility may reserve the right to require a separate
transformation and/or service for a qualifying facility's generation system, at
the qualifying facility's expense. The qualifying facility shall bond all
neutrals of the qualifying facility's system to the utility's neutral, and
shall install a separate driven ground with a resistance value which shall be
determined by the utility and bond this ground to the qualifying facility's
system neutral.
(d)
Exceptions. A qualifying facility's generator having a capacity rating that
can:
1. Produce power in excess of 1/2 of the
minimum utility customer requirements of the interconnected distribution or
transmission circuit; or
2. Produce
power flows approaching or exceeding the thermal capacity of the connected
utility distribution or transmission lines or transformers; or
3. Adversely affect the operation of the
utility or other utility customer's voltage, frequency or overcurrent control
and protection devices; or
4.
Adversely affect the quality of service to other utility customers;
or
5. Interconnect at voltage
levels greater than distribution voltages, will require more complex
interconnection facilities as deemed necessary by the
utility.
(7)
Quality of Service. The qualifying facility's generated electricity shall meet
the following minimum guidelines:
(a)
Frequency. The governor control on the prime mover shall be capable of
maintaining the generator output frequency within limits for loads from no-load
up to rated output. The limits for frequency shall be 60 hertz (cycles per
second), plus or minus an instantaneous variation of less than 1%.
(b) Voltage. The regulator control shall be
capable of maintaining the generator output voltage within limits for loads
from no-load up to rated output. The limits for voltage shall be the nominal
operating voltage level, plus or minus 5%.
(c) Harmonics. The output sine wave
distortion shall be deemed acceptable when it does not have a higher content
(root mean square) of harmonics than the utility's normal harmonic content at
the interconnection point.
(d)
Power Factor. The qualifying facility's generation system shall be designed,
operated and controlled to provide reactive power requirements from 0.85
lagging to 0.85 leading power factor. Induction generators shall have static
capacitors that provide at least 85% of the magnetizing current requirements of
the induction generator field. (Capacitors shall not be so large as to permit
self-excitation of the qualifying facility's generator field.)
(e) DC Generators. Direct current generators
may be operated in parallel with the utility's system through a synchronous
inverter. The inverter must meet all criteria in these
rules.
(8) Metering. The
actual metering equipment required, its voltage rating, number of phases, size,
current transformers, potential transformers, number of inputs and associated
memory is dependent on the type, size and location of the electric service
provided. In situations where power may flow both in and out of the qualifying
facility's system, power flowing into the qualifying facility's system will be
measured separately from power flowing out of the qualifying facility's system.
The utility will provide, at no additional cost to the
qualifying facility, the metering equipment necessary to measure capacity and
energy deliveries to the qualifying facility. The utility will provide, at the
qualifying facility's expense, the necessary additional metering equipment to
measure energy deliveries by the qualifying facility to the
utility.
(9) Cost
Responsibility. The qualifying facility is required to bear all costs
associated with the change-out, upgrading or addition of protective devices,
transformers, lines, services, meters, switches, and associated equipment and
devices beyond that which would be required to provide normal service to the
qualifying facility if the qualifying facility were a non-generating customer.
These costs shall be paid by the qualifying facility to the utility for all
material and labor that is required. Prior to any work being done by the
utility, the utility shall supply the qualifying facility with a written cost
estimate of all its required materials and labor and an estimate of the date by
which construction of the interconnection will be completed. This estimate
shall be provided to the qualifying facility within 60 days after the
qualifying facility supplies the utility with its final electrical plans. The
utility shall also provide project timing and feasibility information to the
qualifying facility.
(10) Each
utility shall submit to the Commission, a standard agreement for
interconnection by qualifying facilities as part of their standard offer
contract or contracts required by subsection
25-17.0832(3),
F.A.C.
