5698476 Public Service Commission - Final Rulemaking - RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD-FISCAL YEAR 2015 BUDGET SUPPORT ACT OF 2014

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

RM29-2015-01, In the Matter of 15 DCMR CHAPTER 29-RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD-Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Act of 2014

1.                  The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (“Commission”), pursuant to its authority under D.C. Official Code §§ 2-505 and 34-802 (2012 Repl.), hereby gives notice of its final rulemaking action amending Chapter 29, “Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard [‘REPS’ or ‘Standard’],” of Title 15 (Public Utilities and Cable Television) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”), effective upon publication of this Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register.

2.                  Under the District of Columbia’s REPS, specific percentages of electricity sales must be from tier one, tier two, and solar energy sources.[1]  Solar energy is defined as a tier one source.[2]  To meet the District of Columbia’s Standard, each electricity supplier must obtain tier one and tier two renewable energy credits (“RECs”) and solar renewable energy credits (“SRECs”), or pay a compliance fee for any shortfall, commensurate with a certain percentage of the number of kilowatt hours of electricity sold by the supplier per year.[3]  A REC is a credit representing one megawatt-hour of energy produced by a tier one or tier two renewable source.[4]  In satisfying the statutory tier one, tier two, and solar requirements, District of Columbia  electricity suppliers can only use tier one and tier two RECs and SRECs obtained from tier one, tier two, and solar generating facilities that have been certified by the Commission.[5]

 

3.                  On August 7, 2015, the Commission published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) to amend Chapter 29, in accordance with Title VI, Subtitle F of the “Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Act of 2014” (the “Act”).[6]  No comments were filed in response to the NOPR.  Prior to the enactment of the Act, the Commission could only certify solar energy facilities no larger than 5MW located within the District of Columbia (“District”) or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District, except that SRECs derived from solar energy systems not located within the District or not in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District which had been certified prior to February 1, 2011 could still be used.[7]  Pursuant to the Act, the Commission can now certify solar energy facilities which are not located within the District or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District but which are located within the PJM Interconnection region or within a state that is adjacent to the PJM Interconnection region.[8]  These solar energy systems can, however, only be used to meet the non-solar tier one renewable source requirement of the standard.[9]  Commission rules §§ 2901.2 and 2902.1, as revised in the NOPR, allow the Commission to certify these outside-the District solar energy facilities, subject to this limitation.  This legislation also allows the Commission to certify solar energy systems larger than 5 MW in capacity, provided that these systems are located on property owned by the Government of the District of Columbia or by any agency or independent authority of the Government of the District of Columbia.  Commission rules §§ 2901.2 and 2902.1, have been revised accordingly in the NOPR.  The Commission, therefore, at its regularly scheduled open meeting held on October 15, 2015, took final action to adopt the revised versions of these rules. 

Chapter 29, RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD, of Title 15 DCMR, PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CABLE TELEVISION, is amended as follows:

2901                RPS COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS

 

Section 2901.2 is amended in its entirety to read as follows:

 

2901.2             An Electricity Supplier shall meet the solar portion of the Tier One requirement by obtaining the equivalent amount of RECs from solar energy systems no larger than five megawatts (5 MW) in capacity that are located within the District of Columbia or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District of Columbia, except that RECs generated by solar energy facilities that are not located within the District of Columbia nor in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District of Columbia that the Commission certified prior to February 1, 2011, may be used to meet the solar requirement.  However, an Electricity Supplier may also meet the solar requirement by obtaining RECs from solar energy systems larger than five megawatts (5 MW) in capacity, provided that these solar energy systems are located on property owned by the Government of the District of Columbia or by any agency or independent authority of the Government of the District of Columbia.  In addition, electricity suppliers may meet the non-solar portion of the Tier One renewable source requirement of the renewable energy portfolio standard by obtaining renewable energy credits from solar energy systems that are not located within the District of Columbia or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District of Columbia, regardless of capacity.

2902                GENERATOR CERTIFICATION AND ELIGIBILITY

 

Section 2902.1 is amended in its entirety to read as follows:

 

2902.1             Renewable generators, including behind-the-meter (BTM) generators, must be certified as a qualified resource by the Commission.  The Commission shall not certify any Tier One solar energy system larger than five megawatts (5 MW) in capacity – except for solar energy systems larger than five megawatts in capacity that are located on property owned by the Government of the District of Columbia or by any agency or independent authority of the Government of the District of Columbia – or any Tier One solar energy system not located within the District of Columbia or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District of Columbia.  In addition, solar energy systems that are not located within the District of Columbia or in locations served by a distribution feeder serving the District of Columbia, regardless of capacity may be certified as a qualified resource to meet the non-solar portion of the Tier One renewable source requirement of the renewable energy portfolio standard.

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[1]           D.C. Code § 34-1432 (2015 Supp.).

 

[2]           D.C. Code § 34-1431(15)(A) (2015 Supp.).

 

[3]               D.C. Code §§ 34-1432 and 1434(c) (2015 Supp.).

 

[4]               D.C. Code § 34-1431(10) (2015 Supp.).

 

[5]               See generally, D.C. Code §§ 34-1431-1439 (2001 and 2015 Supp.); 15 DCMR § 2902 (2015). 

 

[6]               D.C. Code § 34-1432(e) (2015).

 

[7]               See D.C. Code §§ 34-1432(e)(1) and (2) (2014 and 2015 Supp.).

 

[8]               D.C. Code §§ 34-1431(10) and 1432(e)(2) (2015 Supp.).

 

[9]               D.C. Code § 34-1432(e)(2) (2015 Supp.).