North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 04 - COMMERCE › Chapter 11 - UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 8 › Article 11 - RESOURCE PLANNING AND CERTIFICATION › Section 11 R08-71 - COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Purpose. -
				  The purpose of this rule is to implement the provisions of
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8, and to provide for Commission
				  oversight of the CPRE Program(s) designed by the electric public utilities
				  subject to
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8 for the competitive procurement and
				  development of renewable energy facilities in a manner that ensures continued
				  reliable and cost-effective electric service to customers in North
				  Carolina.
(b) Definitions.
(1) "Affiliate" is defined as provided in
				  G.S.
				  62-126.3(1).
(2) "Avoided cost rates" - means an electric
				  public utility's calculation of its long-term, levelized avoided energy and
				  capacity costs utilizing the methodology most recently approved or established
				  by the Commission as of 30 days prior to the date of the electric public
				  utility's upcoming CPRE RFP Solicitation for purchases of electricity from
				  qualifying facilities pursuant to Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory
				  Policies Act of 1978, as amended. The electric public utility's avoided cost
				  rates shall be used for purposes of determining the cost effectiveness of
				  renewable energy resources procured through a CPRE RFP Solicitation. With
				  respect to each CPRE RFP Solicitation, the electric public utility's avoided
				  costs shall be calculated over the time period of the utility's pro forma
				  contract(s) approved by the Commission.
(3) "Competitive Procurement of Renewable
				  Energy (CPRE) Program" means the program(s) established by
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8 requiring Duke Energy Carolinas,
				  LLC, and Duke Energy Progress, LLC, to jointly or individually procure an
				  aggregate 2,660 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy resource nameplate capacity
				  subject to the requirements and limitations established therein.
(4) "CPRE Program Methodology" means the
				  methodology used to evaluate all proposals received in a given CPRE RFP
				  Solicitation.
(5) "CPRE Program
				  Procurement Period" means the initial 45-month period in which the aggregate
				  2,660 MW of renewable energy resource nameplate capacity is required to be
				  procured under the CPRE Program(s) approved by the Commission.
(6) "CPRE RFP Solicitation" means a request
				  for proposal solicitation process to be followed by the electric public utility
				  under this Rule for the competitive procurement of renewable energy resource
				  capacity pursuant to the utility's CPRE Program.
(7) "Evaluation Team" means employees and
				  agents of an electric public utility that will be evaluating proposals
				  submitted in response to the CPRE RFP Solicitation, including those acting for
				  or on behalf of the electric public utility regarding any aspect of the CPRE
				  RFP Solicitation evaluation or selection process.
(8) "IA Website" means the website
				  established and maintained by the Independent Administrator as required by
				  subsection (d)(7) of this Rule.
(9)
				  "Independent Administrator" means the third-party entity to be approved by the
				  Commission that is responsible for independently administering the CPRE Program
				  in accordance with
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8 and this rule, developing and
				  publishing the CPRE Program Methodology, and for ensuring that all responses to
				  a CPRE RFP Solicitation are treated equitably.
(10) "Electric public utility" means an
				  electric public utility that is required to comply with the requirements of
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8.
(11) "Market participant" means a person who
				  has expressed interest in submitting a proposal in response to a CPRE RFP
				  Solicitation or has submitted such a proposal, including, unless the context
				  requires otherwise, an Affiliate or an electric public utility, through its
				  Proposal Team.
(12) "Proposal Team"
				  means employees and agents of an electric public utility or an Affiliate that
				  proposes to meet a portion of its CPRE Program requirements as provided in
				  G.S.
				  62-110.8(b)(i) or (ii),
				  which is more particularly described as a "Self-developed Proposal" in
				  subsection (f)(2)(iv) of this rule, who directly support the Self-developed
				  Proposal.
(13) "Renewable energy
				  certificate" is defined as provided in
				  G.S.
				  62-133.8(a)(6).
(14) "Renewable energy facility" means an
				  electric generating facility that uses renewable energy resource(s) as its
				  primary source of fuel, has a nameplate capacity rating of 80 MW or less, and
				  is placed into service after the beginning of the CPRE Program Procurement
				  Period.
(15) "Renewable energy
				  resource" is as defined as provided in
				  G.S.
				  62-133.8(a)(8).
(16) "T&D Sub-Team" means those members
				  of the Evaluation Team responsible for assessing the impacts of proposals on
				  the electric public utility's transmission and distribution systems and
				  assigning any system upgrade costs attributable to each proposal pursuant to
				  R8-71(f)(3)(iii). The T&D Sub-Team shall be designated in writing to the
				  Independent Administrator and shall have no communication, either directly or
				  indirectly, with the other members of the Evaluation Team or a market
				  participant concerning any proposal, except through the Independent
				  Administrator, from the date on which the draft CPRE RFP Solicitation documents
				  are issued by the Independent Administrator until the CPRE RFP Solicitation is
				  deemed closed.