Virginia Administrative Code › Title 20 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS › Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION › Chapter 314 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING INTERCONNECTION OF SMALL ELECTRICAL GENERATORS › Section 20VAC5-314-35 - Preapplication

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The IC may
				informally request electric system information for a proposed project for a
				specific site by providing in writing details of the potential generating
				facility project, including site address, grid coordinates, project size, and
				proposed point of interconnection, to the utility's designated employee or
				office described in
				20VAC5-314-10.
				Electric system information provided to the IC in response to the informal
				requests shall include relevant system studies, interconnection studies, and
				other materials useful to providing an understanding of an interconnection at a
				particular point on the utility's distribution system, to the extent such
				provision does not violate confidentiality provisions of prior agreements or
				critical infrastructure requirements. The utility shall comply with reasonable
				requests for such information in a timely manner, not to exceed 10 business
				days. The information produced by the utility is nonbinding, does not confer
				any rights, and the IC shall still successfully apply to interconnect to the
				utility's system. The IC shall still meet the requirements of
				20VAC5-314-40
				or
				20VAC5-314-50
				to apply to interconnect to the utility's system and to obtain a queue number.
				Any one developer shall have no more than five active informal requests for
				information at one time.
B. In
				addition to the option of informally requesting information described in
				subsection A of this section, an IC may submit a formal written request form
				along with a nonrefundable fee of $500 for a preapplication report on a
				proposed project at a specific site. The utility shall provide the
				preapplication data described in subsection C of this section to the IC within
				20 business days of receipt of the completed request form and payment of the
				fee. The preapplication report produced by the utility is nonbinding, does not
				confer any rights, and the IC must still successfully apply to interconnect to
				the utility's system. The written Preapplication Report Request Form shall
				include all of the information as described in Schedule 4 of
				20VAC5-314-170.
				The utility shall notify the IC if there are any deficiencies in the IC's
				submittal within five business days of submission of the Preapplication Report
				Request Form. Any one developer shall have no more than five active formal
				requests for information at one time.
C. Using the information provided in the
				Preapplication Report Request Form in subsection B of this section, and as
				described in Schedule 4 of
				20VAC5-314-170,
				the utility will identify the substation or area bus, bank, or circuit likely
				to serve the proposed point of interconnection. This selection by the utility
				does not necessarily indicate, after application of the Level 2 screens or
				Level 3 study process, that this point of interconnection will be suitable or
				the most costs effective for interconnection. The IC must request additional
				preapplication reports if information about multiple points of interconnection
				is requested. Subject to subsection D of this section, the preapplication
				report will provide the following information:
1. Total capacity (in MW) of substation or
				area bus, bank, or circuit based on normal or operating ratings likely to serve
				the proposed point of interconnection.
2. Existing aggregate generation capacity (in
				MW) interconnected to a substation or area bus, bank, or circuit (i.e., amount
				of generation online) likely- to serve the proposed point of
				interconnection.
3. Aggregate
				queued generation capacity (in MW) for a substation or area bus, bank, or
				circuit (i.e., amount of generation in the queue) likely to serve the proposed
				point of interconnection.
4.
				Substation nominal distribution voltage or transmission nominal voltage if
				applicable.
5. Nominal distribution
				circuit voltage at the proposed point of interconnection.
6. Approximate circuit distance between the
				proposed point of interconnection and the substation.
7. Relevant line sections actual or estimated
				peak load and minimum load data, including daytime minimum load and absolute
				minimum load, when available.
8.
				Number and rating of protective devices and number and type (standard,
				bidirectional) of voltage regulating devices between the proposed point of
				interconnection and the substation or area. At the substation, identify the
				number of capacitors and if the substation has a load tap changer.
9. Number of phases available at the proposed
				point of interconnection. If a single phase, distance from the three-phase
				circuit.
10. Limiting conductor
				ratings from the proposed point of interconnection to the distribution
				substation.
11. Whether the
				proposed point of interconnection is located on a spot network, grid network,
				or radial supply.
12. Based on the
				proposed point of interconnection, existing or known constraints such as, but
				not limited to, electrical dependencies at that location, short circuit
				interrupting capacity issues, power quality or stability issues on the circuit,
				capacity constraints, or secondary networks.
13. Other information regarding an affected
				system the utility deems relevant to the IC (e.g., substation upgrades that
				allow bidirectional power flows).