reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-100 - Electric companies › Part IX - ADOPTION BY REFERENCE › Section 480-100-999 - Adoption by reference

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
In this chapter, the commission adopts by reference all or
				  portions of regulations and standards identified below. The publications,
				  effective date, references within this chapter, and availability of the
				  resources are as follows:
(1)
Title 18 Code of Federal Regulations,
cited as 18 C.F.R.,
				including all appendices and amendments is published by the United States
				Government Publishing Office.
(a) The
				commission adopts the version in effect on March 8, 2024.
(b) The accounting and reporting for the
				types of transactions and events covered by the amendment should not be
				construed as indicative of their treatment by this commission for ratemaking
				purposes.
(c) This publication is
				referenced in WAC 480-100-203 (Accounting system requirements), WAC 480-100-244 (Transferring cash or assuming obligations), WAC 480-100-252 (Federal Energy
				Regulatory Commission (FERC) Form No. 1), and WAC 480-100-268 (Essential
				utilities services contracts report).
(d) Copies of Title 18 Code of Federal
				Regulations are available from the U.S. Government Publishing Office in
				Washington D.C., or online at
https://www.gpo.gov/
, and from various
				third-party vendors. It is also available for inspection at the commission
				library.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part I - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 480-103-001 - Purpose and application

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Purpose.
The purpose of these rules is to administer and enforce
				the provisions of chapter 80.28 RCW that govern community solar companies. The
				rules establish general requirements and specific regulations for registration,
				consumer protection, records, and reporting for such companies.
(2)
Application.
The rules in
				this chapter apply to any community solar company, any administrator acting on
				behalf of a community solar company, and where specified, any investor-owned
				utility operating a community solar project that is subject to the jurisdiction
				of the commission under
				RCW
				80.04.010 or chapter 80.28 RCW. These rules
				also include requirements for customers, project participants, and
				applicants.
(3)
Nonexclusivity.
These rules do not relieve any community solar
				company from any of its duties and obligations under the laws of the state of
				Washington. The commission retains the authority to impose additional or
				different requirements on any community solar company in appropriate
				circumstances, consistent with the requirements of applicable law.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part I - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 480-103-002 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) "Administrator"
				means a person or entity that organizes and administers a community solar
				project on behalf of a community solar company. The administrator may be
				responsible for applying for the renewable energy system incentive on behalf of
				the system's owners and for performing other administrative tasks including,
				but not limited to:
(a) Receiving renewable
				energy incentive payments;
(b)
				Allocating and paying appropriate amounts of such payments to owners;
				and
(c) Communicating with WSU and
				the commission about any changes in program participants.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part I - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 480-103-007 - Administrators

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
A community solar company may contract with or otherwise
				  retain one or more administrators to perform tasks on the company's behalf that
				  are subject to the rules under this chapter. If an administrator engages in
				  conduct that violates any federal, state, or local law or regulation, or any
				  commission order while acting on behalf of the community solar company, the
				  company is subject to commission enforcement actions as if the company itself
				  engaged in that conduct. The community solar company is responsible for
				  maintaining measures designed to prevent and detect an administrator's
				  violation of statutes or rules within the commission's authority to enforce.
				  Upon commission request, a community solar company must make available records
				  regarding the tasks an administrator performs on the company's behalf. Such
				  records must fully enable the commission to audit, investigate, and determine
				  the company's compliance with applicable law.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part II - REPORTING AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AND REGISTRATION FEES › Section 480-103-010 - Registration and regulatory fees

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Community solar companies must pay the following fees:
Initial registration: $450
Renewal registration: $350
Amended registration: $150
Regulatory fee: See WAC 480-103-030(2), minimum
				  $20
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part II - REPORTING AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AND REGISTRATION FEES › Section 480-103-020 - Registration as a community solar company

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
No person may engage in business as a community solar
				  company in Washington without having registered with the commission. Engaging
				  in business as a community solar company includes advertising, soliciting,
				  offering, providing, or entering into an agreement to provide community solar
				  project services.
(1)
Applications.
Community solar companies must submit applications
				to the commission for the following purposes:
(a) To initially register as a community
				solar company prior to engaging in business;
(b) To annually renew the company's
				registration as a community solar company; or
(c) To amend the company's existing
				registration to reflect any material change to the company's registered
				operations.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part II - REPORTING AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AND REGISTRATION FEES › Section 480-103-030 - Annual reports and payment of regulatory fees

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Annual reports.
(a)
Community solar
				companies
. Each community solar company must file a report on or
				before May 1st each year on the community solar company's operations within the
				state of Washington for the prior calendar year. The company must submit the
				annual report on the form furnished by the commission and must include all
				information, documentation, and support the commission requires in the form or
				the form's instructions. The report must include:
(i) A statement under oath of the community
				solar company's gross operating revenue from intrastate operations during the
				prior calendar year; and
(ii) A
				list identifying all of the company's community solar projects and related
				programs and services within the state of Washington.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part II - REPORTING AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AND REGISTRATION FEES › Section 480-103-040 - Suspension and cancellation of a registration

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Voluntary cancellation.
A
				community solar company may petition the commission to cancel the company's
				registration. The company must notify its project participants of its intent to
				file any such petition no less than fifteen days in advance of making the
				filing and when making the filing with the commission. The commission may grant
				the petition without a hearing.
(2)
Suspension.
The commission may suspend a community solar company's
				registration for cause. The commission will lift the suspension if the company
				remedies the cause within the time the commission allows. Cause for suspension
				includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Failure
				to provide information the commission needs to perform its regulatory functions
				including, but not limited to, failure to respond to complaints the commission
				has received and referred to the company for resolution;
(b) Failure to maintain an adequate escrow or
				trust account where deposits collected from project participants are or will be
				held;
(c) Violation of commission
				rules or orders or violations of the laws or regulations of a state or the
				United States as found by a court or governmental agency.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part II - REPORTING AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, REGULATORY AND REGISTRATION FEES › Section 480-103-050 - Disconnection of service

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
An electric utility is not liable for incentive payments to
				  a community solar company's project participants if the utility has
				  disconnected utility service to the company due to the company's violation of a
				  customer service agreement, such as nonpayment of the company's utility bill,
				  or the company's violation of the interconnection agreement between the company
				  and the utility.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-100 - Information to customers, project participants, and applicants

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Transparent administration.
A community solar company must
				administer its community solar projects in a transparent manner that allows for
				fair and nondiscriminatory opportunities for customers, project participants,
				and applicants to participate.
(2)
Cost recovery and notice.
A community solar company may establish
				a reasonable fee to cover the costs it incurs to organize and administer its
				community solar projects. Prior to a customer making the commitment to
				participate in the project, the company must give clear and conspicuous notice
				to the customer of the portion of the incentive payment that the company will
				use for this purpose.
(3)
Service changes.
A community solar company must promptly notify
				all affected project participants of any substantial change to the community
				solar project service the company provides. The community solar company must
				bear all costs in connection with making changes to its own
				equipment.
(4)
Information on
				rates, terms, and conditions.
A community solar company must make
				information regarding its rates, rules, and regulations available at each of
				its listed business offices and on its web site.
(5)
Information a company must
				maintain.
A community solar company must maintain and update annually
				through June 30, 2030, the following information for each community solar
				project it operates or administers:
(a)
				Ownership information;
(b) Contact
				information for any administrator of the community solar project;
(c) Contact information for persons who will
				respond to technical management questions;
(d) Business address;
(e) Email address at which the company will
				receive communications from the commission; and
(f) Project design details including, but not
				limited to, project location, output capacity, equipment list, and
				interconnection information, and participation information, including rates,
				fees, terms, and conditions.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-105 - Services and charges

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Services
				and charges limited.
A community solar company may offer and provide
				only the community solar project services the commission has registered the
				company to provide and may provide a project participant only the services the
				participant has agreed in writing to receive at the rates or charges the
				participant has agreed to pay.
(2)
No new charges without consent.
A community solar company may not
				charge a project participant any rate or fee for a new service or service
				option or impose a new or additional rate or fee for an existing service or
				service option without the participant's prior consent.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-110 - Community solar company personnel

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
General standards.
Each community solar company must develop
				standards and qualifications for the persons it uses to perform the tasks
				required to administer and operate its community solar projects and provide its
				project services. A company may not hire, engage, or otherwise use a person to
				perform such tasks who fails to meet its standards.
(2)
Door-to-door activity
				personnel.
A community solar company may not permit a person to conduct
				door-to-door activities on its behalf until it has obtained and reviewed the
				person's criminal history record.
(a) A
				company must complete a criminal background check for every person that will
				conduct door-to-door activities on its behalf;
(b) The company must keep evidence that it
				has completed a criminal background check for every person the company uses for
				door-to-door activities for as long as that person performs such activities and
				for seven years thereafter;
(c) No
				company may use a person for door-to-door activities who has been convicted of
				any crime involving theft, burglary, assault, sexual misconduct, identity
				theft, fraud, or false statements, within five years of the date the company
				intends to use that person; and
(d)
				When a community solar company contracts with an independent contractor or
				vendor to perform door-to-door activities, the company must document that the
				contractor or vendor has performed criminal background investigations on its
				personnel in accordance with the requirements in this rule. A company may
				satisfy this obligation by obtaining from the independent contractor or vendor
				a written statement affirming that the contractor or vendor performed the
				requisite criminal background checks and that all personnel who will be
				performing door-to-door activities on behalf of the company satisfy the
				requirements in this section. The company must periodically audit whether the
				independent contractor or vendor has completed the background checks in
				accordance with this section.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-115 - Application for participation in a community solar project

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
No subscription without
				consent.
No community solar company may subscribe any person to a
				community solar energy generation system without that person's prior written
				consent.
(2)
Identification
				of application form.
Application forms to participate in a community
				solar project must be clearly identified as a contract for such
				participation.
(3)
Permissible applicant information requirements.
If applicable, a
				community solar company may require the following information from an
				applicant:
(a) The applicant's name, street
				address, email address, telephone number, and any alternative contact telephone
				number;
(b) Proof of
				identification; provided that the community solar company must allow the
				applicant to choose one form of identification from a list provided by the
				company of at least five sources of identification, which must include an
				option for a current driver's license or other state-issued photographic
				identification card; and
(c)
				Additional information the community solar company reasonably needs to provide
				or bill for service.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-120 - Deposits

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Escrow or
				trust account.
Community solar companies that collect deposits from
				customers, project participants, or applicants must maintain an escrow or trust
				account where the company will hold the deposits it collects.
(2)
Interest on deposits.
Community solar companies that collect deposits from customers, project
				participants, or applicants must pay interest on those deposits from the date
				the company collects the deposit to the date the company refunds or applies the
				deposit directly to the customer, project participant, or applicant's account.
				For each calendar year, the company will pay interest at the rate for the
				one-year Treasury Constant Maturity calculated by the U.S. Treasury, as
				published in the
Federal Reserve's Statistical Release H.15
on
				January 15th of that year, or if January 15th is not a business day, the rate
				posted on the following business day.
(3)
Refund of deposits.
A
				community solar company must refund deposits plus interest, less any amounts
				due from the project participant, when:
(a)
				The participant's deposits plus interest are not applied toward the
				participant's account or portion of the community solar project; and
(b) The participant terminates his or her
				participation in the community solar project; or
(c) The company terminates the participant's
				participation; or
(d) The community
				solar project ceases operation.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-125 - Transfer of project participation

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
A community solar company must allow project participants to
				  sell or otherwise transfer a portion or all of their interest in a community
				  solar project, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Neither the portion transferred nor any
				portion retained by the project participant is smaller than the minimum
				participation size specified in the contract between the participant and the
				company;
(2) If the transfer is to
				one or more persons, those individuals must meet the company's participation
				requirements;
(3) The company may
				require the program participant to obtain company approval of any transfer to
				another person, which may not be unreasonably withheld; and
(4) If a program participant is unable or
				elects not to transfer the participant's interest to another person, the
				company must allow a transfer back to the company.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-130 - Disclosure of private consumer information

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Consent required.
A
				community solar company may not disclose private consumer information to its
				affiliates, subsidiaries, or any other third party for the purposes of
				marketing services or product offerings to a customer, project participant, or
				applicant who does not already subscribe to that service or product without the
				person's prior written or electronic consent. The community solar company must
				obtain such consent for each instance of disclosure of the customer, project
				participant, or applicant's private consumer information.
(2)
Documentation of consent.
The community solar company must retain documentation of each consent for
				disclosure of private consumer information, which must include the following
				information:
(a) Confirmation of consent for
				the disclosure of private consumer information;
(b) The date of the consent and a list of the
				affiliates, subsidiaries, or third parties to which the customer, project
				participant, or applicant authorized disclosure of private consumer
				information; and
(c) Confirmation
				that the name, service address, and account number, if applicable, exactly
				match the community solar company's record for the customer, project
				participant, or applicant who provided the consent.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-135 - Complaints and disputes

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Complaints to the company.
A community solar company must
				establish procedures for resolving complaints it receives from a customer,
				project participant, or applicant. At a minimum, the company must take the
				following actions when it receives such a complaint:
(a) Acknowledge the company's receipt of the
				complaint;
(b) Upon request,
				identify the company representative the complainant can contact concerning the
				complaint;
(c) Investigate the
				complaint promptly as required by the particular case;
(d) Report the results of the investigation
				to the complainant;
(e) Take
				corrective action, if warranted, as soon as practicable under the
				circumstances;
(f) Inform the
				complainant of the right to escalate the complaint to a supervisor at the
				company if the complainant is dissatisfied with the results, decision, or any
				corrective action the company has taken; and
(g) Inform the complainant, if still
				dissatisfied after speaking with a supervisor, of the commission's address and
				toll-free telephone number and of the complainant's right to file a complaint
				with the commission.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-140 - Electronic information

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Consent required.
A community solar company may provide in
				electronic form, rather than paper, information a statute, rule, or commission
				order requires the company to provide to a customer, project participant, or
				applicant, only with the prior written or electronic consent of the customer,
				project participant, or applicant. The electronic communication providing the
				information must provide a link to that information or otherwise sufficiently
				advise the customer, project participant, or applicant of how to access the
				information electronically.
(2)
Format of electronic communications.
All information a community
				solar company provides in electronic form must meet the requirements for format
				and any other requirements specified in this chapter.
(3)
Obtaining and documenting
				consent.
The community solar company must obtain the consent required in
				this section directly from the customer, project participant, or applicant for
				each service the company provides to the customer, project participant, or
				applicant. The company also must comply with the following requirements:
(a)
Content
. At a minimum,
				the consent must include the following:
(i)
				The name, address, and account number, if applicable, that exactly matches the
				community solar company record for such person or account;
(ii) The customer, project participant, or
				applicant's affirmative decision to receive electronic information;
(iii) Confirmation of the customer, program
				participant, or applicant's understanding that the community solar company will
				provide, upon request but subject to the limitations in this section, a paper
				copy of any document the company sends electronically at no additional
				charge;
(iv) Confirmation of the
				customer, project participant, or applicant's understanding that the person may
				opt out of receiving information electronically at any time and revert to
				receiving paper documents through the mail at no additional charge;
(v) Confirmation of the customer, project
				participant, or applicant's understanding that it is that person's
				responsibility to notify the community solar company of any change to the
				person's email or other electronic address; and
(vi) Confirmation of the customer, program
				participant, or applicant's understanding that, in addition to the paperless
				account statements, the person may receive all notices regarding service in
				electronic form including, but not limited to, notices of the community solar
				company's intent to increase rates and make changes in service.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part III - CONSUMER RULES › Section 480-103-145 - Meter tests

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Testing
				frequency.
A community solar company must test and report to project
				participants the accuracy of each of its community solar project's meters every
				twelve months.
(2)
Dispute
				resolution.
If a project participant disputes any meter test result, the
				company or the customer may file a complaint with the commission.
(a) When the commission has notified the
				company that the commission has received a complaint regarding a meter test
				result, the company may not alter the meter in any manner unless authorized by
				the commission. The commission may consider any alteration to the meter in
				violation of this requirement as support for the complaint.
(b) The commission may require the company to
				perform an additional meter test and report the test results to the commission
				within ten business days.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part IV - RECORDS AND REPORTING RULES › Section 480-103-150 - Retention and preservation of records and reports

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Community solar companies receiving incentive payments must
				  maintain and preserve, for a period of seven years, suitable records as may be
				  necessary to determine the amount of incentive the company applied for and
				  received. Such records must be open for examination at any time upon notice by
				  the utility that made the payment and by the commission. The commission
				  otherwise adopts the standards in the publication,
Regulations to
				  Govern the Preservation of Records of Electric, Gas, and Water
				  Companies
, published by the National Association of Regulatory Utility
				  Commissioners, as the standards for records retention for community solar
				  companies as described in WAC 480-103-999.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part IV - RECORDS AND REPORTING RULES › Section 480-103-155 - Reports of accidents

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Initial notification.
Each community solar company must notify the
				commission orally or by email of any accident that results in death or serious
				injury to any person occurring in connection with a company's community solar
				project or through contact with its facilities no later than the second
				business day following the company's discovery of the accident.
(2)
Follow-up report.
The
				community solar company must submit a follow-up written report of the accident
				to the commission within fifteen business days of the initial notification. The
				report must include, at a minimum:
(a) The
				time and place of the accident;
(b)
				A brief description of how the accident occurred;
(c) Whether the accident resulted in a
				fatality;
(d) The name and address
				of the persons injured; and
(e) A
				brief description of the company's response to the accident including, but not
				limited to, any medical treatment that was provided to the injured
				persons.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-103 - Community solar companies › Part V - ADOPTION BY REFERENCE › Section 480-103-999 - Adoption by reference

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
In this chapter, the commission adopts by reference the
				  regulations and standards in
Regulations to Govern the Preservation of
				  Records of Electric, Gas, and Water Utilities
, published by the
				  National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) as the
				  standards for records retention for community solar companies unless otherwise
				  specified in these rules. The commission adopts the version of this document in
				  effect in 2007. The
Regulations to Govern the Preservation of Records
				  of Electric, Gas, and Water Utilities
is a copyrighted document.
				  Copies are available from NARUC in Washington, D.C. or at NARUC publications
				  store online:
https://maxxwww.naruc.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/regulations-to-govern-the-preservation-of-records
.
				  The publication is also available for inspection at the commission's
				  offices.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-001 - Purpose

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The purpose of this chapter is to implement the Public Utility
				Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), Title II, sections 201 and 210, and
				related regulations promulgated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
				(FERC) in 18 C.F.R. Part 292 Subparts A and C. If there is any conflict between
				these rules and PURPA, or the related rules promulgated by FERC in 18 C.F.R.
				Part 292, PURPA and those related FERC rules control. Purchase of electric
				power under these rules satisfies a utility's obligation to purchase power from
				qualifying facilities under section 210 of PURPA.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-002 - Application of rules

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Except as
			 otherwise provided in this chapter, the rules in this chapter apply to any
			 utility that is subject to the commission's jurisdiction under
			 RCW
			 80.01.040,
			 80.04.010,
			 and chapter 80.28 RCW, and qualifying facilities as defined herein. The rules
			 in this chapter do not supersede contracts existing before the effective date
			 of this rule. At the expiration of such an existing contract between a utility
			 and a qualifying facility, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to rates
			 and terms offered under any contract extension or new contract.
(2) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a
			 utility or a qualifying facility from agreeing to voluntary contracts with
			 rates, terms, or conditions that differ from the provisions in this
			 chapter.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-003 - Exemptions from rules in chapter 480-106 WAC

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The commission, in response to a request or on its own
				initiative, may grant an exemption from, or modify the application of, any rule
				in this chapter consistent with the standards and according to the procedures
				set forth in WAC
				480-07-110
				Exemptions from and modifications to commission rules; conflicts with other
				rules.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-010 - Obligations of qualifying facilities to the utility

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) The owner or operator of a qualifying
			 facility purchasing or selling electricity under this chapter must execute a
			 written agreement with the utility stating at a minimum that:
(a) The owner or operator of the qualifying
			 facility will construct and operate all interconnected qualifying facilities
			 within its control in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local
			 laws and regulations to ensure system safety and reliability of interconnected
			 operations;
(b) The qualifying
			 facility will furnish, install, operate, and maintain in good order and repair,
			 and without cost to the utility, such switching equipment, relays, locks and
			 seals, breakers, automatic synchronizers, and other control and protective
			 apparatus determined by the utility to be reasonably necessary for the safe and
			 reliable operation of the qualifying facility in parallel with the utility's
			 system, or the qualifying facility may contract for the utility to do so at the
			 qualifying facility's expense; the qualifying facility's delivery of
			 electricity to the utility must be at a voltage, phase, power factor, and
			 frequency as reasonably specified by the utility; and
(c) The utility at all times must have access
			 to all switching equipment capable of isolating the qualifying facility from
			 the utility's system.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-020 - Obligations of the utility to qualifying facilities

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Obligation to purchase from
			 qualifying facilities:
A utility must purchase, in accordance with WAC
			 480-106-050 Rates for purchases from qualifying facilities, any energy and
			 capacity that is made available from a qualifying facility:
(a) Directly to the utility; or
(b) Indirectly to the utility in accordance
			 with subsection (4) of this section.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-030 - Tariff for purchases from qualifying facilities

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Tariff for purchases from
			 qualifying facilities required:
Each utility must file a tariff
			 consistent with this chapter and with WAC
			 480-80-102 Tariff
			 content.
(2)
Contracting
			 procedures:
(a) In the tariff required
			 in subsection (1) of this section, each utility must file contracting
			 procedures that sets forth the obligations of the utility and the qualifying
			 facility entering into contracts for the purchase and sale of qualifying
			 facility output. Such contracting procedures shall provide that a legally
			 enforceable obligation will be considered in an executed written contract
			 between the utility and the qualifying facility prior to commercial
			 operation;
(b) A legally
			 enforceable obligation may exist prior to an executed written contract. If an
			 irreconcilable disagreement arises during the contracting process, the
			 qualifying facility or the purchasing utility may petition the commission to
			 resolve the disagreement, including making a determination about whether the
			 qualifying facility owner is entitled to a legally enforceable obligation and
			 the date that such obligation occurred based on the specific facts and
			 circumstances of each case. In making its determination, the commission will
			 recognize that the formation of a legally enforceable obligation is based on a
			 qualifying facility committing itself to sell all or part of its electric
			 output to an electric utility.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-040 - Schedules of estimated avoided costs

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Filing requirement.
A utility must file by November 1st of each
			 year, as a revision to its tariff described in WAC 480-106-030 Tariff for
			 purchases from qualifying facilities, a schedule of estimated avoided costs
			 that identifies, both separately and combined, its avoided cost of energy and
			 its avoided cost of capacity. All schedules of estimated avoided costs must
			 include:
(a) Identification of avoided
			 energy: An estimated avoided cost of energy based on the utility's current
			 forecast of market prices for power stated on a cents per kilowatt-hour or
			 dollars per megawatt-hour basis for the current calendar year and each of the
			 next twenty years. In determining its avoided cost of energy, the utility may
			 incorporate the daily and seasonal peak and off-peak period prices, by year;
			 and
(b) Identification of avoided
			 capacity: An estimated avoided cost of capacity expressed in dollars per
			 megawatt based on the projected fixed cost of the next planned capacity
			 addition identified in the succeeding twenty years in the utility's most
			 recently acknowledged integrated resource plan filed pursuant to WAC
			 480-100-238
			 Integrated resource planning, and such identification must include the
			 following:
(i) Identification of capacity
			 cost: A utility must identify the projected fixed costs of its next planned
			 capacity addition based on either the estimates included in its most recently
			 acknowledged integrated resource plan or the most recent project proposals
			 received pursuant to an RFP issued consistent with chapter 480-107 WAC,
			 whichever is most current; and
(ii)
			 Proxy for planned market purchases: If the utility's most recently acknowledged
			 integrated resource plan identifies the need for capacity in the form of market
			 purchases not yet executed, then the utility shall use the projected fixed
			 costs of a simple-cycle combustion turbine unit as identified in the integrated
			 resource plan as the avoided capacity cost of the market purchases.
(c) Levelized avoided cost
			 pricing: The avoided cost of capacity must account for any differences between
			 the in-service date of the qualifying facility and the date of the next planned
			 generating unit by levelizing the lump sum present value of the avoided cost of
			 capacity discounted by the utility's commission-approved weighted average cost
			 of capital.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-050 - Rates for purchases from qualifying facilities

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Rates for purchases by a
			 utility:
(a) Rates must be just and
			 reasonable to the utility's customers and in the public interest;
(b) Rates must not discriminate against
			 qualifying facilities; and
(c)
			 Rates must not exceed the avoided cost to the utility of alternative energy,
			 capacity, or both.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-060 - Rates for sales to qualifying facilities

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
General rules:
(a) Rates for sales:
(i) Shall be just and reasonable, and in the
			 public interest; and
(ii) Shall not
			 discriminate against any qualifying facility in comparison to rates for sales
			 to other customers served by the utility.
Utilities may not deny service to a customer for which the
				customer otherwise qualifies based on the presence of a qualifying facility,
				including interruptible power service.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-070 - System emergencies

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Qualifying facility obligation to provide power during system
			 emergencies:
A qualifying facility may be required to provide energy or
			 capacity to a utility during a system emergency only to the extent:
(a) Provided by agreement between the
			 qualifying facility and utility; or
(b) Ordered under section 202(c) of the
			 Federal Power Act.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-106 - Electric companies-Purchases of electricity from qualifying facilities › Section 480-106-080 - Interconnection costs

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Any costs of
			 interconnection are the responsibility of the owner or operator of the
			 qualifying facility entering into a power contract under this chapter. The
			 utility must assess all reasonable interconnection and necessary system or
			 network upgrade costs the utility incurs against a qualifying facility on a
			 non-discriminatory basis.
(2) The
			 owner or operator of the qualifying facility must reimburse the utility for any
			 reasonable interconnection costs the utility may incur. Such reimbursement may
			 be made, at the utility's election:
(a) At
			 the time the utility invoices the owner or operator of the qualifying facility
			 for interconnection costs incurred by the utility; or
(b) Over an agreed period not greater than
			 the length of any contract between the utility and the qualifying
			 facility.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-107 - Electric companies-Purchases of resources › Section 480-107-001 - Purpose and scope

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) The rules
			 in this chapter establish the requirements for various utility solicitations
			 and procurements, including provisions governing competitive solicitations,
			 all-source RFPs, targeted RFPs, independent evaluators and system emergencies.
			 The rules in this chapter do not establish the sole procedures a utility may
			 use to acquire new resources. A utility may construct new resources, operate
			 conservation and efficiency resource programs, purchase power through
			 negotiated contracts, or take other action to satisfy the utility's public
			 service obligations.
(2) The
			 commission will consider the information the utility obtained through its
			 acquisition efforts when the commission evaluates the performance of the
			 utility in rate and other proceedings.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040 and
				  80.04.160. 06-08-025 (Docket No.
				  UE-030423, General Order No. R-530), § 480-107-001, filed 3/28/06,
				  effective 4/28/06. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040,
				  80.04.160,
				  81.04.160, and
				  34.05.353. 03-22-046 (Docket No.
				  A-030832, General Order No. R-509), § 480-107-001, filed 10/29/03,
				  effective 11/29/03. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040 and
				  80.04.160. 89-15-043 (Order R-304,
				  Docket No. U-89-2814-R), § 480-107-001, filed
				  7/18/89.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-107 - Electric companies-Purchases of resources › Section 480-107-002 - Exemptions from rules

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Consistent with WAC
				480-07-110,
				the commission may grant an exemption from the provisions of any rule in this
				chapter.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040 and
				  80.04.160. 06-08-025 (Docket No.
				  UE-030423, General Order No. R-530), § 480-107-002, filed 3/28/06,
				  effective 4/28/06.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-107 - Electric companies-Purchases of resources › Section 480-107-004 - Additional requirements

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) These rules
			 do not relieve any utility from any of its duties and obligations under the
			 laws of the state of Washington.
(2) The commission retains its authority to
			 impose additional or different requirements on any utility in appropriate
			 circumstances, consistent with the requirements of law.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040 and
				  80.04.160. 06-08-025 (Docket No.
				  UE-030423, General Order No. R-530), § 480-107-004, filed 3/28/06,
				  effective 4/28/06.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-107 - Electric companies-Purchases of resources › Section 480-107-006 - Severability

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any
				person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter or the
				application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not
				affected.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  80.01.040 and
				  80.04.160. 06-08-025 (Docket No.
				  UE-030423, General Order No. R-530), § 480-107-006, filed 3/28/06,
				  effective 4/28/06.
Washington Administrative Code › Title 480 - Utilities and Transportation Commission › Chapter 480-107 - Electric companies-Purchases of resources › Section 480-107-009 - Required all-source RFPs and conditions for targeted RFPs

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) All-source RFP
			 requirements. All-source RFPs must allow bids from different types of resources
			 that may fill all or part of the characteristics or attributes of the resource
			 need. Such resource types include, but are not limited to, unbundled renewable
			 energy credits, conservation and efficiency resources, demand response or other
			 distributed energy resources, energy storage, electricity from qualifying
			 facilities, electricity from independent power producers, or other resources
			 identified to contribute to an equitable distribution of energy and nonenergy
			 benefits to vulnerable populations and highly impacted communities.
(2) Required RFP. A utility must issue an
			 all-source RFP if the IRP demonstrates that the utility has a resource need
			 within four years. A utility may supplement its all-source RFP with one or more
			 targeted RFPs issued at the same time. The required RFP and any supplemental
			 RFPs are subject to commission approval.
(3) Voluntary RFP. Whenever a utility chooses
			 to issue an RFP to meet resource needs outside of the timing of its required
			 RFP, it may issue an all-source RFP or a targeted RFP. Voluntary RFPs are not
			 subject to commission approval.
(4)
			 Targeted RFP requirements. If the utility issues a targeted RFP in conjunction
			 with an all-source RFP, it must fairly compare all resource options in its
			 combined analysis.