Rule 4901:1-22-04 | General provisions.
(A) Prohibitions
(1) In accordance with the EDU's code of conduct adopted pursuant to section 4928.17 of the Revised Code, an EDU or its affiliates shall not use, without the customer's consent, such knowledge of proposed interconnection service to prepare competing proposals to the interconnection service that offer either discounted rates in return for not providing the interconnection service or competing generation.
(2) No EDU shall reject, penalize, or discourage the use or development of new technology for interconnection service in accordance with division (A) of section 4928.11 of the Revised Code.
(B) Pre-application
(1) The EDU will designate an employee or office from which information on the requirements for EDU's application review process can be obtained through an informal request by the applicant that includes discussion of the following:
(a) The applicant's proposed interconnection of a DER at a specific location on the EDU's system.
(b) Qualifications under EDU's level 1, level 2 or level 3 review procedures.
(2) In addition to the information described in paragraph (B)(1) of this rule, which may be provided in response to an informal request, an applicant may submit a formal request along with a non-refundable processing fee of three hundred dollars for a pre-application report on a proposed project at a specific site. The EDU shall provide a pre-application report to the applicant within ten business days of receipt of the written request and payment of the three hundred dollar processing fee.
(3) The pre-application report will include the following information:
(a) Total generation capacity (in megawatts, ONAN) of substation/area bus, bank or circuit based on normal or operating ratings likely to serve the proposed site.
(b) Existing aggregate generation capacity (in megawatts) interconnected to a substation/area bus, bank or circuit, which is the online amount of generation, likely to serve the proposed site.
(c) Aggregate queued generation capacity (in megawatts) for a substation/area bus, bank or circuit, which is the amount of generation in the queue likely to serve the proposed site.
(d) Available generation capacity (in megawatts) of substation/area bus or bank and circuit most likely to serve the proposed site, which is the total capacity less the sum of existing aggregate generation capacity and aggregate queued generation capacity.
(e) Substation nominal distribution voltage and/or transmission nominal voltage, if applicable.
(f) Nominal distribution circuit voltage at the proposed site.
(g) Approximate circuit distance between the proposed site and the substation.
(h) Relevant line section(s) peak load estimate, and minimum load data, when available.
(i) Number and rating of protective devices and number and type (standard, bi-directional) of voltage regulating devices between the proposed site and the substation/area. Identify whether substation has a load tap changer.
(j) Number of phases available at the site.
(k) Limiting conductor ratings from the proposed point of common coupling to the distribution substation.
(l) Based on the proposed point of common coupling, 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.
(4) The pre-application report need only include pre-existing data. A pre-application report request does not obligate the EDU to conduct a study or other analysis of the proposed generator in the event that data is not readily available. If the EDU cannot complete some of a pre-application report due to lack of available data, the EDU will provide the applicant with a pre-application report that includes the data that is available.
(C) Application processing
(1) EDUs shall process all applications for interconnection service and parallel operation with the EDU's system in a nondiscriminatory manner and in the order in which they are received.
(2) Where minor modifications to a pending application are required during the EDU's review of the application, such minor modifications do not obligate the applicant to file a new or separate application.
(3) When an application is submitted, the EDU shall determine whether the application is complete and provide the applicant with a written or email notice of receipt within ten business days after the application has been received.
(4) When the EDU determines that the application is complete, the EDU will issue a notice of receipt with the following:
(a) A copy of the applicable review process.
(b) A target date for processing the application.
(5) When the EDU determines that the application is incomplete, the EDU will issue a notice of receipt with the following:
(a) A copy of the applicable review process.
(b) A checklist or description of the information needed to complete the application.
(c) A statement that processing the application cannot begin until the needed information is received.
(6) Upon receiving any necessary application materials missing from the original application, the EDU shall provide the applicant with a second, written or email notice establishing a target date for processing the application.
(7) If an EDU determines that it cannot connect the applicant's facility within the time frames stated in this chapter, it will notify the applicant in writing of that fact within ten business days after the complete application has been received. The notification must include the following:
(a) The reason or reasons interconnection service could not be performed within the time frames stated in this rule.
(b) An alternative date for interconnection service.
(D) Compliance with national industry standards
An EDU shall file tariffs for uniform interconnection service with the commission that are consistent with the following:
(1) Applicable IEEE standards, effective as set forth in rule 4901:1-22-03 of the Administrative Code.
(2) Applicable UL standards for inverters, converters, and controllers for use in independent power systems, effective as set forth in rule 4901:1-22-03 of the Administrative Code.
(3) The appropriate criteria and interconnection parameters for the customer's technology, so as not to impose technical and economic barriers to new technology or the development, installation, and interconnection of an applicant's facilities, pursuant to division (A) of section 4928.11 of the Revised Code.
(E) Metering
Any metering installation, testing, or recalibration performed by the EDU at the request of the applicant for installation of the applicant's DER shall be provided consistent with the electric service and safety standards pursuant to Chapter 4928. of the Revised Code, and rule 4901:1-10-05 and, as applicable, paragraph (B) of rule 4901:1-10-28 of the Administrative Code. Interconnection requested by the applicant for the purposes of net metering must follow the commission's net metering rules promulgated pursuant to division (A)(31) of section 4928.01 of the Revised Code. Any exception to the net metering rules shall be implemented in accordance with any special metering or communication infrastructure ordered by the commission.
(F) Disposal of excess energy produced by the applicant's DER
(1) An applicant proposing to install a self-generator as defined in division (A)(32) of section 4928.01 of the Revised Code for the purposes of selling excess electricity to retail electric service providers as a competitive service to the extent not preempted by federal law must first seek certification of managerial, technical and financial capability consistent with section 4928.08 of the Revised Code.
(2) An applicant requesting interconnection for the purpose of selling energy to any party as a sale for resale or as a wholesale transaction may be subject to applicable rules for regional interstate sales at wholesale prices in markets operated by independent transmission system operators or regional transmission operators under the jurisdiction of the federal energy regulatory commission.
(G) Construction or system upgrades of the EDU's system
(1) Where construction or system upgrades of the EDU's system are required by the applicant's installation of a DER, the EDU shall provide the applicant with an estimate of the timetable and the applicant's cost for the construction or system upgrades, consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) All construction or distribution system upgrade costs are the interconnection applicant's responsibility.
(3) If the applicant desires to proceed with the construction or system upgrades, the applicant and the EDU shall enter into a contract for the completion of the construction or system upgrades.
(4) All construction and system upgrade cost estimates and invoices shall be itemized and clearly explained.
(5) Interconnection service shall take place no later than ten business days following the completion of such construction or system upgrades, unless necessary inspections outside the control of the EDU cannot be completed within the allocated ten-day period.
Last updated March 26, 2024 at 1:26 PM
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