69-09-07-09
Rates for Purchases
69-09-07-10
Rates for Sales
69-09-07-11
Interconnection Costs
69-09-07-12
System Emergencies
69-09-07-13
Exemption for Qualifying Facilities
69-09-07-01. Definitions. As used throughout this chapter, except where
otherwise indicated:
1. "Avoided costs" means the incremental costs to an electric utility of
electric energy or capacity or both which, but for the purchase from the
qualifying facility or qualifying facilities, such utility would generate itself
or purchase from another source.
2. "Backup power" means electric energy or capacity supplied by an electric
utility to replace energy ordinarily generated by a facility's own generation
equipment during an unscheduled outage of the facility.
3. "Biomass" means any organic material not derived from fossil fuels.
4. "Bottoming-cycle cogeneration facility" means a cogeneration facility in
which the energy input to the system is first applied to a useful thermal
energy process, and the reject heat emerging from the process is then
used for power production.
5. "Cogeneration facility" means equipment used to produce electric energy
and forms of useful thermal energy, such as heat or steam, used for
industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes, through the
sequential use of energy.
6. "Commission" means the public service commission, or such other
department, bureau, or commission as may lawfully succeed to the
powers and duties of that commission.
1 7. "Electric utility" means an "electric public utility" as defined in subsection
1 of North Dakota Century Code section 49-03-01.5.
8. "Interconnection costs" means the reasonable costs of connection,
switching, metering, transmission, distribution, safety provisions and
administrative costs incurred by the electric utility directly related to the
installation and maintenance of the physical facilities necessary to permit
interconnected operations with a qualifying facility, to the extent such
costs are in excess of the corresponding costs which the electric utility
would have incurred if it had not engaged in interconnected operations,
but instead generated an equivalent amount of electric energy itself or
purchased an equivalent amount of electric energy or capacity from
other sources. Interconnection costs do not include any costs included
in the calculation of avoided costs.
9. "Interruptible power" means electric energy or capacity supplied by an
electric utility subject to interruption by the electric utility under specified
conditions.
10. "Maintenance power" means electric energy or capacity supplied by an
electric utility during the scheduled outages of the qualifying facility.
11. "Natural gas" means either natural gas unmixed, or any mixture of natural
gas and artificial gas.
12. "Oil" means crude oil, residual fuel oil, natural gas liquids, or any refined
petroleum products.
13. "Primary energy source" means the fuel or fuels used for the generation
of electric energy, except that such term does not include the minimum
amounts of fuel required for ignition, startup, testing, flame stabilization,
and control uses, and the minimum amounts of fuel required to alleviate
or prevent unanticipated equipment outages, and emergencies, directly
affecting the public health, safety or welfare, which would result from
electric power outages.
14. "Purchase" means the purchase of electric energy or capacity or both
from a qualifying facility by an electric utility.
15. "Qualifying cogeneration facility" means a cogeneration facility that is
a qualifying facility under subsection 2 of section 69-09-07-03.
16. "Qualifying cogenerator" means the owner or operation of a qualifying
cogeneration facility.
17. "Qualifying facility" means a cogeneration facility or a small power
production facility which is a qualifying facility under section 69-09-07-03.
2 18. "Qualifying small power producer" means the owner or operator of a
qualifying small power production facility.
19. "Qualifying small power production facility" means a small power
production facility that is a qualifying facility under subsection 1 of section
69-09-07-03.
20. "Rate" means any price, rate, charge, or classification made, demanded,
observed, or received with respect to the sale or purchase of electric
energy or capacity, or any rule, regulation, or practice respecting any
such rate, charge, or classification, and any contract pertaining to the
sale or purchase of electric energy or capacity.
21. "Sale" means the sale of electric energy or capacity or both by an electric
utility to a qualifying facility.
22. "Small power production facility" means a facility which produces electric
energy solely by the use, as a primary energy source, of biomass, waste,
renewable resources, or any combination thereof, and has a power
production capacity which, together with any other facilities located at
the same site, is not greater than eighty megawatts.
23. "Supplementary firing" means an energy input to the cogeneration facility
used only in the thermal process of a topping-cycle cogeneration facility,
or only in the electric generating process of a bottoming-cycle
cogeneration facility.
24. "Supplementary power" means electric energy or capacity supplied by
an electric utility, regularly used by a qualifying facility in addition to that
which the facility generates itself.
25. "System emergency" means a condition on a utility's system which is
likely to result in imminent significant disruption of service to customers
or is imminently likely to endanger life or property.
26. "Topping-cycle cogeneration facility" means a cogeneration facility in
which the energy input to the facility is first used to produce useful power
output, and the reject heat from power production is then used to provide
useful thermal energy.
27. "Total energy input" means the total energy of all forms supplied from
external sources other than supplementary firings to the facilities.
28. "Total energy output" of a topping-cycle cogeneration facility is the sum
of the useful power output and useful thermal energy output.
3 29. "Useful power output" of a cogeneration facility means the electric or
mechanical energy made available for use, exclusive of any such energy
used in the power production process.
30. "Useful thermal energy output" of a topping-cycle cogeneration facility
means the thermal energy made available for use in any industrial or
commercial process, or used in any heating or cooling application.
31. "Waste" means byproduct materials other than biomass.
History: Effective June 1, 1981.
General Authority: NDCC 49-02-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 49-02-02
69-09-07-02. Scope - Applicability - Negotiated rates or terms.
1. Applicability. This chapter applies to the regulation of sales and
purchases between qualifying facilities and electric utilities.
2. Negotiated rates or terms. Nothing in this chapter:
a. Limits the authority of any electric utility or any qualifying facility to
agree to a rate for any purchase, or terms or conditions relating to
any purchase, which differ from the rate or terms or conditions
which would otherwise be required by this chapter; or
b. Affects the validity of any contract entered into between a qualifying
facility and an electric utility for any purchase.
History: Effective June 1, 1981.
General Authority: NDCC 49-02-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 49-02-02
69-09-07-03. Qualifying facilities - General requirements for qualification.
1. Small power production facilities. A small power production facility is a
qualifying facility if it:
a. Meets the maximum size criteria specified in subsection 1 of section
69-09-07-04;
b. Meets the fuel use criteria specified in subsection 2 of section
69-09-07-04; and
c. Meets the ownership criteria specified in section 69-09-07-06.
4 2. Cogeneration facilities. Unless excluded under subsection 3, a
cogeneration facility is a qualifying facility if it:
a. Meets any applicable operating and efficiency standards specified
in subsections 1 and 2 of section 69-09-07-05; and
b. Meets the ownership criteria specified in section 69-09-07-06.
3. Any cogeneration facility which is a new diesel cogeneration facility may
not be a qualifying facility. A new diesel cogeneration facility is a
cogeneration facility:
a. Which derives its useful power output from a diesel engine; and
b. The installation of which began on or after March 13, 1980.
4. Any cogeneration facility which is a new dual-fuel cogeneration facility
which seeks to obtain qualifying status must follow the procedures set
forth in subsection 2 of section 69-09-07-06. A new dual-fuel
cogeneration facility is a cogeneration facility:
a. Which derives its useful power output from an internal combustion
piston engine capable of changing automatically between gas and
oil operation; and
b. The installation of which began on or after May 15, 1980.
History: Effective June 1, 1981.
General Authority: NDCC 49-02-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 49-02-02
69-09-07-04. Criteria for qualifying small power production facilities.
1. Size of the facility.
a. Maximum size. The power production capacity of the facility for
which qualification is sought, together with the capacity of any other
facilities which use the same energy resource, are owned by the
same person, and are located at the same site, may not exceed
eighty megawatts.
b. Method of calculation.
(1) For purposes of this subsection, facilities are considered to
be located at the same site as the facility for which
qualification is sought if they are located within one mile [1.61
kilometers] of the facility for which qualification is sought and,
5