Columbia Same—Customer-generator rate ordinance (§ 27-120.1)

(a) Available to: The customer-generator rate is available to any customer that owns and operates a solar, wind, or biomass generating facility or hydrogen fuel cell with a capacity of not more than one hundred

(100) kilowatts which is located on the customer's premises, is permanently interconnected and operates in parallel, with the department's existing transmission and distribution facilities, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electrical energy requirements.

(b) Applicable to: The customer-generator rate is applicable to a residential, small general service, large general service, or industrial customer who contracts for service supplied at one (1) point of delivery. The rate is applicable to single- and three-phase customers.

(c) Rate credit: The customer-generator is eligible for a net metering credit for all energy supplied to the department system from a qualified net metering unit. Any rate credits granted by this section shall expire without any compensation at the earlier of either twelve (12) months after their issuance or when the customer-generator disconnects service or terminates the net metering relationship with the city. Applicable charges will be calculated for all energy supplied to the customer-generator based on the applicable rates for the customer class. All energy supplied by the customer-generator will be credited at the following rate per kWh, based on the size and type of generator:

(1) Solar generators.

a. For either the purchase of energy and renewable energy credits or the purchase of energy and the customer-generator is retiring the renewable energy credit for customer's own local load as soon as it is generated, solar customer-generators shall receive credit per kWh equal to the customer's current applicable rate schedule.

b. For the purchase of energy with the customer-generator retaining the renewable energy credits, the customer-generator shall receive credit per kWh equal to the rate per kWh defined in section 27-120(c)(2).

(2) Non-solar renewable generating facilities will receive a rate credit based upon the avoided average energy market price at the Columbia pricing node. This price will be adjusted each fiscal year based on the previous year average.

a. For the purchase of energy with the customer-generator retaining the renewable energy credits, the customer-generator shall receive credit per kWh equal to the rate per kWh defined in section 27-120(c)(2).

(d) Interconnection: Any customer requesting interconnection to the utility must enter into an interconnection and net metering agreement with the city and receive written approval from the department before construction or installation of interconnecting equipment. The department shall limit the number of interconnections so that the total rated generating capacity of all applications for interconnection already approved to date by the city in a calendar year equals or exceeds one (1) percent of the city's single-hour peak load for the previous calendar year.