Authenticated PDF Version"Alternative Compliance Payment" or "ACP" means a payment of a certain dollar amount per megawatt hour, which a CREC may submit in lieu of supplying the minimum percentage of RECs required under subsection 3.3.5.
"Commission" means the Delaware Public Service Commission.
"Community-owned energy generating facility" means a renewable energy generating facility, located in the service area of a utility under the regulation of the Public Service Commission, that has multiple owners or customers who share the output of the generator, which may be located either as a stand-alone facility or behind the meter of a participating owner or customer. The facility shall be interconnected to the distribution system and operated in parallel with an electric distributions company 's trans mission and distribution facilities.
"Compliance Year" means the calendar year beginning with June 1 and ending with May 31 of the following year, for which a CREC must demonstrate that it has met the requirements of this Regulation.
“CREC” means a Commission-regulated electric distribution company or a Commission-regulated utility.
"Customer-Sited Generation" means a Generation Unit that is interconnected on the End-Use Customer's side of the retail electricity meter in such a manner that it displaces all or part of the metered consumption of the End-Use Customer.
"DNREC" means Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
"Eligible Energy Resources" means the following energy sources located within the PJM region or imported into the PJM region and tracked through the PJM Market Settlement System:
Solar Photovoltaic Energy Resources;
Electricity derived from wind energy;
Electricity generated by a fuel cell powered by Renewable Fuels;
Electricity generated by the combustion of gas from the anaerobic digestion of organic material;
"End-Use Customer" means a person or entity in Delaware that purchases electrical energy at retail prices from a CREC.
"Fund" or “Green Energy Fund” means the Delaware Green Energy Fund as authorized under 26 Del.C. §1014(a).
"GATS" means the Generation Attribute Tracking System developed by PJM-Environmental Information Services, Inc. (PJM-EIS).
"Generation Attribute" means a non-price characteristic of the electrical energy output of a Generation Unit including, but not limited to, the Unit's fuel type, geographic location, emissions, vintage, and RPS eligibility.
"Generation Unit" means a facility that converts a fuel or an energy resource into electrical energy.
"Industrial Customer" means an End-Use Customer with a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Manufacturing Sector Code.
"Municipal Electric Company" means a public corporation created by contract between 2 or more municipalities pursuant to provisions of Title 22, Chapter 13 of the Delaware Code and the electric utilities that are municipally owned within the State of Delaware.
"New Renewable Generation Resources" means Eligible Energy Resources first going into commercial operation after December 31, 1997.
"Non-Exempt Customers" means all customers of the Commission-regulated electricity company that have not been certified by the Commission as exempt from the RPS under subsection 2.2.
"Peak Demand" shall have the same meaning as and be determined consistently with how such term or a similar term is defined and determined in the applicable utility's tariff then in effect and approved by the Commission. For customers with more than one account, the peak demands shall be aggregated for all accounts. The calculation will be applied in the current year based on the Peak Demand, as defined above, in the prior year.
"PJM" or "PJM Interconnection" means the regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in the PJM region, or its successors at law.
"PJM region" means the area within which the movement of wholesale electricity is coordinated by PJM Interconnection. The PJM region is as described in the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of PJM.
“Qualified Fuel Cell Provider” means an entity that:
“Qualified Fuel Cell Provider Project” (or “QFCPP”) means a fuel cell power generation project located in Delaware owned and/or operated by a Qualified Fuel Cell Provider under a tariff approved by the Commission pursuant to 26 Del.C. §364(d).
"Renewable Energy Credit" or ("REC") means a tradable instrument comprised of all the Generation Attributes equal to 1 megawatt-hour of electricity derived from Eligible Energy Resources and that is used to track and verify compliance with the provisions of this Regulation. A REC does not include emission reduction credits and/or allowances encumbered or used by a Generation Unit for compliance with local, state, or federal operating and/or air quality permits associated with the 1 megawatt-hour of electricity.
"Renewable fuel" means a fuel that is derived from Eligible Energy Resources. This term does not include a fossil fuel or a waste product from a fossil fuel source.
"RPS" or "Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard" means the percentage of electricity sales at retail in the State that is to be derived from Eligible Energy Resources.
"Retail Electricity Product" means an electrical energy offering that is distinguished by its Generation Attributes only and that is offered for sale by a CREC to End-Use Customers. Multiple electrical energy offerings with the same Generation Attributes may be considered a single Retail Electricity Product.
"Rural Electric Cooperative" means a non-stock, non-profit, membership corporation organized pursuant to the Federal "Rural Electrification Act of 1936" and operated under the cooperative form of ownership.
"Solar Alternative Compliance Payment" or "SACP" means a payment of a certain dollar amount per megawatt-hour, which a CREC or Municipal Electric Supplier may submit in lieu of supplying the Minimum Percentage from Solar Photovoltaic required under subsection 3.3.6.
“Solar Photovoltaic Energy Resources” means solar photovoltaic or solar thermal energy technologies that employ solar radiation to produce electricity or to displace electricity use.
"Solar Renewable Energy Credit" or "SREC" means a tradable instrument that is equal to 1 megawatt-hour of retail electricity sales in the State that is derived from Solar Photovoltaic Energy Resources and that is used to track and verify compliance with the provisions of this Regulation.
"Sustainable Energy Utility" or ("SEU") is the nonprofit entity according to the provisions of 29 Del.C. §8059 that develops and coordinates programs for energy end-users in Delaware for the purpose of promoting the sustainable use of energy in Delaware.
"Total Retail Sales" means retail sales of electricity within the State of Delaware exclusive of sales to any Industrial Customer with a Peak Demand in excess of 1,500 kilowatts.
“Unsubscribed energy” means any community-owned energy generating facility percentage of output that is not allocated to any customer.
2.1 The benefits of electricity from renewable energy resources accrue to the public at large, and electric suppliers and consumers share an obligation to develop a minimum level of these resources in the electric supply portfolio of the State. The purpose of this Regulation, in support of 26 Del.C. Subchapter III-A, is to set forth the rules for governing the RPS.
2.3 Any Rural Electric Cooperative that has opted-out of Commission regulation by its membership pursuant to 26 Del.C. §223 of the Delaware Code shall, for all purposes of administering and applying this Regulation, be treated as a Municipal Electric Company during any period of time the Rural Electric Cooperative is exempt from Commission regulation.
2.4 A Rural Electric Cooperative may elect to be exempt from the requirements of this Regulation if it develops and implements a program for its ratepayers that is comparable to the RPS beginning in 2013. A Rural Electric Cooperative electing to be exempt from this Regulation must notify the Commission of such election and shall be subject to the requirements set forth in 26 Del.C. §363. A Rural Electric Cooperative not electing to be exempt from this Regulation shall be subject to this Regulation and the applicable provisions of 26 Del.C. §363.
3.1 Certifying and Decertifying Eligible Energy Resources:
3.1.5 If an Eligible Energy Resource, once notified by Commission Staff, fails to provide the required documentation or missing information within 60 days of the date of such notification, the Application will be dismissed and must be resubmitted.
3.1.13 An Eligible Energy Resource may be decertified for any of the following:
3.1.13.1 Failure to comply with subsections 3.1.1 through 3.1.11;
3.1.13.2 A material change in circumstances that causes it to become ineligible for certification under subsection 3.1;
3.1.13.3 Fraud or misrepresentation in the Application or to PJM-EIS GATS;
3.1.13.5 Good cause as determined by the Commission.
3.2.2 A CREC’s compliance with Schedule 1 shall be based on accumulating RECs and SRECs equivalent to the current Compliance Year's Cumulative Minimum Percentage of Total Retail Sales of each Retail Electricity Product sold to End-Use Customers subject to subsection 3.2.9 and, where appropriate, other Commission regulations. Each CREC shall file a report detailing its compliance with its RPS obligations within 120 days following the end of the Compliance Year.
3.2.3 The CREC shall be responsible for procuring RECs, SRECs, and any other attributes needed to comply with the minimum percentage requirements set forth in 26 Del.C. §354 and subsection 3.2.1 with respect to all energy delivered to the CREC’s End-Use Customers.
3.2.4.1 Industrial Customers whose peak demand is in excess of 1500 kilowatts and have been acknowledged by the Commission as having their load exempted from the RPS compliance obligations pursuant to 26 Del.C. §353(b), Section 1.0, and subsections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2, shall not be charged the RPS compliance cost permitted by subsection 3.2.3.
3.2.4.2 For a particular compliance year, the total recovery of the RPS compliance costs by the CREC, shall not be an amount greater than the CREC's actual dollar for dollar costs incurred for that compliance year in complying with the State of Delaware's RPS, except that any compliance fee assessed pursuant to 26 Del.C. §358(d) and subsection 3.3.5 shall be recoverable only to the extent authorized by 26 Del.C. §358(f)(2) and subsection 4.2.
3.2.5 The CREC shall place on their websites customer education pertaining to the RPS non-bypassable charge and credit required in subsections 3.2.3 and 3.2.3.1. The CREC shall also include information on the RPS non-bypassable charge and credit on its bill message or bill insert.
3.2.6 A CREC may use energy output produced by a Qualified Fuel Cell Provider Project to fulfill their REC and SREC requirements as set forth in 26 Del.C. § 353(d).
3.2.7 Energy output must be tracked using PJM-EIS GATS or its successor at law or pursuant to subsection 3.1.8.1.
3.2.12 Eligible Energy Resources that do not settle though the PJM Market settlement system must document their actual output of generation, as recorded by appropriate metering, as frequently as PJM-EIS-GATS shall prescribe.
3.2.14.1 Customer-Sited solar photovoltaic physically located in Delaware; or
3.3 Verification of Compliance with the RPS
3.3.1 Beginning with the Compliance Year 2012, the CREC must submit a completed Commission-Regulated Electric Company Compliance Report with the Delaware Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Report which includes, but is not limited to, evidence of the specified number of SRECs and RECs required for the Compliance Year according to Schedule 1.
3.3.2 SRECs or RECs must have been created by PJM-EIS's GATS or its successor at law, or pursuant to subsection 3.1.8.1.
3.3.4 The three (3) year period referred to in subsection 3.3.3 shall be tolled during any period that a renewable energy credit or solar renewable energy credit is held by the SEU.
3.3.5 In lieu of standard means of compliance with the RPS, any CREC may pay into the Fund an ACP pursuant to, and in such amounts as stated in, 26 Del.C. §358. If alternative compliance payments representing 15% or more of the total number of RECs for eligible non-solar renewable energy resources are paid into the Fund for each of 2 consecutive compliance years, the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible energy resources specified in Schedule I of subsection 3.2.1 remains at the percentage specified for the immediately preceding year and does not increase from that percentage until a year passes during which less than 15% of the REC obligation is satisfied by alternative compliance payments. After the year in which less than 15% of the REC obligation is satisfied by alternative compliance payments, the annual increases in Schedule I of subsection 3.2.1 resume, starting from the percentage specified for the year immediately before the current compliance year. A freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible non-solar technology does not permit a freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible solar energy resources.
3.3.6 In lieu of standard means of compliance with the RPS, any CREC may pay into the Fund an SACP pursuant to, and in such amounts as stated in, 26 Del.C. §358. If solar alternative compliance payments representing 15% or more of the total number of SRECs are paid into the Fund for each of 2 consecutive compliance years, the minimum cumulative percentage from solar technology specified in Schedule I of subsection 3.2.1 remains at the percentage specified for the immediately preceding year and does not increase from that percentage until a year passes during which less than 15% of the SREC obligation is satisfied by solar alternative compliance payments. After the year in which less than 15% of the total SREC obligation is satisfied by solar alternative compliance payments, the annual increases set forth in Schedule I of subsection 3.2.1 resume, starting from the percentage specified for the year immediately before the current compliance year. A freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from solar technology does not freeze the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible energy resources.
3.3.7 The Commission Staff shall notify the CREC of any compliance deficiencies within 165 days of the close of the current Compliance Year. If the CREC is found to be deficient by the Commission Staff, the CREC shall be required to pay the appropriate ACP or SACP, according to subsections 3.3.5 and 3.3.6. All such payments shall be due within 30 days of notification by the Commission Staff. Upon receipt of payment, the CREC shall be found to be in compliance for that given year.
4.1 A CREC may recover, through a non-bypassable surcharge actual dollar for dollar costs incurred in complying with the State of Delaware's RPS, including any such costs for preexisting CREC contracts that predate February 10, 2021 (i.e., the passage of Senate Bill 33), except that any compliance fee assessed pursuant to subsections 3.3.5 and 3.3.6 shall be recoverable only to the extent authorized by subsection 4.2.
4.4 All costs arising out of contracts entered into by a CREC pursuant to 26 Del.C. §1007 (d) shall be distributed among the entire Delaware customer base of such companies through an adjustable non-bypassable charge which shall be established by the Commission. Such costs shall be recovered if incurred as a result of such contracts unless, after Commission review, any such costs are determined by the Commission to have been incurred in bad faith, are the product of waste or out of an abuse of discretion, or in violation of law.
5.1 Under Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del.C. Ch. 100, all information filed with the Commission is considered of public record unless it contains "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person which is of a privileged or confidential nature." 29 Del.C. §10002(d)(2). To qualify as a non-public record under this exemption, materials received by the Commission must be clearly and conspicuously marked on the title page and on every page containing the sensitive information as "proprietary" or "confidential" or words of similar effect. The Commission shall presumptively deem all information so designated to be exempt from public record status. However, upon receipt of a request for access to information designated proprietary or confidential, the Commission may review the appropriateness of such designation and may determine to release the information requested. Prior to such release, the Commission shall provide the entity that submitted the information with reasonable notice and an opportunity to show why the information should not be released.
5.3 The failure to comply with this Regulation may result in penalties, including monetary assessments, suspension or revocation of eligibility as an Eligible Energy Resource, or other sanction as determined by the Commission consistent with 26 Del.C. §205(a), §217, and §1019.
