FERC Order 845-A again reforms interconnection process

Almost a year after issuing an order reforming the procedures and agreements governing how large electric generators interconnect to the utility grid, federal regulators have issued a follow-up order clarifying those reforms.

Under U.S. law, most requests by electric power generators larger than 20 megawatts to interconnect to the grid are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The standards and procedures governing those interconnection requests have changed over time. In 2003, the Commission issued standard procedures and a standard agreement for the interconnection of generators larger than 20 megawatts, which it said would facilitate development of needed infrastructure for the nation's electric system.

After 15 years without major regulatory reforms to the interconnection process, on April 19, 2018, the Commission issued its Order No. 845 implementing ten sets of reforms to provide interconnection customers better information, more options, and a smoother process, plus a number of minor changes. Specific reforms included, among other changes:

• including electric energy storage resources within the definition of "Generating Facility";
• removing a limitation that interconnection customers may only exercise the option to build a transmission provider's interconnection facilities and stand alone network upgrades in instances when the transmission provider cannot meet the dates proposed by the interconnection customer;
• requiring transmission providers to make quarterly reports of interconnection study performance data on their OASIS sites or public websites, and to file informational reports with the Commission if a transmission provider exceeds its interconnection study deadlines for more than 25 percent of any study type for two consecutive calendar quarters;
• allowing an interconnection customer to request a level of interconnection service that is lower than its generating facility capacity; and
• requiring transmission providers to create a process for interconnection customers to use surplus interconnection service at existing points of interconnection.

Following the Commission's issuance of Order No. 845, parties filed twelve separate requests for rehearing or clarification of the order, raising issues relating to every reform except changes to the dispute resolution process.

On February 21, 2019, the Commission issued its Order No. 845-A, granting in part and denying in part these requests for rehearing and clarification of its determinations in Order No. 845. In Order No. 845-A, the Commission granted rehearing in whole or in part with regard to:

• The option to build reform, to (1) require that transmission providers explain why they do not consider a specific network upgrade to be a stand alone network upgrade; and (2) allow transmission providers to recover oversight costs related to the interconnection customer’s option to build;
• The surplus interconnection service reform, to explain that the Commission does not intend to limit the ability of RTOs/ISOs to argue that an independent entity variation from the Commission’s surplus interconnection service requirements is appropriate; and
• The reform for requesting interconnection service below generating facility capacity, to find that an interconnection customer may propose control technologies at any time in the interconnection process that it is permitted to request interconnection service below generating facility capacity. 

Through Order No. 845-A, the Commission also granted clarification with regard to

• The option to build reform by finding that: (1) the Order No. 845 option to build provisions apply to all public utility transmission providers, including those that reimburse the interconnection customer for network upgrades; and (2) the option to build does not apply to stand alone network upgrades on affected systems;
• Reforms to transparency regarding study models and assumptions to find that: (1) transmission providers may use the Commission’s critical energy/electric infrastructure information (CEII) regulations as a model for evaluating entities that request network model information and assumptions; and (2) the phrase “current system conditions” does not require transmission providers to maintain network models that reflect current real-time operating conditions of the transmission provider’s system;
• The interconnection study deadlines reform, clarifying that the date for measuring study performance metrics and the reporting requirements do not require transmission providers to post 2017 interconnection study metrics; and
• The reform for requesting interconnection service below generating facility capacity, clarifying that a transmission provider must provide a detailed explanation of its determination to perform additional studies at the full generating facility capacity for an interconnection customer that has requested service below its full generating facility capacity.

The Commission denied all other requests for rehearing and clarification. The effective date of Order No. 845-A will be 75 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The Commission directed each public utility transmission provider to submit a single compliance filing with 90 days of the issuance of the order that includes revisions to its pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures and Large Generator Interconnection Agreement necessary to comply with Order Nos. 845 and 845-A.