Rule 515-3-4-.07 - Supply-Side Resource Certificate Filing Requirements and Procedures(1) Certification of Long-Term Supply-Side Resources. The Utility shall file an application for certification of a Supply-side Resource as required by O.C.G.A. Section 46-3A with the Commission (twenty-five copies). The application for review and approval of the certificate shall clearly identify: (a) The name of the applicant(s) and address(es) of the principal place of business of the applicant(s);(b) The name, title, address, voice phone, and facsimile phone number of the person authorized to receive notices and communications with respect to the application;(c) The location(s) that the public may inspect a copy of the application;(d) Requests by the utility that any information utilized in the plan which the utility deems trade secret be filed in accordance with the Commission's Trade Secret Rule 515-3-1-.11; and(e) Hearing and Review of Supply-Side Resource Certificate Applications. 1. Proceedings. The Commission shall commence a hearing no sooner than thirty days after receipt of fees related to the utility's completed application for certification of a Supply-Side Resource. A completed application must include all information required by these Rules as appropriate, as well as documentation that all applicable state and federal permits required to complete the project have been secured, or in the event that the permit is unsecurable until an appropriate later phase of project completion, the application process must have been initiated in accordance with applicable federal, state or local statutes;2. Completeness of the Utility Certificate Application. The Commission shall determine whether the utility certificate application filing is complete within thirty days following the initial submission of the certificate application by the utility. The Commission will inform the utility of substantive defects in the content of the certificate application filing which would materially affect the Commission's ability to continue the certificate application review process. If the Commission finds as a matter of fact that the utility certificate application is not complete, by Order of the Commission the review process may be stayed until the utility has submitted a complete certificate application.3. Fees. Within sixty days after receipt of the completed application, the Commission shall establish a fee therefor and notify the applicant. Upon receipt of the fee from the applicant, the Commission shall continue its review of the certificate application;4. Waiver of Information. If, after a good-faith effort, the utility cannot provide the data required by these rules, the utility must request a waiver, in writing. This request must be filed no less than 60 days prior to the filing of the certificate application. The utility must publish in appropriate media of mass dissemination that it has applied for a waiver. The request shall include: (i) Reference to the requirement for information that is the subject of the waiver request;(ii) An explanation of the reasons the required information was impractical to supply; and(iii) Proposed substitute information, if applicable; If no waiver is granted, materials must be filed as required in the rules.
5. Standard for Approval. Based upon the evidence of record presented at the hearing on the application, the Commission shall render a decision either approving the application, approving it subject to stated conditions, approving it in part and rejecting it in part, rejecting it as filed, or providing an alternate capacity resource certification within one hundred eighty days of receipt of fees related to the utility's completed application. A utility's application shall be approved if found to be in the public interest and to substantially comply with these regulations. A utility's application relative to a contract to buy capacity or energy from an exempt wholesale generator that is an affiliate or associate of the applying utility shall not be approved unless the Commission determines:
(i) That the Commission has sufficient regulatory authority, resources and access to books and records of the applicant utility and any relevant associate, affiliate or subsidiary company to exercise its duties under this section of the Commission's Rules and under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Section 711, adding new section 32(k) to the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, 15 U.S.C. Section 79et seq.;(ii) That the proposed transaction: (I) Will benefit consumers;(II) Does not violate any State law;(III) Would not provide the exempt wholesale generator any unfair competitive advantage by virtue of its affiliation or association with the electric utility company applicant; and(IV) Is in the public interest.(iii) Reciprocal arrangements among companies that are not affiliates or associate companies of each other that are entered into in order to avoid the provisions of this subparagraph or Section 32k of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 as amended are prohibited.(2) Construction of New Electric Plant. (a) The application itself shall contain at a minimum the following information: 1. A statement of how the proposed application is consistent with the most currently approved Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and RFP (Request for Proposal) process. If a revised IRP is available, it shall also be filed;2. A cost-benefit analysis covering the estimated useful life of all capacity resource options considered in developing its current integrated resource plan, along with a summary comparison of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed resource is economical and reliable, or justification of the utility's decision to select the self-build construction option as an exception to the RFP requirement pursuant to Rule 515-3-4-.04(3)(i).3. A description of the resource to include identification of plant size and type with summary level engineering/design specifications. The description should include at a minimum the following: (i) A site selection analysis including alternatives, geological considerations and environmental considerations;(ii) Description of fuel use, both primary and back-up, and provisions for transporting and storing fuel;(iii) Estimated annual costs, in accordance with the breakdown specified in the FERC Uniform System of Accounts, separately identifying the following: (I) Annual depreciation on capital investment:(II) Annual return and income taxes on capital investment;(III) The operation and maintenance (O&M) costs over the life of the facility decribed as costs which are variable, in current dollars per kWh, with expenses for fuel and other items indicated separately; and costs which are fixed, in current dollars per kW;(V) Waste handling and disposal; and(iv) The rates of escalation of cost, including: (II) O&M costs which are variable and related to fuel;(III) O&M costs which are variable and unrelated to fuel; and(IV) O&M costs which are fixed.(v) The total annual average cost per kWh at projected loads in current dollars for each year of the plan for the proposed facility;(vi) Equivalent availability factors, including both scheduled and forced outage rates;(vii) Capacity factors for each year in the planning period;(viii) Duty cycle (i.e., baseload, intermediate, or peaking), identifying expected hours per year of operation, number of starts per year, and cycling conditions for each year in the planning period;(ix) Heat rates (efficiency) for various levels of operation;(x) Unit lifetime, both for accounting book purposes and engineering design purposes, with explanations of differences;(xi) Estimated environmental impact, including specific emission, production, or usage data for each of the following categories: (I) Pounds of sulfur oxides per MMBTU;(II) Pounds of oxides of nitrogen and nitrous oxides per MMBTU;(III) Pounds of carbon dioxide per MMBTU;(IV) Pounds of volatile organic hydrocarbons per MMBTU;(V) Pounds of carbon monoxide per MMBTU;(VI) Pounds of particulates/air toxics per MMBTU;(VII) Pounds of methane per MMBTU;(VIII) Pounds of chlorofluorocarbons, halogens, and other ozone-depleting substances per MMBTU;(IX) Tons per year of solid waste (ash, scrubber sludge, high- and low-level nuclear waste);(X) Gallons per year of water impacts or use (water input, water output, receiving water impacts);(XI) Tons per year of spent nuclear fuel;(XIII) Pounds of hydrogen sulfides per MMBTU; and(XIV) Pounds of ammonia per MMBTU;(xii) Lead time, separately identifying the estimated time required for engineering, permitting and licensing, design, construction and pre-commercial operation date testing;(xiii) Potential socioeconomic impacts such as employment, personal income levels, and the competitiveness and health of the marketplace economy of the state; and(xiv) Any special design features peculiar to this facility.4. The total cost estimate for the proposed project is to include construction and non-construction related costs incurred through commercial operation. This cost estimate should include but not be limited to the following: (i) Identification of major contracts, including, where known: scope, type, contractor, cost estimate, contractor selection process and selection criteria;(ii) Cost expenditure plan, by year, to include a breakdown of the following areas: planning, licensing, engineering/design, construction, contingency, start-up;(iii) Identification of those costs associated with but not defined as construction costs, including separately all cost incurred to date and to-go costs for each area and/or activity;(iv) AFUDC, Ad Valorem and Sales Tax expenditures by year;(v) Estimated annual capital additions over the life of the resource;(vii) Decommissioning/dismantlement costs; and(viii) Cost breakout of dedicated transmission and distribution facilities and a statement as to whether or not such costs are included in 515-34-.07(2)(a)4. (i) through (vi) above.5. Where available, a cost comparison of projects similar by type/design and capacity completed in the U.S. during the past five years. Include commercial operation date, actual completion cost, and current dollar equivalent with accompanying adjustment assumptions. Identify any major design differences;6. The construction and non-construction activities schedule in both milestone summary form and in as much detail as has been used in developing the total cost estimate of the supply-side resource;7. A formal Critical Path schedule shall be submitted showing major activities on the critical path and near-critical path activities with their sensitivity to the critical path;8. As part of the schedule, provide lead times for major procurement items (turbines, generators, specialty items, etc.) and sensitivity of schedule to variations in duration of major tasks;9. A description of the legal relationship between the utility and major vendors, including any affiliate relationship(s); and10. Any other information the Commission deems necessary.(b) Construction Monitoring. The utility shall file such information periodically as pecified by the Commission to produce an accurate, ongoing evaluation of management decisions, methods, schedules, budget and cost in order to verify and approve expenditures made pursuant to the certificate; or to approve, disapprove, or modify any proposed certificate amendments, including the following: 1. The information should include sufficient data to confirm that standards of public convenience and necessity are being met in an economic and reliable manner;2. Data provided to allow monitoring of a cupply-side construction project shall include: (i) Actual project expenditures and a comparison of actual to budgeted expenditures with an explanation of variances in excess of 5 percent or other tolerance as specified by the Commission. In addition, a forecast of the completed cost of the project should be provided and any variance between the budgeted cost and the forecast completed cost should be explained;(ii) The status of critical path activities, project milestone events and other significant activities. Status of these activities should include the start date, percent complete and estimated completion date. Significant variances between the existing schedule and the original project schedule should be explained;(iii) The procurement status of significant components. The procurement status should include the date that the purchase order or requisition was placed, the date the component is needed on site and the estimated arrival date. All estimated arrival dates later than the required on site date should be explained;(iv) The status of all required federal, state, and local licenses and permits including the date when the license or permit is needed, the expected date that the license or permit will be received and a discussion of the impact and planned corrective action for any license or permit whose receipt date is estimated to be after its need date;(v) A summary of major contracts including scope of work, estimate of the contract amount used in preparation of the project budget and actual contract amount. Any variance between the estimated and actual contract amount greater than 5 percent (or other tolerance specified by the Commission) shall be fully explained;(vi) The utility shall notify the Commission upon determining that the forecast completed cost of the project differs from the certified cost of the project by more than 5 percent (or other tolerance specified by the commission) or that the projected commercial operation date of the project is later thant the commercial operation date submitted in the certification application; and(vii) Any other relevant documents, data or information requested by the Commission.3. A utility making application for periodic review of construction must provide documentation that summarizes progress-to-date of the application and compares it to that projected in documentation submitted under Rule 515-3-4-.07(2). The utility, on a periodic basis as specified by the Commission during construction monitoring, must provide written explanations of all variances from planned progress, and an estimate on the ultimate impact of the variance on project cost and completion schedule. No utility may submit an application until previous applications have been disposed of, either through hearing or lapse of time; and4. Upon commercial operation of the project, completion of the project without commercial operation, or termination of the project, the utility shall within ninety days submit to the Commission a report summarizing the final cost figures for the project. This report shall contain explanations for all cost variations that exceed five percent of the estimates contained in the approved certificate or amendment(s).(3) Sale or Purchase of All or Part of an Existing Plant. The utility shall provide the following information in relation to the sale or purchase of an ownership interest in all or part of an existing plant: (a) The terms of sale or purchase, including cash proceeds and any other non-cash considerations, along with an evaluation of their cash equivalent, and a copy of the contract for the sale or purchase;(b) The construction cost of the property and additions or improvements over the life of the plant;(c) The proposed ratemaking treatment of these costs;(d) Depreciation through the planned date of transfer;(e) The impact on the overall electric power production costs of removing or adding the operating costs associated with the transferred property on the total utility operating costs. This analysis shall include a summary comparison and supporting information of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed purchase or sale is economic and reliable;(f) Relationship and impact of the proposed sale or purchase on the currently approved IRP;(g) Applicable information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.04(1),(2), and (3);(h) A description of the legal relationship between the purchasing and selling entities, including any affiliate relationship(s); and(i) Any other information the Commission deems necessary.(4) Sale or Purchase of All or Part of a Plant Under Construction. The utility shall provide the following information in relation to the sale or purchase of an ownership interest in all or part of a plant under construction: (a) Information on the proceeds of the sale or purchase, and whether the price is fixed independent of the final cost of the total plant, or varies in any manner;(b) Allocation of non-specific hard costs to the portions of the plant being sold and retained;(c) The treatment of soft costs such as corporate overhead, engineering, design, construction management and utility costs during construction; specifically how both prior and future costs will be allocated between the sold and retained portion of the plant;(d) Impact of the sale or purchase on utility operating costs. This analysis shall include a summary comparison and supporting information of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed purchase or sale is economic and reliable;(e) Applicable information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.04(1),(2), and (3);(f) Relationship and impact of the proposed sale or purchase on the currently approved IRP;(g) A description of the legal relationship between the purchasing and selling entities, including any affiliate relationship(s);(h) A copy of the contract for the sale or purchase; and .
(i) Any other information the Commission deems necessary.(5) Long-term Purchase of Capacity or Energy. The utility shall provide the following information in relation to the long-term purchase of capacity or energy: (a) The terms of purchase, including cash proceeds and any other non-cash considerations, along with the evaluation of their cash equivalent, and a copy of the purchase contract;(b) The proposed ratemaking treatment of these costs;(c) The impact on the overall electric power production costs of removing or adding any operating costs associated with the purchase. This analysis shall include a summary comparison and supporting information of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed purchase is economic and reliable;(d) Applicable information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.04(3);(e) Impact of the proposed purchase on the currently approved IRP;(f) A description of the legal relationship between the purchasing and selling entities, including any affiliate relationship(s);(g) The following information shall be filed as part of the certificate application if the utility proposes a contract to purchase electric capacity or energy from an exempt wholesale generator that is an affiliate or associate company of the applying utility: 1. A statement explaining why the applicant believes that the Commission has sufficient regulatory authority, resources and access to books and records of the electric utility company and any relevant associate, affiliate or subsidiary company to exercise its duties under this section of the Commission's rules and under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Section 711, adding new section 32(k) to the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, 15 U.S.C. section 79et seq.;2. A statement why the applicant believes the Commission should determine that the proposed transaction: (i) Will benefit consumers;(ii) Does not violate any State law ;
(iii) Would not provide the exempt wholesale generator any unfair competitive advantage by virtue of its affiliation or association with the electric utility company applicant; and(iv) Is in the public interest.3. A statement as to whether the approval of any other state utility commission or federal entity is necessary to allow the applicant to enter into the contract, and if so, the status of any application to obtain such approval; and(h) Any other information the Commission deems necessary.(6) Sale or Purchase of a Portion of the Capacity or Energy Output of a Plant Under Construction. The utility shall provide the following information in relation to the sale or purchase of a portion of the capacity or energy output of a plant under construction: (a) Information on the proceeds of the sale or purchase, and whether the price is fixed independent of the final cost of the total plant, or varies in any manner;(b) Allocation of non-specific hard costs to the portions of the plant output, being sold and retained;(c) The treatment of soft costs such as corporate overhead, engineering, design, construction management and utility costs during construction; specifically how both prior and future costs will be allocated between the sold and retained portion of the output of the plant;(d) Impact of the sale or purchase on utility operating costs. This analysis shall include a summary comparison and supporting information of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed purchase or sale is economic direct and reliable;(e) Applicable information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.04(1),(2), and (3);(f) Relationship and impact of the proposed sale or purchase on the currently approved IRP;(g) A description of the legal relationship between the purchasing and selling entities, including any affiliate relationship(s);(h) A copy of the contract for the sale or purchase;(i) If the applicant proposes purchase of a portion of the capacity or energy output of a plant under construction from an exempt wholesale generator that is an affiliate or associate company of the utility, statements containing the information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.07(5)(g); and(j) Any other information the Commission deems necessary.(7) Any other long-term supply-side resource. The utility shall provide the following information in relation to any other proposed supply-side resource: (a) Information on the nature of the proposed supply-side resource and the costs expected to be incurred in connection therewith, including a copy of any associated contract(s);(b) The accounting allocation of the costs associated with the proposed supply-side resource;(c) The proposed ratemaking treatment of these costs;(d) The impact on the overall electric power production costs of removing or adding any operating costs associated with the supply-side resource. This analysis shall include a summary comparison and supporting information of the benefits and costs of other alternatives considered in the preparation of the applicant's IRP, sufficient to demonstrate that the proposed resource is economic and reliable;(e) Applicable information specified in Rule 515-3-4-.04(1),(2), and (3);(f) Relationship and impact of the proposed supply-side resource on the currently approved IRP;(g) A description of the legal relationship between the major entities involved with the proposed supply-side resource, including the utility, major vendors or power sellers, customers providing customer-owned or supplied resources, and/or any affiliate relationship;(h) If the proposed supply-side resource involves any payments to be made by the utility directly or indirectly to an exempt wholesale generator that is an affiliate or associate company of the utility, statements containing the information specified in Rule 515-3-4-07(5)(g); and(i) Any other information the Commission deems necessary.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 515-3-4-.07
Ga. L. 1878-79 p. 125; 1907 pp. 72-81; 1922 pp. 142-147; 1975 pp. 404-412; 1991 pp. 1696-1705, Public Utility Holding Co. Act of 1935, Sec. 32.
Original Rule entitled "Filing Requirements for a Supply-Side Resource Certificate" adopted. F. Dec. 10, 1991; eff. Dec. 30, 1991.Amended: F. May 12, 1994; eff. June 1, 1994.Amended: Rule retitled "Supply-Side Resource Certificate Filing Requirements and Procedures" adopted. F. Oct. 27, 1997; eff. Nov. 16, 1997.