Ariz. Admin. Code § 14-2-2601

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 48, November 29, 2024

Section R14-2-2601 - Definitions

In this Article, unless otherwise specified:

1. "AC" means alternating current.

2. "Applicant" means a Customer or Representative who submits an Interconnection Application pursuant to this Article.

3. "Application" means the standard form or format for an Applicant to apply to a Utility for Interconnection of a Generating Facility with the Distribution System.

4. "Backfeed" means to energize a section of a Utility electric system with a Generating Facility.

5. "Calendar Day" means any day including Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal or State Holiday.

6. "Certified Equipment" means a specific generating and protective equipment system or systems certified as meeting the requirements in R14-2-2611 relating to testing, operation, safety, and reliability by an NRTL.

7. "Clearance" means documentation from a Utility stating that a line or equipment is disconnected from all known sources of power and tagged; that for safety purposes all proper precautionary measures have been taken; and that workers may proceed to inspect, test, and install ground on the circuit.

8. "CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations.

9. "Commission" means the Arizona Corporation Commission.

10. "Customer" means an electric consumer applying to connect a Generating Facility on the consumer's side of the Utility meter, whether an Exporting System, a Non-Exporting System, or an Inadvertent Export System.

11. "DC" means direct current.

12. "Disconnect Switch" means a device that:

a. Is installed and maintained for a Generating Facility by the Customer;

b. Is a visible-open, manual, gang-operated, load break disconnect device;

c. Is capable of being locked in a visible-open position by a standard Utility padlock that will completely isolate the Generating Facility from the Distribution System; and

d. If the voltage of the Generating Facility is over 500 volts, is capable of being grounded on the Utility side.

13. "Distributed Generation" means any type of Customer electrical generator, solid-state or static inverter, or Generating Facility interconnected with the Distribution System that either can be operated in electrical parallel with the Distribution System or can feed a Customer load that can also be fed by the Distribution System.

14. "Distribution System" means the infrastructure constructed, maintained, and operated by a Utility to deliver electric service at the distribution level (69 kV or less) to retail consumers.

15. "Electric Cooperative" means a Utility that is:

a. Not operated for profit;

b. Owned and controlled by its members; and

c. Operating as a public service company in this state.

16. "Exporting System" means any type of Generating Facility that is designed to regularly Backfeed the Distribution System.

17. "Facilities Study" means a comprehensive analysis of the actual construction needed to take place based on the outcome of a System Impact Study.

18. "Fault Current" means the level of current that can flow if a short circuit is applied to a voltage source.

19. "Feasibility Study" means a preliminary review of the potential impacts on the Distribution System that will result from a proposed Interconnection.

20. "Generating Facility" means all or part of a Customer's electrical generator(s), energy storage system(s), or any combination of electrical generator(s) and storage system(s), together with all inverter(s) and protective, safety, and associated equipment necessary to produce electric power at the Customer's facility; this includes solid-state or static inverters, induction machines, and synchronous machines.

21. "Good Utility Practice" means any of the practices, methods, and acts engaged in or approved by a significant portion of the electric industry during the relevant time period, or any of the practices, methods, and acts that, in the exercise of reasonable judgment in light of the facts known at the time the decision was made, could have been expected to accomplish the desired result at a reasonable cost consistent with reliability, safety, and expedition. Good Utility Practice is not intended to be limited to the optimal practice, method, or act to the exclusion of all others, but rather to include practices, methods, or acts generally accepted in the region at the relevant time.

22. "IEEE" means the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

23. "Inadvertent Export" means the unplanned, uncompensated transfer of electrical energy from a Generating Facility to the Distribution System across the Point of Interconnection.

24. "Interconnection" means the physical connection of a Generating Facility to the Distribution System.

25. "Interconnection Agreement" means an agreement, signed between the Utility and the Customer, covering the terms and conditions governing the Interconnection and operation of the Generating Facility with the Utility, and includes any appendices to the agreement.

26. "Interconnection Facilities" means the electrical wires, switches, and related equipment that are required, in addition to the facilities required to provide electric distribution service to a Customer, to allow Interconnection. Interconnection Facilities may be located on either side of the Point of Interconnection as appropriate to their purpose and design.

27. "Interconnection Manual" means a separate document developed and maintained by a Utility as required under R14-2-2628.

28. "Interconnection Study" means a study that may be undertaken by a Utility (or a Utility-designated third party) in response to the Utility's receipt of a completed Application. An Interconnection Study may include:

a. A Feasibility Study;

b. A System Impact Study;

c. A Facilities Study; and

d. Any additional analysis required by the Utility.

29. "Islanding" means a condition in which a portion of the Distribution System is energized solely by one or more local electric power systems throughout the associated Point of Interconnection while that portion of the Distribution System is electrically separated from the rest of the Distribution System. Islanding can be either intentional (planned) or unintentional (unplanned).

30. "Jurisdictional Electric Inspection Agency" means the governmental authority having jurisdiction to inspect and approve the installation of a Generating Facility.

31. "kW" means kilowatt.

32. "Maximum Capacity" means:

a. The nameplate AC capacity of a Generating Facility; or

b. If the Operating Characteristics of the Generating Facility limit the power transferred across the Point of Interconnection to the Distribution System, only the power transferred across the Point of Interconnection to the Distribution System, not including Inadvertent Export.

33. "MW" means megawatt.

34. "Non-Exporting System" means a system in which there is no designed, regular export of power from the Generating Facility to the Distribution System.

35. "NRTL" means a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory recognized by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

36. "Operating Characteristics" means the mode of operation of a Generating Facility (Exporting System, Non-Exporting System, or Inadvertent Exporting System) that controls the amount of power delivered across the Point of Interconnection to the Distribution System.

37. "Parallel Operation" means the operation of a Generating Facility that is electrically interconnected to a bus common with the Distribution System, either on a momentary or continuous basis.

38. "Protective Functions" means the equipment, hardware, or software in a Generating Facility that protects against Unsafe Operating Conditions.

39. "Point of Interconnection" means the physical location where the Utility's service conductors are connected to the Customer's service conductors to allow Parallel Operation of the Generating Facility with the Distribution System.

40. "Relay" means an electric device that is designed to interpret input conditions in a prescribed manner and, after specified conditions are met, to respond and cause contact operation or similar abrupt change in associated electric control circuits.

41. "Representative" means an agent of the Customer who is designated by the Customer and is acting on the Customer's behalf.

42. "RUS" means the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service.

43. "Scoping Meeting" means an initial review meeting between a Utility and a Customer or Representative during which a general overview of the proposed Generating Facility design is discussed, and the Utility provides general information on system conditions at the proposed Point of Interconnection.

44. "Secondary Spot Network System" means an AC power Distribution System meeting the criteria in R14-2-2622.

45. "System Impact Study" means a full engineering review of the impact on the Distribution System from a Generating Facility, including power flow, Utility system protective device coordination, generator protection schemes (if not Certified Equipment), stability, voltage fluctuations, frequency impacts, and short circuit study. A System Impact Study may consider total nameplate capacity of the Generating Facility.

46. "UL 1741" means the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use with Distributed Energy Resources (February 15, 2018), with no future editions or amendments, which is incorporated by reference; on file with the Commission; and published by and available from Underwriters Laboratories Inc., 151 Eastern Avenue Bensenville, IL 60106-3072 and through https://standardscatalog.ul.com.

47. "UL 1741SA" means the approved supplemental amendment of UL 1741 that defines the manufacturing (including software) and product testing requirements for advanced inverters.

48. "Unsafe Operating Conditions" means conditions that, if left uncorrected, could result in any of the following:

a. Harm to personnel;

b. Damage to equipment;

c. An adverse effect to the safe operation of the Distribution System; or

d. Operation of the Generating Facility outside pre-established parameters required by the Interconnection Agreement.

49. "Utility" means an electric distribution company that constructs, operates, and maintains its Distribution System for the receipt and delivery of electricity and that is a public service corporation under Arizona Constitution, Article 15, § 2.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R14-2-2601

Adopted by final rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 473, effective 2/25/2020.