Indiana Administrative Code
Title 170 - INDIANA UTILITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Article 4 - ELECTRIC UTILITIES
Rule 7 - Guidelines for Integrated Resource Planning by an Electric Utility
Section 7-1 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 170 IN Admin Code 7-1

Current through September 18, 2024

Authority: IC 8-1-1-3; IC 8-1-8.5-3

Affected: IC 8-1-1-2; IC 8-1-2.2; IC 8-1-2.3-2; IC 8-1-2.4; IC 8-1-8.5; IC 8-1-8.8-10; IC 8-1.5

Sec. 1.

(a) The definitions in this section apply throughout this rule.

(b) "Avoided cost" means the incremental or marginal cost to a utility of energy or capacity, or both, not incurred by a utility if an alternative supply-side resource or demand-side resource is included in the utility's IRP.

(c) "Candidate resource portfolio" means one (1) of multiple long term resource portfolios selected for further evaluation through the utility's portfolio screening process to determine the preferred resource portfolio.

(d) "Cogeneration facility" means the following:

(1) A facility that:
(A) simultaneously generates electricity and useful thermal energy; and

(B) meets the energy efficiency standards established for a cogeneration facility by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under 16 U.S.C. 824a-3.

(2) The land, system, building, or improvement if:
(A) located at the facility site; and

(B) necessary or convenient to the:
(i) construction;

(ii) completion; or

(iii) operation; of the facility.

(3) The transmission or distribution facilities necessary to conduct the energy produced by the facility to a user located at or near the project site.

(e) "Commission" means the Indiana utility regulatory commission.

(f) "Commission analysis" means the required state energy analysis developed by the commission under IC 8-1-8.5-3.

(g) "Contemporary issue" means a topic that may affect an IRP's inputs, methods, or judgment factors, and is common to the utilities. Topics may include, but are not limited to, those relevant to the following considerations:

(1) Economic.

(2) Financial.

(3) Environmental.

(4) Energy.

(5) Demographic.

(6) Customer.

(7) Methodological.

(8) Regulatory.

(9) Technological.

(h) "Demand-side management program" or "DSM program" means a utility program designed to implement:

(1) demand response; or

(2) energy efficiency.

(i) "Demand response" means a reduction in electricity usage for limited intervals of time, such as during peak electricity usage or emergency conditions.

(j) "Demand-side resource" means one (1) or more demand-side management programs.

(k) "Director" means an employee of the commission designated as the IRP director by the commission's agency head appointed under IC 8-1-1-2 (d).

(l) "Distributed generation" means an electrical generating facility located at or near a customer's point of use, which may be connected in parallel operation to the utility system.

(m) "DSM costs" refers to the expenses incurred by a utility in a given year for operation of a DSM program, whether the cost is capitalized or expensed. Expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Administration.

(2) Equipment.

(3) Incentives paid to program participants.

(4) Marketing and advertising.

(5) Evaluation, measurement, and verification.

(n) "Emission allowance" means the authority to emit one (1) unit of an air pollutant as specified by a federal or state regulatory system.

(o) "End-use" means the:

(1) light;

(2) heat;

(3) cooling;

(4) refrigeration;

(5) motor drive;

(6) microwave energy;

(7) video or audio signal;

(8) computer processing;

(9) electrolytic process; or

(10) useful work; produced by equipment using electricity.

(p) "Energy efficiency" means reduced energy use for a comparable or improved level of energy service.

(q) "Energy service" means the:

(1) light;

(2) heat;

(3) motor drive; and

(4) other service; for which a customer purchases electricity from the utility.

(r) "Energy storage" means a:

(1) technology; or

(2) set of technologies; capable of storing generated energy and discharging that energy as electricity at a later time.

(s) "Engineering estimate" means a calculated estimate of the change in energy (kWh) and demand (kW) resulting from a DSM program, accounting for dynamic interactions between or among the DSM programs.

(t) "FERC Form 715" means the annual transmission planning and evaluation report required by the FERC, as adopted in 58 FR 52436, Oct. 8, 1993, and as amended by Order 643, 68 FR 52095, Sep. 2, 2003.

(u) "Firm wholesale power sale" means a power sale intended to be available to the purchaser at all times, including under adverse conditions, during the period covered by the commitment.

(v) "Integrated resource plan" or "IRP" means a utility's document or documents submitted to the commission to meet the requirements of this rule.

(w) "Load research" means the collection of electricity usage data through a metering device associated with an end-use, a circuit, or a building. The metered data is used to better understand the characteristics of electric loads, the timing of their use, and the amount of electricity consumed by users. The data may be collected over a variety of time intervals, usually sixty (60) minutes or less.

(x) "Load shape" means the time pattern of customer electricity use and the relationship of the level of energy use to a specific time during the day, month, and year.

(y) "North American Industrial Classification System" or "NAICS" refers to the system developed by the United States Department of Commerce for use in the classification of establishments by type of activity in which a business is engaged.

(z) "OUCC" means the Indiana office of utility consumer counselor.

(aa) "Penetration" means the ratio of the number of a specific type of new appliances or end-use equipment installed to the total number installed during a given time.

(bb) "Power transfer capability" means the amount of power that can be transferred from one (1) point or part of the bulk electric system to another without exceeding a reliability criteria pertinent to the utility.

(cc) "Preferred resource portfolio" means the utility's selected long term supply-side and demand-side resource mix that safely, reliably, efficiently, and cost-effectively meets the electric system demand, taking cost, risk, and uncertainty into consideration.

(dd) "Present value" means the current value of a future sum or stream of money, calculated by discounting the sum or stream of money by an interest rate.

(ee) "Program participant" means a utility customer participating in a DSM program.

(ff) "Public advisory process" refers to the procedures in sections 2.1 and 2.6 of this rule in which customers and interested parties have the opportunity to:

(1) receive information from the utilities;

(2) provide input for the utility to consider in the development of the IRP; and

(3) comment on a utility's IRP.

(gg) "Regional transmission organization" or "RTO" means the regional transmission organization approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the control area that includes the utility's assigned service area as defined under IC 8-1-2.3-2.

(hh) "Renewable resource" means a renewable energy resource as defined in IC 8-1-8.8-10.

(ii) "Resource" means a:

(1) facility;

(2) project;

(3) contract; or

(4) mechanism; used by a utility to assist in providing electric energy service to the customer.

(jj) "Resource action" means a resource change or addition proposed by a utility in a formally docketed commission proceeding.

(kk) "Risk metric" means a measure used to gauge the risk associated with a resource portfolio. As applied to the cost of a resource portfolio, risk metric includes measures of the variability of costs and the magnitude of outcomes.

(ll) "Saturation" means the ratio of the number of a specific type of similar appliances or end-use equipment to the total number of customers in that class or the total number of similar appliances or end-use equipment in use.

(mm) "Screening" means an evaluation performed by a utility to determine whether a demand-side or supply-side resource option is eligible for potential inclusion in the utility's preferred resource portfolio.

(nn) "Short term action plan" means a schedule of activities and goals developed by a utility to begin efficient implementation of its preferred resource portfolio as required by section 4(10) of this rule.

(oo) "Smart grid" means use of:

(1) digital electronics;

(2) equipment; or

(3) data; and the associated communications networks, to monitor and control aspects of the electrical transmission and distribution system from generation to consumption.

(pp) "Supply-side resource" means a resource that provides a supply of electrical energy or capacity, or both, to a utility. A supply-side resource includes the following:

(1) A utility-owned generation capacity addition.

(2) A wholesale power purchase.

(3) A refurbishment or upgrade of an existing utility-owned generation facility.

(4) A cogeneration facility.

(5) A renewable resource.

(6) Distributed generation.

(qq) "Utility" means:

(1) a public, municipally owned, or cooperatively owned electric utility; or

(2) a joint agency created under IC 8-1-2.2; unless the utility is exempt under IC 8-1-8.5 -7.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Indiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.