Code of Massachusetts Regulations
980 CMR - ENERGY FACILITIES SITING COUNCIL
Title 980 CMR 7.00 - Long-range Forecasts And Supplements
Section 7.03 - Demand Forecasts by Electric Companies
Universal Citation: 980 MA Code of Regs 980.7
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1) Scope and Purpose. 980 CMR 7.03 sets forth the requirements for forecasts of demand which every electric company must meet in each long-range forecast. A long-range forecast, including a demand forecast, must be filed on the dates set forth in 980 CMR 7.02(3)(a). Every electric company must file a long-range forecast. Forecasts of demand shall be submitted and reviewed so that the Council may better determine whether plans for new facilities as proposed by electric companies are in conformity with the energy, environmental and economic policies of the Commonwealth.
(2) Description of Agreements.
(a) A long-range
forecast shall include summary descriptions of all existing agreements with
other electric companies relating to joint planning or joint forecasting of
electric power needs, to construction of future facilities, or to the purchase
or sale of electric power or reserve capacity. This description shall include:
1. the name of the parties to each agreement,
identifying the role of each party;
2. the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
or Massachusetts Depart- ment of Public Utilities Docket or File Number, if
any, associated with the agreement;
3. the commencement and termination dates of
each agreement;
4. for agreements
for the purchase or sale of electricity, the amount of power that will or may
be bought or sold in each year covered by the long-range forecast, expressed in
MW and/or MWH (if no MW or MWH figure is expressed in the contract, the
forecasting company shall estimate the MW or MWH requirements needed to fulfill
the contract); and
5. for
agreements of the joint planning or forecasting of electricity needs, a summary
of the provisions of the agreement.
(b) For the purposes of 980 CMR 7.03(2) the
term "existing agreements" shall include such contracts, letters of intent, and
precedent agreements as contain legal commitments. A company may at any time
petition the Council by submitting a contract, letter of intent, precedent
agreement or other agreement for a determination whether it is an existing
agreement as defined in this Rule. The Council may require further information
and shall within 60 days of the petition issue a determination. A company may
petition in the alternative for a determination pursuant to this paragraph that
an item is not an existing agreement or for a determination pursuant to
980 CMR
4.04(3) that the item is
exempt from public access; in such event the Council shall protect the
confidentiality of the item as provided by
980 CMR
4.04(4).
(3) Demand Forecasting Requirements.
Each long-range forecast shall meet the requirements specified in 980 CMR 7.03(4) through (7).
(4) Time Frame.
(a) Except as provided by 980 CMR 7.03(2) or
(3), the period of time to be covered by the forecast shall include:
1. the five calendar years preceding the year
in which the forecast is submitted, for purposes of establishing historical
baseline data for each of the categories of information to be included in the
forecast; and
2. at least the
succeeding ten calendar years (where a company seeks approval of a facility
more than ten years prior to the expected date of operation, it shall extend
its forecast by the appropriate number of years).
(b) For purposes of the forecast required to
be filed on or before May 1, 1976, the period of time to be covered shall, if
the company forecasts on a calendar year basis, include:
1. the years 1970 through 1974 for historical
purposes;
2. the year 1975 as the
current year; and
3. at least the
years 1976 through 1985 for forecast purposes.
(5) Methodology for Forecasting Demand. The Council does not prescribe a particular methodology that must be used by all electric companies in forecasting fiiture demand. However, the selected methodology must be explained and justified by the forecasting company in accordance with the requirements of 980 CMR 7.03(5),
Furthermore, the methodology must meet the applicable requirements of 980 CMR 7.09.
(a) The methodology shall be fully described,
and such description shall include:
1.
identification of significant determinants of future demand, and of the means
by which they were taken into account;
2. description of data used in making the
forecast and identification of the sources of such data;
3. explanation of techniques employed for
gathering, organizing, adjusting, and extrapolating from or interpreting the
data, together with examples of the applications of such techniques;
4. significant assumptions made and the
reasons for making them; and
5. a
statement of the level of confidence of the company in dependent and
independent variables, and explanation of how the statement of the level of
confidence was arrived at.
(b) The forecast shall be accompanied by
explanations of whether and, if so, how it takes into account and how were
obtained the following determinants of future demand:
1. population;
2. price of electricity and price-elasticity
of demand for electricity (including cost of fuels used in generation), both
absolute and relative to that of other forms of energy that may be substituted
for electricity in end uses;
3.
income of consumers, or value of the gross product of the service
area;
4. energy policies of the
Commonwealth and of the federal government, both currently existing and
possible for the future;
5.
strategies of the forecasting company for promoting consumption or
consei-vation of electricity, or for modifying load cui-ves; and
6. any other factors deemed relevant, such as
investment by others in and use of capital goods that require electricity,
including residential appliances (e.g., stoves, refrigerators, water heaters
and heating and air conditioning equipment), industrial equipment and
commercial equipment.
(c) The forecast documentation shall be
sufficiently explicit and complete to allow Council fully to understand the
forecast from the information presented.
(6) Contents of Forecast. The demand forecast shall include the following items for each of the years it covers:
(a) the total
annual electrical energy generated and consumed or to be generated and consumed
in the forecast area, with breakdowns for each of the classes specified in 980
CMR 7.03(7);
(b) the seasonal peak
loads for both summer and winter, with breakdowns for each of the classes
specified in 980 CMR 7.03(7)(a);
(c) annual load factor;
(d) annual load duration curve, defined as
the duration in hours of each level of kilowatt demand;
(e) load profiles, defined as kilowatt loads
to be graphed as a fianction of the time of day, for representative weekday in
both January and August and for actual past winter and summer peak days or a
forecast peak day in both January and August. Forecasts of the 980 CMR
7.03(6)(c) through (e) are not required to be disaggregated among the classes
in 980 CMR 7.03(7).
(7) Level of Aggregation.
(a) Separate forecasts of total armual
electrical energy generated and consumed and seasonal peak loads shall be made
for each of the following customer classes;
1.
residential without electric heating;
2. residential with electric
heating;
3. commercial
4. industrial;
5. street lighting;
6. railway;
7. sales for resale;
8. any other customer classes;
9. losses, internal use and unaccounted for;
and
10. total energy requirements.
The foregoing categories shall be defined to the extent possible as defined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(b) The forecast of
total annual electrical energy consumed by industrial customers required by 980
CMR 7.03(6)(a) and 7.03(7)(a)4. shall be disaggregated by two digit Standard
Industrial Classification Code.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Massachusetts 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.
