Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 13, March 29, 2024
8.1. On or before January 1, 2011, each
electric utility subject to the provisions of this rule shall prepare an
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard compliance plan and shall
file an application with the Commission, in filing formats to be determined by
the Commission, seeking approval of such plan.
8.2. A portfolio standard compliance plan
shall include:
8.2.a. Statistics and
information concerning the electric utility's sales to retail customers in West
Virginia as recorded at the customer's meter during the preceding ten calendar
years;
8.2.b. A calculation of the
electric utility's projected yearly sales to retail customers for the years
2011-2025;
8.2.c. A calculation of
the expected number of credits required to meet the Portfolio Standard set
forth in this rule;
8.2.d. An
anticipated time line for the development, purchase or procurement of credits
sufficient to meet the Portfolio Standard set forth in this rule;
8.2.e. A nonbinding estimate of the costs to
comply with the Portfolio Standard set forth in this rule;
8.2.f. A description of any greenhouse gas
emission reduction or offset projects or energy efficiency or demand-side
energy initiative projects that have been or will be submitted for
certification under Rule 4 that the electric utility proposes to convert to
credits in accordance with this rule;
8.2.g. A list of any requirements and a
description of how the electric utility satisfied or will satisfy those
requirements if an electric utility is subject to an alternative energy,
advanced energy, renewable energy or similar energy portfolio standard in any
other state;
8.2.h. Information on
the electric utility's resource acquisition activities or those of its
affiliated utilities; and
8.2.i.
Such further information as required by the Commission.
8.3. Upon the filing of an application for
approval of a portfolio standard compliance plan, and after hearing and proper
notice, the Commission may, in its discretion, approve or disapprove, or
approve in part or disapprove in part, the application.
8.3.a. After giving proper notice and
receiving no protest within thirty days after the notice is given, the
Commission may waive formal hearing on the application. Notice shall be
published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
W. Va. Code §
59-3-1,
and shall be given in a manner and in such form as may be prescribed by the
Commission.
8.3.b. The Commission
shall, following proper notice and hearing, if any, render a final decision on
any application filed pursuant to Rule 8 within two hundred seventy days of the
filing of the application.
8.3.c.
If, and to the extent, the Commission determines that a portfolio standard
compliance plan has a reasonable expectation of achieving the Portfolio
Standard requirements at a reasonable cost to electric customers in this state,
the Commission shall approve the plan. In establishing that the requisite
standard for approval of a portfolio standard compliance plan is met, the
burden of proof shall be upon the applicant.
8.3.d. In the event the Commission
disapproves of an application filed pursuant to Rule 8, in whole or in part,
the Commission shall specify its reason or reasons for disapproval. Any portion
of the application not approved by the Commission shall be modified and
resubmitted by the applicant.
8.3.e. Either upon an application of the
electric utility, a petition by a party or the Commission's own motion, a
compliance plan proceeding may be reopened for the purpose of considering and
making, if appropriate, alterations to the plan. If an electric utility seeks
to alter an approved compliance plan it shall submit an application in
accordance with Rule 8.2.
8.3.f.
Approval of the compliance plan does not eliminate the need for an electric
utility to otherwise obtain required approvals, including, but not limited to,
certificates to construct, consent to enter into affiliated contracts and
recovery of compliance costs. Furthermore, nothing in this rule shall be
interpreted to alter or amend the existing power and authority of the
Commission.
8.3.g. Approval of the
compliance plan does not relieve an electric utility from its obligation to pay
a compliance assessment pursuant to the provisions of this rule if it fails to
comply with the Portfolio Standard set forth herein.
8.4. By March 31 each year following the
Commission's approval of an electric utility's compliance plan, the electric
utility shall submit to the Commission an annual progress report, in filing
formats to be determined by the Commission, demonstrating compliance with the
requirements of the Portfolio Standard. The progress report shall include:
8.4.a. The electric utility's sales to retail
customers in West Virginia as recorded at the customer's meter in the previous
two calendar years, by year, in total number of megawatt-hours;
8.4.b. The total amount of energy the
electric utility has generated, purchased or procured from alternative or
renewable energy resources as of December 31 of the previous calendar year;
8.4.b.1. The portions, stated separately, of
the total amount of energy required in Rule 8.4.b corresponding to energy
generated, purchased or procured from the combustion of natural gas and
generated from supercritical technology, if any;
8.4.b.2. The electric utility's sales to
retail customers in West Virginia as recorded at the customer's meter in the
two previous calendar years, by year, corresponding to voluntary purchases by
retail customers of energy from renewable sources, if any;
8.4.c. The balance of the credits from
alternative and renewable energy resource facilities the electric utility has
purchased or procured as of December 31 of the previous calendar
year;
8.4.d. The balance of the
credits the utility has been awarded or purchased from energy efficiency or
demand-side energy initiative projects or greenhouse gas emission reduction or
offset projects as of December 31 of the previous calendar year;
8.4.d.1. The electric utility's sales to
retail customers in West Virginia as recorded at the customer's meter in the
two previous years, by year, corresponding to voluntary purchases by retail
customers of offsets or greenhouse gas emission reductions offsetting retail
power use, if any;
8.4.e. A comparison of the budgeted and
actual costs as compared to the estimated cost of the portfolio standard
compliance plan, including the information on credit transactions required
under Rule 6.1.a., subject to the same public disclosure provisions in Rule
6.1.b.;
8.4.f. An accounting issued
by PJM-EIS that shows the number of alternative and renewable energy resource
credits purchased and/or held by the electric utility as of December 31 of the
previous calendar year;
8.4.g. An
accounting issued by PJM-EIS that shows the portions, reported separately, of
alternative and renewable energy resource credits retired to meet the Portfolio
Standard of the previous calendar year corresponding to energy generated from
the combustion of natural gas and energy generated from supercritical
technology, if any;
8.4.h. The
vintage year and serial number of the greenhouse gas emission reductions or
offsets awarded or purchased and attestation by the electric utility that all
greenhouse gas emission reductions or offsets used for compliance under this
rule were retired in the offset registry of the approved greenhouse gas program
in which the reductions or offsets were registered for the purpose of this
rule;
8.4.i. For any credits
awarded for emission reductions or offsets under Rule 5.4 in any previous year,
an attestation that the offsets remain in compliance with the reversal rules of
the greenhouse gas program where the reductions or offsets were
registered;
8.4.j. A list of any
requirements and a description of how the electric utility satisfied or will
satisfy those requirements if an electric utility is subject to an alternative
energy, advanced energy, renewable energy or similar energy portfolio standard
in any other state;
8.4.k. Any
other information required by the Commission to prevent the double-counting of
credits;
8.4.l. Such further
information as required by the Commission.
8.5. The Commission shall impose a special
assessment on all electric utilities required to file a compliance plan.
8.5.a. The assessments shall be prorated
among the covered electric utilities on the basis of kilowatt hours of retail
sales in West Virginia and shall be due and payable on September 1 of each
year.
8.5.b. The amount of revenue
collected pursuant to Rule 8.5 will be determined as provided in W. Va. Code
§
24-2F-6.
8.5.c. The funds generated from the
assessments shall be used exclusively to offset all reasonable direct and
indirect costs incurred by the Commission in administering the provisions of
this rule.