§ 66-1,184 — Contracts for parallel generation services between electric utilities and their customers; terms and conditions; duties of customer; renewable generation by certain community colleges, requirements, financing; generation included in state's energy generation by wind power

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), every public utility which provides retail electric services in this state shall enter into a contract for parallel generation service with any person who is a customer of such utility, upon request of such customer, whereby such customer may attach or connect to the utility's delivery and metering system an apparatus or device for the purpose of feeding excess electrical power which is generated by such customer's energy producing system into the utility's system. No such apparatus or device shall either cause damage to the public utility's system or equipment or present an undue hazard to utility personnel. Every such contract shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions relating to fair and equitable compensation on such customer's monthly bill for energy supplied to the utility by such customer.
(b) (1) For purposes of this subsection:
(A) "Utility" means an electric public utility, as defined by K.S.A. 66-101a, and amendments thereto, any cooperative, as defined by K.S.A. 17-4603, and amendments thereto, or a nonstock member-owned electric cooperative corporation incorporated in this state, or a municipally owned or operated electric utility;
(B) "school" means Cloud county community college and Dodge City community college.
(2) Every utility which provides retail electric services in this state shall enter into a contract for parallel generation service with any person who is a customer of such utility, if such customer is a residential customer of the utility and owns a renewable generator with a capacity of 25 kilowatts or less, or is a commercial customer of the utility and owns a renewable generator with a capacity of 200 kilowatts or less or is a school and owns a renewable generator with a capacity of 1.5 megawatts or less. Such generator shall be appropriately sized for such customer's anticipated electric load. A commercial customer who uses the operation of a renewable generator in connection with irrigation pumps shall not request more than 10 irrigation pumps connected to renewable generators be attached or connected to the utility's system. At the customer's delivery point on the customer's side of the retail meter such customer may attach or connect to the utility's delivery and metering system an apparatus or device for the purpose of feeding excess electrical power which is generated by such customer's energy producing system into the utility's system. No such apparatus or device shall either cause damage to the utility's system or equipment or present an undue hazard to utility personnel. Every such contract shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions relating to fair and equitable compensation for energy supplied to the utility by such customer. Such compensation shall be not less than 100% of the utility's monthly system average cost of energy per kilowatt hour except that in the case of renewable generators with a capacity of 200 kilowatts or less, such compensation shall be not less than 150% of the utility's monthly system average cost of energy per kilowatt hour. A utility may credit such compensation to the customer's account or pay such compensation to the customer at least annually or when the total compensation due equals $25 or more.
(3) A customer-generator of any investor owned utility shall have the option of entering into a contract pursuant to this subsection (b) or utilizing the net metering and easy connection act. The customer-generator shall exercise the option in writing, filed with the utility.
(c) The following terms and conditions shall apply to contracts entered into under subsection (a) or (b):
(1) The utility will supply, own, and maintain all necessary meters and associated equipment utilized for billing. In addition, and for the purposes of monitoring customer generation and load, the utility may install at its expense, load research metering. The customer shall supply, at no expense to the utility, a suitable location for meters and associated equipment used for billing and for load research;
(2) for the purposes of insuring the safety and quality of utility system power, the utility shall have the right to require the customer, at certain times and as electrical operating conditions warrant, to limit the production of electrical energy from the generating facility to an amount no greater than the load at the customer's facility of which the generating facility is a part;
(3) the customer shall furnish, install, operate, and maintain in good order and repair and without cost to the utility, such relays, locks and seals, breakers, automatic synchronizer, and other control and protective apparatus as shall be designated by the utility as being required as suitable for the operation of the generator in parallel with the utility's system. In any case where the customer and the utility cannot agree to terms and conditions of any such contract, the state corporation commission shall establish the terms and conditions for such contract. In addition, the utility may install, own, and maintain a disconnecting device located near the electric meter or meters. Interconnection facilities between the customer's and the utility's equipment shall be accessible at all reasonable times to utility personnel. Upon notification by the customer of the customer's intent to construct and install parallel generation, the utility shall provide the customer a written estimate of all costs that will be incurred by the utility and billed to the customer to accommodate the interconnection. The customer may be required to reimburse the utility for any equipment or facilities required as a result of the installation by the customer of generation in parallel with the utility's service. The customer shall notify the utility prior to the initial energizing and start-up testing of the customer-owned generator, and the utility shall have the right to have a representative present at such test;
(4) the utility may require a special agreement for conditions related to technical and safety aspects of parallel generation; and
(5) the utility may limit the number and size of renewable generators to be connected to the utility's system due to the capacity of the distribution line to which such renewable generator would be connected, and in no case shall the utility be obligated to purchase an amount greater than 4% of such utility's peak power requirements.
(d) Service under any contract entered into under subsection (a) or (b) shall be subject to either the utility's rules and regulations on file with the state corporation commission, which shall include a standard interconnection process and requirements for such utility's system, or the current federal energy regulatory commission interconnection procedures and regulations.
(e) In any case where the owner of the renewable generator and the utility cannot agree to terms and conditions of any contract provided for by this section, the state corporation commission shall establish the terms and conditions for such contract.
(f) The governing body of any school desiring to proceed under this section shall, prior to taking any action permitted by this section, make a finding that either: (1) Net energy cost savings will accrue to the school from such renewable generation over a 20-year period; or (2) that such renewable generation is a science project being conducted for educational purposes and that such project may not recoup the expenses of the project through energy cost savings. Any school proceeding under this section may contract or enter into a finance, pledge, loan or lease-purchase agreement with the Kansas development finance authority as a means of financing the cost of such renewable generation.
(g) Each kilowatt of nameplate capacity of the parallel generation of electricity provided for in this section shall count as 1.10 kilowatts toward the compliance of the affected utility, as defined in K.S.A. 66-1257, and amendments thereto, and with whom the customer-generator has contracted, with the renewable energy standards act in K.S.A. 66-1256 through 66-1262, and amendments thereto.
(h) The provisions of the net metering and easy connection act shall not preclude the state corporation commission from approving net metering tariffs upon request of an electric utility for other methods of renewable generation not prescribed in subsection (b)(1) of K.S.A. 66-1264, and amendments thereto.

Legislative History

L. 1979, ch. 208, § 1; L. 2001, ch. 196, § 1; L. 2007, ch. 180, § 5; L. 2009, ch. 141, § 22; L. 2014, ch. 68, § 1; July 1.