W. Va. Code R. § 150-33-2

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 150-33-2 - Definitions

2.1. "Alternative energy resources" -- The following resources, methods, projects or technologies for the production or generation of electricity:

2.1.1. Advanced coal technology -- A technology used in a new or existing energy generating facility to reduce airborne carbon emissions associated with the combustion or use of coal and includes, but is not limited to, carbon dioxide capture and sequestration technology, supercritical technology, advanced supercritical technology as that technology is determined by the Public Service Commission, ultrasupercritical technology and pressurized fluidized bed technology and any other resource, method, project or technology certified by the Commission as advanced coal technology.

2.1.2. Coal bed methane;

2.1.3. Natural gas;

2.1.4. Fuel produced by a coal gasification or liquification facility;

2.1.5. Synthetic gas;

2.1.6. Integrated gasification combined cycle technologies;

2.1.7. Waste coal -- A technology by which electricity is produced by the combustion of the by-product, waste or residue created from processing coal (such as gob);

2.1.8. Tire-derived fuel; and

2.1.9. Pumped storage hydroelectric projects.

2.2. "Alternative energy resource facility" -- A facility or equipment that generates electricity from alternative energy resources.

2.3. "Commission" -- The Public Service Commission of West Virginia.

2.4. "Cross-subsidization" -- The practice of charging costs, including the incremental cost of interconnection and the net of the difference in the cost of a traditional meter and the metering equipment required for net metering, directly incurred by the electric utility in accommodating a net metering system to electric retail customers who are not Customer-generators.

2.5. "Incremental Cost of Interconnection" -- The additional cost incurred by the Utility to connect to a Customer-generator that would not be incurred to connect to a customer that is not a Customer-generator.

2.6. "Customer-generator" -- An electric retail customer who owns or leases, and operates an alternative or renewable energy resource facility ("generation project") within this State that meets the following criteria: the generation project is located on the same tract of land as its metering point(s) or if the generation facility is located on contiguous tract(s), the generation project is located within two miles of the customer's metering point(s); the tract or contiguous tracts are owned or leased by the customer as a private residence or used by a commercial or industrial customer in the normal course of business; the generation project has a nameplate capacity of not greater than 25 kilowatts if installed at a residential service location, not greater than 500 kilowatts if installed at a commercial service location, or not greater than 2 megawatts if installed at an industrial service location; provided that, the maximum nameplate capacity for a Customer-generator served by rural electric cooperatives, municipally-owned electric utilities or utilities serving less than thirty-thousand residential customers shall be 50 kilowatts; and, the generation project is designed and installed to operate in parallel with the electric utility distribution system without adversely affecting the operation of equipment and service of the electric utility and its customers and without presenting safety hazards to the electric utility or customers.

2.7. "Customer-generator facility" -- The alternative or renewable energy resource equipment operated by a Customer-generator to generate, manage, monitor and deliver electricity to the electric utility.

2.8. "Electric distribution system" -- A portion of an electric system which delivers electricity from transformation points on the transmission system to points of connection at a customer premises.

2.9. "Electric retail customer" -- A direct purchaser of electric power whose service is billed by an electric utility based on meter reading, but excludes an occupant of a building or facility where the occupants are not direct purchasers of electricity.

2.10. "Electric utility" -- The electric distribution company or electric generation supplier that sells electricity to retail customers in West Virginia.

2.11. "kW" -- Kilowatt -- A unit of power representing 1,000 watts. A kW equals 1/1000 of a MW.

2.12. "MW" -- Megawatt -- A unit of power representing 1,000,000 watts. A MW equals 1,000 kWs.

2.13. "Meter aggregation" -- The combination of readings from and billing for all meters regardless of rate class on eligible properties owned or leased by a Customer-generator for eligible properties located within the service territory of a single electric utility. Meter aggregation may be completed through physical or virtual meter aggregation.

2.14. "Net metering" -- The means of measuring the difference between the electricity supplied by an electric utility and the electricity generated from a Customer-generator when any portion of the electricity generated by the alternative energy resource facility is used to offset part or all of the Electric retail customer requirements for electricity.

2.15. "Non-standard meter" -- Meter capable of measuring generator output and time-of-day usage.

2.16. "Physical meter aggregation" -- The physical rewiring of all meters regardless of rate class on properties owned or leased by a Customer-generator to provide a single point of contact for a meter or meters to measure net electric service for that Customer-generator.

2.17. "Renewable energy resources" -- The following resources, methods, projects or technologies for the production or generation of electricity:

2.17.1. Solar photovoltaic or other solar electric energy;

2.17.2. Solar thermal energy;

2.17.3. Wind power;

2.17.4. Run of river hydropower -- A hydropower facility that, during normal operating conditions, does not utilize storage and that has outflow from the project that approximates the inflow of the project. The flow regime below a run of river hydropower project will essentially be the river's natural regime, except in special circumstances, such as might follow reinstallation of flashboards, project shutdowns, or as required pursuant to flood control and navigation control requirements of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the terms and conditions of the facility's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to promote the environment, recreation, or fish habitat. Under those circumstances, a change in storage contents is necessary, and outflow is reduced below inflow for a period. Another circumstance is the flow transition after an idle station is brought on line, causing initial flows downstream to exceed inflow.

2.17.5. Geothermal energy -- Electricity produced by extracting hot water or steam from geothermal reserves in the earth's crust and supplied to steam turbines that drive generators;

2.17.6. Biomass energy -- A technology by which electricity is produced from a nonhazardous organic material that is available on a renewable or recurring basis, including pulp mill sludge;

2.17.7. Biologically derived fuel -- Methane gas, ethanol, or biodiesel fuel;

2.17.8. Fuel cell technology -- Any electrochemical device that converts chemical energy in a hydrogen-rich fuel directly into electricity, heat and water without combustion; and,

2.17.9. Recycled energy -- Useful thermal, mechanical or electrical energy produced from:

(i) exhaust heat from any commercial or industrial process;

(ii) waste gas, waste fuel or other forms of energy that would otherwise be flared, incinerated, disposed of or vented; and

(iii) electricity or equivalent mechanical energy extracted from a pressure drop in any gas, excluding any pressure drop to a condenser that subsequently vents the resulting heat.

2.18. "Renewable energy resource facility" -- A facility or equipment that generates electricity from renewable energy resources.

2.19. "Reporting period" -- The 12-month period from June 1 through May 31.

2.20. "Virtual meter aggregation" -- The combination of readings and billing for all meters regardless of rate class on eligible properties owned or leased by a Customer-generator by means of the electric utility billing process, rather than through physical rewiring of the Customer-generator property for a physical, single point of contact.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-33-2