Connection of Qualifying Facility Distributed Generation Resources
Algona Municipal Utilities is committed to providing clean energy for our customers and our future. AMU actively pursues clean energy projects which can be cost effectively added into our generation portfolio and distributed generation from a qualifying facility is such a resource.
Distributed Generation (DG) refers to power generation at the point of consumption. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 18, Part 292, provides regulations under sections 201 and 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) with regard to small production and cogeneration. Those regulations stipulate that AMU must interconnect with a Qualifying Facility (QF).
AMU has developed the documents below to assist customers desiring to interconnect customer-owned distributed generation resources with AMU's electric distribution system. Customers are encouraged to contact AMU early in your distributed generation evaluation process so that we may answer any questions you may have.
Grid Access Fee
In an effort to fairly allocate costs to those customers who install distributed generation like solar or wind, we have developed a Distributed Generation Grid Access Fee. The fee is calculated based upon our most recent cost of service study for the Algona Municipal Electric Utility and the development of the fee establishes the portion of our fixed costs being recovered from all customers in the Energy Charge.
The costs of providing all of our customers with a safe and reliable distribution grid are fixed and do not vary based on a customer's energy purchases. A common way to recover a portion of these fixed costs from customers that self-generate all or a portion of their energy needs for the use of the electric distribution grid is through a "Distributed Generation Grid Access Fee" that assigns a value to those fixed costs that are attributable to the electric distribution grid.
It is this portion of fixed costs that are not being recovered when a non-demand customer supplies some of its energy needs from Distributed Generation while remaining connected to and dependent on the Algona Municipal Utilities electric distribution system.
The Distributed Generation Grid Access Fee makes sure that all customers, including those with their own generation, are charged appropriately for access to and use of the Algona Municipal Electric distribution grid.
Algona Municipal Utilities Distributed Generation Interconnection Standards
Algona Municipal Utilities Agreement for Electric Service and Interconnection of Distributed Generation Facility
Iowa Utilities Board Informational Guide to Distributed Generation - August 2017
Iowa Energy Center Solar Guide
Algona Municipal Utilities Distributed Generation Price Schedule March 1, 2022 through February 28, 2023
Distributed Generation Grid Access Fee