Section 407-312-4 - STANDARD BUYER The standard buyer(s) shall aggregate and purchase the output of shared distributed generation resources procured in accordance with this Chapter and sell or use the output in a manner that maximizes value for ratepayers.
A.Designation. Unless another entity is designated by the Commission pursuant to Section (4)(D) of this Chapter, the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility shall serve as the standard buyer for distributed generation resources located in its service territory. An entity other than an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility may request to be a standard buyer. The Commission shall consider such requests, pursuant to a process and schedule established by the Commission and may grant a request upon a finding that the other entity serving as the standard buyer is in the public interest. To the extent the Commission designates another entity as the standard buyer, the Commission may require the rights and obligations between the standard buyer and the investor-owned transmission utility to be reflected in a contract.
B.Obligations. A standard buyer shall:1. Serve as the counter party to long-term contracts with project sponsors; 2. If the standard buyer is not an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility, reimburse the applicable investor-owned transmission and distribution utility for administrative expenses and bill credits or payments to subscribers or project sponsors and provide to the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility the information set forth in this subsection;3. Establish reasonable measurement and verification protocols for distributed generation resources;4. Collect and provide to the Commission, using a transparent mechanism, information needed to allocate costs and benefits pursuant to this Chapter;5. Provide to the Commission facility-specific and aggregate data regarding the output of distributed generation resources procured pursuant to this Chapter; and 6. Manage and monetize the output of distributed generation resources pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter.C.Rights. A standard buyer shall retain rights to all of the output of distributed generation resources to which it is the contractual counter party in accordance with this section.D.Treatment of the output of distributed generation resources.1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, the standard buyer shall sell, use, manage, monetize, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the subscribed output of distributed generation resources in a manner that maximizes its value to ratepayers. Each standard buyer shall file a plan, subject to Commission review, that documents how it will comply with this provision. 2. All value associated with (1) the output of a commercial or institutional distributed generation resource and (2) the subscribed output of a shared distributed generation resource shall inure to the benefit of ratepayers. All value associated with the unsubscribed out put of a shared resource shall inure to the benefit of the project sponsor.E.Cost and benefit allocation.1. The costs and benefits incurred or realized by the standard buyer(s) shall be reviewed by the Commission on an annual basis for inclusion in the stranded cost rates of customers of the investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities. The process established by the Commission shall be similar to the allocation of costs and benefits of long-term energy contracts in section 3210-F of Title 35-A.2. Eligible costs and benefits include: (1) the incremental administrative costs to serve as the standard buyer; (2) payments or bill credits to customers, subscribers and project sponsors; and(3) revenue from the sale of the output of distributed generation resources.65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 312, § 4