65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 319, § 3

Current through 2024-25, June 19, 2024

Section 407-319-3 - EXCLUSIONS FROM NONWIRES ALTERNATIVES COORDINATOR INVESTIGATIONS

This section of the rule lays out the criteria to exclude from investigation by the nonwires alternative coordinator small transmission projects and distribution projects best suited to transmission and distribution investments.

A.Projects Necessary for Redundant Supply to a Radial Load

This exclusion category includes, but is not limited to:

1. Transmission and/or distribution facility upgrades required to establish redundant supply or additional circuit backup capabilities;

2. Upgrades to facilities inside an existing substation necessary for redundant supply; and

3. New or upgraded transmission lines or distribution circuits necessary for redundant supply.

B.Projects Necessary to Address Maintenance, Asset Condition or Safety Needs

This exclusion category includes, but is not limited to:

1. Emergency replacement projects as part of outage restoration;

2. Relocation projects that require temporary or permanent physical relocation of existing infrastructure to accommodate public works projects;

3. Maintenance projects that involve equipment replacement as a result of maintenance inspections, asset condition or to avoid outage and/or catastrophic failure;

4. Projects necessary to meet the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Independent System Operator - New England (ISO-NE) or Commission approved utility specific compliance requirements to ensure safety and security standards or correct identified safety code violations including, but not limited to, the National Electric Safety Code (NESC).

C.Projects Necessary to Address Stability or Short Circuit Problems

This exclusion category includes, but is not limited to:

1. Projects that are deemed necessary to avoid system-level voltage collapse or large network instability;

2. Transmission and distribution facility upgrades required to address protection system deficiencies;

3. Dynamic reactive device installations;

4. Projects to mitigate power quality issues; and

5. Circuit breaker upgrade projects.

This exclusion category applies to stability or short circuit problems that exist under current load conditions and identified by the utility's planning need with reasonably anticipated fluctuations in load.

D.Projects Required to be in Service within One Year Based on the Controlling Load Forecast

This exclusion category applies to projects that are required to be in service within one year from the publication date of the utilities annual transmission and distribution plan based on the controlling load forecast.

E.Customer or Generator Funded Interconnection Related Projects

This exclusion category includes, but is not limited to:

1. Transmission and/or distribution facility upgrades driven by a request for new or upgraded service, or a generator interconnection, and which would be funded by the interconnecting customer or generator.

F.Automation Projects

This exclusion category includes, but is not limited to:

1. Transmission and/or distribution automation projects necessary to improve system resiliency.

65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 319, § 3