N.M. Admin. Code § 17.9.570.7

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 17, September 10, 2024

Section 17.9.570.7 - DEFINITIONS

Terms defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) shall have the same meaning for purposes of this rule as they have under PURPA, unless further defined in 18 CFR 292.101. The following definitions apply for purposes of this rule:

A.Definitions beginning with "A":

(1)avoided costs means the incremental costs to an electric utility of electric energy or capacity or both which, but for the purchase from the qualifying facility or qualifying facilities, such utility would generate itself or purchase from another source. Avoided costs shall exclude all costs that the utility would not have been incurred "but for" the sale by the qualifying facility. Costs that would not have been incurred "but for" the sale by the qualifying facility shall include, but are not limited to, settlement adjustment charges and costs associated with additional reserves, systems operation impacts, and curtailments;

(2)as available power means power that a qualifying facility may sell, but has no legal obligation to sell, to the utility.

B.Definitions beginning with "B": back-up power means electric energy or capacity supplied by an electric utility to replace energy ordinarily generated by a facility's own generation equipment during an unscheduled outage of the qualifying facility;

C.Definitions beginning with "C": commission means New Mexico public regulation commission.

D.Definitions beginning with "D": design capacity means the total AC nameplate power rating of the power conversion unit(s) at the point of common coupling.

E.Definitions beginning with "E": [RESERVED]

F.Definitions beginning with "F": [RESERVED]

G.Definitions beginning with "G": [RESERVED]

H.Definitions beginning with "H": [RESERVED]

I.Definitions beginning with "I":

(1)interconnection costs means the reasonable costs of connection, switching, metering, transmission, distribution, safety provisions and administrative costs incurred by the electric utility directly related to the installation and maintenance of the physical facilities necessary to permit interconnected operations with a qualifying facility, to the extent such costs are in excess of the corresponding costs which the electric utility would have incurred if it had not engaged in interconnected operations, but instead generated an equivalent amount of electric energy itself or purchased an equivalent amount of electric energy or capacity from other sources. Interconnection costs do not include any costs included in the calculation of avoided costs;

(2)interruptible power means electric energy or capacity supplied by an electric utility subject to interruption by the electric utility under specified conditions.

J.Definitions beginning with "J": [RESERVED]

K.Definitions beginning with "K": [RESERVED]

L. Definitions beginning with "L":

(1)locational marginal price means the price for energy at a particular location as determined in the western energy imbalance market or in the "SPP energy markets" which means the real-time energy markets operated by southwest power pool, inc;

(2)legally enforceable obligation means a public utility's obligation to purchase as-available energy from a qualified facility and is created when the criteria set forth in 17.9.570.9 NMAC are met and refers to the qualifying facility's obligation to sell power to a utility for the term of the obligation, and to the utility's corresponding obligation to purchase power from the qualifying facility for the term of the obligation.

M.Definitions beginning with "M": maintenance power means electric energy or capacity supplied by an electric utility during scheduled outages of the qualifying facility.

N.Definitions beginning with "N":

(1)net metering means the difference between the energy produced by the qualifying facility's generation and the energy that would have otherwise been supplied by the utility to the qualifying facility absent the qualifying facility's generation;

(2)new capacity addition:

(a) new capacity addition means the capacity added to a utility's resource mix after the effective date of 17.9.570 NMAC through normal utility resource procurement activities which shall include but not necessarily be limited to:

(i) construction of or participation in new generating facilities;

(ii) augmenting the capacity of or extending the life of existing generating facilities through capital improvements; or

(iii) entering into new contracts or exercising options in existing contracts which will result in additional capacity;

(b) new capacity addition does not include the following:

(i) renegotiation of existing contracts for anything other than increasing capacity in the resource mix;

(ii) renegotiation of existing full power requirements contract between a distribution cooperative and its full power requirements supplier; and

(iii) seasonal uprating in capacity achieved without any capital improvements to existing generating facilities.

O.Definitions beginning with "O": [RESERVED]

P.Definitions beginning with "P":

(1)point of common coupling (PCC) means the point where the interconnection facilities connect with the utility's system;

(2)power means electric energy or capacity or both;

(3)power conversion unit (PCU) means an inverter or AC generator, not including the energy source;

(4)purchase means the purchase of electric energy or capacity or both from a qualifying facility by an electric utility.

Q.Definitions beginning with "Q":

(1)qualifying facility means a cogeneration facility or a small power production facility that is a qualifying facility under Subpart B of 18 C.F.R. Part 292 ;

(a) A qualifying facility may include transmission lines and other equipment used for interconnection purposes (including transformers and switchyard equipment), if:

(i) Such lines and equipment are used to supply power output to directly and indirectly interconnected electric utilities, and to end users, including thermal hosts, in accordance with state law; or

(ii) Such lines and equipment are used to transmit supplementary, standby, maintenance and backup power to the qualifying facility, including its thermal host meeting the criteria set forth in Union Carbide Corporation, 48 FERC 61,130, reh'g denied, 49 FERC 61,209 (1989), aff'd sub nom., Gulf States Utilities Company v. FERC, 922 F.2d 873 (D.C. Cir. 1991); or

(iii) If such lines and equipment are used to transmit power from other qualifying facilities or to transmit standby, maintenance, supplementary and backup power to other qualifying facilities.

(b) The construction and ownership of such lines and equipment shall be subject to any applicable federal, state, and local siting and environmental requirements.

R.Definitions beginning with "R": rate means any price, rate, charge, or classification made, demanded, observed or received with respect to the sale or purchase of electric energy or capacity, or any rule, regulation, or practice respecting any such rate, charge, or classification, and any contract pertaining to the sale or purchase of electric energy or capacity.

S.Definitions beginning with "S":

(1) sale means the sale of electric energy or capacity or both by an electric utility to a qualifying facility;

(2)settlement adjustment charge means the sum of adjustments to the settlement interval by an energy market, such as the southwest power pool, to account for market charges or credits applicable to the qualifying facility resource.

(3)supplementary power means electric energy or capacity supplied by an electric utility, regularly used by a qualifying facility in addition to that which the facility generates itself;

(4)system emergency means a condition on a utility's system which is likely to result in imminent significant disruption of service to customers or is imminently likely to endanger life or property.

T.Definitions beginning with "T": tariff means the document filed by a utility with the commission pursuant to 17.9.570 NMAC containing that utility's rules, rates, services and forms.

U.Definitions beginning with "U": utility means a utility or public utility as defined in Section 62-3-3 NMSA 1978 serving electric customers subject to the jurisdiction of the commission.

V.Definitions beginning with "V": [RESERVED]

W.Definitions beginning with "W": western energy imbalance market (or western EIM) means the real-time energy imbalance market operated by the California independent system operator corporation.

X.Definitions beginning with "X": [RESERVED]

Y.Definitions beginning with "Y": [RESERVED]

Z.Definitions beginning with "Z": [RESERVED]

N.M. Admin. Code § 17.9.570.7

17.9.570.7 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.570.7 NMAC, 10-15-08, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10, May 24, 2022, eff. 5/24/2022