2. Procedural Background

In response to this rulemaking, the Energy Commission initiated a workshop process to explore revisions to the current interconnection rules. The goal was to simplify and standardize utility interconnection protocols and to develop proposed tariff rule language that could apply to all distributed generation facilities seeking to interconnect with the utilities.

In D.00-11-001, we adopted the first set of recommendations from the Energy Commission with slight modifications. In that decision we identified several issues on which the Energy Commission was conducting supplemental work. The Siting Committee held several additional working group meetings to develop supplemental rule language since its first set of recommendations were submitted on June 27, 2000. In some cases, language developed through additional meetings is designed to replace aspects of the proposed rule language we adopted in D.00-11-001; in other cases it proposes incremental language. The Energy Commission adopted the Supplemental Recommendation on October 25, 2000.

The Supplemental Recommendation addresses: standard applications and interconnection agreements; type testing and pre-certification; fees for application, initial review, and supplemental review; further refinement of the Initial and Supplemental Review process; uniqueness of utility tariffs; and development of a distributed generation interconnection database. In its first set of recommendations, the Energy Commission identified other miscellaneous issues that required follow up and discussed establishment of a forum for additional work on interconnection issues. Both of these topics are addressed in the Supplemental Recommendation.