New Mexico Register / Volume XXXIII, Issue 7 / April 5,
2022
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
CASE NO. 21-00266-UT
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (the “commission”)
gives notice of its initiation of a proposed rulemaking to repeal and replace Rule 17.9.568 NMAC, “Interconnection of
Generating Facilities with a Rated Capacity up to and Including 10 MW
Connecting to a Utility System.” The rules which may be adopted as the
final rules in this proceeding may include all, part, or none of the language
in the proposed rules issued by the commission.
The commission may also consider alternative proposals for amending or
replacing the current rules.
Concise statement of proposed rules: The purpose of
this rulemaking is to revise and update Part 17.9.568 NMAC establishing the
definitions, standards, procedures and screening processes for the
interconnection of electric generating facilities with a rated capacity up to
and including 10 MW. The rule provides guidance for the revision and updating of
the New Mexico utility interconnection manual and technical guidelines
documents, last revised in October 2008. The existing rule and associated
manual no longer adequately accommodate evolving technologies and devices that
are increasingly seeking behind-the-meter interconnection to utility
distribution networks. Recently developed technical standards IEEE
1547-2018/IEEE1547.1- 2020/UL1741SB are adopted to provide for advanced
functionalities for DC/AC inverters, and for testing and certification of interconnected
devices. The revised rule modifies or adds technical and non-technical
processes for interconnection, including: allowing for pre-application review
of projects; refining technical screening criteria, determining categorization
of projects by size; defining timelines for processing of interconnection
applications; establishing a dispute resolution process; defining utility
reporting requirements; and making additions or revisions to a set of
definitions. It also sets out considerations governing non-export, limited
export, and inadvertent export of energy into the utility system. The rule
directs utilities to provide the commission and the public with information
about available hosting capacity or constraints on distribution circuits.
Citing recently adopted statutes, including the Grid Modernization Act of 2019
(Section 62-8-13 NMSA 1978) the proposed rule provides the commission with
options for future determinations of alternatives to the traditional
cost-causation model for necessary interconnection-related system upgrades. Additionally, the commission plans to update
the provisions in the existing interconnection manual and integrate those
provisions into rule 17.9.568 NMAC.
Constitutional and statutory authority: The commission
has the authority to promulgate the proposed rule pursuant to the New Mexico
Public Regulation Commission Act, Section 8-8-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, the Public
Utility Act, Section 62-3-1 et seq. NMSA 1978; the Energy Transition Act,
62-18-1 et seq. NMSA 1978; the Grid Modernization Act, Section 62-8-13 NMSA
1978; and the Community Solar Act, Section 62-16B-1 NMSA 1978.
How a copy of the full
text of the proposed rule can be obtained: A copy
of the full text of the proposed rules may be obtained from the rulemaking proceedings
section of the commission’s website at https://www.nm-prc.org/rulemaking-proceedings/
under Case No. 21-00266-UT or by calling Isaac Sullivan-Leshin in the Office of
General Counsel at (505) 670-4830. From
the same sources, any person can obtain the commission’s Agreements
Attachment and Screening Process Attachment referenced in the
proposed rule.
How a person can
comment on the proposed rule, where comments will be received and when comments
are due:
Written initial comments and written response comments
shall be filed by the deadlines below in accordance with NMPRC rules of
procedure 1.2.2 NMAC. For information as
to how to file at the time of filing, please contact Melanie Sandoval, the commission’s
records bureau chief at (505) 470-8538 or melanie.sandoval@state.nm.us. Written initial comments shall be filed no
later than May 6, 2022 and written response
comments shall be filed no later than May
20, 2022. Comments shall refer to
Case No. 21-00266-UT. All written
comments will be posted on the commission’s website within three days of their receipt
by the records bureau.
When and where a public rule hearing will be held and
how a person can participate in the hearing: a public hearing will be held on May
31, 2022, beginning at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom platform. The commission’s office of general counsel
will email a Zoom invitation to the persons on the official service list in
this matter prior to the hearing. The
Zoom invitation will include a call-in number for those participants who are
unable to access the Zoom platform via computer. Any member of the public who wishes to make a
comment at the hearing must contact Isaac Sullivan-Leshin at (505) 670-4830 or Isaac.Sullivan-Leshin@state.nm.us
by no later than 12:00 p.m. on May 27, 2022 to sign up as a hearing
participant. The commission’s office of
general counsel will email a Zoom invitation to all hearing participants the
day before the hearing. The Zoom
invitation will include a call-in number for those participants who are unable
to access the Zoom platform via computer.
The hearing will be held in order to receive oral comments. The first
portion of the hearing will allow for any public commenters who have not filed
written commentary and the second portion of the hearing will allow for oral
argument for parties who have previously filed written commentary. In the
interest of administrative efficiency, commenters who have submitted written
comments may be restricted from making oral comments in the first portion of
the hearing subject to the discretion of the commission or its designee. In addition, any commenter may be limited to
five minutes to speak, subject to the discretion of the commission or its
designee. The commission or its designee
may also determine that a spokesperson should be designated to speak on behalf
of an organization, a group, or a group of individuals that shares the same
message or seeks the same goals, in order to maximize the efficiency of the
public comment hearing. No testimony or
other evidence will be taken at the hearing as this is a rulemaking
proceeding. A court reporter will
prepare a transcript of the hearing for filing the rulemaking docket, Docket
No. 21-00266-UT.
The record of this case will close on June 10, 2022. From that date
through the completion of this proceeding, rulemaking participants will be
forbidden from communicating with the commission or its representatives
concerning substantive issues in this proceeding.
Any person with a
disability requiring special assistance in order to participate in the hearing
should contact Renada Peery-Galon at (505) 467-9116 at least 48 hours prior to
the commencement of the hearing.
Instructions on how to
access the complete rulemaking record, reports and other items filed in the
commission’s e-docket system can be found at https://www.nm-prc.org/rulemaking-proceedings/.
Technical information that served as a basis for the
proposed rule and how the information can be obtained: When adopting
the proposed rule, the commission considered the report titled “New Mexico
Interconnection Rules: Report and
Recommendations to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission,” prepared
by the interconnection rulemaking working group, which was filed in Docket No.
20-00171-UT on October 15, 2021. The
commission also considered the report titled “New Mexico Community Solar - Stakeholder Participation Pre-Rulemaking Status Report,” prepared by Strategen Consulting, LLC, which was
filed in Docket No. 21-00112-UT on October 15, 2021.
The following codes and standards are also referenced
in the proposed rule:
·
IEEE Std 1547™,
IEEE standard for interconnection and interoperability of distributed energy
resources with associated electric power systems interfaces;
·
IEEE Std 1547.1™,
standard conformance test procedures for equipment interconnecting distributed
energy resources with electric power systems and associated interfaces;
·
ANSI C84.1,
electric power systems and equipment – voltage ratings (60 Hertz);
·
IEEE Std 1547.2™,
application guide for IEEE 1547 standard for interconnecting distributed
resources with electric power systems;
·
IEEE Std 1547.6™,
IEEE recommended practice for interconnecting distributed resources with
electric power systems distribution secondary networks;
·
IEEE Std 1547.7™,
IEEE guide for conducting distribution impact studies for distributed resource
interconnection;
·
UL 1741, standard
for inverters, converters, controllers and interconnection system equipment for
use with distributed energy resources. UL 1741 compliance must be recognized or
certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory as designated by the
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
These codes and standards can be obtained from the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the company known as UL.
Notice of
termination of previous rulemaking: On December 28, 2021 the commission
published a NOPR commencing a rulemaking to repeal and replace 17.9.568 NMAC in
Volume XXXII, Issue 24 of the New Mexico Register. The commission herby gives notice that the
rulemaking commenced on December 28, 2021 is hereby terminated and a new
rulemaking will commence as of the date of the publication of this notice. Any comments filed in docket 21-00266-UT
prior to the publication of this notice will not be considered to be part of
the record of this rulemaking. If any
person wishes for previously filed comments to be part of the record of this
rulemaking the person must refile them in accordance with the directions in
this notice.