MPUC Solicits DG Comments, Workgroup Members

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MPUC Solicits DG Comments, Workgroup Members

February 14, 2017

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission today (Feb. 14) issued two notices in regards to Updating the Generic Standards for the Interconnection and Operation of Distributed Generation Facilities Established under Minn. Stat. 216B.1611.

The first notice set a deadline for initial comments on the proceeding of March 16. The second notice was a solicitation of workgroup members.

Parties interested in being on the workgroup “should participate in the initial comment period.” The MPUC also invited requests to serve on the workgroup, which is “tasked to develop the record more fully in this docket (CI-16-521) updating Minnesota’s interconnection standards for distributed generation.”

In its first phase, the workgroup is anticipated to meet five times, every other month, starting in April. The second phase of the update, to address Technical Requirements, is expected to begin December 2017.

The initial round of comments is to inform the MPUC and the workgroup as it develops updates to Minnesota’s interconnection standards. The process began when the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Fresh Energy and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council jointly filed a proposal for a transition of Minnesota’s interconnection standards to standards based on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission standards.

Among the topics open for initial comment are how should the Commission take into account different situations of individual utilities (such as utility size, volume of interconnection requests, etc.), while continuing to set statewide generic standards.

MMUA is sure to weigh in on that topic. The Association has actively laid the groundwork for a spot on the workgroup and will pursue that goal in the days to come. 

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