OFFICIAL
CODE OF
TITLE 46. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL SERVICE
ARTICLE 1. GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITY GENERALLY
PART 3.
O.C.G.A. § 46-3-50 (2008)
§ 46-3-50. Short title
This part shall be known and may be cited as "The
Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001."
§ 46-3-51. Legislative
determinations and declarations
(a) The legislature finds that it is in the public
interest to:
(1) Encourage private investment in renewable energy
resources;
(2) Stimulate the economic growth of
(3) Enhance the continued diversification of the energy
resources used in
(b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that a program to
provide distributed generation for eligible cogenerators
is a way to encourage private investment in renewable energy resources,
stimulate in-state economic growth, enhance the continued diversification of
this state's energy resource mix, and reduce interconnection and administrative
costs.
§ 46-3-52. Jurisdiction of commission over
cogeneration facility the energy from which is used solely by operator
As used in this part, the term:
(1) "Bidirectional metering" means measuring
the amount of electricity supplied by an electric service provider and the
amount fed back to the electric service provider by the customer's distributed
generation facility using the same meter.
(2) "Cogeneration facility" means a facility,
other than a distributed generation facility, which produces electric energy,
steam, or other forms of useful energy (such as heat) which are used for
industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes.
(3) "Commission" means the Georgia Public
Service Commission.
(4) "Customer generator" means the owner and
operator of a distributed generation facility.
(5) "Distributed generation facility" means a
facility owned and operated by a customer of the electric service provider for
the production of electrical energy that:
(A) Uses a solar Photovoltaic system,
fuel cell, or wind turbine;
(B) Has a peak generating capacity of
not more than 10kw for a residential application and 100kw for a commercial
application;
(C) Is located on the customer's
premises;
(D) Operates in parallel with the
electric service provider's distribution facilities;
(E) Connected to the electric service
provider's distribution system on either side of the electric service
provider's meter; and
(F) Is intended primarily to offset
part or all of the customer generator's requirements for electricity.
(6) "Electric membership
corporation" means a corporation organized under Article 2 of this
chapter.
(7) "Electric service provider" means any
electric utility, electric membership corporation, or municipal electric
utility that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to retail
electric customers in the state.
(8) "Electric supplier" means any electric
utility, electric membership corporation furnishing wholesale service, any
municipal electric utility or any other person which furnishes wholesale
service to any municipality, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
(9) "Electric utility" means any retail
supplier of electricity whose rates are fixed by the commission.
(10) "Municipal electric utility" means a city
or town that owns or operates an electric utility.
(11) "Person" means a natural person,
corporation, trust, partnership, incorporated or unincorporated association, or
any other legal entity.
(12) "Renewable energy sources" means energy
supplied from technologies as approved in the Georgia Green Pricing
Accreditation Program.
§ 46-3-53. Jurisdiction
of commission over cogeneration facilities
(a) Any person may operate a cogeneration facility
without being subject to the jurisdiction or regulation of the commission if
such person uses all of the electric energy, steam, or other form of useful
energy produced at such cogeneration facility. The electric energy shall not be
sold to any other person except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code
section.
(b) Any person may operate a cogeneration facility and sell any excess
electric energy to an electric supplier without being subject to the jurisdiction
or regulation of the commission; provided, however, that nothing in this
article shall except a person from compliance with
federal law.
§ 46-3-54. Electric
service providers; rates and fees
An electric service provider:
(1) Shall make either bidirectional metering or single
directional metering available to customer generators depending on how the
distributed generation facility is connected to the distribution system of the
electric service provider;
(2) Shall enter into a written agreement with the
customer generator to charge the customer generator the rate established by the
commission, or the appropriate governing body, in the case of any other
electric service provider or electric supplier, for metering services;
(3) In setting the fees for metering service, the
commission, or the appropriate governing body, in the case of any other
electric service provider or electric supplier, will include the direct costs
associated with interconnecting or administering metering services or distributed
generation facilities and will not allocate these costs among the utility's
entire customer base; and
(4) In establishing such a fee for metering services,
the electric service provider shall not charge the customer generator any
standby, capacity, interconnection, or other fee or charge, other than a
monthly service charge, unless agreed to by the customer generator or approved
by the commission, in the case of an electric utility, or the appropriate
governing body, in the case of any other electric service provider or electric
supplier.
§ 46-3-55. Measurement
and payment of energy flow
Consistent with the other provisions of this chapter, the
energy flow shall be measured and paid for in the following manner:
(1) If the distributed generation facilities are
connected to the electric service provider's distribution system on the
customer generator's side of the customer's meter, the electric service
provider shall:
(A) Measure the electricity produced
or consumed during the billing period, in accordance with normal metering
practices using bidirectional metering;
(B) When the electricity supplied by
the electric service provider exceeds the electricity generated by the
customer's distributed generation, the electricity shall be billed by the
electric service provider, in accordance with tariffs filed with the
commission; or
(C) When electricity generated by the
customer's distributed generation system exceeds the electricity supplied by
the electric service provider, the customer generator:
(i) Shall
be billed for the appropriate customer charges for that billing period; and
(ii) Shall be
credited for the excess kilowatt-hours generated during the billing period at
an agreed to rate as filed with the commission, with this kilowatt-hour credit
appearing on the bill for the billing period; or
(2) If the distributed generation facilities are
connected to the electric service provider's distribution system on the
electric service provider's side of the customer's meter, the electric service
provider shall:
(A) Measure the electricity produced
or consumed during the billing period, in accordance with normal metering
practices using single directional metering;
(B) Charge the customer generator a
minimum monthly fee as established in Code Section 46-3-54; and
(C) If there is electricity generated
by the customer generator for the billing period, the customer generator shall
be compensated at an agreed to rate as filed with the commission.
§ 46-3-56. Requirement to purchase energy
from customer generator; safety standards and regulations
(a) An electric service provider will only be required
to purchase energy as specified in Code Section 46-3-55 from an eligible customer generator on a first-come,
first-served basis until the cumulative generating capacity of all renewable
energy sources equals 0.2 percent of the utility's annual peak demand in the
previous year; provided, however, that no electric service provider will be
required to purchase such energy at a price above avoided energy cost unless
that amount of energy has been subscribed under any renewable energy program.
(b) Once the capacity is subscribed, an electric service provider may
purchase energy from an eligible customer generator at a cost of energy as
defined for a utility by the commission, in the case of an electric utility, or
by the appropriate governing body, in the case of any other electric service
provider or electric supplier.
(c) A distributed generation facility used by a customer generator shall
include, at the customer's own expense, all equipment necessary to meet
applicable safety, power quality, and interconnection requirements established
by the National Electrical Code, National Electrical Safety Code, the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Underwriters Laboratories.
(d) The commission, in the case of an electric utility, or the appropriate
governing body, in the case of other electric service providers or electric
suppliers, after appropriate notice and opportunity for comment, may adopt by
regulation additional safety, power quality, and interconnection requirements
for customer generator that the commission or governing body determines are
necessary to protect public safety and system reliability.
(e) An electric service provider may not require a customer generator
whose distributed generation facility meets the standards in subsections (a)
and (b) of this Code section, to comply with additional safety or performance standards,
perform or pay for additional tests, or purchase additional liability
insurance.
(f) No electric service provider or electric supplier shall be liable to
any person, directly or indirectly, for loss of property, injury, or death
resulting from the interconnection of a cogenerator
or distributed generation facility to its electrical system.