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. § 46-3-56 (2008)
§ 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.