By Tom Kleckner
Twenty-two Heartland Consumers Power District customers will transfer their obligations to purchase energy and capacity from qualifying facilities while assuming Heartland’s duty to sell power to the QFs under a FERC order last week (EL16-1).
The commission granted a requested waiver of Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) obligations for 22 Heartland customers while denying relief to six other customers — Truman, Minn., and the South Dakota cities of Howard, Aurora, Sioux Falls, McLaughlin and Tyndall — that did not agree to adopt Heartland’s QF-interconnection policy.
FERC found Heartland’s request for the 22 customers appropriate because the “QFs will retain the same ability to sell power and receive backup power as is currently the case. … Thus strict adherence to … regulations, under these circumstances, is not necessary to encourage QFs.”
The Truman Public Utilities Commission objected to Heartland’s request, saying the utility has “no authority to require Truman to adopt the [QF-interconnection] policy or any other policy.” It also pointed out Heartland does not yet have any QFs on its system.
Heartland said that because it acquires the bulk power resources to meet its customers’ loads, it is better suited to purchase energy offered from QFs.
Conversely, the company said, it is more appropriate for its customers to provide interconnection service required by QFs because the customers provide retail electric services. Heartland said South Dakota law does not allow it to sell electricity at retail prices.
It said its waiver request was intended “to clearly define the responsibilities for purchases from QFs, and sales to QFs, in accordance with statutory and contractual obligations.”
The commission also said one of the 22 customers, the city of Volga, S.D., must provide supplementary power, backup power, maintenance power and interruptible power to a South Dakota Soybean Processors cogeneration facility that is not yet operational.
