Interconnection: Meeting the Solar Rush. Leslie Moynihan, Snohomish PUD Jake Wade, Puget Sound Energy Katie Zook, Seattle City Light

Transcription

1 Interconnection: Meeting the Solar Rush Leslie Moynihan, Snohomish PUD Jake Wade, Puget Sound Energy Katie Zook, Seattle City Light March 26, 2015

2 WEBINAR HOUSEKEEPING Technical Difficulties: Call (206) To submit a question or comment: Maximize the Questions portion, type your message, and click the Send button. PowerPoint will be available on the Northwest Solar Communities website:

3 AGENDA 1. Northwest Solar Communities 2. Interconnection Best Practices 3. Examples 1. Snohomish PUD 2. Puget Sound Energy 3. Seattle City Light 4. Q&A

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5 INTERCONNECTION WORK GROUP MEMBERS Snohomish PUD Puget Sound Energy Seattle City Light Avista Pacific Power Portland General Electric Eugene Water & Electric Board Solar Washington Sustainable Connections Washington State University Energy Program Solar Oregon Energy Trust of Oregon Oregon Building Codes Division Facilitator: Oregon Dept. of Energy

6 Standard Diagrams Best Practices Flyer

7 THE SOLAR RUSH IN WASHINGTON Goal: Make solar energy cost-competitive without subsidy by 2020

8 SNOHOMISH PUD S PERSPECTIVE ON DG PUD commitment to meet load growth with conservation and RE RPS Requirements Mutually beneficial and the right thing to do Customer-Owner Demand

9 MEETING THE RUSH: INTERCONNECTION AND BEYOND Meeting the rush isn t just about meeting the rush of initial applications! PUD s Total # of Customer-Generators 0 Jan ' Jan '16 (proj)

10 INTERCONNECTION APPLICATIONS: PUD STRENGTHS PUD Solar Express program is not just about a rebate. Free customer workshops and information List of PUD-Registered solar installers Informed customers and installers result in higher quality applications. Photo Credit: Solar Express Installation

11 INTERCONNECTION APPLICATIONS: PUD IMPROVEMENTS Action: Revised our Net Metering Agreement 1/2015 Lessons: Reduce redundant information Think ahead to long-term customer relationship management issues and incorporate all aspects of the long - term relationship into one document. Action: Took a look at internal review for individual applications Lessons: Document the familiar applications you get and review with team to see if a template for expedited approval occurs naturally.

12 INTERCONNECTION APPLICATIONS: PUD IMPROVEMENTS Action: Developed standard metering diagrams Lessons: If there s something you are looking for, let customers/installers know ahead of time. Action: Integrated new interconnection applications with billing database (SAP) Lessons: 1st in the world to use SAP s DSM module, so LOTS of lessons to be learned. Helping us to let go of one spreadsheet at a time!

13 MEASURE OF THE WORK STILL TO BE DONE My ah HA! moment courtesy of John Hargrove, NV Energy. Point made: If you or your customer enters their name in a system in more than one place, you are wasting time and creating errors!

14 GOING FORWARD Challenge Accepted: Interconnection rush during time of other big changes at PUD SAP upgrades (1st in the world to use SAP for DSM programs!) Move to monthly billing Changing how we administer the WA State RE Production Incentives (to align with others in the State). Training Customer Service Department on solar incentives, billing questions, etc. Critical lessons to guide us through this: Solar customers are UTILITY customers. Mainstreaming the customer service of solar customers requires ongoing training throughout the utility. Added benefit of internal training is that you create more allies for change!

15 Service Area - 6,000+ square miles in 10 Counties Electric - Customers 1.05 million Natural gas - Customers 725,000

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18 Schematic and agreements sent to PSE PSE Meter Department approves schematic System installed and passes electrical inspection Certificate of Completion sent to PSE PSE orders and installs meters WA Dept. of Revenue information sent to PSE

19 2014 Improvements: Process Interconnection Forms pse.com

20 2015 Projects: Single System of Record (SAP) Electronic Application Process Aggregation New Billing Statement

21 Jake Wade Zach Bates Rachael Brown

22 MEETING THE SOLAR RUSH Interconnection Process & Incentive Payments Katie Zook March 26, 2015

23 SEATTLE CITY LIGHT FACTS Nation s Greenest Utility o 92% hydropower o 4% wind o Net-zero carbon emissions Statistics: o 408,000 customer accounts (2013) o Retail load-9,506,400 MWh/year (2013) o 1700 solar customers and 9 MW of installed capacity! (2015) 23

24 SOLAR IN SEATTLE CITY LIGHT Customer Generation o PV installed on customer owned premises that are interconnected to City Light electric grid. o Benefits include net metering and Washington Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive. Community Solar o Utility solar project on public facilities allows all customers to support renewable energy in Seattle by purchasing unit(s) of the project and receiving shared benefits on net metering and production incentives. Green Up o Voluntary program that allows customers to help support new regional renewable energy efforts including local solar installations and education and outreach. 24

25 STATISTICS GROWTH 2006 o $6,758 paid in incentives for 25 customers Incentive Payments ~ o 60 installations o 120 kwh o $15,943 paid in incentives 2014 o 488 Installations (total 1640) o Nearly 9 MW (0.1 % of City Light Demand) o $1.93 million paid in incentives Solar Installations ~ Estimated Incentive Payments: $3 million 25

26 RENEWABLE ENERGY OUTREACH PROGRAM SolarWise community workshops o Solar Works In Seattle, Everybody! Educational outreach partnerships o Pacific Science Center, Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle Aquarium Event sponsorship and outreach coordination MobE mobile-solar kiosk o Powering educational presentations, events, and customer interactions o Conservation & energy efficiency information 26

27 CITY LIGHT SOLAR PROGRAM FOCUS Customer Service o Established dedicated Solar Incentive Program phone line and address to allow direct access for customers and installers to knowledgeable staff. Consistency o Provide consistent communication and information to all customers, installers, and internal departments via communication and training. Communication o Improved communication templates and updated website to ensure information is the same across all platforms. Process Standardization o Modified internal business processes and workflows to ensure all customers accounts are handled efficiently and effectively as possible. 27

28 MOVING FORWARD: INTERCONNECTION Online Service Application o Reduce/Eliminate paper documents o Confirmation to Installer o Quicker turnaround New Billing System CC&B o Alerts Easier to recognize solar o Statements: Production meter reads EZ Interconnection Application o <10kW, single inverter and Non battery-backup Installer Webpage o Installer specific information o Approved Installers Interviews & 5+ verified installs 28

29 MOVING FORWARD: INCENTIVES Qualify/Not Qualify Letter o Notify customers they have qualified for incentives and provide program FAQs sheet o Advise customers of missing information and provide direction Incentive Credits o All incentives to be credited to acct. o DOR payee must be listed as main acct. holder or co-applicant Annual Incentive Calculations o PVWatts Calculator o Pre-Metered, Metered, Year-End PowerClerk Expected Benefits: Flexible - Implement at your set pace Usability o Standalone Limited IT involvement o Integrations Increased IT involvement Transparency o Customer can see project status Improved Communication o Can download/upload documents directly Reduce labor intensive process o Allow staff to focus more on validation and communication verses data entry, filing, printing/mailing letters Eliminate paper o Document Storage Eliminate paper files o Automatic task ( s) at set statuses 29

30 CONTACT INFORMATION: SOLAR INCENTIVE PROGRAM (Already has Solar) Program Tel: (206) Website: seattle.gov/light/solarenergy ENERGY ADVISORS (Interested in Solar) Tel: (206) Website: OUTREACH AND EDUCATION Tel: (206) SERVICE REQUEST AND METER INSTALLATIONS: Electric Service Rep (ESR) Maps: North Service Center (North of Denny): (206) South Service Center (South of Denny): (206)

31 INTERCONNECTION RESOURCES

32 Q&A THANK YOU! Leslie Moynihan Jake Wade Katie Zook Linda Irvine