Wisconsin Legislature: Text

(39) “UL" means Underwriters Laboratory.

(40) “Working day" has the meaning specified in s. 227.01(14), Stats.

Subchapter II -- General Requirements

PSC 119.0201 Designated point of contact. Each public utility shall designate one point of contact for all customer inquiries related to DG facilities and from which interested parties can obtain a copy of the guidelines and the appropriate standard Commission application and interconnection agreement forms. Each public utility shall have current contact information concerning its DG representative on file with the Commission.

PSC 119.0202 Application process for interconnecting DG facilities. Public utilities and applicants shall complete the following steps regarding interconnection applications for all classes of DG facilities, in the order listed:

(1) The public utility shall respond to each DG inquiry within 5 working days and, on request, furnish the appropriate standard application form and a copy of the guidelines.

(2) The applicant shall complete and submit the standard application form to its public utility.

(3) Within 10 working days of receiving a new or revised application, the public utility shall notify the applicant whether the application is complete.

(4) Once the public utility determines that the application is complete, within 10 working days the public utility shall complete its application review and notify the applicant if an engineering review is needed and the cost of such review. For Categories 2 and 3, the cost estimate shall be valid for one year. For Category 4, the time period shall be negotiated but may not exceed one year. If the application review shows that an engineering review is not needed, the applicant may install the DG facility and need not complete the steps described in subs. (5) to (9).

(5) If the application review indicates that an engineering review is needed, the public utility, upon written notification to proceed and receipt of applicable payment from the applicant, shall complete an engineering review and notify the applicant of the results within the following times:

(a) Category 1 DG application, 10 working days.

(b) Category 2 DG application, 15 working days.

(d) Category 4 DG application, 40 working days.

(6) If the engineering review indicates that a distribution system study is necessary, the public utility shall include, in writing, a cost estimate in its engineering review. The cost estimate shall be valid for one year and the applicant shall have one year from receipt of the cost estimate in which to notify the public utility to proceed, except for a Category 4 DG application, in which case the time period shall be negotiated, but may not extend beyond one year. Upon receiving written notification to proceed and payment of the applicable fee, the public utility shall conduct the distribution system study.

(7) The public utility shall within the following time periods complete the distribution system study and provide study results to the applicant:

(a) Category 1 DG application, 10 working days.

(b) Category 2 DG application, 15 working days.

(d) Category 4 DG application, 60 working days unless a different time period is mutually agreed upon.

(8) The public utility shall perform a distribution system study of the local distribution system and notify the applicant of findings along with any distribution system construction or modification costs to be borne by the applicant.

(9) If the applicant agrees, in writing, to pay for any required distribution system construction and modifications, the public utility shall complete the distribution system upgrades and the applicant shall install the DG facility within a time frame that is mutually agreed upon. The applicant shall notify the public utility when project construction is complete.

(10) (a) The applicant shall give the public utility the opportunity to witness or verify the system testing, as required in s. PSC 119.0501 or PSC 119.0502. Upon receiving notification that an installation is complete, the public utility has 10 working days, for a Category 1 or 2 DG project, or 20 working days, for a Category 3 or 4 DG project, to complete the following:

1. Witness commissioning tests.

2. Perform an anti-islanding test or verify the protective equipment settings at its expense.

3. Waive its right, in writing, to witness or verify the commissioning tests.

(b) The applicant shall provide the public utility with the results of any required tests.

(11) The public utility may review the results of the on-site tests and shall notify the applicant within 5 working days, for a Category 1 DG project, or within 10 working days, for a Category 2 to 4 DG project, of its approval or disapproval of the interconnection. If approved, the public utility shall provide a written statement of final acceptance and cost reconciliation. Any applicant for a DG system that passes the commissioning test may sign a standard interconnection agreement and interconnect. If the public utility does not approve the interconnection, the applicant may take corrective action and request the public utility to reexamine its interconnection request.

(12) A standard interconnection agreement shall be signed by the applicant and public utility before parallel operation commences.

PSC 119.0203 Insurance and indemnification. (1) An applicant seeking to interconnect a DG facility to the distribution system of a public utility shall maintain liability insurance equal to or greater than the amounts stipulated in the following table, per occurrence, or prove financial responsibility by another means mutually agreeable to the applicant and the public utility:

Category	Generation Capacity	Minimum Liability Insurance Coverage
1	20 kW or less	$ 300,000
2	Greater than 20 kW to 200 kW	$ 1,000,000
3	Greater than 200 kW to 1 MW	$ 2,000,000
4	Greater than 1 MW to 15 MW	Negotiated

For a DG facility in Category 2 to 4, the applicant shall name the public utility as an additional insured party in the liability insurance policy.

(2) Each party to the standard interconnection agreement shall indemnify hold harmless and defend the other party, its officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, suits, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses. The liability of each party shall be limited to direct actual damages, and all other damages at law or in equity shall be waived.

PSC 119.0204 Modifications to the DG facility. The applicant shall notify the public utility of plans for any material modification to the DG facility by providing at least 20 working days of advance notice for a Category 1 DG facility, 40 working days for Category 2 DG facility, and 60 working days for a Category 3 or 4 DG facility. The applicant shall provide this notification by submitting a revised standard application form and such supporting materials as may be reasonably requested by the public utility. The applicant may not commence any material modification to the DG facility until the public utility has approved the revised application, including any necessary engineering review or distribution system study. The public utility shall indicate its written approval or rejection of a revised application within the number of working days shown in the table below. Upon completion of the application process, a new standard interconnection agreement shall be signed by both parties prior to parallel operation. If the public utility fails to respond in the time specified in the following table, the completed application is deemed approved:

Category	Generation Capacity after Modification	Working Days for Utility's Response to Proposed Modifications
1	20 kW or less	20
2	Greater than 20 kW to 200 kW	40
3	Greater than 200 kW to 1 MW	60
4	Greater than 1 MW to 15 MW	80

PSC 119.0205 Easements and rights-of-way. If a public utility line extension is required to accommodate a DG interconnection, the applicant shall (at its expense) provide, or obtain from others, suitable easements or rights-of-way.

PSC 119.0206 Fees and distribution system costs. (1) The need for any engineering review or distribution system study is determined during the public utility's application review. The public utility's response to the standard application form shall include the cost of any interconnection or distribution system study fee. Application fees shall be credited toward the cost of any engineering review or distribution system study. The applicant shall pay the following application and interconnection study fees, unless the public utility chooses to waive the fees in whole or in part:

(a) Category 1: No application review, engineering review, or distribution system study fees.

(b) Category 2: An application review fee of $250 and a maximum engineering review fee of $500, if a distribution upgrade is required.

(d) Category 4: An application fee of $1,000 and an engineering review fee based on cost.

(2) The public utility may recover from the applicant an amount up to the actual cost, for labor and parts, of any distribution system upgrades required. No public utility may charge a commissioning test fee for initial start-up of the DG facility. The utility may charge for retesting an installation that does not conform to the requirements set forth in these rules.

(3) Costs for any necessary line extension shall be accessed pursuant to s. PSC 113.1005.

PSC 119.0207 Disconnection and reconnection. A public utility may refuse to connect or may disconnect a DG facility from the distribution system only under the following conditions:

(1) Lack of approved standard application form or standard interconnection agreement.

(2) Termination of interconnection by mutual agreement.

(3) Non-compliance with the technical or contractual requirements.

(4) Distribution system emergency.

(5) Routine maintenance, repairs, and modifications, but only for a reasonable length of time necessary to perform the required work.

PSC 119.0208 DG installation requirements. A public utility may require that the installation of a DG facility be supervised by a licensed electrical contractor, professional engineer (practicing electrical engineering) licensed in Wisconsin, electrical code inspector registered with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, or an installer certified by a nationally recognized certifying body.

Subchapter III -- Design Requirements

PSC 119.0301 General design requirements. The applicant shall install protection devices to ensure that the current supplied by the DG facility is interrupted if a fault or other potentially dangerous event occurs on the distribution system. If such an event occurs and the public utility's distribution system is de-energized, any DG facility that is connected to this distribution system shall automatically disconnect. All DG facilities shall utilize protection devices that prevent closing a DG facility that is out of synchronization with the distribution system.

PSC 119.0302 Equipment circuit breakers. All installations shall include equipment circuit breakers, on the DG facility side of the point of interconnection, capable of interrupting the maximum available fault current. Equipment circuit breakers shall meet all applicable UL, ANSI, and IEEE standards.

PSC 119.0303 Interconnection disconnect switch. The public utility may require that the applicant furnish and install an interconnection disconnect switch that opens, with a visual break, all ungrounded poles of the interconnection circuit. The interconnection disconnect switch shall be rated for the voltage and fault current requirements of the DG facility, and shall meet all applicable UL, ANSI, and IEEE standards, as well as applicable requirements of the Wisconsin Electrical Safety Code, Volume 2, ch. Comm 16. The switch enclosure shall be properly grounded. The interconnection disconnect switch shall be accessible at all times, located for ease of access to public utility personnel, and shall be capable of being locked in the open position. The applicant shall follow the public utility's recommended switching, clearance, tagging, and locking procedures.

PSC 119.0304 Labeling requirements. The applicant shall label the interconnection disconnect switch “Interconnection Disconnect Switch" by means of a permanently attached sign with clearly visible and permanent letters. The applicant shall provide and post its procedure for disconnecting the DG facility next to the switch.

PSC 119.0305 Grounding. (1) The applicant shall install an equipment grounding conductor, in addition to the ungrounded conductors, between the DG facility and the distribution system. This conductor shall provide an adequate fault current path and shall be available, permanent, and electrically continuous. The conductor and grounding systems shall be capable of safely carrying the maximum fault likely to be imposed on them by the systems to which they are connected, and shall have sufficiently low impedance to facilitate the operation of overcurrent protection devices under fault conditions. All DG transformations shall be multi-grounded. The DG facility may not be designed or implemented such that the earth becomes the sole fault current path.

(2) Grounding practices shall conform to Wisconsin Electrical Safety Code Volumes 1 and 2, as found in chs. Comm 16 and PSC 114.

PSC 119.0306 Operating limits. (1) Certified paralleling equipment shall conform to UL 1741 (January 17, 2001 Revision) or an equivalent standard from a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

(2) Non-certified paralleling equipment shall conform to the requirements of IEEE P1547, Draft 9.

Note: These UL and IEEE standards may be obtained from the PSCW Library, 610 N. Whitney Way, Madison, WI.

PSC 119.0307 Power factor. (1) All Category 1 and 2 DG facilities shall be operated at a power factor greater than 0.9.

(2) All Category 3 and 4 DG facilities shall be operated at unity power factor or as mutually agreed between the public utility and applicant.

PSC 119.0308 Power quality. The DG facility shall not create system voltage or current disturbances that exceed the standards listed in ch. PSC 113, Subchapter VII.

PSC 119.0309 Synchronizing DG facilities. The applicant is solely responsible for properly protecting and synchronizing its DG facility with the distribution system.

PSC 119.0310 Automatic interrupting device. Each DG facility shall include an automatic interrupting device that is listed with a nationally recognized testing laboratory and is rated to interrupt available fault current. The interrupting device shall be tripped by any of the required protective functions.

PSC 119.0311 Minimum protection requirements for non-certified distributed generation. (1) Each DG facility shall include protection and anti-islanding equipment to prevent the facility from adversely affecting the reliability or capability of the distribution system. The applicant shall contact the public utility to determine any specific protection requirements.

(2) The following protective system functions, which may be met with microprocessor-based multifunction protection systems or discrete relays, are required:

(a) Protective relay activation shall not only alarm but shall also trip the generator breaker/contactor.

(b) If a relay failure alarms, but does not trip the generator breaker, the DG facility shall include additional relaying that meets the requirements stated herein for each category.

(3) In addition to anti-islanding protection, a DG facility shall meet the following minimum protection requirements:

(a) A Category 1 DG facility shall include:

1. Over/under frequency function.

2. Over/under voltage function.

3. Overcurrent function.

4. Ground fault protection.

(b) A Category 2, 3, or 4 DG facility shall include:

1. Over/under frequency function.

2. Over/under voltage function.

3. Overcurrent function.

4. Ground fault protection.

5. Synchronism check function.

6. Other equipment, such as other protective devices, supervisory control and alarms, telemetry and associated communications channel, that the public utility determines to be necessary. The public utility shall advise the applicant of any communications requirements after a preliminary review of the proposed installation.

PSC 119.0312 Test switches for a Category 3 or 4 DG facility. The applicant shall provide test switches as specified by the public utility, to allow testing the operation of the protective functions without unwiring or disassembling the equipment.

PSC 119.0313 One-line schematic diagram. (1) The applicant shall include a one-line schematic diagram with the completed standard application form. ANSI symbols shall be used in the one-line schematic diagram to show the following:

(a) Generator or inverter.

(b) Point of interconnection.

(d) Lockable interconnection disconnect switch.

(e) Method of grounding, including generator and transformer ground connections.

(f) Protection functions and systems.

(2) The applicant shall provide technical specifications of the point of interconnection, including all anti-islanding and power quality protective systems. The specifications regarding the anti-islanding protective systems shall describe all automatic features provided to disconnect the DG facility from the distribution system in case of loss of grid power, including the functions for over/under voltage, over/under frequency, overcurrent, and loss of synchronism. The applicant shall also provide technical specifications for the generator, lockable interconnection disconnect switch, and grounding and shall attach the technical specification sheets for any certified equipment. The applicant shall include, with the one-line schematic, a statement by the manufacturer that its equipment meets or exceeds the type tested requirements for certification in these guidelines.