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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd2019-016 Sponsored by: PACAB Introduction Date: October 14,2019 Public Hearing Date: October 28, 2019 Enactment Date: October 28, 2019 CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 14.15 — ELECTRICITY, ARTICLE 415 — INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS, PROCEDURES, AND APPLICATION PROCESS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCE LESS THAN 25KW WHEREAS, PACAB's responsibilities include providing input to the City Council on policy and procedural matters involving the establishment and continuance of commercial activity, improving the quality of life and protecting the public's best interest and performing other duties as requested by the City Council; and WHEREAS, in December, 2017, Council directed PACAB to explore options for alternative energy in Seward; and WHEREAS, the rules for interconnection are established by SCC 14.15.4 Interconnection with Customer-Owned Alternative Power Source Generation Equipment; and WHEREAS, PACAB believes that interconnection of customer-owned alternative power source generation equipment with the City's electrical distribution system is a key component of responsible energy policy; and WHEREAS,the Code was last updated in 2014 by Ordinance 2014-003 an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska, amending.Title 14 of the City's Code of Ordinances to provide for interconnection of small renewable energy sources to the City's electrical distribution system; since this section of code was enacted in 2014, no homeowners in Seward have been able to successfully connect to the City's electrical distribution system; and WHEREAS, amending the code to remove certain hardware requirements would lessen the financial and administrative burden of interconnection while retaining compliance with all applicable codes and providing for the safety of the City's Electric Department employees and equipment; and WHEREAS, these changes would bring Seward City Code in line with other local and national utility interconnection policies. air CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA HEREBY ORDAINS that: Section 1. Seward City Code TITLE 14.15.415 — INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS, PROCEDURES, AND APPLICATION PROCESS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCE LESS THAN 25KW is hereby amended as follows: (Deletions are Bold SHE; Additions are Underlined Bold Italics.) 14.15.415 - Interconnection requirements, procedures, and application process for an alternative power source less than 25kw. (a) Application. In order to proceed with interconnection of an alternative power source, the customer must complete an application for a new/rework of electrical service and an interconnection application. The customer shall also provide equipment specifications, protection arrangements, and design drawings to the city for review. (b) Compliance with codes and standards. Interconnections shall not be fueled by nor connected to any non-qualified alternative energy sources. Interconnection customers shall comply with all applicable local, state, and federal codes such as building codes, National Electric Code (NEC), and National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) for the installation of an interconnection. Once operating, the city reserves the right to require the customer, at the customer's expense, to provide corrections, modifications, or additions to the interconnection as required or recommended by government or industry regulations and standards. The city will provide written documentation of the necessary changes and a time frame to complete. If the customer fails to comply with the changes in the specified time frame, the city will open and lock the interconnection. (c) Plaeement of customer awned interconneetion---Te ntain--the--exist—city (d) (c) Power quality and reliability. The interconnection with the electric system shall not cause any reduction in the quality and reliability of service provided to other city customers. There shall be no generation of abnormal voltages or voltage fluctuations, and the harmonic content of the interconnection output must be below that level which would cause interference with other customer loads,other utilities,or city facilities and equipment. To minimize interference, the city requires the interconnection to meet the power quality standards presented in accordance with section 10, Recommended Practices for Individual Consumers of the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 519, IEEE Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electrical Power Systems. In addition to meeting all requirements identified in this document, the interconnection shall comply with all city ordinances and resolutions, and latest IEEE 1547, IEEE Standard CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 Conformance Test Procedures for Equipment Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems. (e)-(d) Testing. Prior to initial energization of the interconnection, an inspection and tests will be performed by both the interconnecting customer and city personnel. The purpose of the inspection and testing will be to determine if the generator and related equipment of the interconnection meets the minimum requirements described by IEEE 1547, IEEE 519, and UL 1741, Underwriter Laboratories Inc., Standard for Inverters, Converters, and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources. Based on the inspection, the city may elect to accept the installation and energize the interconnection. In the event that discrepancies are noted between the certified equipment and drawings previously provided to the city and the customer's system inspected by the city, retesting may be required. The customer shall be solely responsible for all costs associated with any retesting. (I) (e) City inspection and customer maintenance records. The customer shall maintain the interconnection in good working order. The interconnection (i.e., generator and associated equipment) is subject to inspection and retesting by the city upon reasonable notice each year after the unit is placed in service. The customer will assume full responsibility for the routine maintenance of the interconnection and associated protective devices. The customer shall maintain accurate records of all maintenance activities performed. These records shall record the date and time, the person(s) who performed the activities, and a brief description of the work. These records shall be made available to the city for inspection at all times upon reasonable notice to the customer. Failure to comply may result in the disconnection of the equipment or additional testing as outlined in subsection (e) above. The customer is solely responsible for all costs associated with any inspections and testing required. (g) (f) Visible, lockable disconnect switch or electric break. An accessible, visible, lockable disconnect switch or electric break, whichever is applicable, is to be provided by the customer which is lockable in the open position only. This switch must be appropriately labeled, when locked in the open position for any of the following conditions, may be unlocked only by city personnel. The city will lock the switch in the open position under the following circumstances: (1) If it is necessary for the protection of line crew personnel when working on de- energized circuits during a system emergency; (2) If inspection of the interconnection reveals a hazardous condition or a lack of proper maintenance; (3) If the interconnection interferes with other customers, other utilities, or with the operation of the city's distribution system; (4) If the city determines that the interconnection has generated power from a non- qualified alternative energy resource;or (5) For general maintenance of the city's distribution system. CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 The city will provide at least five days' notice, unless the circumstances warrant shorter notice, before locking the switch open for general maintenance as provided in condition (v) above. (h3 (g) Metering/billing. The customer shall install and maintain a kilowatt-hour meter, or meters, at the interconnection, capable of registering the bi-directional flow of electricity at the point of interconnection at a level of accuracy that meets all applicable standards, regulations, statutes, and ordinances. The meter(s) may measure such parameters as time of delivery, power factor, voltage, and such other parameters as the city shall specify. The customer shall provide space for metering equipment as specified by the city with the location of the meter(s) to be approved by the city. The customer is solely responsible for all costs associated with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of all equipment required by the city in order to properly meter the interconnection. (i) (h) Nominal voltages and phasing. The generator nameplate voltage must be the same as one of the nominal voltages supplied by the city. The nominal voltages are 120/240 V single- phase, 120/208 V three-phase, and 277/480 V three-phase. If the generator nameplate voltage is different from the city's nominal voltages, the customer must supply a dedicated generator transformer that will provide the required nominal voltage. The required transformer connection, unless otherwise specified, is grounded wye-grounded wye. Ej) (i) Fault current increase and upgrading equipment. In general, installation of a new generator will increase the fault current level at the customer's electrical facility. This may require upgrading some of the customer's equipment. The customer will assume full responsibility of upgrading customer's own equipment. (It) 0) Starting as induction motor. In general, induction generators start as motors; also, synchronous generators may be designed to start as motors. The customer-owned generator starting as a motor shall meet the motor starting requirements prescribed by the city. The city may require the customer to provide, at customer's own expense, special or additional starting equipment. (I) (k) Generating facility grounding. There are additional safety concerns that shall be addressed when considering circuit grounding of the interconnection interconnected to the city's utility system. To ensure proper grounding of the generating facility, the customer shall follow all applicable national, state, and local codes regarding grounding for applicable generating installations. fin) (/) Synchronization. The interconnection must be synchronized with the city's utility system at all times and the customer shall be responsible for the cost and maintenance of all synchronization equipment. ( (n) Automatic disconnection, and Time- Delayed Automatic Reconnection. The interconnection shall be designed to automatically disconnect and lockout when the city's service is interrupted for any reason. CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 have ual reset. Automatic Rreconnection of the interconnection to the city's utility system shall be done only on hot-bus/hot-line/sync-check. designees An automatic reclose of the interconnection breaker (or interrupting device) is permitted once utility power has been restored a minimum of five minutes. (e) (n) Single phasing protection. The customer is advised that a phase-unbalance disturbance on the city's utility system can result in overheating of the interconnection. A negative-sequence- type relay (current or voltage) could be necessary to initiate tripping under phase-unbalance conditions and may also be used to block closing of the automatic disconnecting device if the city's utility system is single-phased. (p) (o) Generating facility protection. The customer is fully responsible for the protection of the generator and all of its associated equipment. Protection should be provided for the customer's own equipment failures, faults, and other disturbances on the city's utility system. (q) (p) Fault detection and automatic isolation. To prevent an interconnection from supplying current to a fault on the city's utility system, the interconnection shall be equipped to provide isolation from the city's utility system for any fault occurring on the city's utility system. The automatic isolation shall be done prior to the city's breaker (or recloser) reclosing and within a reasonable period of time, typically less than two seconds (120 cycles). The customer is solely responsible for all costs associated with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of all equipment required by the city in order to properly isolate the interconnection from the city's utility system for any fault occurring on the city system. (9 (q) Under/over voltage relay. To prevent any hazardous operating conditions, the interconnection shall be isolated from the city's utility system for any under-voltage (lower than 90 percent of nominal voltage) and over-voltage conditions (higher than 110 percent of nominal voltage) within two seconds (120 cycles). The customer is solely responsible for all costs associated with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of all equipment required by the city in order to properly isolate the interconnection from the city's utility system for any voltage level described above. (s) (r) Under/over frequency relay. To prevent any hazardous operating conditions, the interconnection shall be capable of disconnecting the customer's generation source from the city's utility system for any over-frequency and under-frequency conditions exceeding 60.5 Hz or below 59.5 Hz within 50 milliseconds (6 cycles). The customer is solely responsible for all costs associated with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of all equipment required by the city in order to properly isolate the interconnection from the city's utility system for any frequency deviation described above. t) (s) Dedicated distribution transformer. To ensure reliable service to other city customers and to minimize all possible problems for other city customers, the electric department may, when it deems it necessary under the circumstances, require the interconnection shall to be interconnected to the city utility system through a dedicated-to-single-customer distribution CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 individual transformer. Any cost associated to achieve dedicated-to-single-customer service shall be the customer's sole expense. ( ) (t) Single-phase generating facility on three-phase distribution transformer. A customer- owned single-phase generating facility 10KW or greater shall not be allowed to be connected to a city three-phase distribution transformer. This requirement may be waived by the electric department through written authorization when it deems it appropriate under the circumstances. (v) (u) Surge protection. The customer is responsible for the protection of customer's interconnection from transient surges initiated by lighting, switching, or other system disturbances. (w) (v) Future modification or expansion. Any future modification or expansion of the interconnection will require a separate review and approval by the city. (*) (w) Reservation of rights. The city reserves the right to require additional interconnection requirements for interconnection of alternative power source generating facilities in order to preserve the safety and integrity of the city's utility system. (y) (x) Interruption of alternative power source energy deliveries. . The electric department shall have the r. right at any time, without liability to the customer or any other person, to interrupt the alternative power source: (1) When reasonably necessary, in order for the electric department to construct, install, maintain, repair, replace, remove, investigate, or inspect any equipment or any part of the electrical distribution system; or (2) If the electric department reasonably determines that interruption or reduction of deliveries or power is necessary because of a system emergency, a forced outage, force majeure, or other operational considerations. (Ord. No. 2014-003, § 2, 6-9-2014) Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days following its enactment. .ei CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA ORDINANCE 2019-016 ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA this 28th day of October, 2019. THE CITY OF SE RD, ALASKA -Chris ry, Mayor AYES: Baclaan, Osenga, Lane, McClure, Seese, Terry NOES: None ABSENT: Butts ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: /6A( et Brenda J. Ballou, MC City Clerk eo $ sottueeu,„. � , . fir•,, • (City S : °r,�..� y-{.�a !• ( S c/1 7 T i. • • -e-m-- s . • e eee I„ F,+ee4 ``. ....... w �,