(A) Within one hundred and twenty days of the effective date of this chapter, subject to subsection (F), each electrical utility shall file a proposed voluntary renewable energy program for review and approval by the commission. The commission shall conduct a proceeding to review the program and establish reasonable terms and conditions for the program. Interested parties shall have the right to participate in the proceeding. The commission may periodically hold additional proceedings to update the program. At a minimum, the program shall provide that:

(1) the participating customer shall have the right to select the renewable energy facility and negotiate with the renewable energy supplier on the price to be paid by the participating customer for the energy, capacity, and environmental attributes of the renewable energy facility and the term of such agreement so long as such terms are consistent with the voluntary renewable program service agreement as approved by the commission;

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 58-41-30

  • Commission: means the South Carolina Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Generation credit: means a credit applied by an electrical utility to the bill of a participating customer that is equal to the value of the energy and capacity avoided by the electrical utility as a result of procuring energy and capacity from a renewable energy facility. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Participating customer: means an eligible customer that elects to have a portion or all of its electricity needs supplied by a voluntary renewable energy program. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Participating customer agreement: means an agreement between a participating customer, its electrical utility, and the renewable energy supplier establishing each party's rights and obligations under the electrical utility's voluntary renewable energy program. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Renewable energy contract: means a power purchase agreement between an electrical utility and a renewable energy supplier that commits the parties to participating in an electrical utility's voluntary renewable energy program for the purchase and sale of energy and capacity. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Renewable energy facility: means a facility for the production of electrical energy that utilizes a renewable generation resource as defined in § 58-39-120(F), that is placed in service after the effective date of this chapter, and for which costs are not included in an electrical utility's rates. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Renewable energy supplier: means the owner or operator of a renewable energy facility, including the affiliate of an electrical utility that contracts with a participating customer. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10
  • Voluntary renewable energy program: means a tariff filed with the commission by an electrical utility that enables a participating commercial or industrial customer to receive and pay for electric service, that reflects the program cost, and that includes the environmental attributes specified in the participating customer agreement and renewable energy contract, including a generation credit for such renewable energy, from the electrical utility pursuant to the terms of the tariff. See South Carolina Code 58-41-10

(2) the renewable energy contract and the participating customer agreement must be of equal duration;

(3) in addition to paying a retail bill calculated pursuant to the rates and tariffs that otherwise would apply to the participating customer, reduced by the amount of the generation credit, a participating customer shall reimburse the electrical utility on a monthly basis for the amount paid by the electrical utility to the renewable energy supplier pursuant to the participating customer agreement and renewable energy contract, plus an administrative fee approved by the commission; and

(4) eligible customers must be allowed to bundle their demand under a single participating customer agreement and renewable energy contract and must be eligible annually to procure an amount of capacity as approved by the commission.

(B) The commission may approve a program that provides for options that include, but are not limited to, both variable and fixed generation credit options.

(C) The commission may limit the total portion of each electrical utility’s voluntary renewable energy program that is eligible for the program at a level consistent with the public interest and shall provide standard terms and conditions for the participating customer agreement and the renewable energy contract, subject to commission review and approval.

(D) A participating customer shall bear the burden of any reasonable costs associated with participating in a voluntary renewable energy program. An electrical utility may not charge any nonparticipating customers for any costs incurred pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(E) A renewable energy facility may be located anywhere in the electrical utility’s service territory within the utility’s balancing authority.

(F) If the commission determines that an electrical utility has a voluntary renewable energy program on file with the commission as of the effective date of this chapter, that conforms with the requirements of this section, the utility is not required to make a new filing to meet the requirements of subsection (A).

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