What is the Role of Northern Ontario Wires Inc.?
Connection Impact Assessment (CIA)
Ontario’s
feed-in-tariff (FIT) program is North America’s first comprehensive
pricing structure for renewable electricity production. It offers
stable prices under long-term contracts for energy generated from
renewable sources, including:
· Biomass
·
Biogas
· Landfill gas
·
On-shore and off-shore
wind
·
Solar photovoltaic (PV)
·
Water power
By encouraging the development of renewable energy in Ontario, the
FIT Program will help Ontario phase out coal-fired electricity
generation by 2014 – the largest climate change initiative in North
America.
The FIT Program was enabled by the
Green Energy and Green Economy
Act, 2009 which was passed into law on May 14, 2009. The Ontario
Power Authority (OPA) is responsible for implementing the program.
It is responsible for the program rules, contracts, registration,
application and contracting processes and ongoing contract
management activities.
The program is divided into two streams – FIT and MicroFIT. The FIT Program is designed for renewable energy projects that can generate more than 10 kilowatts (kW) of electricity. Very small projects, at a home or small business that can generate 10 kW or less qualify under the MicroFIT Program.
What is the Role of Northern Ontario Wires Inc.?
Northern Ontario Wires and other
Ontario local distribution companies are accountable for delivering
electricity from the high-voltage transmission system to homes,
businesses and public institutions within its service area. In the
FIT Program, NOW Inc. is responsible for connecting both FIT and
MicroFIT projects to the distribution system. NOW Inc. will assess
and approve the connection of renewable energy projects to the
low-voltage distribution system. We will also help projects complete
their system connection.
Participants must register with the
OPA, find the right equipment supplier to install the project and
then connect their project through NOW Inc. To get more information
on how to connect your project to NOW’s distribution system please
visit the Ontario Power Authority’s website as follows:
http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/
The FIT Program is designed for
renewable projects that can generate more than 10 kilowatts (kW) of
electricity. Listed below are steps that need to be carried out to
ensure timely connection of renewable generation projects to NOW’s
distribution system.
Initial Contact
Customer submits
Application to Connect – FIT
and Single Line Diagram (SLD).
Provision of Information
The customer must ensure compliance
with the OPA rules and with Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)
guidelines. NOW Inc. reviews the
Single Line Diagram to
ensure compliance with NOW’s safe utility practices and provides
connection details to the customer.
Generator Develops Plan
Customer reviews information obtained
from OPA, ESA and NOW Inc. and develops installation plan.
Initial Consultation
Preliminary meeting with customer to
discuss project feasibility, connection details and broad time and
cost estimates.
FIT Contract
Customer must apply with the OPA for a
FIT contract.
Application for Connection Impact Assessment
Upon FIT contract award from the OPA,
customer will ensure that is applies with NOW Inc. using
Connection Impact Assessment
Application.
Complete CIA application consists of
completed and signed CIA, a possible CIA fee and SLD. All technical
documentation must be sealed and signed by a licensed Ontario
Professional Engineer.
Offer to Connect
CIA will typically be completed with
60 days (with no system modification or expansion) and 90 days (with
modification and expansion). Customer will be notified of both CIA
results. Upon success completion of both CIAs, customer will be
allocated capacity.
Decision to Proceed and Install
If modification to NOW Inc.’s
distribution system is required, the customer sign an
Offer to Connect – Cost
Recovery Agreement (CCRA).
Implementation
Customer proceeds with generation
facility design an the detailed engineering drawings and plans will
be submitted by the customer to ESA for plan approval.
Customer also submits information to
NOW Inc. for design review (SLD, metering details, protection, etc.)
Authorization to Connect
Customer is responsible for arranging
and receiving Authorization to
Connect from ESA.
Connection Agreement
Once all of the required customer work
and approvals are completed, a FIT
Connection Agreement will
be signed by the customer and NOW Inc. prior to energization.
Commissioning and Verification
NOW Inc. may inspect generation
facility at any time.
Completion
Once the ESA’s
Authorization to Connect
is received, NOW Inc. will proceed with completing the connection of
generation facility to NOW’s distribution system.
Connection Impact Assessment (CIA)
Under the Distribution System Code,
all local distribution companies (LDC) are required to complete
impact assessment of generation facilities prior to connecting to
the distribution grid. The customer must apply for the FIT contract,
before applying for a CIA.
The CIA will define the impact of the
proposed embedded generation facility to NOW’s system, which
includes and is not limited to:
·
Any voltage impacts on current loading settings and impacts on fault
currents;
·
The connection feasibility;
·
The need for any line or equipment upgrades;
·
The need for system protection modifications;
·
Any metering requirements.
All technical submissions (CIA, Single
Line Diagram, etc.) must be sealed and signed by a licensed Ontario
Professional Engineer.
Offer to Connect – Cost Recovery
Agreement (CCRA)
Sample Connection Agreement - FIT
