Wind turbine and solar panel considerations for OMPA cities.

              “This publication is issued by the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. Copies
have not been printed but are available through the agency website.”
1. Who will pay for the administrative costs of implementing this
and is the city/town billing software able to address these types of
readings and billings? As part of this process, your city may need to
adopt a rate which would allow you to fully recover your fi xed costs,
since many fi xed costs are embedded in your energy charges.
2. Since metering is not inexpensive, the city/town may wish to
consider requiring the customer to pay for all cost above the
standard meter cost and installation.
3. Due to safety concerns, the city/town would need to address back
feeds that could harm electrical workers. The city/town would have
to detail some type of protection requirements for employees and
workers to ensure the line is dead when work is being performed in
normal or storm situations. This cost would need to be addressed.
In addition, the city/town may wish to have some insurance
requirement for protection if a citizen were to come into contact
with a live line that was not on the city system at the time of contact.
4. The life of a small wind unit is around 15 years, plus maintenance
cost. When you take this into consideration, there is no pay back
to the customer and it actually ends up costing them money. Solar
panels have a life expectancy of about 20 to 25 years, and their
value and wattage output decrease steadily over time.. This is
what all the customers that we are aware of have discovered when
considering the installation of wind or solar power production
facilities at their home or at businesses.
These comments are not designed to be road blocks but to point out
it’s not as simple as buying one, putting it up, running it and trading
electric on a one-for-one basis. We would imagine your city/town would
also need to address the height, noise and harmonic issues in residential
neighborhoods and commercial locations.
For these reasons, there have not been any installations that we are
aware of on a member city distribution system. Most customers look at
the total dollars and are simply trying to save money on energy costs.
That is why OMPA, through a stimulus grant award, has been working
with members by doing residential energy audits. An audit points out
steps that the homeowner can take in order to reduce their energy costs.
Whether it be new windows, additional insulation, upgrading lighting,
etc.
OMPA also provides a rebate program which encourages the
installation of geothermal heat pumps, air-source heat pumps, dual-fuel
heat pumps and high-effi ciency air conditioners. The audit and
rebate programs are just two examples of ways customers can save
money on energy costs.
Wind Turbine and
Solar Panel
Considerations
for OMPA cities
Issues You Should Consider Regarding
Distributed Generation
Recently, some OMPA member cities have
been contacted by customers concerning the
installation of wind or solar generation at their
homes/businesses and net metering. As a result,
OMPA staff has received inquiries requesting
guidance on how to respond to customers.
Currently, all 39 members of the OMPA power
supply program have an “all-requirements” contract
with OMPA. This means the city/town cannot
purchase power from another source, with the
exception of SWPA allocation, which is recognized
in the contract. This is a matter of key concern and
ultimately requires OMPA to inform the city/town
that they cannot contract with these types of
installations.
OMPA is not prohibiting the installation of this
type of equipment, but rather seeking a way to
address this growing interest, while at the same
time protecting the contract. The contract is the
security for nearly $600 million in bonds issued for
power plants and other power supply components.
Many vendors promise consumers possible electric
savings. However, these projected savings may be
based upon what is available from other utilities.
On the back of this brochure, you will fi nd some
concerns that your city/town should consider on
how to address these issues.
Until then, we can off er the following guidance on
how to address these inquiries.
As mentioned previously, OMPA staff is
investigating what would be required to
allow distributed generation if a member
system determines they want to allow
this on their system. As soon as we are
able to provide additional guidance, we
will be back in touch.
Net Metering:
For small (<1,000kw) generators, usually wind or solar, in which the customer wants to install and
receive Net Metering, the answer will have to be that it is not available. Net metering is when the
customer is interconnected, and in parallel with your distribution system and has the potential to
feed energy back onto the system. Net metering tariff s are currently not allowed.
Standby (Isolated) Generators:
The installation of small generators that are completely disconnected (isolated) from your
distribution system is ALLOWED under OMPA’s policies. However, you will need to develop your
own set of requirements regarding these installations.
Large Interconnected Generators:
Large (>1,000kw) generators which desire to export power onto the electrical grid will be
required to submit such a request to the Southwest Power Pool. This applies to individual
generators in excess of 1,000kw, or multiple generators which in aggregate exceed 1,000kw.