Standby services are applicable to Great River Energy’s all-requirements and fixed distribution members (member) with a retail member-consumer who has an eligible on-site distributed generation (DG) system.
In accordance with the Minnesota Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) order of Sept. 28, 2004 in Docket E999/CI-01-1023 pursuant to Minn. Statute 216B.1611 subdivision 3, Great River Energy (GRE) is required to supply, and the member is required to take, standby service under GRE’s Standby Service rate rider if the member-consumer’s DG system meets all of the following criteria:
- Is an operable, permanently installed or mobile generation system that supplies all or a portion of the member-consumer’s electrical load requirements;
- Is connected in parallel to the member’s distribution system and normally operates in an extended parallel configuration;
- Does not exceed 10,000 kilowatts (kW) of capacity interconnected at a point of common coupling to the member’s distribution system; and
- Is not used to participate in GRE’s Interruptible Commercial and Industrial Loads program, or any other demand-side management program.
GRE shall have no obligation to provide standby service for any member-consumer with a DG system that does not meet the above criteria except for member-consumers who are exempt from standby services.
Terms of standby service for DG that exceeds the 10,000 kW threshold is subject to approval by the GRE Board of Directors.
Standby service
Standby service provides backup capacity, energy and delivery services to an all-requirements member and backup delivery services only to a fixed distribution member when an eligible member-consumer’s DG system is unavailable to supply the member-consumer’s load requirements.
Firm standby service:
GRE will provide the member with applicable standby capacity, energy and delivery services at any time in all months with no notice.
Non-firm standby service:
GRE has no obligation to provide the member with any amount of standby capacity, energy or delivery services. However, GRE will provide the member with applicable standby capacity, energy and delivery services if:
- The member requests use of standby service for a specific period of time from GRE prior to its actual use.
- A member’s standby usage request to GRE is limited to individual 24-hour periods during the months of June, July or August.
- GRE, in its sole discretion, approves the member’s use of standby service prior to its actual use.
- GRE has no obligation to approve the member’s request as submitted and retains the right to disapprove specific time periods of any request.
- GRE will make a good faith effort, but will have no obligation, to respond to requests made less than 24 hours prior to the start of the actual use.
GRE will not provide a member with both firm and non-firm standby service for the same member-consumer during an annual contract period. However, a member may receive both firm and non-firm service from GRE if the different standby services are provided to different member-consumers.
Requirements
- The member must execute an ESA with a member-consumer that specifies:
- Capacity rating of the DG system in kW
- Term of electric service agreement
- Initial term must be one year
- Successive terms must be for one-year periods
- Standby service type
- Firm
- Non-firm
- Standby services provided on an annual basis only.
GRE will provide members with standby service for any eligible member-consumer. Standby service charges are calculated on a member-consumer specific basis and may not be combined or aggregated among different member-consumers.
Charges for service
GRE charges the member reservation fees and usage charges for standby service. The rates charged by each member distribution cooperative may vary. Contact your local distribution cooperative for applicable reservation fees and usage charges.
Reservation fees
GRE shall charge the member a monthly reservation fee equal to the fee specified in the table below multiplied by the member-consumer’s DG system production during the GRE monthly billing peak for either firm or non-firm standby service.
**Please note Firm Standby Service Reservation Fees for fixed members include only the Transmission & Ancillary Services component. Firm Standby Service Reservation Fees for all requirements members include both Capacity and Transmission & Ancillary Services components.
*For the year 2025, Firm Standby Service Reservation Fees for Transmission & Ancillary Services are waived for eligible member-consumers with a DG system capacity rating of less than 1 MW.
Usage Charges
Contact your local distribution cooperative for usage charges.