In July 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005.  The President signed the statute into law on August 8, 2005.  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 adds five new federal standards to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) section 111(d) for state commissions and utilities to consider.  The five new federal standards are (11) Net Metering, (12) Fuel Diversity, (13) Fossil Fuel Generation Efficiency, (14) Smart Metering and (15) Interconnection. 

The stated purposes of the PURPA Title I standards are to encourage (1) conservation of energy supplied by electric utilities, (2) optimal efficiency of electric utility facilities and resources and (3) equitable rates for electric consumers.

PURPA Title I standards apply to non-regulated electric utilities with total annual retail sales greater than 500 million kilowatt-hours.  A non-regulated utility, as defined by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, is an electric utility that is not subject to the ratemaking authority of the state commission.  As you know, SEIEC is entirely controlled by its members and governed by a locally elected Board of Trustees.  Therefore, SEIEC meets their definition of a non-regulated utility and delivered approximately 801 million kilowatt-hours in the baseline year of 2005, SEIEC will comply with the Energy Policy Act, PURPA Title I requirements.

SEIEC's primary responsibility is to consider and make a specific determination on whether implementation of the federal standards is appropriate to carry out the Title I purposes.  SEIEC may implement any standard or decline to implement any standard.  If any standard is declined, SEIEC is required to state in writing the reason for declining the standard and make that statement available to the public.

SEIEC's Management has made recommendations concerning these PURPA standards to SEIEC's Board of Trustees in written form.  A document entitled Energy Policy Act of 2005, PURPA Title I Standards, Management Recommendations, April 18, 2007 has been prepared and submitted.  This document is also available on SEIEC's website at seiec.com.  In the following pages, you will find the notice entitled Notice of PURPA Implementation to All Interested Parties that provides information regarding the process to be followed in implementing the statutory directives in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

If you have any questions regarding these issues, please contact the Cooperative.

See you next month and as always, "We'll keep the lights on for you."