posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 11:34 AM by Andrea Robinson

Alliant Becomes First to Try for EPAct Waiver QF Purchase Requirement

In mid-August Alliant Energy asked FERC to exempt two of Alliant's utilities, Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Co. (WPL) from the QF purchase requirements contained in the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA).  The filing came just days after the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), and took advantage of a provision in the EPAct 2005 amending PURPA and providing for waiver of QF purchase requirements if FERC finds the service territory of the utility seeking exemption to be competitive.  The waiver is based on the reasoning that when QFs have access to other potential buyers, local utilities need not be forced to purchase the QFs' output.   

Alliant contends that the operations of the Midwest Independent Transmission Operator (MISO) allow QFs in IPL and WPL's service territories to access alternative buyers.  On the other side of the debate, protestors, including the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON), counter that the mere operation of an RTO such as MISO is insufficient proof of a competitive market for purposes of EPAct 2005.  In particular, protestors claim that Alliant failed to demonstrate that the QFs have access to long-term energy and capacity markets and pointed to MISO's still-developing resource adequacy program and formal capacity market.   

More generally, Alliant's opponents ask that FERC clarify that the determination of whether to exempt utilities from QF purchase requirements is a service territory-specific inquiry, some going so far as to ask FERC to issue a notice of inquiry into how to implement the new PURPA language.  How FERC rules on the requested exemption and interprets the new exemption provision of EPAct 2005 will be watched closely by industry participants on both sides. [FERC Docket No. EL05-143] [NEW MATTER]