New York DPS Staff File Standard Customer Disclosure Statements For Use By Distributed Generation Providers

Staff of the New York Department of Public Service have filed Standard Customer Disclosure Statements to be used by community distributed generation (CDG) and onsite mass market distributed generation (DG) providers, as well as the DER Supplier Registration Form that such providers must complete and file with the PSC

Staff has developed six standard form Customer Disclosure Statements, divided between On-Site and Community projects, and within each of those categories between ownership, lease, and power-purchase agreement (PPA) models.

The disclosure forms require plain disclosure of pricing, production, and savings information.

As an example, the Purchase Disclosure Form for an on-site DG installation includes, among others, the following sections which must be completed:

COST OF SYSTEM

Total Purchase Price: $___

List of any credits, incentives, or rebates included in the above purchase price: [indicate whether Provider or customer is responsible for applying for each credit, incentive, or rebate]

SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Amount Due at Contract Signing: $___

Amount Due at _______________ [provide date or describe milestone]: $___

[Add additional lines as necessary to identify each payment]

SAVINGS ESTIMATE

The System is estimated to provide ___ kWh in the first year of operation. Your local utility’s 3-year historical average for per kWh rates to customers like you is $___.

Therefore, in the first year of operation you may save $___ off your utility bill based on the System’s generation.

[OPTIONAL: Over __ years, you may save $___ off your utility bill based on the System’s generation, based on the expected annual electricity production decrease, and {an assumption that utility rates increase by __% each year} OR {an assumption that utility rates do not increase}.]

Actual savings may vary based on changes in utility rates and system production. Savings are not guaranteed except to the extent described below.

PRODUCTION GUARANTEE

[This contract guarantees a minimum level of system performance, as detailed in the contract.] OR [This contract does not guarantee a minimum level of system performance or production of energy.]

SAVINGS GUARANTEE

[This contract guarantees that you will save at least a specified amount off of your utility bill each year, as detailed in the contract.] OR [This contract does not guarantee savings.]

SYSTEM SIZE AND GENERATION

Estimated gross annual electricity production in kilowatt-hours (kWh) from the System in the first year of operation: ____kWh

Estimated annual electricity production decrease due to system aging (degradation): __%

Estimated System Lifetime: ___ years

The forms are available here

The other disclosure forms require similar disclosures, uniquely tailored to the individual form of DG and purchase arrangement

Staff also filed a registration form that CDG Providers and On-Site Mass Market DG Providers are required to submit to the PSC. Subsidiaries and partners, including contractors, subcontractors, special purpose entities, and tax equity investors, are not required to submit this form as long as a registered CDG Provider is part of and responsible for ensuring compliance with respect to each project.

Consistent with the PSC's order requiring use of the standard forms, Staff said that providers should have more than 30 days between the documents’ issuance and the requirements coming into effect.

Therefore, Staff requests that a further extension to April 2, 2018 be granted for CDG and on-site mass market DG providers to file a completed registration form, including a sample contract or contracts and sample bill or bills, and for CDG and on-site mass market DG providers to begin complying with the contracting and Standard Customer Disclosure Statement requirements, as well as for the electric utilities to require that proof of registration as part of an initial interconnection application.