In general, all Standard Offer Plants are required to obtain a Section 248 – Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Utility Commission prior to the start of construction. Standard Offer Plants must file a complete Section 248 application with the Vermont Public Utility Commission within one year of signing a Standard Offer Contract.
An exception to this requirement is hydroelectric plants which are under federal jurisdiction and are therefore not required to obtain a Vermont CPG. Hydroelectric plants are permitted under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules. (Note that some aspects of a hydroelectric plant may still need a CPG; for example a transmission line extension.)
Standard Offer Producers are strongly encouraged to develop a full understanding of the substantive and procedural CPG filing requirements as follows:
- 30 V.S.A. § 248
- Commission Rule 2.200
- Commission Rule 5.400
- ORDER ADOPTING REVISED STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES IMPLEMENTING 30 V.S.A. § 248A (As of January 18, 2023)
Act 174 Recommendations and Determination Standards:
- Act 174 of 2016 establishes a new set of municipal and regional energy planning standards, which if met allow those plans to carry greater weight – substantial deference – in the CPG process. For detailed information visit the Vermont Department of Public Service Act 174 Recommendations and Determination Standards.
Below are additional resources for the CPG process:
The following is a comparison of two Standard Offer Plant CPG timelines. One Standard Offer Plant’s CPG took five months to obtain while the second Standard Offer Plant’s CPG took twice as long.
Following is a CPG application that can be used for Standard Offer Plants of 15 kW to 50 kW that are not located on a roof and are not a hydro electric system. The form is titled Net Metering, however the same form also applies to the Standard Offer Program. Please read Clarification of interconnection applications for small renewables.
The Public Utility Commission encourages all participants to file the application using ePUC.
Procedural steps in a typical CPG contested case proceeding:
For additional questions regarding the CPG process, please contact VEPP Inc. via email at info@veppi.org.