NAC704.8927. Measurement of applicable energy; certification and allocation of credits.

     1. Except as otherwise provided in NAC 704.8893, electricity generated by a renewable energy system which is authorized to participate in the system of portfolio energy credits must be metered and the renewable energy system shall submit meter readings quarterly to the Commission.

     2. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 to 12, inclusive, the Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits to a portfolio energy system or efficiency measure for:

     (a) The net metered output of electricity in kilowatt-hours delivered to the transmission system or the distribution system and sold to a provider of electric service. The net metered output must be provided to the Administrator by the entity that owns, operates or controls the meters used to monitor the net metered output of electricity of the renewable energy system.

     (b) The difference between the metered generation of electricity in kilowatt-hours and the net metered output of electricity set forth in paragraph (a). Unless otherwise provided for in a contract for renewable energy, the portfolio energy credits certified by the Administrator pursuant to this paragraph must be awarded to the owner of the renewable energy system.

     3. The Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits for the line loss factor of:

     (a) A customer-maintained distributed renewable energy system by multiplying the metered number of kilowatt-hours generated and used by the customer who is served by the customer-maintained distributed renewable energy system by a factor of 1.05; and

     (b) An energy efficiency measure by multiplying the number of kilowatt-hours saved by the energy efficiency measure by a factor of 1.05.

     4. The Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits for participants in the Solar Energy Systems Incentive Program created in NRS 701B.240 by multiplying the actual kilowatt-hours produced by the solar renewable energy system by a factor of 2.4.

     5. The Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits for solar photovoltaic systems described in NRS 704.7822 by multiplying the actual kilowatt-hours produced by the solar renewable energy system by a factor of 2.4.

     6. The Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits for a system that uses a reverse polymerization process described in NRS 704.7823 by multiplying the actual kilowatt-hours produced by the renewable energy system by a factor of 0.7.

     7. The Administrator shall certify portfolio energy credits for electricity saved by a utility provider or provider of new electric resources during its peak load periods, as defined in the applicable approved tariffs, from energy efficiency measures described in NRS 704.7802, by multiplying each kilowatt-hour of electricity saved by the utility provider during its peak load period from energy efficiency measures by a factor of 2.0.

     8. A solar thermal energy system may use a thermal energy meter to measure the amount of energy generated by the system. The system will be credited with 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity generated for each 3,412 British thermal units of heat generated by the solar thermal energy system.

     9. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the energy, measured in British thermal units, generated by a geothermal energy system providing heated water to one or more customers must be calculated as (F x T) x 500, less the system losses as calculated by a professional engineer and accepted by the Administrator, where:

     (a) “F” equals the flow rate, measured in gallons per minute; and

     (b) “T” equals the change in temperature across a heat exchanger or system, measured by the difference in temperature of the incoming fluid in degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature of the outgoing fluid in degrees Fahrenheit after it has passed through the heat exchanger or system.

Ê For heat exchangers used by end-use customers, it is assumed that no system losses occur, and no calculation of system losses by a professional engineer is required.

     10. A net metering system will be credited annually with portfolio energy credits based upon the amount of metered electricity generated by the system or, if metering is not used, upon an estimate of the electricity generated by the net metering system by using the method of calculation designated by the Regulatory Operations Staff of the Commission for a solar energy system which does not use a meter to measure the generation of electricity of the system.

     11. The portfolio energy credits generated by a net metering system must be assigned to the owner of the net metering system, unless the provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 704.775 apply, or another allocation of the portfolio energy credits is provided for in a written agreement between the utility provider and the owner of the net metering system.

     12. If the Administrator is required by subsections 4 to 7, inclusive, to apply a multiplier in certifying portfolio energy credits for a portfolio energy system or efficiency measure and he or she determines that more than one multiplier may be applicable to the portfolio energy system or efficiency measure, the Administrator shall only apply the largest applicable multiplier in certifying the portfolio energy credits.

     13. As used in this section:

     (a) “Customer-maintained distributed renewable energy system” means a facility or energy system which:

          (1) Is used and maintained by an end-use customer;

          (2) Uses renewable energy to generate electricity;

          (3) Does not use the utility’s system to transmit or distribute electricity; and

          (4) Uses a meter and other equipment to:

               (I) Measure the electricity generated by the energy system; and

               (II) Reduce part, but not more than all, of the electrical load of the customer.

     (b) “Geothermal energy system” means an energy system that provides geothermally heated water to one or more customers and reduces the consumption of electricity or any fossil fuel.

     (c) “Reverse polymerization process” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 704.7823.

     (d) “Solar thermal energy system” means a renewable energy system that uses solar energy for the purpose of producing heat to reduce directly the consumption of electricity, natural gas or propane.

     (Added to NAC by Pub. Utilities Comm’n by R115-03, eff. 2-18-2004; A by R210-03, 5-21-2004; R167-05, 2-23-2006; R104-07, 1-30-2008; R175-07, 4-17-2008; R198-09, 1-13-2011)