Overview – What is PURPA?

PURPA originally was enacted in 1978, as part of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, and was designed to serve three purposes:

     (1) to encourage conservation of energy supplied by electric utilities;
     (2) to encourage optimal efficiency of electric utility facilities and resources; and
     (3) to encourage equitable rates for electric consumers.

The statute originally included six (6) standards related to customer rate determination and design which had to be considered (but not necessarily adopted) by state regulatory authorities and certain non-regulated electric utility companies. PURPA was amended in 1992 to add four additional standards for consideration.

What’s New - The Electricity Modernization Act of 2005 (EMAct).

The EMAct of 2005 amended PURPA by adding five (5) new standards for consideration by state regulatory authorities and covered non-regulated electric utilities. As with the previous standards, the five (5) new standards must be considered, but they do not necessarily have to be adopted by the covered utilities. In other words, PURPA does not require any change in rates or rate design. Instead, it requires only a process to be followed for considering rate options and issuing written findings.

How does this effect GreyStone?

GreyStone Power Electric Membership Corporation (“GreyStone”) is a covered electric utility because it had retail sales greater than the specified threshold of 500 million kilowatt-hours two years before the specified calendar year (2005). Additionally, GreyStone is considered to be a non-regulated utility and, therefore, must conduct its own proceedings to consider the five new PURPA standards.

How to use this Web Site.

This Web site is designed to provide information about the new PURPA standards, as well as GreyStone’s process for considering and making its determination whether or not to implement those standards for its distribution system. We invite you to utilize this Web site to learn more about this process.