Michigan § 460.1175 - Participation in distribution generation program; application fee; limitation; costs; interconnection requirements.

(1) An electric utility or alternative electric supplier may charge a fee not to exceed $50.00 to process an application to participate in the distributed generation program. The customer shall pay all interconnection costs. The commission shall recognize the reasonable cost for each electric utility and alternative electric supplier to operate a distributed generation program. For an electric utility with 1,000,000 or more retail customers in this state, the commission shall include in that electric utility's nonfuel base rates all costs of meeting all program requirements except that all energy costs of the program shall be recovered through the utility's power supply cost recovery mechanism under section 6j of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.6j. For an electric utility with fewer than 1,000,000 base distribution customers in this state, the commission shall allow that electric utility to recover all energy costs of the program through the power supply cost recovery mechanism under section 6j of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.6j, and shall develop a cost recovery mechanism for that utility to contemporaneously recover all other costs of meeting the program requirements.

(2) The interconnection requirements of the distributed generation program shall provide that an electric utility or alternative electric supplier shall, subject to any time requirements imposed by the commission and upon reasonable written notice to the distributed generation customer, perform testing and inspection of an interconnected eligible electric generator as is necessary to determine that the system complies with all applicable electric safety, power quality, and interconnection, including metering, requirements. The costs of testing and inspection are considered a cost of operating a distributed generation program and shall be recovered under subsection (1).

(3) The interconnection requirements shall require all eligible electric generators, alternative electric suppliers, and electric utilities to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, or regulations, and any national standards as determined by the commission.