Recent Black Hills Energy public notice distilled

Bri Weigel
NLJ Correspondent
 
Black Hills Power, also known as Black Hills Energy, recently posted a public notice in the News Letter Journal regarding a “decrease in
the standard rate for purchasing power from
qualifying Small Power Production or Cogeneration Facilities tariffs.” The News Letter Journal followed up with Marc Eyre, vice president of operations for Black Hills Energy, to understand the impact of the change for Weston County residents. 

First, Eyre clarified that the notice is for the Black Hills Power Business Unit, which includes the Newcastle, Upton and Osage areas. He said the public notice only affects one customer at this time, therefore imposing minimal impact on the communities at large.
“It’s a routine filing that we do every two years where we update the standard rate. If somebody installs a solar or wind generation on their home or business, this is the rate that we pay them for the excess power that they put back on the grid,” Eyre said. 
The public notice stated, “On July 1, Black Hills Power submitted an application to decrease the standard rate for purchasing power from qualifying Small Power Production or Cogeneration facilities by $0.00228 per kilowatt hour to a proposed rate of $0.02141.”
Eyre further explained that these rates only affect those with a design capacity of 25 kilowatts or above. If customers are below 25 kilowatts, they are placed on a different net metering system. Only one customer in the Black Hills Power Business Unit has a design capacity high enough to be affected by the change in rates. Eyre said the proposed rates reflect actual energy costs. 
“We are paying them for the energy they are putting back on the system at the rate that we would pay for that energy,” Eyre said.
If customers generate more energy than they consume, Black Hills Power pays them for that energy. The rate at which the company pays the customer for energy is based on what the market is for that power, which is updated every two years, according to Eyre. 
Eyre said the company helps customers wanting to install cogeneration (i.e., solar or wind generation) in a safe and efficient manner. 
“We want to help them (customers) meet their energy needs, so if they want to install cogeneration, we certainly work with them on the process so they connect,” Eyre said. “The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, so we want to make sure they have the network backup when their facilities aren’t running.”