Facility Connection Requirements

In order to assist generators and others who wish to interconnect with the transmission system or to understand the interconnection process, VELCO maintains and updates annually a document called Vermont Transco Facility Connection Requirements. This document complies with the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) Reliability Standard FAC-001, Facility Connection Requirements.

The purpose of the facility connection and performance requirements contained in the interconnection guide is to avoid adverse impacts on reliability. The requirements address connection requirements for generation facilities, transmission facilities, and end-user facilities. The interconnection guide covers the requirements for interconnection to the transmission system within Vermont Transco LLC (VT Transco) and Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) service territory in Vermont.

VELCO/Vernont Transco is a tramission operator within the regional grid operated by ISO-New England's (ISO-NE), our Regional Transmission Organization or RTO. The primary responsibility for the interconnection process and requirements lies with ISO-NE whose Transmission, Markets, & Services Tariff addresses the interconnection process, planning study requirements, and facility connection requirements specific to the ISO-NE transmission system, with Vermont Transco as an active participant in the process.

Interconnection requestors should review the ISO-NE tariff for specific ISO-NE requirements. The VELCO/Vermont Transco interconnection guide is intended to highlight the Vermont-specific requirements and is not intended to fully replicate or to replace ISO-NE’s documentation. Normally all interconnection requests are directed to ISO-NE. ISO-NE Tariff, Transmission Service Agreement (TSA) and OATT are posted publically on the ISO-NE web site.

ISO-NE planning studies

ISO-NE Transmission Planning conducts studies to support the Regional System Plan and handles requests to change interconnection and transmission service. ISO-NE ensures transmission owners comply with requirements regarding changes to capacity or facilities. Generator and transmission interconnection inquiries are referred to ISO-NE, and the ISO-NE interconnection process is followed. ISO-NE’s Transmission, Markets, & Services Tariff, Section II on OATT provides a summary of the ISO-NE interconnection process and explains procedures electric energy suppliers must follow to access the region’s transmission system to transport electricity throughout New England. Entities requesting interconnection of a generating facility (including increases to the capacity of an existing generating unit or decommissioning of a generating unit) or requesting interconnection of a merchant transmission facility within the ISO-NE RTO must do so within ISO-NE's defined interconnection process. Impacts to the system are determined by a series of studies which may include a Feasibility Study, System Impact Study, and Interconnection Facilities Study.

Limitations of the interconnection guide

The information contained in the Vermont Transco Facility Connection Requirements is not intended to capture each and every specific equipment and installation requirement. It represents a typical installation. The minimal requirements specified in this document may need to be modified to meet the needs of unique installations. The intent of the requirements is to address all types of interconnections. As such, not all of the requirements will necessarily apply to all types of interconnections. VT Transco reserves the right to determine which requirements apply to any specific requested interconnection. Specific requirements necessitated by the type of interconnection and the intended point of interconnection will be communicated to the Interconnection Requestor prior to the construction phase of the project.