Ontario’s FIT 5 Price Review and Draft FIT 5 Rules/Contract

On July 8, 2016 the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced the initiation of the annual Price Review process to set the rates applicable to the FIT 5 procurement and microFIT procurement occurring in 2017. CanSIA submitted feedback to the IESO which recommended no more than a 5% reduction to the base contract price and to maintain the currently established microFIT prices.

This feedback was based on installed cost data supplied by CanSIA members and analysis of past application periods for both FIT and microFIT. Also on July 8, 2016 the IESO released the draft FIT 5 program documents. The draft program documents did not contain drastic changes from FIT 4.

Generally the changes were clarifications of existing portions of the rules including: the land use restrictions for non-rooftop solar, which types of officials are permitted to sign the Prescribed Form – Zoning Certificate for Non-Rooftop Solar Facility, and the definition of rooftop solar facility. Also included was the proposal to allow in-series metering for FIT projects.

In consultation with The CanSIA FIT Member Forum, a submission was developped with regard to the FIT 5 program documents. The submission focused on having the IESO provide additional clarity on the changes that were made, releasing all contract materials for in-series metering connections, and maintaining the Price Reduction Tiers previously established for FIT 4.

Procurement Updates and Best Practices: what you need to know

The microFIT Program has been open in Ontario for over 1.5 months and applications have begun to be submitted under the new microFIT 4.0 process.

As of August 5, 2016 approximately 268 applications were either submitted or under review by the IESO. Processing timelines have been slower than usual as the IESO has been implementing new review standards to take account of the new requirements of the program, including the requirement to have application forms be notarized or commissioned by a commissioner of oaths. The IESO expects to be back to normal application processing rates within the next 2-3 weeks.

In order to help maintain good application quality and speed the review process, CanSIA members must be aware that:

1. Each individual Representative and Applicant Declaration Package must be notarized or commissioned by a commissioner of oaths i.e. the same notary or commissioner signature/stamp cannot be used (photocopied or otherwise reproduced) for multiple submissions. Each form must be signed/stamped individually.

2. If an Application has been rejected due to issues with the Representative and Applicant Declaration form, a new form must be submitted with the new application when it is re-submitted. You may not use the same form and amend it.

3. If using a commissioner of oaths to sign/stamp the form, that commissioner must be eligible to sign on behalf of the company/individual. Some commissioners are only eligible to commission certain types of documents or only able to commission on behalf of certain entities. Make sure that the commissioner you are using is eligible to sign the forms and act as a commissioner for your company and/or the Applicant. If the commissioner you use is eligible to commission documents for a parent company or subsidiary, make sure you include an organizational chart to show the relationship between your company and the parent/subsidiary.