Standard Offer Application process

The application for the standard offer program will be an “on-line” process.  The applications will be filed through the VermontSPEED.com website beginning at 9:00 AM on October 19, 2009.  The application process will be as follows:

1.  Prior to October 19^th there will be an example of the application on the VermontSPEED.com website.  Please review this example application to get familiar with the information that needs to be supplied on the application.

2.  At 9:00 AM on October 19, 2009 the example application will be replaced with the actual application on the VermontSPEED.com website.  Note: you may have to keep “refreshing” your browser until the actual application form appears.  Complete the application, being careful to make entries in all “required” boxes as indicated by an asterisk.  Click on the “submit” button on the bottom of the application.  You will receive an automatic e-mail response letting you know that your application has been received.

3.  Your application will be reviewed to ensure that it is complete and accurate. Incomplete applications will not be accepted and cannot be supplemented at a later date.  Additionally, your application will receive a time/date stamp and place you in a “queue” to receive a standard offer contract.  The queue will be established on a “first come, first served” basis.  If the queue, or certain technology caps established by the Vermont Public Service Board (the Board), are filled on the first business day a lottery will be utilized to determine a project’s position in the queue (see below).

4.  At this time, the Board has placed a six month interim technology cap on the queue equal to 25% of the 50 MW program cap.  That is, no one technology can fill more than 25% (12.5 MW) of the queue for the six months the interim cap is in effect.  After the first business day of the application process (i.e. until 5:00  PM on October 19, 2009), the SPEED Facilitator will calculate whether or not one or more of the six 25% interim technology caps has been reached or exceeded (or cumulatively exceeds 50 MW).  Should one or more of the technology caps be exceeded the SPEED Facilitator will no longer accept applications for that technology, but projects will be placed on a waiting list for the queue.

5.   Within 72 hours of the opening of the application process, the SPEED Facilitator will inform the Board of the status of the queue and whether or not the program cap or any one of the interim 25% technology caps were exceeded within the first business day of the application process.  Should either the total program cap of 50 MW or any one of the six month interim technology caps of 25% of the total cap have been exceeded, projects will be given randomly assigned number which will determine the projects that will receive a space in the queue.  For those projects that do not receive a space in the queue, the randomly assigned number will determine the position of that project in the waiting list for the queue. 

6.   Within about 5 days of application submittal or if a cap has been exceeded and a lottery used to determine queue status, within about 5 days of the lottery, you will be notified by e-mail that your application has been accepted.

7.   In our e-mail informing you that your project has been accepted and has received a place in the queue, you will be asked to return to us, within 5 business days from the date of our e-mail notice, documentation of site control and your checks for the $200 administrative fee and for the $10/KW refundable deposit (the $200 check for the administrative fee should be made out to “VEPP Inc.” and the fee for the refundable deposit should be made out to “SPEED Refundable Deposit Trust”.  It is recommended that overnight mail (e.g. UPS,  FEDEX, USPS) be used to submit site control documentation and the checks.  Relative to the documentation of site control, the onus will be on the developer to submit documents that do, in fact, provide proof of site control. Additionally, the applicant must demonstrate that it had obtained site control by the date the application was submitted.  Refer to the FAQ section of the VermontSPEED website for guidance on the documentation required as proof of site control.  Should you fail to provide sufficient proof of timely site control you will lose your place in the queue and forfeit your $200 administrative fee.  Your refundable deposit will be returned.  If the checks and proof of site control are not returned within five business days, the applicant will be removed from the queue.

8.   Assuming your application is in order (documentation of proof of site control and checks), we will send you within two weeks of the date we receive proof of site control and the checks for the administrative fee and refundable deposit, a standard offer contract for signature.  The contract is a “take it or leave it” contract.  The SPEED Facilitator is not authorized to make alterations to the contract.

GOOD LUCK