Any User with Generation Upload permissions can submit MWh data into M-RETS. Each time M-RETS receives generation data for a Generator, the date and quantity of MWhs is posted to the Generation Log. Any fractional remainders (i.e. kWh) will not issue Certificates but will roll over to the next month of generation. Once uploaded, data will be labeled with one of the following:
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Accepted: Applies to all generation less than 1 MWh reported to M-RETS. The System will add this data to the subsequent month of generation for issuance.
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Issued: Applies to all generation 1 MWh or greater and indicates the Certificates are now active.
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Pending: Generation that fails feasibility and therefore needs M-RETS approval; or generation waiting to receive a 'fuel type' allocation from a multi-fuel Generator. Pending Generation is not issued and therefore not represented by Active Certificates.
A QRE or User must upload generation through the M-RETS portal. The data must be in a .csv file format. Excel or Notepad can create a CSV file. Programs (e.g. Microsoft Excel) that add formatting may reformat date fields which will result in errors when loading the file. The data shall be in ASCII Text with data fields delimited by commas (Comma-Separated Value -- CSV format). M-RETS supports two types of reporting. Users may upload all their generation for the whole month or in partial months as long as a whole month is uploaded.
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Generator ID: The M-RETS ID. Use just the number (e.g. M805 should be listed as 805).
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Reporting Unit ID: The Reporting Unit ID.
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Vintage: Month and year of generation, formatted at MM/YYYY for any month in the current Reporting Period. This must be 7 characters long or the upload will fail.
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Start Date of the Month: Begin month-day-year of generation output period formatted as MM/DD/YYYY. This must be 10 characters long or the upload will fail.
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End Date of the Month: End month-day-year of generation output period formatted as MM/DD/YYYY. This must be 10 characters long or the upload will fail.
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Total MWh: Total MWhs for the Reporting Month
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Generator ID: The M-RETS ID. Use just the number (e.g. M805 should be listed as 805).
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Reporting Unit ID: The Reporting Unit ID.
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Date of Generation: The date the generation occurred formatted as MM/DD/YYYY.
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Total MWH: Total MWHs for the Reporting Month.
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Hour of Generation (1-24). All hours for the total reporting period must Accounted for or the file will be rejected.
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Total kWh for that specific hour.
Monthly generation will be uploaded in MWH. Hourly/minute data must be uploaded in kWh.
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Uploading by hour or minute is optional.
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RECs are still created, retired, and transferred in MWH. Generation by hour or minute provide more granularity in the data associated with each REC batch.
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While generation by hour or minute increments is uploaded in kWh, Certificates are still only created in MWh.
MISO also provides data with On Peak/Off Peak designation. This data is for informational purposes only, however, it will give Generator owners more information about their production.
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MISO defines On Peak and Off Peak in their [FERC approved Tariff]{.underline} as:
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Off-Peak: All periods of time not classified as On Peak.
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On Peak: Period of time between Hour-ending 0700 EST through and including Hour-ending 2200 Hours EST Monday through Friday excepting New Year's, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day or if the holiday occurs on a Sunday, the Monday immediately following the holiday.
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Multifuel Generators require a Fuel Split before issuing certificates. The Fuel Split defines the percentage of allocated generation between fuel types. All entered percentages must total 100%, or they will not be accepted.
To encourage timely reporting, M-RETS enabled automatic validations to generation uploads. For small Generators (1 to 150 kW nameplate capacity), Users have up to one year from the generation end date to upload generation. For large Generators (>150 kW nameplate capacity), Users have 62-days from the generation end date to upload generation. M-RETS must approve any generation outside of these ranges. Failure to adhere to these ranges may lead to delays in receiving Certificates.
For new Generators, M-RETS will accept generation within 62 days from the date of registration without supplemental documentation. However, M-RETS may accept generation which occurred between the 62-day deadline and two years prior to the current month with a completed Variance Request Form. Upon registration, the Organization must contact M-RETS ([email protected]) in writing and ask that M-RETS grant a variance. M-RETS shall review all issuance requests made outside of the 62-day window and may grant a variance if they determine that the request is made in good faith and: that the Organization submitted their request for a variance in writing at the time of Generator registration, that there is a legitimate reason to issue the Certificates, and that there is no likelihood Certificates were previously claimed or retired. M-RETS may submit the variance request---or send an email outlining the circumstances---to a state or provincial regulator should there be concern compliance with the variance request could result in potential double counting.
M-RETS will accept generation data from Control Area Operators, Qualified Reporting Entities and Self-Reporting Generators.
M-RETS maintains an agreement with each of these reporting entities, known as the Reporting Entity Terms of Use, that describes the terms and conditions under which the reporting entity agrees to exchange information and conduct business with M-RETS. M-RETS will maintain a list in each QRE's Organization of the Generating Units for which the QRE is reporting. M-RETS will outline the protocols for collection of information such as meter IDs, data format, communication protocols and timing, and security requirements for data collection in the Interface Control Document. M-RETS will update this document when any changes are made that may impact the data collection process. To minimize the impact of document changes, this document is a general template that outlines a common approach and set of standards. The Reporting Entity Terms of Use contain the specific data collection parameters for each reporting entity. M-RETS will work with the personnel from the QREs to verify information and address specific requirements of each reporting entity.
M-RETS reserves the right to audit the MWh data totals submitted at any time.
M-RETS will measure the output from each Generating Unit delivered into either the transmission or distribution grid. Certificates do not reflect nor does M-RETS measure losses occurring on the bulk transmission or distribution systems after the metering. M-RETS will not create Certificates for that portion of the generation used to supply station service. Therefore, generation data supplied to M-RETS must not reflect station service supplied from the Generator's side of the point of interconnection. For wholesale Generators also serving on-site loads, M-RETS will create Certificates for the on-site load distinct from station service, if the Generator Owner can provide evidence that the metering used is capable of distinguishing between on-site load and station service. Otherwise, M-RETS will assume a conservative default fraction of total generation is station service unless it can be proved otherwise.
If, due to metering, reporting, error or any other reason, the data requires an adjustment, the reporting entity must report the adjustment as soon as possible to M-RETS.
The User must notify M-RETS if they believe the generation data amount recorded on the Generation Log is inaccurate for any reason. This is known as registering a dispute. Adjustments made after the upload of generation data to M-RETS and/or Certificate issuance are known as Rollbacks or Prior Period Adjustments.
If the QRE or User uploaded incorrect generation data and the Certificates remain in the issuance Account, M-RETS will Rollback the issuance. Once the Rollback is complete, the Certificates may be re-uploaded.
If the QRE or User uploaded incorrect generation data and the Certificates do not remain in the issuance Account, a Prior Period Adjustment is required. M-RETS will post the Prior Period Adjustment to the Generation Log associated with the Generating Unit. This will have the effect of applying a credit or debit to the generation amount reported in the current month. Consequently, the adjustment occurs upon the next Certificate issuance. If new Certificates are created, the month of creation of the Certificates shall be the same as all other Certificates created that month, however the Certificates will also indicate the month the prior period generation occurred.
If a User requests a Rollback outside of the acceptable upload range, M-RETS may require evidence of data inaccuracy. This includes, but is not limited to:
a. Screenshot(s) of internal readings
b. Official readouts of generation
All requests for Rollbacks and Prior Period Adjustments are subject to review by M-RETS.
Users must electronically transfer data files to M-RETS using a secured protocol and a standard format specified by M-RETS. The data shall reflect, at a minimum, the month and year of the generation, monthly accumulated MWhs for each meter ID and the associated meter ID(s) for each resource.
The data must be transmitted by a single entity, which must be either (1) the Control Area Operator, or (2) a QRE, or (3) a Self-Reporting Generator.
Multifuel Generators require a Fuel Split before issuing certificates. The Fuel Split defines the percentage of allocated generation between fuel types. All entered percentages must total 100%, or they will not be accepted.