30.1 Definitions

Whenever used in these Large Facility Interconnection Procedures with initial capitalization, the following terms shall have the meanings specified in this Section 30.1.  Terms used in these procedures with initial capitalization that are not defined in this Section 30.1 shall have the meanings specified in Section 1 of the NYISO Open Access Transmission Tariff (“NYISOISO OATT”), Section 25.1.2 of Attachment S of the NYISOISO OATT, or in Article 2 of the NYISO Services Tariff.

Affected System shall mean an electric system other than the transmission system owned, controlled or operated by the Connecting Transmission Owner that may be affected by the proposed interconnection.

Affected System Operator shall mean the entity that operates an Affected System.

Affected Transmission Owner shall mean the New York public utility or authority (or its designated agent) other than the Connecting Transmission Owner that (i) owns facilities used for the transmission of Energy in interstate commerce and provides Transmission Service under the Tariff, and (ii) owns, leases or otherwise possesses an interest in a portion of the New York State Transmission System where System Deliverability Upgrades, System Upgrade Facilities, or Network Upgrade Facilities are or will be installed pursuant to Attachment P, Attachment X, Attachment Z, or Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT.

Applicable Laws and Regulations shall mean all duly promulgated applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, codes, decrees, judgments, directives, or judicial or administrative orders, permits and other duly authorized actions of any Governmental Authority, including but not limited to Environmental Law.

Applicable Reliability Councils shall mean the NERC, the NPCC and the NYSRC.

Applicable Reliability Standards shall mean the requirements and guidelines of the Applicable Reliability Councils, and the Transmission District, to which the Developer’s Large Facility is directly interconnected, as those requirements and guidelines are amended and modified and in effect from time to time; provided that no Party shall waive its right to challenge the applicability or validity of any requirement or guideline as applied to it in the context of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Attachment Facilities shall mean the Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities and the Developer’s Attachment Facilities.  Collectively, Attachment Facilities include all facilities and equipment between the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility and the Point of Interconnection, including any modification, additions or upgrades that are necessary to physically and electrically interconnect the Large Facility to the New York State Transmission System.  Attachment Facilities are sole use facilities and shall not include Stand Alone System Upgrade Facilities, Distribution Upgrades, System Upgrade Facilities or System Deliverability Upgrades.

Base Case shall mean the base case power flow, short circuit, and stability data bases used for the Interconnection Studies by the NYISOISO, Connecting Transmission Owner or Developer; described in Section 30.2.3 of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Breach shall mean the failure of a Party to perform or observe any material term or condition of the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Breaching Party shall mean a Party that is in Breach of the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Business Day shall mean Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.

Byway shall mean all transmission facilities comprising the New York State Transmission System that are neither Highways nor Other Interfaces.  All transmission facilities in Zone J and Zone K are Byways.

Calendar Day shall mean any day including Saturday, Sunday or a federal holiday.

Capacity Region shall mean one of four subsets of the Installed Capacity statewide markets comprised of: (1) Rest of State (i.e., Load Zones A through F); (2) Lower Hudson Valley (i.e., Load Zones G, H and I); (3) New York City (i.e., Load Zone J); and (4) Long Island (i.e., Load Zone K), except for Class Year Interconnection Facilities Studies conducted prior to Class Year 2012, for which “Capacity Region” shall be defined as set forth in Section 25.7.3 of Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT.

Capacity Resource Interconnection Service (“CRIS”) shall mean the service provided by NYISOthe ISO to Developers that satisfy the NYISO Deliverability Interconnection Standard or that are otherwise eligible to receive CRIS in accordance with Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT; such service being one of the eligibility requirements for participation as an NYISOISO Installed Capacity Supplier.

Class Year shall mean the group of generation and merchant transmission projects included in any particular Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study (Annual Transmission Reliability Assessment and/or Class Year Deliverability Study), in accordance with the criteria specified in Attachment S and in Attachment Z for including such projects.

Class Year CRIS Project:  A Class Year Project with an executed Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study Agreement entering a Class Year Study for a CRIS evaluation, that thereby becomes one of the group of Class Year Projects included in the Class Year Deliverability Study.  A Class Year CRIS Project may be a “CRIS-only” project that is entering a Class Year Study only for a CRIS evaluation, or it may be a project seeking both ERIS and CRIS.

Class Year Deliverability Study shall mean an assessment, conducted by the NYISOISO staff in cooperation with Market Participants, to determine whether System Deliverability Upgrades are required for Class Year CRIS Projects under the NYISO Deliverability Interconnection Standard.

Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study shall mean a study conducted by NYISOthe ISO or a third party consultant for the Developer to determine a list of facilities (including Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities, Distribution Upgrades, System Upgrade Facilities and System Deliverability Upgrades as identified in the Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study), the cost of those facilities, and the time required to interconnect the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility with the New York State Transmission System or with the Distribution System.  The scope of the study is defined in Section 30.8 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures in this Attachment X.

Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study Agreement shall mean the form of agreement contained in Appendix 4 2 of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures in this Attachment X for conducting the Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study.

Class Year Project shall mean an Eligible Class Year Project with an executed Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study Agreement that thereby becomes one of the group of generation and Merchant Transmission Facilities included in any particular Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study (Annual Transmission Reliability Assessment and/or Class Year Deliverability Study), in accordance with the criteria specified in this Attachment S and in Attachment Z for including such projects.

Class Year Start Date shall mean the deadline for Eligible Class Year Projects to enter a Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study, determined in accordance with Section 25.5.9 of Attachment S.

Clustering shall mean the process whereby a group of Interconnection Requests is studied together, instead of serially, for the purpose of conducting the Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study.

Commercial Operation shall mean the status of a Large Facility that has commenced generating or transmitting electricity for sale, excluding electricity generated or transmitted during Trial Operation.

Commercial Operation Date of a unit shall mean the date on which the Large Facility commences Commercial Operation as agreed to by the Parties pursuant to Appendix E to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Confidential Information shall mean any information that is defined as confidential by Section 30.13.1 of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Connecting Transmission Owner shall mean the New York public utility or authority (or its designated agent) that (i) owns facilities used for the transmission of Energy in interstate commerce and provides Transmission Service under the Tariff, (ii) owns, leases or otherwise possesses an interest in the portion of the New York State Transmission System or Distribution System at the Point of Interconnection, and (iii) is a Party to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities shall mean all facilities and equipment owned, controlled or operated by the Connecting Transmission Owner from the Point of Change of Ownership to the Point of Interconnection as identified in Appendix A to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement, including any modifications, additions or upgrades to such facilities and equipment.  Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities are sole use facilities and shall not include Stand Alone System Upgrade Facilities or System Upgrade Facilities.

Default shall mean the failure of a Party in Breach of the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement to cure such Breach in accordance with Article 17 of the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Developer’s Attachment Facilities shall mean all facilities and equipment, as identified in Appendix A of the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement, that are located between the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility and the Point of Change of Ownership, including any modification, addition, or upgrades to such facilities and equipment necessary to physically and electrically interconnect the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility to the New York State Transmission System.  Developer’s Attachment Facilities are sole use facilities.

Dispute Resolution shall mean the procedure described in Section 30.13.5 of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures for resolution of a dispute between the Parties.

Distribution System shall mean the Transmission Owner’s facilities and equipment used to distribute electricity that are subject to FERC jurisdiction, and are subject to the NYISOISO’s Large Facility Interconnection Procedures in this Attachment X or Small Generator Interconnection Procedures in Attachment Z to the NYISOISO OATT under FERC Order Nos. 2003 and/or 2006.  The term Distribution System shall not include LIPA’s distribution facilities.

Distribution Upgrades shall mean the modifications or additions to the existing Distribution System at or beyond the Point of Interconnection that are required for the proposed project to connect reliably to the system in a manner that meets the NYISO Minimum Interconnection Standard. 

Effective Date shall mean the date on which the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement becomes effective upon execution by the Parties, subject to acceptance by the Commission, or if filed unexecuted, upon the date specified by the Commission.

Eligible Class Year Project:  Any Developer or Interconnection Customer that (1) satisfies the criteria for inclusion in the next Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study, as those criteria are specified in Sections 25.5.9  and 25.6.2.3.1 of Attachment S to the OATT, Section 32.1.1.7 of Attachment Z to the OATT and/or Section 32.3.5.3.2 of Attachment Z to the OATT; or (2) that seeks evaluation in a Class Year Study to obtain or increase CRISs as permitted by Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT and satisfies the criteria for inclusion in the next Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study specified in Section 25.5.9 of Attachment S to the OATT.

Energy Resource Interconnection Service (“ERIS”) shall mean the service provided by NYISOthe ISO to interconnect the Developer’s Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System, in accordance with the NYISO Minimum Interconnection Standard, to enable the New York State Transmission System to receive Energy and Ancillary Services from the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility, pursuant to the terms of the NYISOISO OATT.

Engineering & Procurement (E&P) Agreement shall mean an agreement that authorizes Connecting Transmission Owner to begin engineering and procurement of long lead-time items necessary for the establishment of the interconnection in order to advance the implementation of the Interconnection Request.

Environmental Law shall mean Applicable Laws or Regulations relating to pollution or protection of the environment or natural resources.

External CRIS Rights:  A determination of deliverability within the Rest of State Capacity Region (i.e., Load Zones A-F), awarded by the NYISOISO for a term of five (5) years or longer, to a specified number of Megawatts of External Installed Capacity that satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 25.7.11 of Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT, and that can be certified in a Bilateral Transaction used for the NYCA and not a Locality, or sold into the NYCA for an Installed Capacity auction and not in an Installed Capacity auction for a Locality.

Force Majeure shall mean any act of God, labor disturbance, act of the public enemy, war, insurrection, riot, fire, storm or flood, explosion, breakage or accident to machinery or equipment, any order, regulation or restriction imposed by governmental, military or lawfully established civilian authorities, or any other cause beyond a Party’s control.  A Force Majeure event does not include acts of negligence or intentional wrongdoing by the Party claiming Force Majeure.

Generating Facility shall mean Developer’s device for the production of electricity identified in the Interconnection Request, but shall not include the Developer’s Attachment Facilities or Distribution Upgrades.

Generating Facility Capacity shall mean the net seasonal capacity of the Generating Facility and the aggregate net seasonal capacity of the Generating Facility where it includes multiple energy production devices.

Governmental Authority shall mean any federal, state, local or other governmental regulatory or administrative agency, court, commission, department, board, or other governmental subdivision, legislature, rulemaking board, tribunal, or other governmental authority having jurisdiction over any of the Parties, their respective facilities, or the respective services they provide, and exercising or entitled to exercise any administrative, executive, police, or taxing authority or power; provided, however, that such term does not include Developer, NYISOthe ISO, Affected Transmission Owner, Connecting Transmission Owner, or any Affiliate thereof.

Hazardous Substances shall mean any chemicals, materials or substances defined as or included in the definition of “hazardous substances,” “hazardous wastes,” “hazardous materials,” “hazardous constituents,” “restricted hazardous materials,” “extremely hazardous substances,” “toxic substances,” “radioactive substances,” “contaminants,” “pollutants,” “toxic pollutants” or words of similar meaning and regulatory effect under any applicable Environmental Law, or any other chemical, material or substance, exposure to which is prohibited, limited or regulated by any applicable Environmental Law.

Highway shall mean 115 kV and higher transmission facilities that comprise the following NYCA interfaces:  Dysinger East, West Central, Volney East, Moses South, Central East/Total East, and UPNY-ConEd, and their immediately connected, in series, Bulk Power System facilities in New York State.  Each interface shall be evaluated to determine additional “in series” facilities, defined as any transmission facility higher than 115 kV that (a) is located in an upstream or downstream zone adjacent to the interface and (b) has a power transfer distribution factor (DFAX) equal to or greater than five percent when the aggregate of generation in zones or systems adjacent to the upstream zone or zones which define the interface is shifted to the aggregate of generation in zones or systems adjacent to the downstream zone or zones which define the interface.  In determining “in series” facilities for Dysinger East and West Central interfaces, the 115 kV and 230 kV tie lines between NYCA and PJM located in LBMP Zones A and B shall not participate in the transfer.  Highway transmission facilities are listed in ISO Procedures.

Initial Synchronization Date shall mean the date upon which the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility is initially synchronized and upon which Trial Operation begins.

In-Service Date shall mean the date upon which the Developer reasonably expects it will be ready to begin use of the Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities to obtain back feed power.

Interconnection Feasibility Study shall mean a preliminary evaluation of the system impact and cost of interconnecting the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System, the scope of which is described in Section 30.6 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Interconnection Feasibility Study Agreement shall mean the form of agreement contained in Appendix 2 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures for conducting the Interconnection Feasibility Study.

Interconnection Request shall mean Developer’s request, in the form of Appendix 1 to the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures, in accordance with the Tariff, to interconnect a new Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System, or to materially increase the capacity of, or make a material modification to the operating characteristics of, an existing Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility that is interconnected with the New York State Transmission System or with the Distribution System.

Interconnection Study shall mean any of the following studies: the Optional Interconnection Feasibility Study, the Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study, and the Class Year Interconnection Facilities Study described in the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study (“SRIS”) shall mean an engineering study that evaluates the impact of the proposed Large Generation Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility on the safety and reliability of the New York State Transmission System and, if applicable, an Affected System, to determine what Attachment Facilities, Distribution Upgrades and System Upgrade Facilities are needed for the proposed Large Generation Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility of the Developer to connect reliably to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System in a manner that meets the NYISO Minimum Interconnection Standard.  The scope of the SRIS is defined in Section 30.7.3 of the Large Facility Interconnection Procedures in this Attachment X.

Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study Agreement shall mean the form of agreement contained in Appendix 3 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures for conducting the Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study.

IRS shall mean the Internal Revenue Service.

Large Facility shall mean either a Large Generating Facility or a Merchant Transmission Facility.

Large Generating Facility shall mean a Generating Facility having a Generating Facility Capacity of more than 20 MW.

Local System Upgrade Facilities shall mean the System Upgrade Facilities necessary to physically interconnect a proposed project to the Connecting Transmission Owner’s transmission system, consistent with applicable interconnection and system protection design standards.  Local System Upgrade Facilities include any electrical facilities required to make the physical connection (e.g., a new ring bus for a line connection or facilities required to create a new bay for a substation connection). Local System Upgrade Facilities also include any system protection or communication facilities that may be required for protection of the Connecting Transmission Owner’s transmission facility (line or substation) involved in the interconnection. Local System Upgrade Facilities do not include System Upgrade Facilities required to mitigate any adverse reliability impact(s) of the project(s) identified through analysis such as power flow, short circuit, or stability (e.g., replacement of a circuit breaker at a nearby substation that becomes overdutied as a result of the project(s)).

Loss shall mean any and all losses relating to injury to or death of any person or damage to property, demand, suits, recoveries, costs and expenses, court costs, attorney fees, and all other obligations by or to third parties, arising out of or resulting from the Indemnified Party’s performance or non-performance of its obligations under the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement on behalf of the indemnifying Party, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing by the Indemnified Party.

Material Modification shall mean those modifications that have a material impact on the cost or timing of any Interconnection Request with a later queue priority date.

Merchant Transmission Facility shall mean Developer’s device for the transmission of electricity identified in the Interconnection Request, proposing to interconnect to the New York State Transmission System, for which the Developer is eligible to request and does request Capacity Resource Interconnection Service, subject to the eligibility requirements for Unforced Capacity Deliverability Rights set forth in the ISO Procedures.  Merchant Transmission Facilities shall not include Attachment Facilities, Network Upgrade Facilities, System Upgrade Facilities or System Deliverability Upgrades.  .

Metering Equipment shall mean all metering equipment installed or to be installed at the Large Generating or Merchant Transmission Facility pursuant to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement at the metering points, including but not limited to instrument transformers, MWh-meters, data acquisition equipment, transducers, remote terminal unit, communications equipment, phone lines, and fiber optics.

Notice of Dispute shall mean a written notice of a dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures, or the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement or its performance.

NPCC shall mean the Northeast Power Coordinating Council or its successor organization.

NYISO shall mean the New York Independent System Operator, Inc.

NYISO Deliverability Interconnection Standard – The standard that must be met, unless otherwise provided for by Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT, by (i) any generation facility larger than 2MW in order for that facility to obtain CRIS; (ii)  any Merchant Transmission Facility proposing to interconnect to the New York State Transmission System and receive Unforced Capacity Delivery Rights; (iii) any entity requesting External CRIS Rights, and (iv) any entity requesting a CRIS transfer pursuant to Section 25.9.5 of Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT.  To meet the NYISO Deliverability Interconnection Standard, the Interconnection Customer must, in accordance with the rules in Attachment S to the NYISOISO OATT, fund or commit to fund any System Deliverability Upgrades identified for its project in the Class Year Deliverability Study.

NYISO Minimum Interconnection Standard – The reliability standard that must be met by any generation facility or Merchant Transmission Facility that is subject to NYISOISO’s Large Facility Interconnection Procedures in Attachment X to the NYISOISO OATT or the NYISOISO’s Small Generator Interconnection Procedures in this Attachment Z, that is proposing to connect to the New York State Transmission System or Distribution System, to obtain ERIS.  The Standard is designed to ensure reliable access by the proposed project to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System.  The Standard does not impose any deliverability test or deliverability requirement on the proposed interconnection.

Open Class Year shall mean the Class Year open for new members pursuant to the Class Start Date deadline specified in Section 25.5.9 of Attachment S.

Optional Interconnection Feasibility Study shall mean a preliminary evaluation of the system impact and cost of interconnecting the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System, the scope of which is described in Section 30.6 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures.

Optional Interconnection Feasibility Study Agreement shall mean the form of agreement contained in Appendix 2 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures for conducting the Optional Interconnection Feasibility Study.

Optional Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study shall mean a sensitivity analysis based on assumptions specified by the Developer in the Optional Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study Agreementscope.

Optional Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study Agreement shall mean the form of agreement contained in Appendix 5 of the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures for conducting the Optional Interconnection System Reliability Impact Study.

Other Interfaces shall mean the following interfaces into Capacity Regions:  Lower Hudson Valley [i.e., Rest of State (Load Zones A-F) to Lower Hudson Valley (Load Zones G, H and I)]; New York City [i.e., Lower Hudson Valley (Load Zones G, H and I) to New York City (Load Zone J)]; and Long Island [i.e., Lower Hudson Valley (Load Zones G, H and I) to Long Island (Load Zone K)], and the following Interfaces between the NYCA and adjacent Control Areas: PJM to NYISO, ISO-NE to NYISO, Hydro-Quebec to NYISO, and Norwalk Harbor (Connecticut) to Northport (Long Island) Cable.

Party or Parties shall mean NYISO, Connecting Transmission Owner, or Developer or any combination of the above.

Point of Change of Ownership shall mean the point, as set forth in Appendix A to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement, where the Developer’s Attachment Facilities connect to the Connecting Transmission Owner’s Attachment Facilities.

Point of Interconnection shall mean the point, as set forth in Appendix A to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement, where the Attachment Facilities connect to the New York State Transmission System or to the Distribution System.

Queue Position shall mean the order of a valid Interconnection Request, Study Request, or Transmission Interconnection Application relative to all other such pending requests, that is established based upon the date and time of receipt of the valid request by NYISOthe ISO, unless specifically provided otherwise in an applicable transition rule set forth in Attachment P, Attachment X or Attachment Z to the NYISOISO OATT.

Reasonable Efforts shall mean, with respect to an action required to be attempted or taken by a Party under the Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures or Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement, efforts that are timely and consistent with Good Utility Practice and are otherwise substantially equivalent to those a Party would use to protect its own interests.

Scoping Meeting shall mean the meeting between representatives of the Developer, NYISOthe ISO and Connecting Transmission Owner conducted for the purpose of discussing alternative interconnection options, to exchange information including any transmission data and earlier study evaluations that would be reasonably expected to impact such interconnection options, to analyze such information, and to determine the potential feasible Points of Interconnection.

Services Tariff shall mean the NYISO Market Administration and Control Area Tariff, as filed with the Commission, and as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor tariff thereto.

Site Control shall mean documentation reasonably demonstrating: (1) ownership of, a leasehold interest in, or a right to develop a site for the purpose of constructing the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility; (2) an option to purchase or acquire a leasehold site for such purpose; or (3) an exclusivity or other business relationship between Developer and the entity having the right to sell, lease or grant Developer the right to possess or occupy a site for such purpose.

Stand Alone System Upgrade Facilities shall mean System Upgrade Facilities that a Developer may construct without affecting day-to-day operations of the New York State Transmission System during their construction.  NYISOThe ISO, the Connecting Transmission Owner and the Developer must agree as to what constitutes Stand Alone System Upgrade Facilities and identify them in Appendix A to the Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Standard Large Facility Interconnection Procedures (“Large Facility Interconnection Procedures” or “LFIP”) shall mean the interconnection procedures applicable to an Interconnection Request pertaining to a Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility that are included in Attachment X of the NYISOISO OATT.

Standard Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (“LGIA”) shall mean the form of interconnection agreement applicable to an Interconnection Request pertaining to a Large Generating Facility, that is included in Attachment X of the NYISOISO OATT.

System Deliverability Upgrades shall mean the least costly configuration of commercially available components of electrical equipment that can be used, consistent with Good Utility Practice and Applicable Reliability Requirements, to make the modifications or additions to Byways and Highways and Other Interfaces on the existing New York State Transmission System that are required for the proposed project to connect reliably to the system in a manner that meets the NYISO Deliverability Interconnection Standard for Capacity Resource Interconnection Service.

System Protection Facilities shall mean the equipment, including necessary protection signal communications equipment, required to (1) protect the New York State Transmission System from faults or other electrical disturbances occurring at the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility and (2) protect the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility from faults or other electrical system disturbances occurring on the New York State Transmission System or on other delivery systems or other generating systems to which the New York State Transmission System is directly connected.

System Upgrade Facilities shall mean the least costly configuration of commercially available components of electrical equipment that can be used, consistent with good utility practice and Applicable Reliability Requirements, to make the modifications to the existing transmission system that are required to maintain system reliability due to: (i) changes in the system including such changes as load growth and changes in load pattern, to be addressed in the form of generic generation or transmission projects; land (ii) proposed interconnections.  In the case of proposed interconnection projects, System Upgrade Facilities are the modifications or additions to the existing New York State Transmission System that are required for the proposed project to connect reliably to the system in a manner that meets the NYISO Minimum Interconnection Standard.

Tariff shall mean the NYISO Open Access Transmission Tariff (“OATT”), as filed with the Commission, and as amended or supplemented from time to time, or any successor tariff.

Trial Operation shall mean the period during which Developer is engaged in on-site test operations and commissioning of the Large Generating Facility or Merchant Transmission Facility prior to Commercial Operation.