Section 170IAC4-4.1-5. Obligation to purchase and sell

   (a) An electric utility shall purchase energy, subject to section 8 of this rule, and capacity, subject to section 9 of this rule, offered by a qualifying facility. If a utility purchases all of its power from a single supplier, such that its avoided cost, as defined in this rule, is derived from the single supplier, the supplier may assume the obligation to purchase the energy and capacity offered by a qualifying facility.

  (b) An electric utility which sells to an ultimate consumer shall sell to a qualifying facility back-up power, maintenance power, supplementary power, or interruptible power requested by the qualifying facility at a rate which does not discriminate against the qualifying facility in comparison to another retail customer with similar load characteristics served by the electric utility. A rate for back-up and maintenance power shall not presume (unless supported by factual data) that a forced outage or other reduction in the electrical output of each qualifying facility on the electric utility's system will occur simultaneously or during the system peak, or both, and may take into account the extent to which a scheduled outage of the qualifying facility can be usefully coordinated with a scheduled outage of the utility's facility.

  (c) A purchase and sale under this rule may occur simultaneously or the qualifying facility may elect to sell only that portion of the qualifying facility's output net of its own use. An election between total output and output net of a qualifying facility's own use may occur at the beginning of the contract period of the arrangement between the qualifying facility and the electric utility.

  (d) The utility is not required to purchase or sell energy or capacity, or both, during a system emergency. (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; 170 IAC 4-4.1-5; filed Mar 7, 1985, 10:04 a.m.: 8 IR 760; filed Apr 4, 1995, 11:45 a.m.: 18 IR 1996; readopted filed Jul 11, 2001, 4:30 p.m.: 24 IR 4233; readopted filed Apr 24, 2007, 8:21 a.m.: 20070509-IR-170070147RFA; readopted filed Aug 2, 2013, 2:16 p.m.: 20130828-IR-170130227RFA)