As a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative, Hoosier Energy manages larger distributed generation interconnections for its member cooperatives.
Termed the Small Generator Interconnection Process (SGIP), these interconnections are for generating facilities larger than 50 kilowatts but no more than 20 megawatts and interconnected at less than or equal to 34.5kV. The member cooperatives handle interconnections under 50KW.
At one time, this interconnection process at Hoosier Energy was a slow, but small, manual process with only a handful of interconnection requests generated each year. That made handling those requests a one-person job. But when that one person left Hoosier, the duties transferred to Raina Lewis in the Member Solutions department.
At the same time, requests steadily increased to between 40 and 50 per year.
“We saw an explosion of requests since 2022, and a lot of that had to do with funding and tax credits,” Member Solutions Manager Blake Kleaving said during a recent online presentation.
While Lewis did her best to keep Hoosier Energy’s head above water, project data was scattered across emails, spreadsheets and shared folders, making the manual processing of applications, approvals and invoices unwieldy. It was clear that either more staff or more technology was needed to solve the problem.
Lewis sought out potential software solutions, and ultimately, PowerClerk turned out to be the best match for Hoosier Energy’s needs.
The software platform provides a single system that records applications, interconnection studies, agreements and communications. It also offers built-in payments and electronic signatures, providing a coordinated effort between internal Hoosier teams, member cooperatives and the customers or member-consumers involved.
“When we brought everything to one location (in PowerClerk), we always had the most up-to-date version,” Kleaving said. “That sounds very simple, but in the world of an industry moving so quickly and so fast with things you need to accomplish, whether that’s standard operating procedures for interconnection, the metering component or conditions to satisfy insurance policies, we needed a central repository.”
That made information accessible for internal employees and even for checking the queue position by an interconnecting customer or member co-op.
The other major benefit was the automation using PowerClerk provided.
“It sends automated emails to the contractors for what they need to accomplish,” Kleaving said. “When you have a signature due, there is an automated email. Things that used to take Raina typing out notifications of testing, feasibility study fees or feasibility study results are all automated.”
Kleaving compares the process to artificial intelligence (AI).
“Is it going to replace Raina or anyone else? No,” he said. But it’s going to make you work so much more efficiently that it’s going to open the door to multiple other areas where we can expand your role.”
PowerClerk has been in place for just over a year now and has delivered measurable operational improvements such as real-time visibility into project status and reporting, increased workflow resilience, and an 85% reduction in time spent managing interconnection requests.
In the future, PowerClerk could help Hoosier Energy as a flexible workflow platform that supports additional multi-party processes, including documentation, approvals and billing as member programs progress.
The Hoosier Energy website has a link to a Hoosier-branded PowerClerk page. This provides an overview of the interconnection process, and when someone is ready to proceed, they create an account and file an application.
“That page has the workflow there, it shows you the process, it has training videos,” Kleaving said. “This page is the software.”