(1) The delivered cost of a resource includes all direct and indirect costs associated with that resource being delivered to the distribution system of a utility over the contract length or facility life of the delivered resource. Direct and indirect costs may include operating and capital expenses related to the delivered resource.

(2) Using the Uniform System of Accounts of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as an illustration, the reported resource costs are expected to generally fall within, but not necessarily be limited to, the following cost accounts:

(3) A utility may include actual costs in order to equitably compare the costs of eligible renewable resources and substitute resources. This may include the actual costs of transmission, firming, shaping, integration, and project specific development costs.

(4) Utilities are encouraged to use the FERC system of accounts to document the delivered cost of resources. Regardless of the accounting convention used, utilities must document the delivered cost estimates for eligible renewable resources and their associated substitute resources in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting standards.