[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 11]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1710.205]

[Page 114-115]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER XVII--RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 1710--GENERAL AND PRE-LOAN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMON TO ELECTRIC LOANS AND GUARANTEES--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart E--Load Forecasts
 
Sec. 1710.205  Minimum approval requirements for all load forecasts.

    (a) Documents required for RUS approval of a borrower's load 
forecast. The borrower must provide the following documents to obtain 
RUS approval for a load forecast:
    (1) The load forecast and supporting documentation;
    (2) A memorandum from the borrower's general manager to the board of 
directors recommending that the board approve the load forecast and its 
uses; and
    (3) A board resolution from the borrower's board of directors 
approving the load forecast and its uses.
    (b) Contents of Load Forecast. All load forecasts submitted by 
borrowers for approval must include:
    (1) A narrative describing the borrower's system, service territory, 
and consumers;
    (2) A narrative description of the borrower's load forecast 
including future load projections, forecast assumptions, and the methods 
and procedures used to develop the forecast;
    (3) Projections of usage by consumer class, number of consumers by 
class, annual system peak demand, and season of peak demand for the 
number of years agreed upon by RUS and the borrower;
    (4) A summary of the year-by-year results of the load forecast in a 
format

[[Page 115]]

that allows efficient transfer of the information to other borrower 
planning or loan support documents;
    (5) The load impacts of a borrower's demand side management 
activities, if applicable;
    (6) Graphic representations of the variables specifically identified 
by management as influencing a borrower's loads; and
    (7) A database that tracks all relevant variables that might 
influence a borrower's loads.
    (c) Formats. RUS does not require a specific format for the 
narrative, documentation, data, and other information in the load 
forecast, provided that all required information is included and 
available. All data must be in a tabular form that can be transferred 
electronically to RUS computer software applications. RUS will evaluate 
borrower load forecasts for readability, understanding, filing, and 
electronic access. If a borrower's load forecast is submitted in a 
format that is not readily usable by RUS or is incomplete, RUS will 
require the borrower to submit the load forecast in a format acceptable 
to RUS.
    (d) Document retention. The borrower must retain its latest approved 
load forecasts, and supporting documentation until RUS approval of its 
next load forecast. Any approved load forecast work plan must be 
retained as part of the approved load forecast.
    (e) Consultation with RUS. The borrower must designate and make 
appropriate staff and consultants available for consultation with RUS to 
facilitate RUS review of the load forecast work plan and the load 
forecast when requested by RUS.
    (f) Correlation and consistency with other RUS loan support 
documents. If a borrower relies on an approved load forecast or an 
update of an approved load forecast as loan support, the borrower must 
demonstrate that the approved load forecast and the other primary 
support documentation for the loan were reconciled. For example, both 
the load forecast and the financial forecast require input assumptions 
for wholesale power costs, distribution costs, other systems costs, 
average revenue per kWh, and inflation. Also, a borrower's engineering 
planning documents, such as the construction work plan, incorporate 
consumer and usage per consumer projections from the load forecast to 
develop system design criteria. The assumptions and data common to all 
the documents must be consistent.
    (g) Coordination. Power supply borrowers and their members that are 
subject to the requirement to maintain an approved load forecast on an 
ongoing basis are required to coordinate preparation of their respective 
load forecasts, updates of load forecasts, and approved load forecast 
work plan. A load forecast of a power supply borrower must consider the 
load forecasts of all its member systems.