CHAPTER 1
ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT
Sections:
4-1-101 Creation of Department.
4-1-102 Duties of Superintendent.
4-1-103 Control of Electrical System.
4-1-104 Application for Electrical Service.
4-1-105 Rates and Fees.
4-1-106 Board of Equalization.
4-1-107 Billings and Discontinuance of Service.
4-1-108 Unlawful to Reconnect Service.
4-1-109 Access to Premises.
4-1-110 Permits for Electrical Work.
4-1-111 Connections.
4-1-112 Meters.
4-1-113 Service Connection.
4-1-114 Unauthorized Use of Electricity.
4-1-115 No Liability of City.
4-1-116 Interference With Electrical System.
4-1-117 Penalty.
4-1-101 Creation of Department.
There is hereby created an Electrical Department, which shall consist of a Superintendent and such other employees as may be provided for by the City Council.
(1968 Code 1-20-1; 1979 Code 4-1-1)
4-1-102 Duties of Superintendent.
The Superintendent of the Electrical Department shall have charge of and be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the electrical generating plants and distribution systems belonging to the City. He shall also be responsible for the inspection of electrical installations and repairs insofar as may be required by state law or ordinance of this City.
(1968 Code 1-20-2; 1979 Code 4-1-2; amended by Ordinance No. 14-85)
4-1-103 Control of Electrical System.
The generating plants in Hobble Creek Canyon and Spring Creek, which are operated by the City to supply the City with electrical power, and all lines and apparatus for the distribution of the same, are the property of the City and shall be under the sole and exclusive control and jurisdiction of the City. The Superintendent of the Electrical Department may, and at the direction of the City Council shall, from time to time direct the making of needed additions, improvements, alterations and repairs to said system. The City Council may from time to time make such rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the operation and control of the City electrical system.
(1968 Code 4-6-1; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-3)
4-1-104 Application for Electrical Service.
Any person desiring electrical service from the City electrical system, when such service is available, shall apply therefor to the City Recorder and file an agreement with the City which shall be in substantially the following form: The undersigned hereby applies to the City of Springville for electrical services at (address) and agrees to be governed by the rules, regulations and ordinances applicable to the City electrical system. The undersigned further agrees to pay promptly, when due, the rate fixed by the City for the use of such electrical service, and, in the event of failure to pay for such service, agrees that the same may be discontinued by the City.
(1968 Code 4-6-2; 1979 Code 4-1-4)
4-1-105 Rates and Fees.
The City Council shall from time to time by resolution establish such rates and fees as it deems proper for the electrical service provided by the City and the uses made thereof by the users. In establishing rates, the City Council may classify the type of services provided and uses made of the electricity and provide different rates for the classifications so made. All rates and fees promulgated by the City Council shall be a matter of public record, filed with the City Recorder, and shall be available for inspection by any person during normal business hours.
(1968 Code 4-6-3; minor changes in phraseology made in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-5)
4-1-106 Board of Equalization.
The City Council is hereby constituted a Board of Equalization of electrical rates and fees, to hear complaints and make corrections of any assessments deemed to be illegal, unequal, or unjust. The City Council, may, if it sees fit, rebate all or any part of the electrical bill of any indigent person.
(1968 Code 4-6-4; 1979 Code 4-1-6)
4-1-107 Billings and Discontinuance of Service.
The City Auditor shall mail a written statement to each user of the electrical service once each month. Said statement shall specify the amount of the bill for electricity used and the place of payment and date due. If any person fails to pay his bill for electrical charges within twenty (20) days of the date due, the City Treasurer shall so notify the Electrical Department and shall have authority to direct said Department to shut off all electrical services to the premises involved. Before said electrical service to said premises shall again be provided, all delinquent electrical charges must have been paid to the City Treasurer, together with such re-connection fee or special expense charge as the City Council may by resolution from time to time, authorize the City Treasurer to collect. In addition to the foregoing, the City Treasurer is hereby authorized and empowered to direct the City Attorney to enforce the payment of all delinquent electrical service charges by an action at law in the name of the City.
(1968 Code 4-6-5; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-7; amended in codification, amended by Ordinance No. 23-98.)
4-1-108 Unlawful to Reconnect Service.
It shall be unlawful for any person, after electrical service has been disconnected for non-payment of fees or for the violation of any established rules or regulations of the electrical system, to again use or connect to such system without authority to do so and first paying all service charges due for electrical power furnished through such connection.
(1968 Code 4-6-6; minor changes in phraseology made in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-8)
4-1-109 Access to Premises.
Free access shall at all reasonable times be allowed to the Superintendent of the Electrical Department or other authorized persons to all places supplied with service from the electrical system, to examine the apparatus, the amount of electricity used, the manner of use of the service, and to perform such duties as they may have under this Chapter.
(1968 Code 4-6-7; 1979 Code 4-1-9)
4-1-110 Permits for Electrical Work.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the installation, maintenance, alteration, repair or construction of any electrical work, wiring device, fixture, appliance, or equipment inside or outside of any building either by himself or his agents or employees, except work done on the property of the City or a public utility company, without first securing such permit or permits as may be required by Title 10 of this Code. No connection shall be made or permitted to the City’s electrical system until the electrical work has been inspected and approved by the Electrical Department or other authorized City inspector.
(1968 Code 4-6-8; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-10)
4-1-111 Connections.
The City Council shall from time to time by resolution, establish a fee for temporary or permanent connection to the City electrical system. Upon payment of that fee it shall be the responsibility of the Electrical Department to make connection to the City’s electrical system but only on condition that all applicable ordinances and rules and regulations have been complied with, and any required extension of the City’s electrical system may be made within the scope of such policies governing the same as the City Council may make from time to time.
(1968 Code 4-6-0; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-11)
4-1-112 Meters.
All structures, dwelling units, and establishments using electricity from the City electrical system must have such number of meters connected to their electrical systems as are necessary in the judgment of the Superintendent of the Electrical Department to adequately measure the electricity used and determine electrical charges. Meter readings shall be taken at regular intervals as determined by the Superintendent of the Department and shall be submitted to the City Auditor for the purpose of making the necessary billings for electrical service.
(1968 Code 4-6-10; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-12; amended in codification)
4-1-113 Service Connection.
A separate and independent service connection shall be provided for every building, except in cases of undue hardship where the City Council deems it necessary to make an exception, and except that customary outbuildings used in connection with the main building shall not require separate service connections.
(1968 Code 4-6-11; 1979 Code 4-1-13)
4-1-114 Unauthorized Use of Electricity.
It shall be unlawful for any user of electricity to permit any person from other premises, or any unauthorized persons to use or obtain electricity regularly from his premises or electrical fixtures, either outside or inside his building.
(1968 Code 4-6-12; 1979 Code 4-1-14)
4-1-115 No Liability of City.
The City shall not be liable for damages for any interruption of service. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to relieve or lessen the responsibility of any person owning, operating or installing any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, construction or equipment, for damages to anyone injured or damaged either in person or property by any defect therein; nor shall the City or any agent thereof be held as assuming any liability by reason of any inspection authorized herein.
(1968 Code 4-6-13; 1979 Code 4-1-15)
4-1-116 Interference With Electrical System.
Every person who shall willfully or maliciously cut, break or throw down any of the poles used in the City electric system, or who shall willfully or maliciously cut, break, or remove from its insulator, any wire in use in said system, or shall by the attachment of a ground wire or other contrivance willfully destroy the insulator of said system or any part thereof, or intercept the transmission of the electric current through the same, or shall in any other manner willfully injure, molest or destroy, any property or materials appertaining to said system, or shall willfully interfere with the use of said system, or obstruct or postpone the transmission of the electrical current through the wires of said system, or procure or advise any such injury, interference, or obstruction, to any line or wires of said system shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(1968 Code 4-6-14; amended in codification 1979; 1979 Code 4-1-16)
4-1-117 Penalty.
(1) Any electrical service user violating any of the rules, regulations or ordinances controlling the electrical system shall forfeit all payments made and the right to the use of said service, and service to the premises of such user shall be discontinued.
(2) Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this Chapter shall, in addition to the penalty provided by Subsection (1) above, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to punishment by a fine in an amount not to exceed $299, or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(1968 Code 4-6-15; 1979 Code 4-1-17)