Chapter 13.05
OPERATION OF AN ELECTRIC UTILITY
Sections:
13.05.010 General purpose, intent and authority.
13.05.030 Electric Department rate schedules and rules and regulations.
13.05.040 Adoption and amendment of Electric Department rules and regulations rate schedules.
13.05.050 Direct access program.
13.05.060 Competition transition charge.
13.05.100 Violation of this chapter or rules and regulations.
13.05.130 Costs of enforcement.
13.05.010 General purpose, intent and authority.
(a) General Purpose and Intent. The purpose and intent of this chapter is to provide the basis for the City of Santa Clara, California (“City”), through its Electric Department, doing business as Silicon Valley Power (“SVP”), to own and operate an electric utility to provide electric power generation, transmission, and distribution services to its electric utility customers.
(b) Authority. Pursuant to the provisions of Article XI (entitled “Local Government”), of the State of California Constitution and the authority granted to the City in the City Charter of the City of Santa Clara, California, the City owns and operates an electric utility which has and will, among other things:
(1) Acquire and/or generate electric power;
(2) Arrange for the transmission and distribution of such power;
(3) Operate and maintain equipment and facilities necessary to provide electric services;
(4) Recover all costs associated with its investment in electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, operation and maintenance costs and all other expenses related to the operation of the electric utility; and
(5) Bill for and collect electric fees, rates and charges related to the electric services provided to its electric utility customers as it deems appropriate in the ordinary course of business for the benefit of its citizens and electric utility customers. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.020 Definitions.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this chapter. The following definitions are intended to be an addition to SCCC 1.05.020, Definitions and rules of construction. For convenience of reference, some of the definitions are repeated hereinbelow.
(a) “City” means the City of Santa Clara, California.
(b) “City Code” or “Code” means “The Code of the City of Santa Clara, California.”
(c) “City Manager” means the City Manager of the City and his/her duly authorized agents and representatives.
(d) “Customer.” See electric utility customer definition (subsection (j) of this section).
(e) “Competition transition charge” or “CTC” means a usage-based charge which shall be imposed by the City on each monthly utility bill upon each customer, whether the customer buys energy from the City or a third party energy service provider (see subsection (k) of this section), and it will be calculated to provide for full recovery of stranded costs (see subsection (p) of this section).
(f) “Direct access program” means the City approved program which allows its electric utility customers to purchase the energy component of their electric service from third party energy service providers, subject to certain conditions.
(g) “Distribution costs” means all SVP (see subsection (o) of this section) costs associated with the use of non-generation facilities related to electric service, rated at less than one hundred fifteen thousand (115,000) volts. (Note: see “Transmission costs,” subsection (q) of this section for non-generation facilities rated more than one hundred fifteen thousand (115,000) volts.)
(h) “Electric Department” or “electric utility” means the Electric Department of the City (see subsection (o) of this section, “Silicon Valley Power” or “SVP” for the fictitious business name).
(i) “Electric service” or “electric utility service” means those services, including but not limited to, distribution, transmission and generation services, provided by the City and for which fees or rates are charged by the City.
(j) “Electric utility customer” or “customer” means any person or entity in whose name electric utility service is rendered, regardless of the identity of the actual user of the electric utility service.
(k) “Energy service provider” or “ESP” means a person or entity other than SVP which provides electric energy to an electric utility customer, subject to the terms of the respective agreements between:
(1) The City and the ESP; and
(2) The City and the participating electric utility customer.
(l) “Person” means any individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation, association, social club, fraternal organization, trust, estate, receiver, or any other entity.
(m) “Rate schedule” means one or more documents which set forth the rates, charges and conditions for a particular class or type of electric service, including but not limited to, the title, type of service, applicability, rates, conditions, and references to rules and regulations.
(n) “Rules and regulations” means a document which is the compilation of the terms, conditions, rules and regulations under which electric service is supplied by the City, but excluding the utility rate schedules, and which is adopted and amended from time to time by resolution of the City Council.
(o) “Silicon Valley Power” or “SVP” means the fictitious business name of City’s Electric Department.
(p) “Stranded costs” means costs of the City incurred to purchase, generate, and transmit electric energy which cannot be recovered, avoided, or mitigated under competitive market conditions existing after the effective date of the commencement of a direct access program. Stranded costs include, but are not limited to:
(1) Debt service on bonds or other obligations of the City or any joint powers agency to which the City is a party (including debt service on any bonds or other obligations issued after the effective date of the direct access program to refinance such bonds or other obligations);
(2) Other financing or refinancing costs associated with generation and transmission assets; and
(3) Payment obligations on contracts (including contracts with joint powers agencies) originally acquired or incurred prior to the effective date of the direct access program.
(q) “Transmission costs” means all SVP costs associated with the use of non-generation facilities related to electric service, rated at one hundred fifteen thousand (115,000) volts or more. (Note: see “Distribution costs,” subsection (g) of this section, for non-generation facilities rated less than one hundred fifteen thousand (115,000) volts.) (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.030 Electric Department rate schedules and rules and regulations.
(a) Effect of Rate Schedules and Rules and Regulations. Unless otherwise set forth in the terms of an agreement between the City and an electric utility customer, all electric energy and power (also referred to herein as “energy”) furnished to an electric utility customer by the City shall be supplied and charged to, and paid for by, such customer according to the applicable rate schedule, and pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations, adopted by the City Council. A copy of the duly adopted rate schedules and rules and regulations, as such documents currently exist (and which may be subsequently amended from time to time by resolution of the City Council), shall at all times be on file in the office of the City Clerk and one copy shall be on file in the Electric Department and shall be open to public inspection during normal office hours.
(b) Responsible Parties. By receiving and accepting electric utility services, electric utility customers of the electric utility shall be considered to have given express consent to, and be bound by, the provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations or rate schedules adopted or amended pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Responsibility for Enforcement. The primary responsibility for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be vested in the City Manager and/or any person the City Manager may designate.
(d) Conflicts with Other Provisions of the City Code. In the event of any conflicts or inconsistencies between the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of any other chapter(s) of the City Code, the provisions of this chapter shall control, unless to do so would be inconsistent with the stated purpose of this chapter.
(e) Incorporation by Reference. The rules and regulations, rate schedules, or any amendments or revisions thereto which may subsequently be adopted by the City Council by resolution, shall be incorporated by reference into this chapter and shall have the same force and effect as if set forth in full in this chapter. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.040 Adoption and amendment of Electric Department rules and regulations rate schedules.
(a) Adoption of Rules and Regulations by Resolution. The City Council may, by resolution, from time to time as it deems necessary for the administration or implementation of the intent of this chapter, review, revise, adopt and/or promulgate new or amended rules and regulations concerning the operation or administration of the electric utility. Such amendments may be made in response to changing facts or circumstances which affect the operation of SVP or as a result of changes to or requirements of any local ordinance or any applicable law and/or regulation implemented by the Federal or State governments, or their respective regulatory agency(ies).
(b) Adoption of Rate Schedules by Resolution. The City Council may, by resolution, from time to time as it deems necessary, review, revise, adopt and/or promulgate new or amended electric utility rate schedules which include utility rates set at a level necessary to meet the City’s contractual obligations and debt service requirements and to cover the cost of constructing, operating and maintaining the electric utility. Such amendments may be made in response to changing facts or circumstances which affect the operation of the electric utility or as a result of changes to, or requirements of any local ordinance and/or applicable law(s) and regulation(s) implemented by the Federal or State governments, or their respective regulatory agency(ies). (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.050 Direct access program.
(a) Adoption of Direct Access Program. Pursuant to the legal authority referred to in this chapter (or available to a charter city from any source of authority), the City Council hereby adopts a direct access program which provides eligible participating electric utility customers the right to purchase the energy component of their electric service from an ESP subject to the conditions set forth in agreements between the City and each participating electric utility customer and energy service providers, which agreements include express conditions regarding the payment of a CTC. The terms and conditions of this direct access program shall further the provisions of City Council Resolution No. 6620 in which the Council concluded that it is in the best interest of the City, its citizens and electric utility customers to establish and commence implementation of an electric utility direct access program as defined therein or as such terms and conditions of the direct access program may by subsequently modified by resolution of the City Council. The commencement of the direct access program is specifically subject to the condition precedent that the City is authorized to collect the CTC.
(b) Conditions for Electric Utility Customer’s Participation in the Direct Access Program. The direct access program conditions referred to in subsection (a) of this section are intended, in part, to guarantee the City’s ability to meet its financial obligations related to the construction, operation and maintenance of its electric utility system. Such condition shall include, but are not limited to the following:
(1) Each participating electric utility customer shall submit a direct access service request (“DASR”) which includes an acknowledgment of the obligation of the participating electric utility customer to pay the required CTC to the City in exchange for the right to purchase energy from an ESP; and
(2) Each ESP shall execute a separate agreement with the City for each electric utility customer which, among other things:
(A) Authorizes the ESP to sell electric energy to participating eligible electric utility customers;
(B) Acknowledges that recovery of the CTC is essential to the direct access program; and
(C) Provides that such agreement shall terminate by its own terms in the event that a court finds that the direct access program or the CTC is invalid or unenforceable.
(c) Agreement Form. The form of such DASR and ESP agreement shall be adopted from time to time by resolution of the City Council. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.060 Competition transition charge.
(a) Integral Part of the Direct Access Program. The CTC is an integral part of the City’s direct access program, and the implementation of the CTC will be subject to legal validation. The revenues generated by the CTC will provide essential security for the holders of revenue bonds, notes and related obligations issued by the City and by joint powers agencies to which the City is a party and which are payable (in whole or in part) from the revenues of the electric utility (the “obligations”). Therefore, provisions of this chapter requiring the imposition and collection of a CTC shall constitute a contract with the holders of the obligations and shall not be amended, revoked or rescinded in any manner which would materially impair the security of the holders of such obligations until such obligations are fully paid and discharged.
(b) Recovery of Stranded Cost through Collection of a Competitive Transition Charge. In order for the City to recover stranded costs, the CTC will be calculated and revised periodically in accordance with the methodology described in this chapter and shall continue to be collected from all electric utility customers, (whether or not they buy electric energy from the City), until all stranded costs are recovered. Any CTC collected in excess of current costs will be held for use to pay stranded costs. Transmission costs (which currently are not included in stranded cost) are recovered through the transmission component of the rates charged for transmission service. If a portion(s) of transmission costs becomes unrecoverable in the future, such portion(s) will be recovered through inclusion in the CTC.
(c) Allocation of Stranded Costs. Stranded costs will be allocated among rate schedules based on a cost of service study which apportions the total electric utility costs among the various rate schedules according to the characteristics of service and the customers served within each rate schedule. The CTC shall be uniformly determined and applied to all electric utility customers who receive electric service in accordance with a particular rate schedule (whether or not they buy electric energy from the City). The CTC shall be separately identified in all metered rate schedules. The CTC shall be separately identified in all unmetered rate schedules at such time as direct access service becomes available under these rate schedules.
(d) Market Value of Energy (SVP Energy Cost). For purposes of this section, SVP’s market value of energy means City-incurred costs to purchase, generate, and transmit electric energy which are not stranded costs. Such SVP market value of energy shall be referred to as “SVP Energy Cost” and shall be allocated among rate schedules based on the most recent cost of service study. Customers who purchase electric energy from SVP will pay the SVP energy cost. Customers who choose to buy their electric energy from an ESP will not pay the SVP energy cost. The SVP energy cost shall be separately identified in all metered rate schedules. The SVP energy cost shall be separately identified in all unmetered rate schedules at such time as direct access service becomes available under these rate schedules. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.070 Theft of electric services – Unauthorized tampering with or modification of electric utility metering devices – Unauthorized access to electric services.
It shall be unlawful for any person, with intent of obtaining electric utility services for himself or herself or others without paying the full lawful charge therefor, or with the intent of acquiring electric utility services without the knowledge, authorization or consent of the electric utility, to do any of the following:
(a) Change the intended course or path of electric utility services by tampering with or modifying any meter or other property owned by the electric utility;
(b) Prevent any electric metering device from accurately performing its measuring function;
(c) Break, modify or tamper with a seal on any electric metering device owned or installed by the electric utility;
(d) Make, or cause to be made, any connection or reconnection to property owned by the electric utility;
(e) Attach any instrument, apparatus or device to property owned by the electric utility which is primarily designed to be used to obtain electric utility services;
(f) Alter, bypass, interfere or tamper with, rearrange, or damage an electric metering device so as to cause no measurement or inaccurate measurement of electric utility services;
(g) Disconnect electric utility services from, or connect electric utility services to, any place, dwelling, building or premises; and/or
(h) Violate any of the provisions of the electric utility Rules and Regulations. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99; Ord. 1787 § 2, 11-18-03).
13.05.080 Reserved.
(Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.090 Enforcement
The primary responsibility for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be vested in the City Manager. The City Manager may authorize City field inspectors or other employees of the City to act as agents of the City with the authority to inspect, issue notices of violation, and write citations for any violation of this chapter. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.100 Violation of this chapter or rules and regulations.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate the provisions of this chapter or the provisions contained in the Silicon Valley Power rules and regulations, as may be subsequently adopted and amended in the future. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.110 Reserved.
(Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.120 Reserved.
(Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).
13.05.130 Costs of enforcement.
In any civil, criminal, or administrative hearing, appeal or action commenced by the City under this chapter, the City shall be entitled to recover from the defendant of such action reasonable attorney’s fees, costs of suit and/or any other costs of enforcement, including, but not limited to, inspection and/or repair costs. (Ord. 1742 § 3, 10-26-99).