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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2341ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles relating to the Light Department, regulating the use of electric current, establishing prohibitions and fixing penalties, repealing Ordinance No. 890, Section 8 of Ordinance 2137, Section 8 of Ordinance 2054, and amending PAMC 13.12.080, and establishing a new Chapter 13.10 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES as follows: Section 1. There is hereby adopted a new Chapter 13.10 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code to read as follows: LIGHT DEPARTMENT Sections: 13.10.010 - Light Department Established. 13.10.020 - Light Department Director. 13.10.030 - Access to Facilities. 13.10.040 - Connections. 13.10.050 - Prohibitions and Requirements. 13.10.060 - Meters. 13.10.070 - Department Employees and Agents. 13.10.080 - Duties and Liabilities. 13.10.090 - Penalties. 13.10.010 - Light Department Established. For the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Chapter and for the purpose of operating and regulating the light and power system utility of the City of Port Angeles, there is created and established a Department to be known as the City Light Department and which, for the purposes of this Chapter, shall also be referred to as the "Department ". 13.10.020 - Light Department Director. A. The City Manager shall appoint a suitable and qualified person as Director of the City Light Department. -1- B. The word "Director ", as used in this Chapter, shall mean the Director of the City Light Department, or his designated agent or employee. C. The Director shall have full charge and control of all work provided for and contemplated by this Chapter subject to the ultimate control and authority of the City Manager and the City Council. D. The Director shall have authority to adopt and file, as appropriate, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures relat- ing to the Department's performance of the provisions of this Chapter and to the operation of the City's light and power system. E. The Director shall have the authority to restrict the use of loads, generation, and /or services during an emergency when the Director determines that the continued use of the loads would jeopardize the City's generation, transmission, substation, or distribution system. F. During periods of power shortage, the Director may limit the use of electric space heating in any manner that may be deemed necessary. At any time, the Director may refuse to supply electricity to any customer whose demand therefor may seriously impair service to any other customer. 13.10.030 - Access to Facilities. A. The Director shall have free access at any reasonable time to any and all premises furnished with electric current by the City for the purpose of inspection of any wires or electric devices on such premises, reading or installing meters, and removing or repairing any property of the City, or for any other reasonable purpose connected with the light and power system of the City. For the Department's systems in underground areas, 24 -hour personnel access shall be provided to all vaults, switch - gear rooms, or other facilities on customer property. -2- B. All lamps, meters, wires and other electrical equipment or appliances supplied by the City shall be and remain the prop- erty of the City and may be removed, replaced or repaired when- ever the Director may so elect. C. Upon request, the customer shall correct any condition that limits or restricts free and safe access to the Department's meters or service. Failure of the customer to comply within a reasonable time specified, as determined by the Director, shall subject the customer to disconnection of service. 13.10.040 - Connections. A. All purchased electricity, other than emergency, stand- by service, or customer generation, used on the premises of the customer shall be supplied exclusively by the Light Department within the City. No person, firm, company, or utility shall directly or indirectly sell, sublet, assign or otherwise dispose of to another, electrical power received by him /her /them from the City. No person, firm, company or utility shall buy, lease or otherwise receive electrical power from any person, firm, company or utility other than the City except as authorized by the Director. Nothing herein shall be taken as forbidding landlords or marinas who pay for electricity used by their tenants from providing such electric service and charging a mutually agreed figure therefor. Purchases of electricity for resale are prohibited, except between electric utilities as authorized by the Director. B. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be construed as requiring the City or the Director to enter into any contract or to furnish electric current to any person applying therefor. The Director is hereby authorized and empowered to refuse to enter into any such contract or to furnish such electric current. C. The Director may, before connecting any premises with the City's circuits or furnishing electric current therefrom, cause the wiring, appliances and fixtures to be carefully in- -3- spected, and until such wiring, appliances and fixtures are put in proper condition satisfactory to the Director, decline to connect the service wires with the City's circuits and shall have the power at any time to disconnect the service from the premises when the wiring, appliances or fixtures shall become or are found to be defective or dangerous, until the same are repaired to the satisfaction of the Director. D. It shall be unlawful for any person other than the Director to connect any house, premise, wire, or other appliances with the City's electric current for the purpose of securing electric current therefrom, or for any other purpose whatever. E. No customer shall connect his service with that or any other customer, or in any way supply any other person or premises with electricity through his service, except as approved by the Department after the filing of a written application with the Department for the connection and receipt of a permit trom the Department for connection. In the absence of a signed agreement or application for service, the delivery of electric service and the acceptance thereof by the customer shall be deemed to consti- tute an agreement that incorporates this Chapter. F. The customer shall provide a suitable service entrance to the premises at the point of easiest access to the distribu- tion line that the Department proposes to connect to the cus- tomer's system. Such entrance shall be continuous and so ar- ranged that the possibility of improper tampering or interference is minimized. G. The Department may require customers to provide on their premises, at their own expense, additional protective de- vices deemed necessary by the Department to protect the Depart- ment's property or personnel, or the property or personnel of the Department's other customers. H. The Department shall not supply electricity for any new or larger service to multiple dwelling buildings for the purpose -4- of master metering the energy usage of the dwelling units except for master metered services approved prior to December 1, 1984. I. The Department has the responsibility of providing electrical equipment of a suitable capacity to deliver power in accordance with the customer's load requirements. In the event that the customer changes his load materially, exceeding that initially provided, he shall notify the Department sufficiently in advance so that the Department may revise its facilities accordingly. In the event that the customer fails to notify the Department and, as a result, the City's equipment is damaged, the customer shall be liable for the costs of such damage. 13.10.050 - Prohibitions and Requirements. A. Unless authorized by the Department, no person shall commit the following acts or cause others to commit the following acts: In any manner damage, multilate, destroy, remove, connect, disconnect, or in any way interfere or tamper with any machinery, poles, wires, meters, seals, or other equipment belonging to, or in any manner connected with, the light and power system of the City. Whenever it becomes necessary to disconnect, remove, or relocate any poles, wires, underground facilities, or other equipment belonging to the City, the work shall be done by or under the direction of the Department. Prior notice shall be given to the Department by the person desiring the work done, stating when and where the work is required. The person desiring the work may be required to pay the cost of labor, equipment rental, material and overhead charges required to do the work. B. The customer shall at all times keep his wiring and appliances in such condition that they can be used without caus- ing damage, delay, or cost to the City. C. The City shall use reasonable diligence in providing adequate electrical service to the customer. However, should the nature of the customer's equipment require protection, reversal of phase rotation, voltage control, unbalance, single phasing, -5- safety, reliability or other requirements which exceed the levels provided by the City, it shall be the responsibility of the customer to provide such protection at his own expense. The City shall not be liable for damages caused to the customer's equip- ment when the customer's equipment requirements exceed those provided for by the City. The customer shall have the respon- sibility to provide suitable devices adequate to protect his three -phase motors and other equipment against reversal of phase rotation and single phasing. D. Customers shall not cause unusual fluctuations or dis- turbances in the City's electrical system. Customers may be required, at their own expense, to install suitable apparatus which will reasonably limit such disturbances. Where the cus- tomer's use of electrical equipment results in an interference with the quality of the customer's own service or that of neighboring customers, or where the customer requires voltage control within unusually close limits, the Department may require to provide, at the customer's own expense, such special or addi- tional equipment as is required. This may apply to cases of extreme unbalance of single and three -phase loads. E. The Department shall be notified in case of defective service by the customer, owner, or person in control of the premises. 13.10.060 - Meters. A. When any customer desires to use electricity for pur- poses classified under different rates as established by Chapter 13.12 PAMC, separate meters must be installed to measure the current supplied at each rate, and the electricity passing through each meter must be charged for at the price specified in the rate schedule for such separate uses. B. The Department will make periodic tests and inspections of meters and will make additional tests or inspections of meters at the request of any customer. No charge shall be made for any -6- • • such additional test if there is a meter error of more than two percent. If the meter error is two percent or less, the fee for a meter test shall be charged to and collected from the customer. If any test shows a meter error of more than two percent, a pro rata adjustment shall be made in the customer's billing for a period of not more than ninety days prior to the date of the test; provided, that in no event shall any adjustment be made for any period prior to the date of any previous meter test. C. The Department may install sealable locking devices on certain enclosures containing unmetered conductors, including but not limited to meter sockets, meter enclosures, current trans- former enclosures, test switch enclosures, wire troughs, bus gutters, and terminal boxes. D. New or enlarged services to a duplex or a multiple dwelling building shall have common areas and common equipment supplied through a separate house meter. E. The customer shall not install or use equipment or devices to sub -meter electricity for the purpose of reselling or otherwise apportioning the costs of electric energy usage; except that the Department shall permit the apportionment of electricity for boat mooring establishments under the following circum- stances: 1. New or ungraded service to boat mooring establish- ments shall be master metered. The Department will not provide meters for individual moorage spaces nor directly bill individual boat moorage tenants at a boat moorage establishment. 2. Apportionment of electricity by customer - operator shall be considered a service provided by a boat mooring estab- lishment. The charge for such service shall be reasonable and non - discriminatory and shall not exceed the operator's average cost per KWH as billed by the City plus the operator's reasonable -7- cost of providing such service, and shall not exceed the propor- tion of the costs for which the boat moorage tenant is respon- sible. F. Depending on the particular installation, the Department may provide a portion of the customer's service entrance equipment. The type of metering equipment (which may include meter, current transformer and enclosures, meter bases and junction boxes) shall be determined by the Department. Meter sockets shall be placed only at those locations authorized by the Department and shall afford proper protection to meters. In order that the meter can be easily read, the center of the meter socket shall be located not less than five feet or more than seven feet above finish grade. If, as determined by the Department, the meter is inaccessible or improperly located for reading, the customer shall be required to relocate his service entrance to a suitable location or the Department may install a remote metering device and all costs incurred shall be borne by the customer. G. Should the customer request additional metering equipment, the Department may install such equipment as agreed upon. The cost of such additional equipment, including necessary spares if any, shall be borne by the customer, including labor, equipment rental, material and overhead charges. The cost of maintenance of such additional equipment shall be borne by the customer. The charge for maintenance of such equipment shall be sufficient to cover the Department's costs as determined by the Director. 13.10.070 - Department Employees and Agents. A. It shall be unlawful for any inspector, agent or em- ployee of the City to ask, demand, receive or accept any personal compensation for any service rendered to a consumer of electric current or to any other persons or customers in connection with supplying, connecting, or furnishing electric current by the City. B. No promises, agreements or representations of any em- ployee or agent of the City with reference to the furnishing of services by the Department or its employees shall be binding on the City unless the same shall be in writing, signed by the Director. 13.10.080 - Duties and Liabilities. A. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as placing upon the City any responsibility for the condition, maintenance or safety of customers' electrical wiring or current consuming devices or other equipment; and the City shall not be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from defects, failures, malfunc- tions, or electrical faults in or originating in any electrical wiring, current consuming devices, or other equipment which they may own or operate, install or maintain. The City shall not be responsible for damage to persons or property arising from the use of the electric service on the premises of the customer. B. It is the responsibility of customers to protect them- selves, life and property from the use, misuse, and /or availabili of electrical current on their premises and from the consequences of the use, misuse and /or availability of electrical current on their premises. C. It is the responsibility of customers to provide, in- stall, use, inspect, and maintain suitable protection and protec- tive devices to protect themselves, life, and property from any defect, failure, malfunction and /or electrical fault in or originating in any electrical wiring, current consuming devices, or other equipment which they may own, operate, install, or main- tain; and to protect themselves, life, and property from the con- sequences of any defect, failure, malfunction and /or electrical fault in or originating in any electrical wiring, current consum- ing devices, or other equipment which they may own, operate, install, or maintain. D. The City shall not be liable for any loss, injury, or damage resulting from the interruption, restoration, or reduction of electric service from any cause, including but not limited to failure of generation, transmission, substation, and distribution systems, inadequacy of energy supply, implementation of emergency plans, or temporary disconnections for repairs and maintenance or failure to pay for service rendered. 13.10.090 - Penalties. A. Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail to com- ply with any of the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. B. In addition to any other penalty for the violation of the provisions of this Chapter, the electric service of any person determined to have violated the provisions of this Chapter may be discontinued and such violator shall be civilly and criminally liable for all damages and for all extra current used by reason of such violation. Section 2. PAMC 13.12.080 is hereby amended to read as follows: 13.12.080 Contract Sales. A. The Director of the City Light Department shall have the authority to enter into special contracts covering electric power service, purchases, and sales, at rates other than speci- fied in this Chapter, to meet specific operating conditions, provided that such rates recover the cost of providing the service, and provided that the City Manager, Mayor and Council members of the Utility Advisory Committee are notified, and provided that such rates have a term of no more than ninety (90) days before formal adoption by the City Council. B. The Director of the City Light Department shall have the authority to enter into the following contracts, provided -10- that such contracts do not exceed a term of five (5) years: 1. Guaranteed annual revenue contracts designed to repay capital outlay and service costs. 2. Facilities construction contracts for contribu- tions in aid of construction and for revenues from jobbing and contract work. 3. Frontage and lot reimbursement contracts for customers where facilities are installed in the dedicated public street and customers have donated public right -of -way and paid for construction of the facilities. Section 3 Repealer. Ordinance No. 890, Section 8 of Ordinance 2137, and Section 8 of Ordinance 2054, are hereby repealed. Section 4 Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected, and to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 5 Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect as provided by law. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said Council held on the day of ATTEST: , 1985. 61L Mer_i A. . Lannoye, City Olerk APPROVEID AS TO FO Craig D. ASnutson, City Attorney PUBLISHED: -12- CLUL--D M A Y 0