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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3080ORDINANCE NO. 3080 AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles, Washington, establishing policies and procedures for customers of the City's electric utility to operate electric generated facilities of not more than 25 kilowatts and amending Ordinance 2341 as amended and Chapter 13.10 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES DOES HEREBY ORDAIN as follows: Section 1. Ordinance 2341 as amended and Chapter 13.10 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: Chapter 13.10 ELECTRIC UTILITY Sections: 13.10.010 Hight Electric Utility DL.p Established. 13.10.020 Light D . parti Director of Public Works and Utilities Department. 13.10.030 Access to Facilities. 13.10.040 Connections. 13.10.050 Prohibitions and Requirements. 13.10.060 Meters. 13.10.065 Net Energy Metering 13.10.070 Department Employees and Agents. 13.10.080 Duties and Liabilities. 13.10.090 Penalties. 13.10.010 - Light Electric Utility Department Established. For the purpose of carrying nto 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 an Electric Jtility to be operated by the City's Department of Public Works and Utilities, mown as the City Light Depa which, for the purposes of this Chapter, shall also be -eferred to as the "Department ". (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.020 - Light Director of Public Works and Utilities Department. A. The City Manager shall appoint a suitable and qualified person as Director of he City Light Department. B. The word "Director ", as used in this Chapter, shall mean the Director of the City Eight Public Works and Utilities 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 relating 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. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 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, switchgear rooms, or other facilities on customer property. B. All lamps, meters, wires and other electrical equipment or appliances supplied by the City shall be and remain the property of the City and may be removed, replaced or repaired whenever 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. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.040 - Connections. A. All purchased electricity, other than emergency, standby service, or customer generation, used on the premises of the customer shall be supplied exclusively by the Eight Electric Utility DLpartntLIIt within the City. No person, firm, company, or utility shall directly or indirectly _,e11, 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 Dower 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 sed by their tenants from providing such electric service and charging a mutually agreed figure herefor. 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 ;uch electric current. 2 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 inspected, 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 A 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 whatsoever. E. No customer shall connect his service with that of any other customer, or in any way supply any other person or premises with electricity through his service, except as approved by :he Department after the filing of a written application with the Department for the connection and - eceipt of a permit from 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 >hall be deemed to constitute 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 distribution line that the Department proposes to connect to the customer's system. Such entrance shall be continuous and so arranged that the possibility of mproper tampering or interference is minimized. G. The Department may require customers to provide on their premises, at their own expense, additional protective devices deemed necessary by the Department to protect the Department'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 -nultiple dwelling buildings for the purpose 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 >uitable capacity to deliver power in accordance with the customer's load requirements. In the event :hat 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 ;he 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. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.050 - Prohibitions and Requirements. A. Unless authorized by the Department, no person shall commit the following acts pr cause others to commit the following acts: In any manner damage, mutilate, destroy, remove, connect, disconnect, or in any way interfere or tamper with any machinery, poles, wires, meters, weals, 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 'he direction of the Department. Prior notice shall be given to the Department by the person desiring he work done, stating when and where the work is required. The person desiring the work may be - equired to pay the cost of labor, equipment rental, material and overhead charges required to do the work. 3 B. The customer shall at all times keep his wiring and appliances in such condition hat they can be used without causing damage, delay, or cost to the City. C. The City shall use reasonable diligence in providing adequate electrical service o the customer. However, should the nature of the customer's equipment require protection, eversal of phase rotation, voltage control, unbalance, single phasing, safety, reliability or other equirements which exceed the levels provided by the City, it shall be the responsibility of the ustomer to provide such protection at his own expense. The City shall not be liable for damages aused to the customer's equipment when the customer's equipment requirements exceed those rovided for by the City. The customer shall have the responsibility to provide suitable devices dequate to protect his three -phase motors and other equipment against reversal of phase rotation nd single phasing. D. Customers shall not cause unusual fluctuations or disturbances in the City's lectrical system. Customers may be required, at their own expense to install suitable apparatus hich will reasonably limit such disturbances. Where the customer's use of electrical equipment esults in an interference with the quality of the customer's own service or that of neighboring ustomers, or where the customer requires voltage control within unusually close limits, the epartment may require to provide, at the customer's own expense, such special or additional quipment as is required. This may apply to cases of extreme unbalance of single and three -phase oads. E. The Department shall be notified in case of defective service by the customer, wner, or person in control of the premises. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.060 Meters. A. When any customer desires to use electricity for purposes classified under ifferent rates as established by Chapter 13.12 PAMC, separate meters must be installed to measure he current supplied at each rate, and the electricity passing through each meter must be charged for t the price specified in the rate schedule for such separate uses. B. City Light The Department will make periodic tests and inspections of meters nd will make additional tests or inspections of meters at the request of any customer. No charge hall be made for any such additional test if there is a meter error of more than two percent. If the eter error is two percent or less, the fee for a meter test shall be charged to and collected from the ustomer. If any test shows a meter error of more than two percent, a pro rata adjustment shall be ade in the customer's billing for a period of not more than ninety days prior to the date of the test; rovided, that in no event shall any adjustment be made for any period prior to the date of any revious meter test. C. City Light The Department may install sealable locking devices on certain nclosures containing unmetered conductors, including but not limited to meter sockets, meter nclosures, current transformer enclosures, test switch enclosures, wire troughs, bus gutters, and erminal boxes. D. New or enlarged services to a duplex or a multiple dwelling building shall have ommon areas and common equipment supplied through a separate house meter. E. The customer shall not install or use equipment or devices to submeter electricity or 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 stablishments and recreational vehicle (RV) parks under the following circumstances: 1. Electrical service to boat mooring establishments and recreational vehicle -4 parks may be master metered. City Liglit The Department will not provide meters for individual spaces nor directly bill individual tenants at a boat moorage establishment or recreational vehicle park for which a master metering arrangement has been established. 2. Apportionment of electricity by customer - operator shall be considered a service provided by a boat mooring establishment or recreational vehicle park. The charge for auch service shall be reasonable and nondiscriminatory and shall not exceed the operator's average cost per KWH as billed by the City plus the operator's reasonable cost of providing such service, and shall not exceed the proportion of the costs for which the boat moorage or recreational vehicle park enant is responsible. F. Depending on the particular installation, CitqEight 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 City Light the Department. Meter sockets shall be placed only at those locations authorized by City Light 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 City Light 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 eitr Light 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, City Liglit the Department may install such equipment as agreed upon. The cost of such additional equipment, ncluding 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 City Light the Department's costs as determined by the Public Works Director. City Light-the Department may provide metering pulses from existing metering equipment at the customer's cost. (Ord. 2969, 10/17/97; Ord. 2369 §1, 1/3/86; Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.065 - Net Energy Metering A. In accordance with Chapter 80.60 RCW, it shall be the policy of the City to encourage private investment and renewable energy resources by offering to make net metering available and allowing net metering systems to be interconnected, provided that the requirements of Chapter 80.60 RCW and the Department's policies and procedures are met. B. Definitions. 1. "Customer- generator" means a user of a net metering system. 2. "Net metering "means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied by an electric utility and the electricity generated by a customer - generator that is fed back to the electric utility over the applicable billing period. 3. "Net metering system" means a fuel cell or a facility for the production of electrical energy that: (a) uses as its fuel either solar, wind, or hydropower; (b) has a generating capacity of not more than 25 kilowatts; (c) is located on the customer - generator's premises; 5 (d) operates in parallel with the electric utility's transmission and distribution facilities; and fed is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer - generator's requirements for electricity. C. The Department's Electrical Engineering Manager is authorized to enter into Connection Agreements with customer - generators for the purpose of setting forth the specific duties, responsibilities, terms, and conditions, including the method of payment by the City for net energy. 13.10.070 - Department Employees and Agents. A. It shall be unlawful for any inspector, agent or employee of the City to ask, emand, receive or accept any personal compensation for any service rendered to a consumer of lectric current or to any other persons or customers in connection with supplying, connecting or rnishing electric current by the City. B. No promises, agreements or representations of any employee or agent of the City ith reference to the furnishing of services by the Department or its employees shall be binding on e City unless the same shall be in writing, signed by the Director. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.080 - Duties and Liabilities. A. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as placing upon the City any esponsibility for the condition, maintenance or safety of customers' electrical wiring or current onsuming devices or other equipment; and the City shall not be responsible for any loss or damage esulting from defects, failures, malfunctions, or electrical faults in or originating in any electrical iring, current consuming devices, or other equipment which they may own or operate, install or aintain. The City shall not be responsible for damage to persons or property arising from the use f the electric service on the premises of the customer. B. It is the responsibility of customers to protect themselves, life and property from e use, misuse, and/or availability of electrical current on their premises and from the consequences f the use, misuse and/or availability of electrical current on their premises. C. It is the responsibility of customers to provide, install, use, inspect, and maintain uitable protection and protective devices to protect themselves, life, and property from any defect, ailure, malfunction and/or electrical fault in or originating in any electrical wiring, urrent consuming devices, or other equipment which they may own, operate, install, or maintain; nd to protect themselves, life, and property from the consequences of any defect, failure, alfunction and/or electrical fault in or originating in any electrical wiring, current consuming evices, 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 terruption, restoration, or reduction of electric service from any cause, including but not limited failure of generation, transmission, substation, and distribution systems, inadequacy of energy upply, implementation of emergency plans, or temporary disconnections for repairs and aintenance or failure to pay for service rendered. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) 13.10.090 - Penalties. A. Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail to comply with any of the rovisions 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 6 Chapter, the electric service of any person determined to have violated the provisions of this Chapter 'nay 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. (Ord. 2341 §1, 5/28/85) Section 2 - Severability. If any provisions of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance, or application of the provisions of the Ordinance to other persons or circumstances, is not affected. Section 3 - Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect five days after the date of publication. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 22 day of MAY , 2001. ATTEST: Becky J. Upton, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Craig D. ;, son, City Attorney PUBLISHED: MAY 27, 2001 By Summary :\ ORDINANCES& RESOLUTIONS \ 200 1 -10.ord.wpd 7 MAYOR