City of Utica, NY City Electric Agency

[Code 1964, § 19-1; L.L. No. 5-1982, § 1]

A city electric agency is established for the purpose of operating a public utility electric service within the city's territorial limits to furnish to the city or, for compensation, to the city's inhabitants any electric service similar to that furnished by any public utility company specified in article 4 [§ 64 et seq.] of the Public Service Law and also for the purpose of acquiring hydroelectric power from the Power Authority of the State of New York (PASNY).

(b)

The method of acquiring and operating the necessary elements of such electric service shall be as follows:

(1)

The city electric agency shall acquire hydroelectric power from PASNY for delivery to the local private utility company service area in the city.

(2)

The city electric agency shall agree with the local private utility company for the local private utility company to use or lease its distribution, substation and transmission facilities necessary to deliver PASNY hydroelectric power acquired by the city electric agency to electric customers in the local private utility company service area in the city.

(c)

The method of furnishing electric service shall consist of acquiring PASNY hydroelectric power; delivering the power to the local private utility company over the transmission and distribution facilities of PASNY and such other entities at transmission or distribution voltages as may be required to ensure proper power availability to the local private utility company; delivering the power over the local private utility company's transmission, substation and distribution facilities, for compensation, to electric customers in the local private utility company service area within the city. The local private utility company may, by agreement with the city electric agency, deliver the power and collect and remit to the city electric agency the charges for the power.

(d)

All agreements entered into in furtherance of acquisition and operation of the city electric agency's service shall first be approved by the common council. Rates for the sale of PASNY hydroelectric power by the city electric agency shall be established by the common council and shall be sufficient to permit the city electric agency to recover its costs of doing business but shall not provide any profit or return on investment to the agency. Any reduction in utility gross receipts tax revenues received by the city as a result of the implementation of this section may be paid by the agency as an in-lieu-of tax payment to the city. Any reduction in property tax revenues received by the city from the local private utility company as a result of the implementation of this section shall be paid by the local private utility company as an in-lieu-of tax payment to the city. Except as otherwise required by PASNY pursuant to applicable law and to the maximum extent practicable, the PASNY hydroelectric power acquired by the agency shall be furnished first to fulfill the electric energy requirements of city residential consumers and then may be furnished to fulfill the electric energy requirements of the city and other municipal corporations and to fulfill the electric energy requirements of all other classes of electric customers, including commercial and industrial customers. Nothing contained in this section provides or is intended to provide or shall be construed or interpreted as providing that the furnishing of PASNY hydroelectric power by the agency to purchasers who are also electric customers of the local private utility company shall diminish the geographic boundaries of the local private utility company's service area or the legal status of the purchasers as customers of the local private utility company.

(e)

The method of acquiring and operating the electric service described in this section contemplates neither the exercise of any power of condemnation by the city or the city electric agency of the local private utility company generation, distribution and transmission system nor the establishment by the city or the agency of transmission or distribution facilities separate from the local private utility company. However, nothing in this section prohibits the city from acquiring, constructing or owning facilities for lighting the city's streets.