The purpose of this chapter is to comply with the provisions
of § 360 of the General Municipal Law of the State of New
York, which section requires that a town fix by law:
A. The
proposed method of constructing, leasing, purchasing and/or acquiring
public utility facilities.
B. The
maximum and estimated cost thereof.
C. The
method of furnishing the public utility service.
The Town Board of the Town of Parma hereby establishes a Town
of Parma Electric Agency ("Agency") for the purpose of operating a
public utility electric service within the territorial limits of the
town at rates estimated to be less than those now charged, and anticipated
to be charged in the future, by the existing electric service provider
("existing provider").
The method of acquiring and operating the necessary elements
to provide such electric service shall be as follows:
A. The
Agency shall acquire hydroelectric power from the Power Authority
of the State of New York (PASNY) to be delivered to the existing provider's
service area in the Town of Parma.
B. The
Agency shall have the authority to contract with the existing provider
to deliver PASNY power to customers in the Town of Parma over its
distribution, substation and transmission facilities ("facilities")
in the town and/or to use or lease the existing provider's facilities
in the town for the purpose of delivering such power to customers
in the Town of Parma.
The method of furnishing such electric service shall consist
of:
A. Acquiring
PASNY hydroelectric power.
B. Delivering
said power to the existing provider over the transmission and distribution
facilities of PASNY and over other such entities at transmission or
distribution voltages as may be required to ensure proper power availability
to the existing provider.
C. Delivering
said power over the existing provider's transmission, substation
and distribution facilities, for compensation, to electric customers
in the existing provider's service area within the Town of Parma.
The existing provider may, by agreement with the Agency, deliver said
power and collect and remit to the Agency the charges thereof or,
in the alternative, agree with the Agency to bill the customers within
the town at rates to be agreed upon between the existing provider
and the Agency.
All agreements entered into in furtherance of acquisition and
operation of the Agency's service shall first be approved by
the Town Board. Rates for the sale of PASNY hydroelectric power by
the Agency shall be established by the Board and shall be sufficient
to permit the 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 Town
of Parma as a result of the implementation of this section may be
paid by the Agency as an in-lieu-of-tax payment to the Town of Parma.
Any reduction in property tax revenues received by the Town of Parma
from the existing provider as a result of the implementation of this
section shall be paid by the existing provider or the Agency as an
in-lieu-of-tax payment to the Town of Parma.
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 Town of Parma residential consumers,
and then may be furnished to fulfill the electric energy requirements
of the Town of Parma 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 existing provider shall diminish the geographic boundaries
of the existing provider's service area, or the legal status
of said purchasers as customers of the existing provider.
The method of acquiring and operating the electrical service
described in this chapter authorizes neither the exercise of any power
of condemnation by the Town of Parma or the Agency of the existing
provider's generation, distribution and transmission system,
nor the establishment by the Town of Parma or the Agency of transmission
or distribution facilities separate from those of the existing provider.
The maximum estimated cost of acquiring ownership through construction
or otherwise of facilities for the transmission of PASNY hydroelectric
power to customers within the Town of Parma is nothing. The estimated
annual cost of acquiring PASNY hydroelectric power and delivering
of the same to customers within the Town of Parma over the existing
provider's facilities is as follows:
A. It
is estimated that the maximum annual cost of the Agency's acquiring
PASNY hydroelectric power for the Town of Parma electric customers
will be $93,832 at $0.005 per kilowatt-hour.
B. It
is estimated that the total annual cost of using the existing provider's
facilities to deliver PASNY hydroelectric power to Town of Parma electric
customers will be $469,163 at $0.025 per kilowatt-hour.
Any material amendment of this chapter, including any attempt
by the Agency to exercise the power of condemnation of the existing
provider's generation, distribution and transmission system or
to establish generation, transmission or distribution facilities separate
from the existing provider for the purpose of this chapter, shall
not be effective unless approved by the voters at a subsequent referendum.