[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pound
Ridge 9-8-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Energize New York Benefit Financing Program — See Ch. 52.
A.
It is sound public and municipal policy to reduce costs and provide
cost certainty for the purpose of economic development, to promote
deeper penetration of energy efficiency and renewable energy resources
such as wind and solar, and wider deployment of distributed energy
resources, as well as to examine the retail energy markets and increase
participation of and benefits for residential and small commercial
customers in those markets. Among the policies and models that may
offer benefits in New York is community choice aggregation, which
allows local governments to determine the default supplier of electricity
and natural gas on behalf of its residential and small commercial
customers.
B.
The purpose of this CCA Program is to allow participating local governments,
including the Town of Pound Ridge (the "Town"), to procure energy
supply service for their residential and small commercial customers,
who will have the opportunity to opt out of the procurement, while
maintaining transmission and distribution service from the existing
distribution utility. This chapter establishes a program that will
allow the Town to put out for bid the total amount of natural gas
and/or electricity being purchased by local residential and small
commercial customers. Bundled customers will have the opportunity
to have more control to lower their overall energy costs, to spur
clean energy innovation and investment, to improve customer choice
and value, and to protect the environment, thereby fulfilling the
purposes of this chapter and fulfilling an important public purpose.
C.
The Town of Pound Ridge is authorized to implement this Community
Choice Aggregation (Energy) Program pursuant to § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12)
of the New York Municipal Home Rule Law; and State of New York Public
Service Commission Case No. 14-M-0564, Petition of Sustainable Westchester
for Expedited Approval for the Implementation of a Pilot Community
Choice Aggregation Program within the County of Westchester, Order
Granting Petition in Part (issued February 26, 2015), as may be amended,
including subsequent orders of the Public Service Commission issued
in connection with or related to Case No. 14-M-0564 (collectively,
the "order"). "Order" shall also mean orders of the Public Service
Commission related to State of New York Public Service Commission
Case No. 14-M-0224, Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to Enable
Community Choice Aggregation Programs (issued December 15, 2014),
to the extent that orders related to Case No. 14-M-0224 enable actions
by the Town of Pound Ridge not otherwise permitted pursuant to orders
related to Case 14-M-0564; provided, however, that in the event of
any conflict between orders from Case No. 14-M-0564 and orders from
Case No 14-M-0224, orders from Case No 14-M-0564 shall govern the
CCA Program.
D.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Community Choice
Aggregation (Energy) Program Law of the Town of Pound Ridge."
For purposes of this chapter, and unless otherwise expressly
stated or unless the context otherwise requires, the terms in this
chapter shall have the meanings employed in the State of New York
Public Service Commission's Uniform Business Practices or, if
not so defined there, as indicated below:
Residential and small commercial customers of electricity
or natural gas ("fuels") who are purchasing the fuels from the distribution
utility.
A municipal energy procurement program, which replaces the
incumbent utility as the default supplier for all bundled customers
within the Town of Pound Ridge.
The owner or controller of the means of distribution of the
natural gas or electricity that is regulated by the Public Service
Commission.
The New York State Public Service Commission.
Nonresidential customers as permitted by the order.
Energy service companies (ESCOs) that procure electric power
and natural gas for bundled customers in connection with this chapter
or, alternatively, generators of electricity and natural gas or other
entities who procure and resell electricity or natural gas.
A not-for-profit organization comprised of member municipalities
in Westchester County, New York.
A.
A Community Choice Aggregation (Energy) Program is hereby established
by the Town of Pound Ridge, whereby the Town shall work together with
Sustainable Westchester to implement the CCA Program to the full extent
permitted by the order, as set forth more fully herein. The Town's
role under the CCA Program involves the aggregating of the electric
and/or natural gas supply of its residents and the entering into a
contract with one or more suppliers for supply and services. Under
the CCA Program, the operation and ownership of the utility service
shall remain with the distribution utility.
B.
The Town's purchase of energy supply through a CCA Program constitutes
neither the purchase of a public utility system nor the furnishing
of utility service. The Town will not take over any part of the electric
or gas transmission or distribution system and will not furnish any
type of utility service. Rather, Sustainable Westchester shall negotiate
with suppliers on behalf of the Town and its participating residential
and small commercial customers.
C.
In order to implement the CCA Program, the Town shall consider passage
of resolutions that outline the process of and conditions for participation
in the CCA Program, including but not limited to considering signing
a contract for a compliant bid with one or more suppliers, all as
consistent with this chapter and the order.
D.
The Public Service Commission supervises retail markets and participants
in these markets through legislative and regulatory authority and
the Uniform Business Practices, which includes rules relating to the
eligibility of participating ESCOs, the operation by which ESCOs provide
energy services, and the terms on which customers may be enrolled
with ESCOs.
A.
As permitted by the order, the Town, or Sustainable Westchester as
authorized by the Town, may request from the distribution utilities
aggregated customer information by fuel type and service classification
on a rolling basis.
B.
Sustainable Westchester, on behalf of the Town, shall issue one or
more requests for proposals to suppliers to provide energy to participants
and may then award a contract in accordance with the CCA Program.
When Sustainable Westchester seeks to contract with a third party
ESCO, the RFPs that are put out for the contracts that will be reviewed
and ultimately selected will have to specify that whatever ESCO might
contract with Sustainable Westchester and the Town will be required
to provide a clause agreeing that the ESCO will indemnify and defend
the Town of Pound Ridge against any claims arising from the program.
C.
Sustainable Westchester or the Town, if the Town so chooses, will
then request individual customer data from the distribution utility
in accordance with the CCA Program. The information provided by or
on behalf of the Town shall be limited to resident's names and
addresses. Sustainable Westchester will not request from the Town
or under the Town's auspices such account-specific information
or hold such information on its internal systems.
D.
Sustainable Westchester or the Town, if the Town so chooses, and
the selected supplier will then notify bundled customers of the contract
terms and their opportunity to opt out of the CCA Program at no cost.
E.
In accordance with and for purposes of the order, the existing distribution
utility, New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, will provide
to Sustainable Westchester aggregate and customer-specific data (including
usage data, capacity tag obligations, account numbers, and service
addresses) of all bundled customers in the Town not currently enrolled
with an ESCO.
A.
Sustainable Westchester, in conjunction with the ESCO, will notify
residential and small commercial customers, by letter notice, of the
Town's decision to establish the CCA Program, of the contract
terms with an ESCO, and of the opportunity to opt out of the CCA Program.
The letters shall be transmitted on Town letterhead and Town envelopes.
Electronic copies of said letters shall be transmitted to the Town
in a format designated by the Town.
B.
The letter notice will be sent to each customer at the address provided
by the distribution utility and shall explain the CCA Program and
the material provisions of the ESCO contract, identify the methods
by which the customer can opt out of the CCA Program, and provide
information on how the customer can access additional information
about the CCA Program.
C.
The opt-out period shall be 20 days from the receipt of the mailing
of the notice, which shall be deemed to have occurred five days after
the date of mailing.
D.
CCA Program bundled customers, upon enrollment, will receive a welcome
letter that will explain the customers' options for canceling
the enrollment if they believe they were enrolled incorrectly or otherwise
decide to withdraw from the CCA Program in favor of another supplier.
CCA Program bundled customers shall be permitted to cancel their enrollment
at any time and for any reason at no cost to the customers. The welcome
letter also will explain that residential customers are entitled to
the added protection of the mandated three-day rescission period as
detailed in Section 5(B)(3) of the Uniform Business Practices.
Sustainable Westchester shall be responsible for filing an annual
report with the Public Service Commission, which identifies the number
of customers enrolled in the CCA Program by municipality and customer
class, the number of customers who returned to utility service or
service with another supplier during the reporting period, and the
average cost of commodity supply by month for the reporting period.
Sustainable Westchester shall indemnify and defend the Town for any legal claims, lawsuits or damages arising from or related to the implementation and operation of the CCA Program, including, without limitation, Sustainable Westchester's obligation to protect all customer information as provided in § 52A-4F. For the duration of the CCA Program, Sustainable Westchester shall maintain liability insurance naming the Town as an additional insured to cover all of the aforesaid legal claims in an amount to be approved by the Town Board which shall not be less than $1,000,000.
