For purposes of this article, and unless otherwise expressly
stated or unless the context otherwise requires, the terms in this
article 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:
AGGREGATED DATA
Aggregated and anonymized information including the number
of consumers by service class, the aggregated peak demand (kW) (for
electricity) by month for the past 12 to 24 months, by service class
to the extent possible, and the aggregated energy (kWh) for electricity
or volumetric consumption for gas by month for the past 12 to 24 months
by service class.
CCA ADMINISTRATOR
Shall refer to the entity selected by the City of Oneida,
as established by resolution of the Common Council, duly authorized
to put out the bid for the total amount of electricity and/or natural
gas being purchased by participating consumers. The CCA Administrator
is responsible for program organization, administration, procurement,
and communications, unless otherwise specified.
CCA ORDER
The PSC's Order Authorizing Framework for Community Choice
Aggregation Opt-Out Program, issued on April 21, 2016, in Case 14-M-0224,
"Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to Enable Community Choice
Aggregation Programs."
COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION PROGRAM (CCA PROGRAM)
A municipal energy procurement program, which replaces the
incumbent utility as the default supplier of energy for all residential
and commercial customers within the City of Oneida who have not opted
out of the CCA program. Notwithstanding the above, the incumbent utility
will continue to distribute energy as the distribution utility to
all residential and commercial customers within the CCA program.
CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC DATA
Customer-specific information, personal data and utility
data for all consumers in the City of Oneida eligible for opt-out
treatment based on the terms of the CCA Order and the CCA program
design including the customer of record's name, mailing address, telephone
number, account number, and primary language, if available, and any
customer-specific alternate billing name, address, and phone number.
DATA SECURITY AGREEMENT
An agreement between the distribution utility and the City
of Oneida that obligates each party to meet, collectively:
A.
All national, state and local laws, regulations or other government
standards relating to the protection of information that identifies
or can be used to identify an individual eligible consumer with respect
to the CCA Administrator's or its representative's processing of confidential
utility information;
B.
The distribution utility's internal requirements and procedures
relating to the protection of information that identifies or can be
used to identify individual eligible consumer with respect to the
CCA Administrator's or its representative's processing of confidential
utility information; and
C.
The CCA Order and PSC rules, regulations, and guidelines relating
to confidential data.
DEFAULT SERVICE
Supply service provided by the distribution utility to consumers
who are not currently receiving service from an energy service company
(ESCO). Eligible consumers within the City of Oneida that receive
default service, and have not opted out, will be enrolled in the CCA
program.
DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES (DER)
Local renewable energy projects, shared renewables like community
solar, energy efficiency, demand response, energy management, energy
storage, microgrid projects and other innovative Reforming the Energy
Vision (REV) initiatives that optimize system benefits, target and
address load pockets/profile within the CCA's zone, and reduce cost
of service for participating consumers.
DISTRIBUTION UTILITY
The local incumbent utility owning and controlling the means
of distribution of the natural gas or electricity that is regulated
by the PSC.
ELIGIBLE CONSUMERS
Eligible consumers of electricity and/or natural gas who
receive default service from the distribution utility as of the effective
date, or new consumers that subsequently become eligible to participate
in the CCA program, at one or more locations within the geographic
boundaries of the City of Oneida, except those consumers who receive
default service and have requested not to have their account information
shared by the distribution utility. For the avoidance of doubt, all
eligible consumers must reside or be otherwise located at one or more
locations within the geographic boundaries of the City of Oneida,
as such boundaries exist on the effective date of the Energy Services
Agreement (ESA) between the City of Oneida and the supplier.
NEW CONSUMERS
Consumers of electricity that become eligible consumers after
the effective date of the ESA between the City of Oneida and the supplier,
including those that opt in or move into the City of Oneida.
PARTICIPATING CONSUMERS
Eligible consumers enrolled in the CCA program, either because
they are consumers who receive default service from the distribution
utility as of the effective date of the ESA and have not opted out,
or are new consumers.
SUPPLIERS
An energy service company (ESCO) duly authorized to conduct
business in the State of New York as an ESCO and that produces electric
power and natural gas for eligible consumers in connection with this
article or, alternatively, generators of electricity and natural gas
or other entities who procure and resell electricity or natural gas.
An opt-out letter, printed on municipal letterhead and signed
by a City official, shall be mailed by the CCA Administrator to eligible
consumers at least 30 days prior to customer enrollment. The opt-out
letter shall include information on the CCA program and the contract
signed with the selected ESCO including specific details on rates,
services, contract term, cancellation fee, and methods of opting-out
of the CCA program. The letter shall explain that consumers who do
not notify the CCA Administrator and/or ESCO of their intention to
opt-out will be enrolled in ESCO service under the contract terms
and that information on those consumers, including energy usage data
and APP status, will be provided to the ESCO.
Customer service shall be available to participating consumers
to resolve concerns, answer questions, and transact business with
respect to the service received from the supplier. Both the CCA Administrator
and ESCO shall provide consumers with customer service contact information,
including a toll-free telephone number and representatives available
during normal business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday), to address customer issues.
To cover the cost of the administrative fee assessed to the
City of Oneida by the CCA Administrator, the City of Oneida may collect,
or cause to be collected, funds from customer payments to pay for
such administrative costs associated with running the CCA program.
The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, subsection,
paragraph, sentence, clause, provision or phrase of the aforementioned
sections, as declared by the valid judgment of any court of competent
jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, shall not affect the validity
or unenforceability of any other section, subsection, paragraph, sentence,
clause, provision, or phrase, which shall remain in full force and
effect.