[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of New Rochelle 9-16-2015 by Ord. No. 176-2015; amended in its entirety 7-19-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
It is the policy of both the City of New Rochelle and the State of
New York to reduce municipal operating 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 eligible customers in those markets. Among the
policies and models that may offer benefits in New York is community
choice aggregation ("CCA"), which allows local governments to procure
electric and natural gas supply on behalf of its eligible customers.
B.
The purpose of this CCA Program is to allow participating local governments,
including the City of New Rochelle, to procure energy services, such
as energy supply and community distributed generation (CDG) credits,
for their eligible 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 City of New Rochelle to put out energy
services for bid. Eligible 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 City of New Rochelle 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-0224, Proceeding on Motion of the
Commission to Enable Community Choice Aggregation Programs (issued
April 20, 2016; hereinafter the "CCA Framework Order").
D.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Community Choice
Aggregation (Energy) Program of the City of New Rochelle."
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 set forth below, or if not so defined,
as employed in the State of New York Public Service Commission's
Uniform Business Practices.
A municipal energy procurement program, which replaces the
incumbent utility as the default electric and/or gas supplier for
all bundled customers within the City of New Rochelle. The CCA Program
may include community distributed generation credits on an opt-out
basis and other DER offerings on an opt-in basis.
Community shared renewables program expanding customer access
to the environmental and system benefits of qualifying renewable project
generation located behind a nonresidential host meter based on remotely
sharing net metering or VDER monetary credits through a monetary credit
applied to the utility bills of participating customers.
The monetary credit applied to the utility bills of participating
customers through the CDG program.
Utility data for all opt-out eligible customers, including
account holder name, service address, primary language, if available,
any customer-specific alternate billing name and/or address, and other
relevant, authorized data.
Eligible Customers: Customers of electricity and/or natural
gas eligible to participate in CCA, either on an opt-out or opt-in
basis, as delineated in the CCA Framework Order.
Opt-out Eligible Customers: Eligible customers that are eligible
for opt-out treatment as delineated in the CCA Framework Order.
Participating Customers: Opt-out eligible customers who have
been enrolled subsequent to the opt-out process and other customers
who have opted in.
Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiatives that further
engage and/or reduce cost of service for participating consumers,
optimize system benefits, and/or address infrastructure and demand
challenges within the geography of the CCA, including, but not limited
to, local renewable energy projects, community-distributed generation,
peak demand management, energy efficiency, demand response, energy
storage, community resilience microgrid projects, and other innovative
initiatives.
Owner or controller of the means of distribution of the natural
gas or electricity that is regulated by the Public Service Commission.
The provision of energy supply as electric power and/or natural
gas or the provision of DER offerings.
New York State Public Service Commission.
Energy service companies (ESCOs) that procure electric power
and natural gas and/or DER providers and/or other entities with authority
to provide energy services for participating customers in connection
with this chapter.
A not-for-profit organization comprised of member municipalities
in Westchester County, New York.
REV proceeding (Case 15-E-0751) that replaces the net metering
program with a weighted value stack tariff mechanism for accurately
pricing distributed energy resources on the grid as a reflection of
their system value. Value stack components include the price of energy,
capacity, avoided carbon emissions, cost savings to customers and
utilities, demand reduction and locational relief. The goal of this
proceeding is to increase DER penetration and benefits of DER installations.
A.
A Community Choice Aggregation (Energy) Program is hereby established
by the City of New Rochelle, whereby the City of New Rochelle shall
work together with Sustainable Westchester to implement the CCA Program
to the full extent permitted by the CCA Framework Order, as set forth
more fully herein. The City of New Rochelle's role under the
CCA Program involves the aggregating of the demand for energy of its
eligible customers and the entering into contracts for energy services.
Under the CCA Program, the operation and ownership of the utility
service shall remain with the distribution utility.
B.
The City of New Rochelle's participation in a CCA Program constitutes
neither the purchase of a public utility system nor the furnishing
of utility service. The City of New Rochelle will not take over any
part of the electric or gas transmission or distribution system and
will not furnish any type of utility service, but will instead negotiate
with suppliers on behalf of participating customers.
C.
In order to implement the CCA Program, the City of New Rochelle will
adopt resolutions that outline the process of and conditions for participation
in the CCA Program, including but not limited to signing a contract
for a compliant bid with one or more suppliers, all as consistent
with this chapter and the CCA Framework 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 suppliers, the operation by which suppliers
provide energy services, and the terms on which customers may be enrolled
with suppliers.
A.
As permitted by the CCA Framework Order, the City of New Rochelle
may request from the distribution utilities aggregated customer information
by fuel type, service classification and other relevant, authorized
data.
B.
Sustainable Westchester, on behalf of the City of New Rochelle, shall
issue one or more requests for proposals to suppliers to provide energy
to participants and may then award one or more contracts in accordance
with the CCA Program.
C.
Sustainable Westchester or the City of New Rochelle, if the City
so chooses, will then request customer-specific data from the distribution
utility in accordance with the CCA Program.
D.
Sustainable Westchester or the City of New Rochelle, if the City
so chooses, and the selected supplier(s) will then notify opt-out
eligible customers of the contract terms and opportunity to opt out
of the CCA Program energy supply and/or CDG credits.
E.
In accordance with and for purposes of the CCA Framework Order, the
distribution utility will provide to Sustainable Westchester customer-specific
data (including usage data capacity tag obligations, account numbers,
and service addresses) of all eligible customers in the City of New
Rochelle.
F.
Sustainable Westchester and the City of New Rochelle will protect
customer information as required by law, subject to the CCA Framework
Order and the limitations of the New York State Freedom of Information
Law.
A.
The City of New Rochelle will notify, or will cause notification
of, its opt-out eligible customers by letter notice, of the City of
New Rochelle establishing the CCA Program, of the contract terms with
the supplier, and of the opportunity to opt out of the CCA Program
offerings.
B.
The letter notice will be sent to each opt-out eligible customer
at the address provided by the distribution utility and explain the
CCA Program and the material provisions of the supplier 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 at least 30 days.
Sustainable Westchester shall be responsible for filing an annual
report with the Public Service Commission, as required in the CCA
Framework Order.
