[Enacted by § 1, L.L. No. 2-1982[2]]
A.
Pursuant to Article 14-A of the General
Municipal Law and other laws applicable thereto, a City Electric Agency
("Agency") is hereby established for the purpose of operating a public
utility electric service within the City's territorial limits to furnish
to itself or, for compensation, to its inhabitants any electric service
similar to that furnished by any public utility company specified
in Article 4 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 Agency shall acquire hydroelectric
power from PASNY for delivery to the local private utility company
service area in the City; and
(2)
The 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 Agency to electric
customers in the local private utility company service area in the
City.
C.
The method of furnishing such electric
service shall consist of acquiring PASNY hydroelectric power; delivering
said 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; and delivering
said 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 Agency, deliver said power and collect and remit to the Agency
the charges therefor.
D.
All agreements entered into in furtherance
of acquisition and operation of the Agency's service shall first be
approved by the City Council. Rates for the sale of PASNY hydroelectric
power by the Agency shall be established by the City Council 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
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 said 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 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 its streets.
Any material amendment of this article,
including any attempt by the City or the Agency to exercise the power
of condemnation of the local private utility company's generation,
distribution and transmission system, or to establish transmission
or distribution facilities separate from the local private utility
company for the purpose of this article, shall not be effective unless
approved by the voters at a referendum as required by Article 14-A
of the General Municipal Law.
