Los Angeles Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

Section 131.00 Scope. 131.01 Declaration of Purpose. 131.02 Definitions. 131.03 Authorizations. 131.04 Application. 131.05 Authority of the Mayor to Implement this Chapter. 131.06 Resolution of Conflicting Provisions.

There is hereby established a City of Los Angeles Emergency Energy Curtailment Plan and a City of Los Angeles Emergency Capacity Curtailment Plan.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an energy curtailment plan and a capacity curtailment plan to minimize the effect of a possible shortage of electrical energy or capacity on customers of the Department and to adopt provisions that will significantly reduce the consumption of electricity over an extended or peak period of time, thereby maximizing the available fuel and reducing power system loading while minimizing the hardship on the City and the general public.

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall be construed as defined in this section unless from the context a different meaning is intended or unless a different meaning is specifically defined within individual sections of this chapter:

a. “City” means The City of Los Angeles.

b. “Mayor” means the Mayor of The City of Los Angeles.

c. “City Council” means the Council of The City of Los Angeles.

d. “Board” means the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.

e. “Citizens Advisory Committee” and “Committee” mean the advisory committee appointed by the City Council and Mayor and described in Section 134.10 of this ordinance.

f. “Department” means the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles unless some other department of the City is expressly described.

g. “General Manager” means the General Manager of the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles. (Amended by Ord. No. 173,307, Eff. 6/30/00, Oper. 7/1/00.)

h. “Section” means a section of this chapter.

i. “Customer” includes every person, firm, corporation, state or local governmental agency, or public district using or receiving electricity from the Department.

j. “Chapter” means the ordinance providing for “The Emergency Energy and Capacity Curtailment Plan of The City of Los Angeles.”

k. “Officer” means every person designated in Section 200 of the Los Angeles City Charter as being an officer of The City of Los Angeles. (Amended by Ord. No. 173,307, Eff. 6/30/00, Oper. 7/1/00.)

l. “Base Period” means that period of time over which the base is computed.

m. “Base” means the amount of electrical energy used on a customer’s premises for corresponding billing periods ending within twelve (12) months prior to the implementation date of this ordinance.

n. “Peak Demand Hours” means those hours of each day when customer demand for electricity approaches and may exceed the Department’s total electrical generating capability, and shall be established

pursuant to Section 131.06 of this chapter.

o. “Street Lighting” means every electric lamp erected or suspended on or over a freeway, highway, street, sidewalk or parkway, whether publicly or privately owned and which is open to public access at any

time, and is used in the lighting thereof, or any wire or other apparatus immediately attached to such lamp. Utilitarian street lighting in residential areas shall not be deemed street lighting within the meaning of this chapter.

p. “Recreational or cultural activity” means an activity to which the public generally is admitted for the purpose of participating in or witnessing an exhibition, including but not limited to, sporting events,

plays, concerts, amusement parks and similar enterprises. “Noncommercial recreational or cultural activities” means those recreational or cultural activities such as playgrounds or school and college athletics from which no profit is derived or expected to be derived for any or all of the persons engaged in each such activity. “Commercial recreational or cultural activities” means all other recreational or cultural activities.

The various officers, boards, departments, bureaus and agencies of the City are hereby authorized to immediately implement the provisions of this chapter upon a declaration by the Mayor as provided in Section 131.05.

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all customers of the Department, to all property situated within the limits of the City, and to all property and facilities owned, maintained, operated or under the jurisdiction of the various officers, boards, departments, bureaus or agencies of the City.

The Mayor is hereby granted the authority to order the implementation of the provisions of this chapter at such times as the General Manager determines that the Department’s fuel or capacity situation is, or appears that it may soon become, critical. Said order shall be made in writing and shall identify the applicable provisions and/or phases of the provisions of this chapter which are to be implemented and shall state with specificity the peak demand hours of the day during which the capacity curtailment provisions of Article III shall be in effect.

The Mayor shall have the discretionary authority to waive the monetary penalty provisions set forth in Section 134.02 and, if so waived, shall state such waiver in order implementing this chapter.

At such time as the General Manager determines the Department’s fuel or capacity situation is no longer critical or likely to become critical, the General Manager shall so notify the office of the Mayor who may order that the applicable provisions and/or phases of the provisions of this chapter, whichever may be in effect at the time of said order, shall no longer be in effect until further order is made in a like manner.

The Mayor may also order implementation of the provisions of this chapter at such times as the Governor of the State declares there is to be a state of emergency caused by a severe energy or capacity shortage pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act.

At such time as any provision of this chapter may be ordered to provide capacity, energy or both to another electric utility, the General Manager shall provide the Mayor with a written estimate of the cost to be incurred by the Department as the consequence of the Mayor’s order and a description of the method by which these costs will be recovered, whether by money, capacity, energy or a combination thereof.

This section shall not be construed as prohibiting the Department, in its sound discretion, from responding to an emergency call for assistance by another electric utility within normal operating procedures.

The City Council may, by a majority vote, ratify any order made by the Mayor in implementing this chapter or may, by a two-thirds vote, rescind any such order, or part thereof.

All orders made pursuant to this chapter shall be by public proclamation, and shall be published one (1) time in a daily newspaper of general circulation. All such orders shall become effective immediately upon such publication or upon personal notice to the customer, whichever first occurs. Upon the suspension of Phase II provisions as herein provided, the provisions of Phase I shall likewise be immediately suspended unless specifically reinstated in the order.

At any time that the provisions of Article II of this chapter (the Emergency Energy Curtailment Plan) and the provisions of Article III of this chapter (the Emergency Capacity Curtailment Plan) are simultaneously implemented, those provisions of Article III which require a greater reduction in the consumption of electricity or capacity shall supercede conflicting provisions of Article II during the peak demand hours.