Chapter 28.10

FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

Sections:

The City Council finds and declares as follows:

• A. Article XI, section 9 of the California Constitution provides that a municipal corporation may establish, purchase, and operate public works to furnish its inhabitants with electricity.

• B. Section 39732 of the California Government Code provides that a city's legislative body may acquire, own, construct, maintain, and operate light, power, and heat works among others.

• C. Section 200 of Article II of the San José Charter authorizes the City to exercise all rights, powers, and privileges granted or prescribed by any law of the State.

• D. Section 800 of Article VIII of the Charter provides that the City Council has the power to establish departments and prescribe the functions, powers, and duties of those departments, as well as add to or change those functions, powers, and duties at any time.

• E. On September 16, 2022, the City Council accepted a report analyzing the benefits and risks of providing electric service to new developments in the City.

• F. The City desires to establish a municipal electric utility named San José Power, which will be administered as a division of the Energy Department.

• (Ord. 30956.)

The purpose of this Title is to provide resilient, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective electric

service to portions of the City by establishing the framework to own and operate an electric utility to provide electric power generation, transmission, and distribution services to its electric utility customers through the Energy Department's electric utility division, doing business as San José Power. (Ord. 30956.)