(A) It shall be the general policy of the city that electrical service to new areas of residential development shall be underground where soil conditions allow.
(1) The city will provide a point of connection for each building site. The point of connection shall be either on the lot line or across an adjacent alley or utility easement.
(2) The home owner, builder or developer shall install his or her underground service to the point of connection provided. The City Line Department will make the terminal connections.
(3) The home owner, builder or developer shall grant an easement to the city for placement of the necessary electrical facilities in the location needed.
(B) The city will permit and will facilitate in so far as possible the installation of underground service entrances by owners or builders to existing overhead lines where underground distribution facilities are not available.
(1) The city will provide a pole bearing secondary conductors of the proper voltage at some point on the owner’s lot line or across an adjacent alley or utility easement.
(2) The owner or builder shall have his service entrance conductors installed to the pole and up the pole to the secondary level. The conductors shall be protected on the pole by rigid electrical conduit with a suitable weather head at the top. A rain type of usable disconnect of the proper size shall be installed in the raceway on the pole as determined by the city. Enough free conductor shall be left at the top to reach the secondaries in their existing position. The neutral conductor shall be identified.
(3) City personnel will attach the service conductors to the city secondary line.
(4) The meter location shall be determined by the City Line Department.
(5) If the city replaces the overhead line with underground facilities later, it will attempt to provide service to the same location and will make whatever rearrangement of the owner’s service that is necessary to reconnect it to the new facilities.
(C) The city shall give consideration to the installation of buried distribution facilities in areas where groups of home owners petition to have the city remove its overhead facilities and replace them with underground facilities.
(1) It shall be the responsibility of the interested home owners to obtain written assurance of the willingness of all property owners involved to accomplish the change in their service entrance within a reasonable time and to assume its total cost.
(2) The area involved or segment of line involved must be large enough to be practical for consideration.
(3) If in the judgment of the city it is not practical, feasible or expedient to make the conversion reasonably soon after the request is made, the matter will be deferred until a time that mutual consent of all home owners involved and the city exists for proceeding with the conversion.
(D) The city may, at its discretion, improve and storm proof its distribution facilities through the replacement of overhead facilities with buried facilities.
(1) When such a change is planned in a given area, all home owners involved will be notified in writing that they must install underground services. Such a notice will be given not less than six months before the overhead facilities will be removed, at which time the new services must be in use in order to avoid loss of electrical service.
(2) When such a conversion is planned and the notice given, home owners must make the change to underground service entrance at their own expense.
(3) Exceptions to the provisions of division (D)(2) above will be made in those cases where the home owners existing service entrance has the full capacity as indicated by the latest provisions of the National Electrical Code for the house and occupancy involved. In those cases, the city will furnish and install the necessary underground service entrance conductors from the point of connection to the consumer’s service equipment. This shall be done at city expense but the service entrance shall become the property of the consumer who shall be responsible for all future repairs or maintenance on it. The home owner will be responsible for removal of his or her existing overhead service entrance and for any other change or rearrangement of the service equipment needed or desired.
(E) All commercial, industrial or other special services whether being considered for overhead or underground construction shall be given individual study and planning.
(F) The city recommends that all residential underground services be of 200-amp capacity.
(2003 Code, § 3.40-7)