The Board of Water and Power Commissioners under the authority of Charter Sections 373 and 604(c) is authorized to delegate to the General Manager of the Department of Water and Power the authority and the power to enter into loan agreements with Department of Water and Power customers for water conservation and energy efficiency projects (WCEEP), solar energy projects (SEP) and utility infrastructure projects (UIP), subject to the following requirements.
(a) The Chief Accounting Employee of the Department must first certify that the proposed contract satisfies all the requirements of this section.
(b) Only Department of Water and Power customers that have not received energy efficiency project loans under Section 23.138 shall be eligible for loans under this section.
(c) All customers receiving WCEEP, SEP, and UIP loans shall be the service account holder of record with the Department for the facility where the equipment will be installed and shall remain full service customers of the Department of Water and Power for the life of the loan. Full service includes, but is not limited to, generation, transmission, and distribution services, except the customer will be allowed to own and operate on-site solar generation facilities.
(d) All customers receiving SEP loans shall install the solar energy system by using a business entity that has a City of Los Angeles Business Tax Registration Certificate and whose principal place of business is located within the City of Los Angeles. This requirement shall be made an express condition precedent to every SEP loan.
(e) The funds provided by the Department of Water and Power to finance Water and Power Customer Energy Efficiency programs (WCEEP), Solar Energy Projects (SEP), Utility Infrastructure Project (UIP) loans, and any other Green Retrofit Program loans as contemplated by Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 5.532, along with applicable interest payments, shall be at the Department's cost of funds and shall be fully recovered within the life of the measure(s) financed up to a maximum of twenty years.
(f) Excluding residential customers and the City of Los Angeles, the funds provided by the Department of Water and Power to finance WCEEP, SEP, and UIP loans shall not exceed one year's worth of revenues to be derived from that customer. However, the Department of Water and Power may provide loans for amounts greater than one year's worth of revenues if the Board of Water and Power Commissioners approve each of those loans on an individual basis. The funds provided to finance WCEEP loans to residential customers will be limited to the earlier of the payback period of the project financed or ten years, pursuant to Subsection (d).
(g) Excluding any loans made to the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Water and Power's aggregate outstanding loan balance pursuant to this ordinance shall not exceed $15 million without further City Council approval.
(h) The Department of Water and Power's General Manager and/or the Department's Chief Accounting Employee shall conduct credit checks on customers seeking Department of Water and Power WCEEP, SEP, and UIP loans and develop necessary safeguards to insure repayment.
(i) The Department of Water and Power's Chief Accounting Employee shall determine, on at least a quarterly basis and through a generally accepted sampling method, whether the conditions described in this section have been met. These quarterly audits shall include a description of the number of WCEEP, SEP, and UIP loan agreements entered into and an analysis and summary of delinquency and default rates by customers, and administrative costs and expenses. The General Manager and the Chief Accounting Employee shall report these findings to the Board of Water and Power Commissioners and to the City Council on at least an annual basis.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 172,550, Eff. 5-17-99.
Amended by: Ord. No. 173,236, Eff. 6-19-00, Oper. 7-1-00; Ord. No. 179,147, Eff. 9-30-07; Subsec. (e), Ord. No. 182,721, Eff. 10-30-13.