(1)Purpose: The purpose of this ordinance is to insure the safe and efficient transmission of natural gas to the citizens of Lawrenceville and the customers of the City of Lawrenceville Gas Department. It is also the purpose of this Ordinance to insure that only high quality pipe is uniformly used in systems which are to be dedicated to the City of Lawrenceville, that pipe is purchased in a cost effective manner, and that pipe manufacturers' warranties on pipe dedicated to the City of Lawrenceville be made directly to and held for the benefit of the City.
(2)Application:
(a)For projects to be constructed inside the city limits of Lawrenceville, the application shall cross reference the plats filed in the City Planning and Zoning Department.
(b)For projects to be constructed outside the city limits of Lawrenceville, the contractor or developer shall submit a final plat to the Gas Department showing the lot numbers and addresses of the lots in the subdivision.
(c)The Gas Department shall review the application, the signed contract and the plats and approve the application.
(d)Should the Gas Department refuse to approve an application, the contractor or developer may appeal to the Mayor and Council for review of the Department's decision. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the City Clerk within ten days of the Department's decision.
(3)Natural Gas Rates
(a)Base Rate: The base rate for natural gas charges to all customers shall be the actual cost of gas per unit paid by the City of Lawrenceville. The rate per unit is calculated by the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia and submitted to the City in the form of an invoice for all natural gas units consumed by the City of Lawrenceville natural gas system. The invoice of the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia shall include all costs of transportation and all charges for the units of natural gas consumed. The calculation shall be reduced to a unit measure of 1,000 cubic feet (“MCF”).
(b)Surcharge: In addition to the cost calculated pursuant to part (a) of this paragraph, an additional surcharge of $4.00 per MCF (1,000 cubic feet) shall be charged to each customer for each MCF used.
This surcharge is the cost charged by the City of Lawrenceville for providing the services from the point of delivery of the units to the City on the transportation system to the customers residential or commercial site for utilization. There shall be no differentiation between the cost charged to customers inside the City limits of Lawrenceville and those customers outside of the City limits of Lawrenceville. This rate is subject to modification after a public hearing before the Mayor and Council of the City of Lawrenceville, which meeting shall be properly advertised for the purpose of notification of gas customers.
(c)Base Charge: In addition to the costs in part (b) an additional monthly base fee of $21.00 for residential customers and $27.00 for commercial customers will be charged per meter per month. Dual fuel fees will be $26.00 for customers that have or install gas as an alternate fuel source aka “piggy back” units that pay a $500.00 up front demand charge and $31.00 per month for customers that do not pay the $500.00 up front demand charge per meter per month.
(d)Special Rates: The department head of the City of Lawrenceville Gas Department is authorized to enter into specific contracts with customers for gas rates that differ from paragraph (a), (b) and (c) above in the event the customer can demonstrate that they utilize a large quantity of natural gas during off-season periods when demand is lower and the utilization of the natural gas assists the City in covering the cost of transportation. In addition, the department head shall be authorized to enter into contracts with large volume customers at preferred rates. This special rate procedure shall only be authorized after a written agreement is submitted to the Mayor and Council for review and formal adoption of a specialized rate must be justified by the circumstances after a public hearing before the Mayor and Council.
As of the adoption of this ordinance, the City has a special rate for Publix Distribution Center facility, Ricoh and the Gwinnett County Hospital System. Contracts with these three specialized users are hereby approved consistent with the contracts that have already been reviewed by the Mayor and Council. Specialized contracts for specialized rates must be reduced to writing and be available for review at the City of Lawrenceville Gas Department.
(4)Permit Fee: If the Gas Department approves the application, it shall notify the contractor or developer in writing. The Gas Department shall also assess a permit fee based on the number of linear feet of pipe needed for construction of the pipeline. The Gas Department shall set and publish permitting fees based on linear feet of pipe and shall be the exclusive agent for supplying pipe which will be dedicated to the City and become a part of the City gas line. Upon the payment of the permitting fee, the city shall install the pipe and connect it to the City’s system. This permit fee may be waived by the Department Head of the Gas Department provided the contractor or developer installs sufficient natural gas appliances to qualify for the City’s Marketing Program.
(5)Inspection: The City Gas Department is authorized to inspect the construction of gas lines from time to time to monitor compliance with this Ordinance.