§ 70-584. Availability and establishment of service.

(a)

Application for service. Information may be obtained from the electric engineering division as to the availability of service at the location where it is desired. Application for such service should be made by the customer, at the customer service center, at the earliest possible time so that details for furnishing service may be determined. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the utility, and except as provided in section 70-585, applications will be accepted only upon the condition that the utility shall not be under any obligation to render service other than that character of service then available at the proposed point of delivery. Any such application or agreement shall be subject to all the provisions of this division and the rate schedules.

(b)

Installation of underground facilities. All electric service extensions to new developments subject to the site plan or platting process for the city or Marion County and within the city electric utility service territory will be installed underground and all differential charges, contribution-in-aid-of-construction, and other applicable fees as provided for elsewhere in these ordinances will be paid by the developer.

Exemptions: The following items shall be exempt from complying with the provisions of this section. Additional exceptions where installing underground electric would cause undue hardship may be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemption by the city electric engineering division with approval from the director of the electric utility or designee.

(1)

Any new preliminary or amended site plan submitted prior to the effective date of this section unless underground electric facilities are already installed or planned by the city.

(2)

Any preliminary or revised preliminary subdivision plat application, submitted to the city or Marion County prior to the effective date of this section unless underground electric facilities are already installed or planned by the city.

(3)

Any residential or agricultural lot or parcel greater than 40,000 square feet in size where an overhead source is available. If an underground source is already available or planned, underground will be required.

(4)

Temporary facilities installed to provide emergency utility services.

(5)

Utility equipment utilized for street lighting purposes.

(6)

Utility equipment utilized exclusively for vehicular and pedestrian traffic control purposes.

(7)

Utility equipment appurtenant to underground facilities, such as pad-mounted transformers, switches, terminal boxes, meters, cabinets, vaults, and pedestals.

(8)

Temporary utility equipment utilized or to be utilized exclusively in conjunction with construction projects, seasonal, or special event installations. Upon installation of permanent utility service, above ground service shall be removed.

(9)

Electric substations, electrical distribution lines designated as main feeder lines on the utilities distribution switching schematic, or electrical transmission lines rated for greater than 15 kV.

(10)

Equipment installed by the utility which should not be installed underground for engineering, safety, or environmental regulatory reasons.

(11)

Utility lines where severe disruption of existing improvements, diminished quality of service, or undue difficulty in repair would occur.

(12)

Utility lines where an affected adjoining property owner will not consent to modification of easements.

(c)

Submission of load data. In order to ensure that capacity is available to provide satisfactory service to the customer, load data must be submitted to the electric engineering division at the earliest possible time to allow for ordering of materials.

(d)

Temporary installations. The utility will, where it has a source of supply readily available, furnish service for temporary installations as provided for in the utility's rate tariff temporary service (TS).

(Code 1961, § 21-44(A)(12)b; Ord. No. 1625, § 1, 1-3-84; Code 1985, § 24-122.4; Ord. No. 2784, § 6, 9-16-97; Ord. No. 5753, § 2, 12-18-07)