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Council adopts Electric Cities of Georgia ordinance updates, including changes to solar/standby charges
Summary
Council voted to adopt amendments to Section 8-2104 to align East Point rates and meter categories with Electric Cities of Georgia standards, including raising a bidirectional meter charge to $4.50 and adding standby capacity rates; the ordinance was reviewed by the city attorney and ECG redline.
The East Point City Council on March 3 adopted an ordinance updating the city’s electric code to conform with recommendations from Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG), including new language on distributed generation and changes to charges for customers with solar (bidirectional) meters.
The ordinance updates amend Section 8-2104, the city’s distributed-generation provisions, and add standby-capacity rates that Mangrum said the city lacked. Mangrum told the council the bidirectional-meter surcharge for customers with solar panels would increase from $2.50 to $4.50; staff said standby-capacity rates for residential, small power, medium power and large power customers were also being added.
City attorney review and relationship with ECG
Council members asked whether the city attorney had reviewed the draft. Attorney Wiggins said she reviewed the redlined draft sent by ECG and had made changes requested by the association. Wiggins and Mangrum told council the ordinance changes were necessary to align East Point’s rate categories and terminology with ECG, which groups member cities under a common framework for rates and classifications.
Procedural steps and vote
Council moved to remove the item from the table, waived the first reading, and then voted to adopt the ordinance as presented (updates to section 8-2104). The motion carried; council did not enter a roll-call tally on the record beyond the standard “Aye”/“Opposed?” exchange.
Nut graf: East Point moved to align its distributed-generation rules and rates with Electric Cities of Georgia, changing the credit/charge structure for customers with rooftop solar and adding standby rates for multiple customer classes to maintain financial performance and consistency with other ECG cities.
What it means for customers
Staff said the change formalizes buyback/credit processes for customers with solar, and will allow ECG to review and provide the credit calculations returned to customers. Mangrum said the ordinance would help ensure the city is compensated where it incurs costs purchasing returned energy from large customers and brings the city’s rate and meter categories into alignment with ECG’s tiering and labeling.
Ending
Council tabled opportunity for additional public review earlier in the meeting, then ultimately approved the ordinance so the city can meet ECG’s timelines; staff said the ordinance could be placed on the March 17 agenda for any remaining procedural steps if further review was requested.
