TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to enter into a California Direct Access Mitigation Consulting Agreement with Utility Resource Management Group, Inc., to provide utility cost containment information and materials relating to Direct Access electricity refunds and/or settlements. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On March 15, 2005, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a Direct
Access Recovery Non-Disclosure Agreement with Utility Resource Management Group Inc.
(URM) to provide utility cost containment information and materials relating to Direct Access
electricity refunds and/or settlements (Council letter attached). Subsequent to this date,
URM has prepared an analysis of fees and charges related to Direct Access Services
provided through New West Energy (NWE). Further, URM has projected the potential
expenditures to the City of Long Beach to return to Southern California Edison from Direct
Access as a result of NWE’s cancellation of our Direct Access agreement.
The proposed California Direct Access Mitigation Consulting Agreement will allow URM to
serve as the City’s exclusive consultant in connection with recovery and/or mitigation of past
and future charges, including surcharges and overcharges related to the City’s former
contracts with New West Energy. The term of the agreement shall continue until such time
that any claim brought by URM under the agreement is concluded, either by way of final
award, settlement or for any other reason.
Between September 1998 and January 2001 , the City of Long Beach contracted with New
West Energy for a discounted electric commodity supply for all 2,000 City electric accounts
in accordance with the Direct Access provisions of Assembly Bill 1890, which authorized the
restructuring of California’s electric utilities.
In December 2000, New West Energy notified the City that, due to the volatility of the
electricity market and financial losses sustained in providing electricity to the City, it was
susp...
Click here for full text