Page 188 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

162 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

the energy service contract. (Gov. Code, Section 4217.12.) The term “energy
conservation facility” is defined at Government Code section 4217.11(e) to
mean: “alternate energy equipment, cogeneration equipment, or conservation
measures located in public buildings or on land owned by public agencies.”
Government Code section 4217.13 also authorizes a public agency to enter
into a facility financing contract and a facility ground lease on terms deter-
mined by the board to be in the best interest of the agency if the determination
is made at a regularly scheduled public hearing and if the governing body finds
that funds for the repayment of the financing or the cost of design, construction
and operation of the energy conservation facility, or both, are projected to be
available from revenues generated from the sale of electricity or thermal
energy from the facility or from funding that otherwise would have been used
for the purchase of electrical, thermal, or other energy required by the agency
in the absence of the energy conservation facility or both. As with energy
service contracts, State agency heads may make these findings without holding
a public hearing.
Public agencies typically support the findings required earlier for entering
into an energy service contract and facility financing contract upon a pre-
liminary survey of the agency’s existing energy equipment and usage con-
ducted by the prospective contractor. Government Code section 4217.15
authorizes a public agency to base its findings on projections for electrical and
thermal energy rates from the following sources: (1) the public utility that
provides thermal or electrical energy to the public agency; (2) the State Utilities
Commission; (3) the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission; or (4) the projections used by the Department of General Services
for evaluating the feasibility of energy conservation facilities at state facilities
located within the same public utility service area as the public agency.
Under this legislative scheme, public agencies may, “notwithstanding any
other provision of law,” enter into contracts for the sale of electricity, electrical
generating capacity, or thermal energy produced by the energy conservation
facility at rates and on such terms as may be approved by the governing board.
(Gov. Code, Section 4217.14.)
Although no competitive selection process is required, a public agency
may wish to solicit proposals to ensure it is receiving the greatest available
energy savings. Section 4217.16 of the Government Code provides for the
option of seeking proposals in stating:

Prior to awarding or entering into an agreement or lease, the public agency may
request proposals from qualified persons. After evaluating the proposals, the
public agency may award the contract on the basis of the experience of
the contractor, the type of technology employed by the contractor, the cost to the
local agency, and any other relevant considerations. The public agency may
utilize the pool of qualified energy service companies established pursuant to
Section 388 of the Public Utilities Code and the procedures contained in that
section in awarding the contract.