ATTACHMENT 2
SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES
BWP RULES AND REGULATIONS
JUNE 2023
Article Revision Reason
Part 1 General
Rules and
Regulations for
Utility Service
1.12 (f)BWP requires the following safety
clearances around overhead electrical facilities:
High Fire Threat District
(https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/firemap/) – 12 feet
All other areas – 4 feet
Customers are responsible for maintaining trees
and other foliage vegetation on their property to
keep them from growing into or ontothe required
safety clearances around BWP overhead
electrical facilities.
Customers must ensure that any vegetation
maintenance work is performed by certified
arborists who are trained to work around
energized power lines.
To limit liability, we wanted to clarify
two items:
- customers must clear vegetation
according to set clearances
- customers must use certified
arborists who are trained to work
around power lines
Part 2 Rules
and Regulations
Governing
Electric Service
2.01 (j) Although there are occasional exceptions,
BWP uses the following guidelines thresholds for
determining a development’s required Customer
electrical facilities based on BWP ’s estimate of
that development’s peak electrical demand:
This change adds clarity to two items:
- The demand calculations are based
on the entire development vs an
individual customer, as certain
developments can encompass several
parcels and customers.
- The peak electrical demand is an
estimation performed by BWP based
on submitted load schedules and panel
sizes.
2.30 (c) Overhead service will not be
provided to any Customer:
1. Having a single -phase
panel of more than 400 amps.
2. Having a three-phase panel
of more than 200 amps.
3. Having a combined single-
phase and three -phase panel
capacity of more than 600
amps.
As currently written, this section
conflicts with section 2.50(a). These
changes align the two sections and are
reflective of current practice.
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4. Having a multi -dwelling
building of ten units or more.
5. Having
commercial/industrial space of
10,000-sq. ft. or above.
6. With a service attachment
higher than 23 feet above the
final exterior building grade.
7. With a service attachment
point location that does not
provide safe ladder access.
8. With a new development
that requires total building
demolition.
For multi- dwelling buildings, a Any service for
120/208 or 277/480 volt shall require onsite
transformation, depending on the field
conditions.
2.52 (b) Padmount switches shall rest on a
10-foot 6- inch x 7- foot x 8- inch reinforced
concrete pad with an 8-foot 6-inch x 5-foot vault
below the pad. An 8- foot minimum working
clearance is required directly in the front and the
back of the pad and a 34-foot minimum from both
sides. Vertical clearance must be 14’ minimum
from the switch pad level. Any design that would
restrict vertical access clearance to a level below
40’ shall be subject to BWP approval. See BWP
Drawing S -462. A minimum 2526.5-foot x 15-
foot easement for each padmount switch and a 5-
foot-wide easement for the underground duct
system from the property line to each switch will
be required. An exact amount of space for the
recorded easement will be determined after the
design is complete. The developer/property
owner’s surveyor will provide a legal description
of the easement, which will be reviewed by BWP
and then processed by the Community
Development Department (contact 818-238-5250
for recording). For padmount switch/transformer
pad required clearances and orientation see BWP
drawings S-600 through S-606 and S-732.
These changes align with recent safety
clearance standard changes in our
specifications.
2.52 (k) If the required safety clearance
around a switch or transformer abuts a solid
This additional clearance improves the
safety by allowing our fields crews to
have additional clearance for escape in
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obstruction, the safety clearances shall be
increased by 2 feet.
situations where they are backed up
against a wall.
2.53 (c) Service cables from the secondary
side of BWP’s padmount transformer to the
Customer’s electrical switchgear shall be copper.
Adding this section aligns with our
standard of requiring copper
secondary conductors from our
transformers to customer switchgear.
This was historically captured on
electrical plans only.
2.90 (a) A 69 kV Customer station will be
required for cases where a Customer BWP’s
estimated peak demand for a development is more
than 5 MVA, or the electrical distribution system
lacks the capacity to serve such a load and 69 kV
circuits are reasonably near the project. The
Customer must provide the necessary space
easement (with a minimum of 125 feet x 80 feet,
with two 20- foot access roads on two sides)
depending on the magnitude of load and the
configuration of the lines that will be extended to
the station. A 69 kV line extension will normally
be underground and loop- fed to ensure service
reliability and system integrity. A radial service
may be provided where reliability of service is not
critical and does not affect system integrity.
This change adds clarity to two items:
- The demand calculations are based
on the entire development vs. an
individual customer, as certain
developments can encompass several
parcels and customers.
- The peak electrical demand is an
estimation performed by BWP based
on submitted load schedules and panel
sizes.
Part 3 Electric
Rates, Fees and
Charges
3.26 (g) Off-Site Facility Charges.
1. Capacity Charge. AThe Customer
or /Developer requesting a new,
upgraded or replacement metered
electric panel (a “Customer -
Developer”) will be charged a
Capacity Charge based on the kVA
demand of suchany new, upgraded,
or replaced metered electric panelsa
fee per gross leasable square foot ,
which will be applied according to
the current City of Burbank Fee
Resolution. The kVA demand is
calculated using the following:
(a) Residential Panel Factor. A
20% factor is used to calculate
the kVA demand of an all -
The capacity charge section was added
to capture additional costs incurred by
the ratepayers for additional capacity
required for new developments (large
and small). Collecting these costs
across the board will limit the large
financial burden on the ratepayers of
building new substation capacity in
the future when demand increases.
ATTACHMENT 2
residential metered electric
panel ( inexcluding associated
metered house panels). If the
panel is fully rated, a 25%
factor is used to calculate the
kVA demand for that panel.
Example 1: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing
a new 200A 240V single phase electric residential
panel. The kVA demand is 200A x 240V x 20%
equaling 9,600 VA (9.6 kVA)
Example 2: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing
a new 200A 240V fully rated single phase electric
residential p anel. The kVA demand is 200A x
240V x 25% equaling 12,000 VA (12kVA).
(b) Commercial Panel Factor. A
65% factor is used to calculate
the kVA demand of a
commercial metered electric
panel (including meter house
panels feeding any
commercial service). If the
panel is fully rated, an 81.25%
factor is used to calculate the
kVA demand for that panel.
Example 1: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing
a new 200A 480V three phase electric
commercial panel. The kVA demand is 200A x
480V x 1.73 x 65% equaling 107,952 VA ( 108
kVA)
Example 2: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing
a new 200A 480V fully rated three phase electric
commercial panel. The kVA demand is 200A x
480V x 1.73 x 81.25% equaling 134,940 VA ( 135
kVA)
(c) Credit. For metered electric
ATTACHMENT 2
panel upgrades or
replacements, a credit for the
kVA demand of the existing
permitted metered panel (to be
removed) will be applied
towards the kVA demand of
the proposed metered panel (to
be installed). Credit for an
existing metered panel may
only be applied if the metered
electric panel has been
permitted in its exist ing form,
capacity, and location through
a finalized Building Division
electric permit and still exists
on site in the location it was
permitted. In case of a
reduction in kVA demand
after application of credit, no
Capacity Charge payment is
due to the Customer -
Developer. Credit may not be
transferred between Premises.
Example: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing to
upgrade an existing permitted 100A 480V three
phase electric commercial panel to a 200A 480V
three phase electric commercial panel. The kVA
demand is calculated as 200A x 480V x 1.73 x 65%
equaling 107,952 VA with an applied credit of
100A x 480V x 1.73 x 65% equaling 53,976VA.
The kVA demand with credit applied is 107,952
VA - 53,976 VA equaling 53,976 VA (54.0 kVA).
(d) For Premises with multiple
electric panels, each metered
electric panel’s kVA demand
is calculated separately, and
the Ca pacity Charge is based
on the aggregate kVA demand
of all metered electric panels.
Example: A cCustomer-Developer is proposing
one (1) new 200A 480V fully rated three phase
ATTACHMENT 2
electric commercial panel and (1) new 600A
208V three phase residential panel. The kVA
demand is calculated as the aggregate of 200A x
480V x 1.73 x 81.25% equaling 134,940 VA and
600A x 208V x 1.73 x 20% equaling 43,181 VA.
The kVA demand is 134,940 VA + 43,181 VA
equaling 178,121 VA (178.1 kVA).
(e) This Capacity Charge section
does not apply to single family
residential electric panel
upgrades for up to 200A 240V.
(f) This Capacity Charge section
does not apply to
developments subject to
Section 2.01 (j) with BWP
estimated peak electrical
demand of 5M VAW or more
that require a separate service
agreement.
(g) Capacity Charge applies to
services with electric service
confirmations or Aid- In-
Construction letters written or
updated on October 1, 2023
onward. Projects with a valid
electric service confirmations
or AIC letter may retain the
current pricing if paid prior to
the expiration of the electric
service confirmation or AIC
letter. If the electric service
confirmation or AIC letter
expires and a renewal is
requested on or after October
1, 2023, then the updated
electric service confirmation
or AIC letter sha ll include the
Capacity Charge.
1.2. Off-site improvement costs. The
ATTACHMENT 2
Customer-D/developer will pay up to
100% of the cost of off -site
improvements to extend or upgrade
overhead/underground distribution
lines to the project site if it benefits
only that particular Customer -
D/developer.
or
The cost may be shared between the
Customer-D/developer and BWP if
off-site improvement benefits the
whole area, including any new
Customer/developer.
2.3. Off-site improvement chargecosts
(Section 3.26(g)(2)) shall be required
in the following cases:
(a) Multi-Family Dwellings to be
served from Underground
Circuits.
(b) High-rise Commercial
Developments to be served
from Underground Circuits.
(c) Large Industrial Developments
to be served from Underground
Circuits.
(d) Off-site improvement
overhead/underground to
increase capacity to serve any
new load.
(e) The existing underground
system has to be extended for
500 feet or more.
.26 (h) 69 kV Customer Station. 69 kV Customer
Station charges shall be as follows:
1. The Customer will pay for
line extensions from the closest
point to the new Customer
station both in public right -of-
way and on private
property. The Customer will
also pay for 69,000 volt Gas
Insulated Switchgear (GIS) and
associated building enclosure.
These changes were made to remove
limitations on the ideal design for line
extension work that could be required.
Similarly, removing "low-side" keeps
the requirement more generic to
remove any potential limitations.
ATTACHMENT 2
2. The Customer will pay for
the cost of power transformers
and the cost of low -side
switchgear, including any
associated buildings. The
Customer will also pay for the
rest of the distribution lines
coming from the Customer
station, which are exclusively
used by that particular
Customer. These costs will be
in accordance. In the event the
Customer and BWP agree to
build a station larger than the
needs of the Customer , an
agreement will be negotiated to
share the cost, subject to the City
Council's approval.
e.
Part 6 Water
Rates, Fees and
Charges
6.02 (a) Applicability. The rates herein set forth
shall be applicable to all metered water within
the City serving multi-family residential,
commercial, industrial, the City and schools.
Added City as BWP bills city facilities
for water services.