RESOLUTION NO. 2026-030
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VERNON
AMENDING NATURAL GAS RULE NO. 14 (SERVICE CONNECTIONS
AND FACILITIES ON CUSTOMER’S PREMISES) REGARDING THE
RULES FOR GAS SERVICE, FOR GAS DISTRIBUTED AND SUPPLIED
BY THE CITY WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES
SECTION 1. Recitals.
A. The City of Vernon (City) is a chartered municipal corporation of the State of California that owns, operates, and maintains a gas distribution system, which includes not only mains and appurtenances but also meters, laterals, and other connection infrastructure.
B. Pursuant to Vernon Municipal Code Section 13.28.050, the rules for gas service for the Vernon natural gas system shall be adopted by resolution of the City Council.
C. On October 6, 2006, the Vernon City Council adopted Resolution No. 9134, establishing the City of Vernon Gas Municipal Utility Department Rules for the Gas Division (Rules for Gas Service).
D. On June 18, 2013, the Vernon City Council adopted Resolution No. 2013-064 amending portions of the Rules for Gas Service.
E. Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Service Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises) specifically addresses the service connections and facilities located on a customer’s premises. The proposed amendments to Rule No. 14 clarify the roles and responsibilities of Customers and the Utility related to service connections, installations, maintenance, and expenses for Customer and Utility equipment and infrastructure.
1. Section A (Service Connection) states that only Utility-authorized personnel are permitted to connect or disconnect natural gas service. The Utility is responsible for the planning, design, and construction of all service connections in accordance with its standards. Additionally, all equipment from the Distribution Main to the Point of Delivery is considered Utility-owned service facilities.
2. Section B (Maintenance of Services) states that the Utility is responsible for constructing, owning, operating, and maintaining natural gas lines where it has legal access, with any required easements obtained by the Customer at their expense. All service facilities remain Utility property, and the Utility retains the right to access Customer property as needed to manage those facilities.
3. Section C (Meters and Appliances) establishes that all meters and service facilities installed by the Utility remain its property and may be repaired, replaced, or Resolution No. 2026-030
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removed at its discretion. The Customer may not charge for their placement, must not tamper with them, and is responsible for protecting them and reporting any issues. The Utility may remove its equipment upon termination of service.
4. Section D (Connection Costs) currently utilizes a complex formula that relies on the customer’s “projected” annual usage and “projected annual transportation revenues” to allocate costs between the City and the Customer, which could result in significant costs being assigned to the City. The fixed formula creates a liability for the utility because there is no recourse to recover any of the connection costs if the Customer uses less gas than projected or terminates service soon after connection. Vernon Public Utilities (VPU) proposes revising this section by removing the fixed cost-share formula and allowing full cost recovery.
5. Section E (Meter Installations) establishes processes for meter installations and requires the Customer to provide an approved, accessible location for meters and related equipment, typically near the property line, unless an alternate location is justified and approved. The Utility may install communication systems for meter access and can require relocation if the meter becomes inaccessible, at the Customer’s expense.
6. Section F (Customer Responsible for Equipment for Receiving Natural Gas) establishes that Customers are responsible, at their own cost and risk, for installing, maintaining, and safely operating all equipment used to receive and use natural gas beyond the Point of Delivery. Additionally, it establishes that the Utility is not liable for damages resulting from the Customer’s equipment or actions, and the Utility does not assist with operating or relighting Customer-owned appliances.
F. The General Manager of Public Utilities has recommended that the Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Service Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises) be amended.
G. The City Council of the City of Vernon desires to amend Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Service Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises) for gas services distributed and supplied by the City within its boundaries.
H. On May 14, 2026, a public notice of the proposed Adoption of a Resolution Amending Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Services Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises) was published in the Los Angeles Wave (Huntington Park Bulletin).
I. The City Council of the City of Vernon has heard and considered this item during its regular meeting on June 16, 2026, and finds that all persons have had the opportunity to be heard or to file written comments to the proposed amendments.
J. The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby has heard and considered all evidence, both written and oral, presented in consideration of the proposed amendment Resolution No. 2026-030
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of Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Service Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VERNON AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 2. The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby finds and determines that the above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 3. The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby amends Natural Gas Rule No. 14 (Service Connections and Facilities on Customer’s Premises) for gas services supplied by the City, to be effective June 16, 2026, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
SECTION 4. All resolutions or parts of resolutions not consistent with or in conflict with this resolution are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any provision of this Resolution or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications, and to this end, the provisions of this Resolution are declared to be severable.
SECTION 6. The City Clerk, or Deputy City Clerk, shall certify the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED June 16, 2026.
MELISSA YBARRA, Mayor
ATTEST:
GENOVEVA ROCHA, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ZAYNAH MOUSSA-MILWARD,
City Attorney
Resolution No. 2026-030
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CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF VERNON )
I do hereby certify that the attached is a true copy of Resolution No. 2026-030 that was passed and adopted at the Regular Meeting held on June 16, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
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GENOVEVA ROCHA, City Clerk
City of Vernon Council Resolution 2026-030 effective June 16, 2026 Rule No. 14. SERVICE CONNECTIONS AND FACILITIES ON CUSTOMER’S
PREMISES
A. Service Connections. Only duly authorized and Operator Qualified employees and contractors of the Utility are allowed to connect or disconnect the Customer’s service to the Utility’s natural gas Distribution Mains. The Utility is responsible for planning, designing, and engineering Service Connections in accordance with the Utility’s standards for materials, design, and construction.
The Utility’s Service Facilities include all Utility-owned equipment between the Distribution Main and the Point of Delivery, including connection fittings, the Service Line, Valves, Regulators, Utility-owned Metering Equipment, and any other related service equipment owned by the Utility.
B. Maintenance of Services. The Utility will construct, own, operate, and maintain natural gas lines along public streets, roads, and highways where it has legal access, as well as on public or private property where rights-of-way or easements acceptable to the City are secured at the Customer’s expense and without cost or condemnation by the City. At the Utility’s request, the applicant shall provide such rights-of-way or easements with all required approvals.
All Service Facilities remain the sole property of the Utility. The Utility reserves the right, through its employees or agents, to enter the Customer’s property at any time to remove, repair, replace, or abandon such facilities as operational conditions require.
C. Meters and Appliances. All Service Facilities installed by the Utility upon the Customer’s Premises for the purpose of delivering natural gas to the Customer shall continue to be the property of the Utility and may be repaired, replaced, or removed by the Utility at any time.
No rent or other charge whatsoever will be made by the Customer against the Utility for placing or maintaining said Service Facilities upon the Customer’s Premises. All Meters will be sealed by the Utility, and no such seal shall be tampered with or broken except by a representative of the Utility appointed for that purpose. The Customer shall exercise reasonable care to prevent the Service Facilities of the Utility upon said Premises from being damaged or destroyed, and shall refrain from interfering with the same, and, in case any defect therein shall be discovered, shall notify the Utility thereof.
The Utility shall have the right to remove any and all of its facilities installed on the Customer’s Premises at the termination of service.
D. Connection Costs. Connection costs include, but are not limited to, traffic control, surface sawing, trenching, boring, pipe, tapping, backfill, surface restoration, meter, regulators, electronic corrector, permits, and any other material, labor, and equipment necessary for the Utility to connect Customer, up to and including the meter, regulator(s), and electronic corrector (meter equipment). Connection costs shall not include costs incurred by Customer on the Customer side of the meter equipment. Connection costs shall be paid by the Customer in accordance with these Rules or other written agreement.
All installed facilities up to and including the meter equipment shall be owned, operated, and
EXHIBIT A
Resolution No. 2026-030
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City of Vernon Council Resolution 2026-030 effective June 16, 2026 maintained by the Utility. All installed facilities downstream of the meter equipment shall be owned and maintained by Customer.
If customer or contractor/builder/developer requests the Utility to revise, redesign, or change the Natural Gas Distribution System design for a project after final approval, and such request requires duplication of engineering effort and a reassignment of priorities to accommodate his/her construction schedule, all associated costs shall be charged in an amount necessary to recover all the Utility’s expenses including, but not limited to labor, overhead, outside consultants, and printing.
E. Meter Installations. The Customer shall provide an approved location for the Meter or Meters and associated equipment on the Premises, which at all times shall be accessible for inspection, reading, repair, replacement, and testing. In general, the Utility will approve a location if it is within close proximity to the property line of the premises, there is no superior alternate location, and it can be installed in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, safety, social, technological, and related business factors. The General Manager of Vernon Public Utilities, or designee may approve an alternate location not in proximity to the property line, on written findings that doing so would demonstrably reduce economic costs to the Utility, foster public safety, mitigate unreasonable disruption or cost to the property owner or occupant, or be preferable for engineering, geologic, or other related concerns. Approval of such alternate location is conditioned upon the City’s receiving necessary easements or license agreements to allow maintenance of the Utility’s equipment. If requested by the Utility, Customer shall allow the Utility, at the Utility’s expense, to install and maintain an active phone line terminating at the gas meter for the purpose of the Utility telephonically communicating with the meter. The Utility, at the Utility’s expense, may instead utilize wireless transmission or current technology to access meter data.
The Customer shall, at its own expense, provide a new and approved location whenever the existing location becomes inaccessible for inspection, reading, repair, replacement, or testing.
F. Customer Responsible for Equipment for Receiving Natural Gas. The Customer shall, at its own risk and expense, furnish, install, keep in good and safe condition, and maintain unobstructed access to meters, natural gas piping, appliances, fixtures and apparatus, of any kind or character, which may be required for receiving natural gas from the Utility, and for applying and utilizing such natural gas, beyond the Point of Delivery including all necessary protective appliances and suitable housing therefore, and the Utility shall not be responsible for any loss or damage occasioned or caused by the negligence, or wrongful act of the Customer or of any of its agents, employees, contractors or licensees in installing maintaining, using, operating or interfering with any such regulators, services, natural gas mains, appliances, fixtures or apparatus.
Utility personnel are not responsible for assisting Customers with turning on/off Customerowned equipment and appliances and/or relighting such equipment and appliances.
Resolution No. 2026-030
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