Environment: Hueneme, Long Beach

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The governing board of the Port of Hueneme has adopted a resolution committing the port to water conservation measures in response to the statewide drought. Reduced electrical rates and infrastructure proposals approved by the California Public Utilities Commission will save Port of Long Beach tenants $350 million over the next 24 years, enabling them to forward with electrification and environment improvement projects.

Hueneme Takes Action to Conserve Water

The governing board of the Port of Hueneme has adopted a resolution declaring that the port will employ voluntary water usage restraint through various water conservation techniques recommended by the State of California and will work with the community, port tenants and industry partners to do the same.

In January, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. proclaimed a State of Emergency and directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for these drought conditions. The State of California, including Ventura County where the port is located, has received considerably less than normal rainfall amounts this calendar year.

"We will be sharing this resolution with our community and industry partners urging them to take action to conserve water," said Harbor Commission President Mary Anne Rooney. "We will be doing our part to tackle this important issue and encourage the conservation of water in our everyday operations and at our community events, such as the Banana Festival."

Long Beach: Reduced Electric Rates to Help Port Improve Air Quality, Save Tenants $350 Million

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on March 13 approved reduced electric rates at the Port of Long Beach for the next 24 years. The CPUC also approved a program for Southern California Edison (SCE) to install major electric infrastructure at no cost to the port or its tenants, enabling them to go forward with critical electrification and environmental improvement projects.

The new rates are projected to save maritime operators at the Port of Long Beach an estimated 15 percent each year on their electric bills during the 24-year term of the CPUC-approved reduction, an approximate $350 million from the current rates.

SCE will also be installing millions of dollars of new electric lines with voltage increased to 66 kilovolts and new substations as needed to serve the growing load at no cost to the port and its tenants. In addition, port tenants served at 66 kilovolts qualify for lower SCE rates, rather than higher rates at the existing 12 kilovolts.

This development follows several other important milestones in the effort to electrify the Port of Long Beach and, as a result, improve air quality and increase competitiveness:

Following years of negotiations, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners last summer entered into a 25-year contract with SCE that, among other things, required SCE to support the port's application for reduced rates, install new electric lines and to provide electric service and establish procedures for additions and modifications of SCE facilities at the port.

Long Beach Harbor Department staff and the Long Beach City Attorney's office obtained a CPUC tariff rule (later copied and adopted statewide) which (a) permits the port to provide electricity (or shore power) to ships at berth, allowing them to shut down their diesel generators and reduce air emissions, and (b) eliminates a costly separate SCE electric demand charge for each vessel call, reducing overall demand charges by 90 percent and saving vessels and maritime operators $85 million per year.

Long Beach Harbor Department staff and the Long Beach City Attorney's office established that activities at the Port of Long Beach were legally classified as essential facilities, and not subject to power interruptions by SCE; this is critical to reliable around-the-clock port operations.