(220 ILCS 5/16-125)
Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
requirements.
(a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to all
customers in this State and the effective implementation of
the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall, within
180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt rules
and regulations for assessing and assuring the reliability of
the transmission and distribution systems and facilities that
are under the Commission's jurisdiction.
(b) These rules and regulations shall require each electric utility or
alternative retail electric supplier owning, controlling, or operating
transmission and distribution facilities and equipment subject to the
Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as "jurisdictional
entities", to adopt and implement procedures for restoring transmission and
distribution services to customers after transmission or distribution outages
on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen
the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or another entity
as its provider of electric power and energy. These rules and regulations
shall also, at a minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
submit annually to the Commission.
(1) the number and duration of planned and unplanned |
| outages during the prior year and their impacts on customers;
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(2) outages that were controllable and outages that
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| were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or inactions of operating personnel or agents;
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(3) customer service interruptions that were due
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| solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying power or energy;
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(4) a detailed report of the age, current condition,
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| reliability and performance of the jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and distribution facilities, which shall include, without limitation, the following data:
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(i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
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| outages and voltage variances reportable under the Commission's rules;
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(ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for
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| transmission construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's transmission investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;
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(iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
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| for distribution construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's distribution investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;
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(iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
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| among other areas identified in Commission rules, reliability, customer service, and understandability of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices; and
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(v) the corresponding information, in the same
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| format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
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(5) a plan for future investment and reliability
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| improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution facilities that will ensure continued reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition; and
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(6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
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| implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph (5) for the previous reporting period.
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(c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria
that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's annual report and
evaluate its reliability performance. Such criteria
must take into account, at a minimum: the items required to be
reported in subsection (b); the relevant characteristics of
the area served; the age and condition of the system's
equipment and facilities; good engineering practices; the
costs of potential actions; and the benefits of avoiding the
risks of service disruption.
(d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year
the Commission issues the rules required by subsection
(a) or the following year if the rules are issued after June
1, the Commission shall assess the annual report of each
jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability performance. The
Commission's evaluation shall
include specific identification of, and recommendations
concerning, any potential reliability problems that it has
identified as a result of its evaluation.
(e) In the event that more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, of an electric
utility are subjected to a continuous power interruption of
4 hours or more that results in the transmission of power
at less than 50% of the standard voltage, or that results in
the total loss of power transmission, the utility shall be
responsible for compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4
hours or more for all
actual damages, which shall not include consequential
damages, suffered as a result of the power interruption.
The utility shall also reimburse the affected municipality,
county, or other unit of local government in which the power
interruption has taken place for all
emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the unit of
local government as a result of the interruption. A waiver
of the requirements of this subsection may be granted by the
Commission in instances in which the utility can show that
the power interruption was a result of any
one or more of the following causes:
(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
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(2) Customer tampering.
(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
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| international unrest or animals.
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(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a
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| party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.
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Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
(f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
that causes damage and affects more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, the electric utility
shall pay to
affected customers the replacement value of all goods
damaged as a result of the power surge or other fluctuation
unless the utility can show that the power surge or other
fluctuation was due to one or more of the following causes:
(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
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(2) Customer tampering.
(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
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| international unrest or animals.
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(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a
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| party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.
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Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers with respect to
whom a waiver has been granted by the Commission pursuant to subparagraphs
(1)-(4) of subsections (e) and (f) shall not count toward the either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers
required therein.
(g) Whenever an electric utility must perform
planned or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment
that will result in transmission of power at less than 50%
of the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
(as defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers
no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the
repairs or maintenance.
(h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be
limited to actual damages, which shall not include
consequential damages, and litigation costs. A utility's request for a waiver of this Section shall be timely if filed no later than 30 days after the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking damages or expense reimbursement under this Section. No utility shall be liable under this Section while a request for waiver is pending. Damage awards
may not be paid out of utility rate funds.
(i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
available to a customer or a class of customers.
(j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
utility to maintain service records detailing
information on each instance of transmission of power at
less than 50% of the standard voltage, loss of power, or
power fluctuation (as defined in subsection (f)), that
affects 10 or more customers. Occurrences that are
momentary shall not be required to be recorded or reported.
The service record shall include, for each occurrence, the
following information:
(1) The date.
(2) The time of occurrence.
(3) The duration of the incident.
(4) The number of customers affected.
(5) A description of the cause.
(6) The geographic area affected.
(7) The specific equipment involved in the
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| fluctuation or interruption.
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(8) A description of measures taken to restore
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(9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
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| cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.
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(10) A description of measures taken to prevent
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(11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
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(12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
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| waived for affected customers.
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Copies of the records containing this information shall
be available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
reasonable cost of reproduction.
(k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of
this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility
having 100,000 or more customers.
(Source: P.A. 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09 .)
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(220 ILCS 5/16-128)
Sec. 16-128. Provisions related to utility employees. (a) The General Assembly finds:
(1) The reliability and safety of the electric system |
| has depended and depends on a workforce of skilled and dedicated employees, equipped with technical training and experience.
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(2) The integrity and reliability of the system also
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| requires the industry's commitment to invest in regular inspection and maintenance, to assure that it can withstand the demands of heavy service requirements and emergency situations.
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(3) It is in the State's interest to protect the
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| interests of utility employees who have and continue to dedicate themselves to assuring reliable service to the citizens of this State, and who might otherwise be economically displaced in a restructured industry.
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The General Assembly further finds that it is
necessary to assure that employees of electric utilities and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an electric utility operating in the
deregulated industry have the requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and
competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service under this Act.
The General Assembly also finds that it is necessary to assure that employees of alternative retail electric suppliers and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an alternative retail electric supplier operating in the deregulated industry have the requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service under this Act.
To ensure that these findings and prerequisites for reliable and safe electrical service continue to prevail, each alternative retail electric supplier, electric utility, and contractors and subcontractors performing work on behalf of an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier must demonstrate the competence of their respective employees to work on the distribution system.
The knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence levels to be
demonstrated shall be consistent with those required
of or by the electric utilities in this State as of January 1, 2007, with respect to
their employees and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on their behalf. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an electric utility from establishing knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence levels greater than those required as of January 1, 2007.
An adequate demonstration of requisite knowledge, skill, training, experience, and
competence shall include, at a minimum, completion or current participation and ultimate completion by the
employee of an accredited or otherwise recognized
apprenticeship program for the particular craft, trade or
skill, or specified and several years of employment performing a particular work function that is utilized by an electric utility.
Notwithstanding any law, tariff, Commission rule, order, or decision to the contrary, the Commission shall have an affirmative statutory obligation to ensure that an electric utility is employing employees, contractors, and subcontractors with employees who meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section when installing, constructing, operating, and maintaining generation, transmission, or distribution facilities and equipment within this State pursuant to any provision in this Act or any Commission order, rule, or decision.
For purposes of this Section, "distribution facilities and equipment" means any and all of the facilities and equipment, including, but not limited to, substations, distribution feeder circuits, switches, meters, protective equipment, primary circuits, distribution transformers, line extensions and service extensions both above or below ground, conduit, risers, elbows, transformer pads, junction boxes, manholes, pedestals, conductors, and all associated fittings that connect the transmission or distribution system to either the weatherhead on the retail customer's building or other structure for above ground service or to the terminals on the meter base of the retail customer's building or other structure for below ground service.
To implement this requirement for alternative retail electric suppliers, the Commission, in
determining that an applicant meets the standards for
certification as an alternative retail electric supplier,
shall require the applicant to demonstrate (i) that the
applicant is licensed to do business, and bonded, in the State
of Illinois; and (ii) that the employees of the applicant that
will be installing, operating, and maintaining generation,
transmission, or distribution facilities within this State, or
any entity with which the applicant has contracted to perform
those functions within this State, have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and
competence to perform those functions in a safe and
responsible manner in order to provide safe and reliable
service, in accordance with the criteria stated above.
(b) The General Assembly finds, based on experience in
other industries that have undergone similar transitions, that
the introduction of competition into the State's electric
utility industry may result in workforce reductions by
electric utilities which may adversely affect persons who have
been employed by this State's electric utilities in functions
important to the public convenience and welfare. The General
Assembly further finds that the impacts on employees and their
communities of any necessary reductions in the utility
workforce directly caused by this restructuring of the
electric industry shall be mitigated to the extent
practicable through such means as offers of voluntary
severance, retraining, early retirement, outplacement and
related benefits. Therefore, before any such reduction in the
workforce during the transition period, an electric utility
shall present to its employees or their representatives a
workforce reduction plan outlining the means by which the
electric utility intends to mitigate the impact of such
workforce reduction on its employees.
(c) In the event of a sale, purchase, or any other transfer
of ownership during the mandatory transition period of one or
more Illinois divisions or business units, and/or generating
stations or generating units, of an electric utility, the
electric utility's contract and/or agreements with the
acquiring entity or persons shall require that the entity or
persons hire a sufficient number of non-supervisory employees
to operate and maintain the station, division or unit by
initially making offers of employment to the non-supervisory
workforce of the electric utility's division, business unit,
generating station and/or generating unit at no less than the
wage rates, and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and
terms and conditions of employment that are in effect at the
time of transfer of ownership of said division, business unit,
generating station, and/or generating units; and said wage
rates and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms
and conditions of employment shall continue for at least 30
months from the time of said transfer of ownership unless the
parties mutually agree to different terms and conditions of
employment within that 30-month period. The utility shall
offer a transition plan to those employees who are not offered
jobs by the acquiring entity because that entity has a need
for fewer workers. If there is litigation concerning the
sale, or other transfer of ownership of the electric utility's
divisions, business units, generating station, or
generating units, the 30-month period will begin on the date
the acquiring entity or persons take control or management
of the divisions, business units, generating station or
generating units of the electric utility.
(d) If a utility transfers ownership during the mandatory
transition period of one or more Illinois divisions, business
units, generating stations or generating units of an
electric utility to a majority-owned subsidiary, that
subsidiary shall continue to employ the utility's employees
who were employed by the utility at such division, business
unit or generating station at the time of the transfer under
the same terms and conditions of employment as those employees
enjoyed at the time of the transfer. If ownership of the
subsidiary is subsequently sold or transferred to a third
party during the transition period, the transition provisions
outlined in subsection (c) shall apply.
(e) The plant transfer provisions set forth above shall not
apply to any generating station which was the subject of a
sales agreement entered into before January 1, 1997.
(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-646, eff. 12-30-11.)
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(220 ILCS 5/16-128A) Sec. 16-128A. Certification of installers, maintainers, or repairers. (a) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing certification requirements ensuring that entities installing distributed generation facilities are in compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing distributed generation facilities" shall include, but not be limited to, all entities that are exempt from the definition of "alternative retail electric supplier" under item (v) of Section 16-102 of this Act.
For purposes of this Section, the phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases a cogeneration facility for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs such cogeneration or self-generation facility on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person. (b) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under this Act or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to this Section; and (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of this Section. (c) No electric utility shall provide a retail customer with net metering service related to interconnection of that customer's distributed generation facility unless the customer provides the electric utility with (i) a certification that the customer installing the distributed generation facility was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the distributed generation facility was installed by an entity certified under this Section that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection, a retail customer includes that customer's employees, officers, and agents. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer must provide to an electric utility. The provisions of this subsection (c) shall apply on or after the effective date of the Commission's rules prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section. (d) Within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish certification requirements that shall be applicable to persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations. The notification and certification requirements of this Section shall only be applicable to individuals or entities that perform work on or within an electric vehicle charging station, including, but not limited to, connection of power to an electric vehicle charging station. For the purposes of this Section "electric vehicle charging station" means any facility or equipment that is used to charge a battery or other energy storage device of an electric vehicle.
Rules regulating the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations, in which the Commission may establish separate requirements based upon the characteristics of electric vehicle charging stations, so long as it is in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 and Section 16-128A of this Act, shall: (1) establish a certification process for persons or |
| entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations;
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(2) require persons or entities that install,
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| maintain, or repair electric vehicle stations to be certified to do business and to be bonded in the State;
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(3) ensure that persons or entities that install,
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| maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform functions in a safe and reliable manner as required under subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act;
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(4) impose reasonable certification fees and
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| penalties on persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations for noncompliance of the rules adopted under this subsection;
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(5) ensure that all persons or entities that install,
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| maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations conform to applicable building and electrical codes;
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(6) ensure that all electric vehicle charging
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| stations meet recognized industry standards as the Commission deems appropriate, such as the National Electric Code (NEC) and standards developed or created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Detroit Edison Institute (DTE), the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
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(7) include any additional requirements that the
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| Commission deems reasonable to ensure that persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations meet adequate training, financial, and competency requirements;
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(8) ensure that the obligations required under this
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| Section and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act are met prior to the interconnection of any electric vehicle charging station;
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(9) ensure electric vehicle charging stations
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| installed by a self-installer are not used for any commercial purpose;
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(10) establish an inspection procedure for the
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| conversion of electric vehicle charging stations installed by a self-installer if it is determined that the self-installed electric vehicle charging station is being used for commercial purposes;
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(11) establish the requirement that all persons or
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| entities that install electric vehicle charging stations shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing of plans to install an electric vehicle charging station and shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing when installation is complete;
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(12) ensure that all persons or entities that
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| install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations obtain certificates of insurance in sufficient amounts and coverages that the Commission so determines and, if necessary as determined by the Commission, names the affected public utility as an additional insured; and
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(13) identify and determine the training or other
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| programs by which persons or entities may obtain the requisite training, skills, or experience necessary to achieve and maintain compliance with the requirements set forth in this subsection and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 to install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations.
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Within 18 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, and may, if it deems necessary, adopt emergency rules, for the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations.
All retail customers who own, maintain, or repair an electric vehicle charging station shall provide the servicing electric utility (i) a certification that the customer installing the electric vehicle charging station was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the electric vehicle charging station was installed by an entity certified under this subsection (d) that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection (d), a retail customer includes that retail customer's employees, officers, and agents. If the electric vehicle charging station was not installed by a self-installer, then the person or entity that plans to install the electric vehicle charging station shall provide notice to the servicing electric utility prior to installation and when installation is complete and provide any other information required by the Commission's rules established under subsection (d) of this Section. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer who owns, uses, operates, or maintains an electric vehicle charging station must provide to an electric utility.
For the purposes of this subsection, an electric vehicle charging station shall constitute a distribution facility or equipment as that term is used in subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. The phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases an electric vehicle charging station for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs an electric vehicle charging station on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person.
(e) Fees and penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Public Utility Fund and used to fund the Commission's compliance with the obligations imposed by this Section.
(f) The rules established under subsection (d) of this Section shall specify the initial dates for compliance with the rules.
(g) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing a process for entities installing a new utility-scale solar project to certify compliance with the requirements of this Section. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing a new utility-scale solar project" shall include, but is not limited to, any entity installing new photovoltaic projects as such terms are defined in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.
The process shall include an option to complete the certification electronically by completing forms on-line. An entity installing a new utility-scale solar project shall be permitted to complete certification after the subject work has been completed. The Commission shall maintain on its website a list of entities installing new utility-scale solar projects measures that have successfully completed the certification process.
(h) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under subsection (g) of this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under subsection (g) of this Section or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section; (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of subsection (g) and this subsection (h) of this Section; and (7) establish requirements to ensure that entities installing a new photovoltaic project have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform in a safe and reliable manner as required by subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act.
(i) The certification of persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, and electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section is an exclusive power and function of the State. A home rule unit or other units of local government authority may subject persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section to any applicable local licensing, siting, and permitting requirements otherwise permitted under law so long as only Commission-certified persons or entities are authorized to install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations. This Section is a limitation under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exclusively exercised by the State.
(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17; 100-16, eff. 6-30-17.)
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(220 ILCS 5/16-130)
Sec. 16-130. Annual reports. (a) The General Assembly finds that it is
necessary to have reliable and accurate information regarding the transition to
a competitive electric industry. In addition to the annual report requirements
pursuant to Section 5-109 of this Act, each electric utility shall file with
the Commission a report on
the following topics in accordance with the schedule set forth in subsection
(b) of this Section:
(1) Data on each customer class of the electric |
| utility in which delivery services have been elected, including:
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(A) number of retail customers in each class that
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| have elected delivery service;
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(B) kilowatt hours consumed by the customers
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| described in subparagraph (A);
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(C) revenue loss experienced by the utility as a
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| result of customers electing delivery services or market-based prices as compared to continued service under otherwise applicable tariffed rates;
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(D) total amount of funds collected from each
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| customer class pursuant to the transition charges authorized in Section 16-108;
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(E) such other information as the Commission may
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(2) A description of any steps taken by the electric
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| utility to mitigate and reduce its costs, including both a detailed description of steps taken during the preceding calendar year and a summary of steps taken since December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561), and including, to the extent practicable, quantification of the costs mitigated or reduced by specific actions taken by the electric utility.
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(3) A description of actions taken under Sections
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| 5-104, 7-204, 9-220, and 16-111 of this Act. This information shall include, but not be limited to:
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(A) a description of the actions taken;
(B) the effective date of the action;
(C) the annual savings or additional charges
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| realized by customers from actions taken, by customer class and total for each year;
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(D) the accumulated impact on customers by
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| customer class and total; and
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(E) a summary of the method used to quantify the
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(4) A summary of the electric utility's use of
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| transitional funding instruments, including a description of the electric utility's use of the proceeds of any transitional funding instruments it has issued in accordance with Article XVIII of this Act.
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(5) Kilowatt-hours consumed in the twelve months
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| ending December 31, 1996 (which kilowatt-hours are hereby referred to as "base year sales") by customer class multiplied by the revenue per kilowatt hour, adjusted to remove charges added to customers' bills pursuant to Sections 9-221 and 9-222 of this Act, during the twelve months ending December 31, 1996, adjusted for the reductions required by subsection (b) of Section 16-111 and the mitigation factors contained in Section 16-102. This amount shall be stated for: (i) each calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b); and (ii) as a cumulative total of all calendar years beginning with 1998 and ending with the calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b).
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(6) Calculations identical to those required by
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| subparagraph (5) except that base year sales shall be adjusted for growth in the electric utility's service territory, in addition to the other adjustments specified by the first sentence of subparagraph (5).
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(7) The electric utility's total revenue and net
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| income for each calendar year beginning with 1997 through the calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b) as reported in the electric utility's Form 1 report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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(8) Any consideration in excess of the net book cost
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| as of December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561) received by the electric utility during the year from a sale made subsequent to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561) to a non-affiliated third party of any generating plant that was owned by the electric utility on December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561).
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(9) Any consideration received by the electric
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| utility from sales or transfers during the year to an affiliated interest of generating plant, or other plant that represents an investment of $25,000,000 or more in terms of total depreciated original cost, which generating or other plant were owned by the electric utility prior to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561).
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(10) Any consideration received by an affiliated
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| interest of an electric utility from sales or transfers during the year to a non-affiliated third party of generating plant, but only if: (i) the electric utility had previously sold or transferred such plant to the affiliated interest subsequent to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561); (ii) the affiliated interest sells or transfers such plant to a non-affiliated third party prior to December 31, 2006; and (iii) the affiliated interest receives consideration for the sale or transfer of such plant to the non-affiliated third party in an amount greater than the cost or price at which such plant was sold or transferred to the affiliated interest by the electric utility.
|
|
(11) A summary account of those expenditures made for
|
| projects, programs, and improvements relating to transmission and distribution including, without limitation, infrastructure expansion, repair and replacement, capital investments, operations and maintenance, and vegetation management, pursuant to a written commitment made under subsection (k) of Section 16-111.
|
|
(b) The information required by subsection (a) shall be filed by each
electric utility on or before March 1 of each year 1999 through 2007 or through
such additional years as the electric utility is collecting transition charges
pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108, for the previous calendar year.
The information required by subparagraph (6) of subsection (a) for calendar
year 1997 shall be submitted by the electric utility on or before March 1,
1999.
(c) On or before May 15 of each year 1999 through 2006 or through such
additional
years as
the electric utility is collecting transition charges pursuant to subsection
(f) of Section 16-108, the Commission shall submit
a report to the General Assembly which summarizes the information provided by
each electric utility under this Section; provided, however, that proprietary
or confidential information shall not be publicly disclosed.
(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/16-135) Sec. 16-135. Energy Storage Program. (a) The Illinois General Assembly hereby finds and declares that: (1) Energy storage systems provide opportunities |
|
(A) reduce costs to ratepayers directly or
|
| indirectly by avoiding or deferring the need for investment in new generation and for upgrades to systems for the transmission and distribution of electricity;
|
|
(B) reduce the use of fossil fuels for meeting
|
| demand during peak load periods;
|
|
(C) provide ancillary services such as
|
| frequency response, load following, and voltage support;
|
|
(D) assist electric utilities with integrating
|
| sources of renewable energy into the grid for the transmission and distribution of electricity, and with maintaining grid stability;
|
|
(E) support diversification of energy resources;
(F) enhance the resilience and reliability of
|
|
(G) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other
|
| air pollutants resulting from power generation, thereby minimizing public health impacts that result from power generation.
|
|
(2) There are significant barriers to obtaining the
|
| benefits of energy storage systems, including inadequate valuation of the services that energy storage can provide to the grid and the public.
|
|
(3) It is in the public interest to:
(A) develop a robust competitive market for
|
| existing and new providers of energy storage systems in order to leverage Illinois' position as a leader in advanced energy and to capture the potential for economic development;
|
|
(B) implement targets and programs to achieve
|
| deployment of energy storage systems; and
|
|
(C) modernize distributed energy resource
|
| programs and interconnection standards to lower costs and efficiently deploy energy storage systems in order to increase economic development and job creation within the state's clean energy economy.
|
|
(b) In this Section:
"Energy storage peak standard" means a percentage of annual retail electricity sales during peak hours that an electric utility must derive from electricity discharged from eligible energy storage systems.
"Deployment" means the installation of energy storage systems through a variety of mechanisms, including utility procurement, customer installation, or other processes.
"Electric utility" has the same meaning as provided in Section 16-102 of this Act.
"Energy storage system" means a technology that is capable of absorbing zero-carbon energy, storing it for a period of time, and redelivering that energy after it has been stored in order to provide direct or indirect benefits to the broader electricity system. The term includes, but is not limited to, electrochemical, thermal, and electromechanical technologies.
"Nonwires alternatives solicitation" means a utility solicitation for third-party-owned or utility-owned distributed energy resources that uses nontraditional solutions to defer or replace planned investment on the distribution or transmission system.
"Total peak demand" means the highest hourly electricity demand for an electric utility in a given year, measured in megawatts, from all of the electric utility's customers of distribution service.
(c) The Commission, in consultation with the Illinois Power Agency, shall initiate a proceeding to examine specific programs, mechanisms, and policies that could support the deployment of energy storage systems. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall engage a broad group of Illinois stakeholders, including electric utilities, the energy storage industry, the renewable energy industry, and others to inform the proceeding. The proceeding must, at minimum:
(1) develop a framework to identify and measure the
|
| potential costs, benefits, that deployment of energy storage could produce, as well as barriers to realizing such benefits, including, but not limited to:
|
|
(A) avoided cost and deferred investments in
|
| generation, transmission, and distribution facilities;
|
|
(B) reduced ancillary services costs;
(C) reduced transmission and distribution
|
|
(D) lower peak power costs and reduced capacity
|
|
(E) reduced costs for emergency power supplies
|
|
(F) reduced curtailment of renewable energy
|
|
(G) reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other
|
|
(H) increased grid hosting capacity of
|
| renewable energy generators that produce energy on an intermittent basis;
|
|
(I) increased reliability and resilience of the
|
|
(J) reduced line losses;
(K) increased resource diversification;
(L) increased economic development;
(2) analyze and estimate:
(A) the impact on the system's ability to
|
| integrate renewable resources;
|
|
(B) the benefits of addition of storage at
|
| specific locations, such as at existing peaking units or locations on the grid close to large load centers;
|
|
(C) the impact on grid reliability and power
|
|
(D) the effect on retail electric rates and
|
| supply rates over the useful life of a given energy storage system; and
|
|
(3) evaluate and identify cost-effective policies
|
| and programs to support the deployment of energy storage systems, including, but not limited to:
|
|
(A) incentive programs;
(B) energy storage peak standards;
(C) nonwires alternative solicitation;
(D) peak demand reduction programs for
|
| behind-the-meter storage for all customer classes;
|
|
(E) value of distributed energy resources
|
|
(F) tax incentives;
(G) time-varying rates;
(H) updating of interconnection processes and
|
|
(I) procurement by the Illinois Power Agency of
|
| energy storage resources.
|
|
(d) The Commission shall, no later than May 31, 2022, submit to the General Assembly and the Governor any recommendations for additional legislative, regulatory, or executive actions based on the findings of the proceeding.
(e) At the conclusion of the proceeding required under subsection (c), the Commission shall consider and recommend to the Governor and General Assembly energy storage deployment targets, if any, for each electric utility that serves more than 200,000 customers to be achieved by December 31, 2032, including recommended interim targets.
(f) In setting recommendations for energy storage deployment targets, the Commission shall:
(1) take into account the costs and benefits of
|
| procuring energy storage according to the framework developed in the proceeding under subsection (c);
|
|
(2) consider establishing specific subcategories of
|
| deployment of systems by point of interconnection or application.
|
|
(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/18-103)
Sec. 18-103.
Transitional funding orders.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or
other law, the Commission is hereby authorized to issue
transitional funding orders in accordance with the provisions
of this Section, in order to facilitate (i) the issuance of
transitional funding instruments by or on behalf of electric
utilities or issuers and (ii) the issuance of grantee
instruments by or on behalf of grantees.
(b) A transitional funding order may be issued by the
Commission only upon the application of an electric utility
and shall become effective in accordance with its terms only
after such electric utility files with the Commission its
written consent to all terms and conditions of such order.
After the issuance of a transitional funding order, the
electric utility or grantee shall retain sole discretion
regarding whether to assign, sell, pledge or otherwise
transfer intangible transition property and grantee
instruments, if any, or to cause transitional funding
instruments and grantee instruments, if any, to be issued,
including the right to defer or postpone such assignment,
sale, transfer, pledge or issuance or to change the terms
thereof as allowed by such order.
(c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1997, an electric utility may file any number of applications
for transitional funding orders. Each application for a
transitional funding order shall contain detailed information
regarding the electric utility's proposal for (i) the
assignment, sale, pledge or other transfer of, or the
establishment, creation and granting of rights in and to,
intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if
any, (ii) the issuance of transitional funding instruments and
grantee instruments, if any, (iii) the total dollar amount of
intangible transition property to be created and the amount to
be sold, pledged, assigned or otherwise transferred or granted
hereunder (which amount may be in excess of the principal and
interest payable on the transitional funding instruments and
grantee instruments, if any, in order to provide for servicing
costs and the funding or maintenance of debt service and other
reserves, costs and fees as security to the holders of the
transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if
any), (iv) the amount of transitional funding instruments and
grantee instruments, if any, to be issued, (v) the amount,
expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour, of instrument funding
charges to be collected from retail customers or other
persons, (vi) the time to maturity for the transitional
funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, and (vii) the
electric utility's planned use of the proceeds from the
issuance of transitional funding instruments including the amounts allocated
for the respective uses specified in subparagraph (1) of subsection (d) of
Section 18-103 of this Article.
(d) The Commission shall, after proper notice, hold a hearing for the sole
purpose of determining whether the application and requested
transitional funding order are in compliance with this
Article and shall complete its review of the
application and issue its final transitional funding order by no later than
90 days after the filing of such application by the
electric utility; provided, that, in contested cases where the public interest
is in issue pursuant to subparagraph (1)(B) of this subsection (d) or pursuant
to subsection (m) of Section 18-104, the Commission may complete its review and
issue its final transitional funding order by no later than 120 days after the
filing of such application.
The order shall create and
establish the proposed intangible transition property in
the amount requested by the applicant and approve the
proposed sale, pledge, assignment or other transfer of, or the
establishment, creation and granting of rights in and to,
intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if
any, the proposed issuance of transitional funding instruments
and grantee instruments, if any, and the proposed imposition
and collection of the corresponding instrument funding
charges, if the Commission finds that each of the following conditions are met:
(1) the electric utility will use the proceeds of the |
| sale and issuance of the transitional funding instruments for one or more of the following purposes:
|
|
(A) to refinance debt or equity, or both, in a
|
| manner which the electric utility reasonably demonstrates will result in an overall reduction in its cost of capital, taking into account the costs of financing; provided, however, that any proceeds transferred to a parent company through a common stock repurchase transaction shall be used to retire publicly traded common stock of the parent company or to pay commercially reasonable transaction costs associated with such retirement;
|
|
(B) if the Commission finds that the sale or
|
| issuance of transitional funding instruments for the following purposes is in the public interest, then the following uses of proceeds: (i) to repay or retire fuel contracts or obligations related to nuclear spent fuel previously incurred by the electric utility in providing electric power or energy services prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 or (ii) to pay any expenditures required to be undertaken by such electric utility by the provisions of Section 16-128 of this Act including labor severance costs and employee retraining costs;
|
|
(C) to fund debt service and other reserves,
|
| commercially reasonable costs and fees necessary or desirable in connection with the marketing of the transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any;
|
|
(D) to pay for commercially reasonable costs
|
| associated with the issuance and collateralization of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any; and
|
|
(E) to pay for the commercially reasonable costs
|
| associated with the issuance of such transitional funding instruments, including the costs incurred since the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or to be incurred, in connection with transactions to recapitalize, refinance or retire stock and/or debt, any associated taxes, and the costs incurred or to be incurred to obtain, collateralize, issue, service and administer transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, including interest and other related fees, costs and charges;
|
|
provided, (i) that the transitional funding order shall
|
| require the electric utility to use (1) at least 80% of such proceeds for the purposes specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) above and (2) no more than 20% of the maximum amount of such proceeds permitted under subparagraph (6)(B) of this subsection for purposes other than those specified in subparagraph (A) above; (ii) that the electric utility's use of such proceeds for the purposes specified in subparagraph (A) above shall not, as of the date of application of such proceeds, result in the common equity component of its capital structure, exclusive of the portion of its capital structure that consists of obligations representing transitional funding instruments or grantee instruments, being reduced below the lesser of (1) 40% and (2) the common equity percentage as of December 31, 1996 adjusted to reflect any write-off of assets or common equity implemented or required to be implemented as a result of this amendatory Act of 1997; and (iii) in no event shall the electric utility use the proceeds of the sale of grantee instruments or transitional funding instruments to repay or retire obligations incurred by any affiliate of the electric utility (other than in connection with any refinancing of grantee instruments or transitional funding instruments issued by such affiliate), without the consent of the Commission;
|
|
(2) the expected maturity date for the grantee
|
| instruments or the transitional funding instruments, and the final date on which the electric utility, grantee or assignee shall be entitled to charge and collect instrument funding charges, shall each be set to occur no later than December 31, 2008, subject to the provisions of subsections (l) and (m) of Section 18-104;
|
|
(3) the instrument funding charges authorized in such
|
| order will be deducted and stated separately from base rates and transition charges, and, where applicable, other rates for tariffed services, all as provided in subsection (j) of Section 18-104 and in a manner conforming to the allocation of the instrument funding charges implemented pursuant to subparagraph (4) of this subsection;
|
|
(4) the instrument funding charges authorized in such
|
| order shall have been allocated among classes of retail customers in accordance with percentage ratios determined by dividing the base rate revenue from each class by the electric utility's total base rate revenue for the 1996 calendar year;
|
|
(5) the issuance of the transitional funding
|
| instruments will not cause the rates for tariffed services to increase over the rates then in existence as adjusted for the rate decreases provided in subsection (b) of Section 16-111; and
|
|
(6) the aggregate principal amount of grantee
|
| instruments or, if such transitional funding order does not provide for the issuance of grantee instruments, transitional funding instruments, to be issued pursuant to such order, together with the aggregate amount of such instruments issued under any prior orders requested by such electric utility, shall not exceed:
|
|
(A) during the twelve-month period commencing
|
| August 1, 1998, an amount equal to 25% of the applicable electric utility's total capitalization, including both debt and equity, as of December 31, 1996, multiplied by the ratio of the electric utility's revenues from Illinois electric utility retail customers in the 1996 calendar year to its total electric retail revenues for such 1996 year; and
|
|
(B) thereafter, an amount equal to 50% of the
|
| applicable electric utility's total capitalization, including both debt and equity, as of December 31, 1996 multiplied by the ratio of the electric utility's revenues from Illinois electric utility retail customers in the 1996 calendar year to its total electric retail revenues for such 1996 year.
|
|
(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/18-104)
Sec. 18-104.
Terms and provisions of transitional
funding orders.
(a) Each transitional funding order shall create and
establish intangible transition property in an amount not to
exceed the sum of (i) the rate base established by the
Commission in the electric utility's last rate case prior to the effective date
of this amendatory Act of 1997, plus (ii)
any expenditures required
to be undertaken by such electric utility by the provisions of Section 16-128
of this Act, including labor severance costs and employee retraining costs,
plus
(iii) amounts necessary to fund debt
service and other reserves, commercially reasonable costs and fees necessary
in connection with the marketing of the transitional
funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, plus (iv)
commercially reasonable costs incurred from and after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of 1997 or to be incurred which are associated with the
issuance and collateralization of transitional funding
instruments and grantee instruments, if any, plus (v) commercially reasonable
costs
incurred from and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 or to
be incurred which are associated with issuance of
such transitional funding instruments,
including the costs incurred from and after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1997, or to be
incurred, in connection with transactions to recapitalize, refinance
or retire stock and/or debt, any associated taxes
and the costs
incurred to obtain, collateralize, issue, service and/or
administer transitional funding instruments and grantee
instruments, if any, including interest and
other related fees, costs and charges (all of the foregoing
costs described in clauses (i) through (v) above to include
any taxes, where applicable, to the extent the costs thereof
would otherwise have been recoverable by an electric utility
through rates for tariffed services under the Public Utilities
Act as in effect prior to this amendatory Act of 1997), minus
(vi) the amount of any intangible transition property
previously created and established at the request of and for
the benefit of such electric utility in a prior transitional
funding order. The transitional funding order shall authorize
(A) the sale, pledge, assignment or other transfer of, or the
establishment, creation and granting of an electric utility's,
assignee's or grantee's rights in and to, a specific dollar
amount of intangible transition property (which amount may be
in excess of the principal and interest payable on the
transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if
any, in order to provide for servicing costs and the funding
or maintenance of debt service and other reserves as security
to the holders of the transitional funding instruments), (B)
the issuance of a specific dollar amount of grantee
instruments or, if the transitional funding order does not
provide for the issuance of grantee instruments, a specific
dollar amount of transitional funding instruments, by or on
behalf of an electric utility, assignee, issuer or grantee, as
the case may be, and (C) the imposition and collection of a
specific amount of instrument funding charges projected to be
sufficient to pay when due the principal of and interest on
the corresponding grantee instruments or, if the transitional
funding order does not provide for the issuance of grantee
instruments, the corresponding transitional funding
instruments, in each case, together with premium, servicing
fees and other fees, costs and charges related thereto, and to
maintain any required reserves. Except as otherwise
specifically set forth in the transitional funding order, the
transitional funding instruments issued pursuant to such order
shall be non-recourse to the credit or to any assets of the
electric utility other than any assets comprising intangible
transition property or grantee instruments, as applicable. The
obligation of retail customers and other persons to pay
instrument funding charges shall be contingent upon the
receipt by such retail customers and other persons of electric
power and energy, the kilowatt hours of which are included in
the calculation of the dollar amount of such instrument
funding charges, but the transitional funding order shall
specifically provide that such instrument funding charges will
not be subject to any defense, counterclaim or right of set
off arising as a result of failure by the pertinent electric
utility, upon whose application the intangible transition
property was created, to perform or provide past, present or
future services. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, an
electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier
obligated to pay transition charges under subsection (b) of
Section 16-118 on behalf of certain retail customers shall be
deemed to have received the electric power and energy provided
to such retail customers. The transitional funding order
shall also set forth the time to maturity for the grantee
instruments or, if the transitional funding order does not
provide for the issuance of grantee instruments, the time to
maturity for the transitional funding instruments issued
thereunder. Concurrently with the sale, pledge, assignment or
other transfer of, or the establishment, creation and granting
of an electric utility's, assignee's or grantee's rights in
and to, intangible transition property and grantee
instruments, if any, and the issuance of transitional funding
instruments, an electric utility, grantee, issuer or an
assignee shall begin to impose and collect the specified
instrument funding charges from retail customers, classes of
retail customers, and any other persons or groups of persons
as set forth in the pertinent transitional funding order and
shall file tariffs in accordance with subsection (j) of
Section 18-104 of this Article.
(b) The transitional funding order shall require that
the proceeds from the issuance of transitional funding
instruments shall be used for the purposes set
forth in subparagraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 18-103
of this Article.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither
the transitional funding order nor the intangible transition
property created and established thereby nor the instrument
funding charges authorized to be imposed and collected
thereunder shall be subject to reduction, postponement,
impairment or termination by any subsequent action of the
Commission; provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph
is intended to supersede any right of any party to the
Commission's proceeding relating to the transitional funding
order to seek judicial review of such transitional funding
order.
(d) The Commission shall
provide in any transitional funding order for a
procedure for periodic adjustments to the instrument funding
charges set forth therein in order to ensure the repayment in
accordance with the projections set forth in the transitional
funding order of all grantee instruments or, if such
transitional funding order does not provide for the issuance
of grantee instruments, the corresponding transitional funding
instruments authorized therein and to reconcile the revenues
received from instrument funding charges during the applicable
adjustment period with the revenues projected to be received
from such charges as set forth in the relevant transitional
funding order. Unless the transitional funding order
otherwise provides, such adjustments shall be required
whenever the instrument funding charges actually collected
during the applicable adjustment period by the appropriate
party or parties were greater or less than the instrument
funding charges projected in the relevant transitional funding
order to be collected in such adjustment period; provided
that, if so requested by an electric utility in any
application for a transitional funding order, the transitional
funding order may (i) specify a dollar or percentage amount of
variation from the projected revenues within which no such
adjustments will be required and/or (ii) set forth a maximum
adjustment amount for the instrument funding charges. The
electric utility (or such other party as may be specified in
the pertinent transitional funding order) shall determine,
within 90 days of the end of each adjustment period (or such
shorter period as may be provided in the documents relating to
the pertinent transitional funding instruments or grantee
instruments, as applicable), whether any adjustments described
above in this subsection (d) of Section 18-104 are required.
If any such adjustments are so required, such adjustments
shall be implemented by the electric utility, grantee, issuer
or assignee, as applicable, with written notice to the
Commission, within such 90-day period (or such shorter period
as may be provided for in the documents relating to the
pertinent transitional funding instruments or grantee
instruments, as applicable). Any such adjustment shall be
calculated to include amounts necessary for recovery of any
additional costs incurred by the grantee, electric utility,
assignee or issuer as a result of the relevant delay in
collections of instrument funding charges. If, as a result of
any adjustment, the amount of any instrument funding charge,
as so adjusted, will exceed an amount per kilowatt-hour
greater than the amount per kilowatt-hour of
the instrument funding charge initially authorized by the
Commission in its transitional funding order,
then the relevant electric utility shall be obligated to file
amendatory tariffs in compliance with subsection (k) of
Section 18-104.
(e) Except where this Article
specifically requires otherwise, the collection of instrument
funding charges and the allocation of any such collections as
among holders, assignees, issuers, grantees and any other
parties entitled to receive portions thereof, may be
accomplished according to the provisions set forth in the
applicable transitional funding order, or, if the order is
silent on any such matters, according to the provisions set
forth in the documents relating to the pertinent transitional
funding instruments or grantee instruments, as applicable.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the electric utility, grantee,
issuer or assignee, as applicable, shall determine no later
than 90 days after the stated maturity date of each series of
grantee instruments or, if the related transitional funding
order does not provide for the issuance of grantee
instruments, the stated maturity date of transitional funding
instruments, whether the aggregate amount of instrument
funding charges collected prior to such stated maturity date
exceeds the amount required to provide for the payment of all
principal, interest, premium and servicing and other fees,
costs and charges owing under such grantee instruments or
transitional funding instruments, as the case may be. If it
is determined that the aggregate amount of instrument funding
charges collected exceeds the amount required to provide for
the payment of all principal, interest, premium and servicing
and other fees, costs and charges related to such grantee
instruments or transitional funding instruments, as the case
may be, such excess, together with any investment earnings
thereon, shall be paid to the owner of the pertinent
intangible transition property.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on such
conditions as the Commission may approve in the pertinent
transitional funding order, the interest of an electric
utility, assignee, issuer or grantee in intangible transition
property or grantee instruments, as applicable, may be
assigned, sold or otherwise transferred, in whole or in part,
and may, in whole or in part, be pledged or assigned as
security to or for the benefit of a holder or holders. To the
extent that any such interest or portion thereof is assigned,
sold or otherwise transferred or is established, created and
granted to a grantee or is pledged or assigned as security,
the Commission, in the pertinent transitional funding order,
shall authorize the electric utility or any affiliate thereof
to contract with the grantee, issuer, assignee or holders to
collect the applicable instrument funding charges for the
benefit and account of the grantee, issuer, assignee or
holder, and such electric utility or affiliate will, except as
otherwise specified in the transitional funding order, account
for and remit the applicable instrument funding charge,
without the obligation to remit any investment earnings
thereon, to or for the account of the grantee, issuer,
assignee or holder. The obligation of such electric utility
or affiliate to collect and remit the applicable instrument
funding charges hereunder shall continue irrespective of
whether such electric utility is providing electric power
and/or other services to the retail customers and other
persons obligated to pay such instrument funding charges. If
the documents creating the transitional funding instruments or
grantee instruments, if any, so provide, such obligations
shall, in the event of a default by such electric utility or
affiliate in performing such obligations, be undertaken and
performed by any other entity selected by the assignee or any
holder, group of holders or trustee or agent on behalf of such
holder or holders, as the case may be, (i) which provides
electric power or services to a person that was a retail
customer of such electric utility and (ii) from whom such
electric utility is entitled to recover transition charges
under Section 16-108; provided, however, that any failure by
the designated party to perform such obligations shall not
affect the existence of the intangible transition property or
the instrument funding charges or the validity or
enforceability of the instrument funding charges in accordance
with their terms.
(g) In its transitional funding order, the Commission
shall afford flexibility in establishing the terms and
conditions of the transitional funding instruments and the
grantee instruments, if any, including repayment schedules,
collateral, required debt service and other reserves, interest
rates and other financing costs and the ability of the
electric utility, at its option, to effect a series of
issuances of transitional funding instruments and grantee
instruments and correlated assignments, sales, pledges or
other transfers of intangible transition property and grantee
instruments, if any, not to exceed the aggregate dollar
amounts approved in the transitional funding order.
(h) The electric utility shall file a statement of the
final terms of the issuance of any series of transitional
funding instruments or grantee instruments, if any, with the
Commission within 90 days of the receipt of proceeds from such
issuance. In addition, the Commission may require the electric utility to file
periodic
reports on its use of the proceeds at intervals of not less than one year.
(i) Any adjustment to instrument funding charges that is
necessary due to subsequent refinancing of transitional
funding instruments or grantee instruments, if any, shall be
authorized by the Commission in a supplemental order.
(j) In connection with the issuance of a transitional
funding order and as a precondition to the imposition of any
instrument funding charges authorized thereby, the relevant
electric utility shall file tariffs
directing that the
amount of such instrument funding charges be deducted,
stated, and collected separately from the amounts otherwise billed by such
electric utility for base rates and transition charges and,
where applicable, other rates for tariffed services as set
forth in the transitional funding order. Upon the
effectiveness of such tariff, the amounts of instrument
funding charges thereby deducted and to be deducted shall have
become intangible transition property as specified in the
transitional funding order. The Commission shall have no
authority to review such tariffs except to confirm
that the instrument
funding charges authorized in the transitional funding order
have been deducted, stated, and collected separately from base rates and
transition charges and, where applicable, other rates for
tariffed services otherwise in effect at such time, and the
filing of any such tariff may not be suspended for any other
reason. No such deductions referred to in this subsection
shall be construed as a change in or otherwise require a
recalculation of the authorized amounts of such base rates,
transition charges, and other rates for tariffed services under
Section 16-102, 16-107, 16-108, or 16-110, as applicable.
Instrument funding charges shall be recoverable with respect
to electric power and energy or other services for which the
deductions provided in this subsection have become effective
and no such deduction shall be effective with respect to any
services or power in respect of which instrument funding
charges have not been so authorized and imposed.
(k) If any adjustment under subsection (d) of Section
18-104 results in the amount of any instrument funding charge
as so adjusted exceeding an amount per kilowatt-hour greater
than the amount per kilowatt-hour of the
instrument funding charge initially authorized by the
Commission in its transitional funding order,
the relevant electric utility shall file amendatory tariffs
reducing the amounts otherwise billed by such electric utility
for base rates and transition charges or, where applicable,
other rates for tariffed services, by the amount of such
excess. Such amendatory tariff shall be subject to the
provisions of subsection (j) of Section 18-104, except that
(i) the failure of such amendatory tariff to become effective
for any reason shall not delay or impair the effectiveness of
the adjustments required under subsection (d) of Section 18-104 and (ii) the
obligation of retail customers and other
persons or groups of persons to pay instrument funding charges
as so adjusted shall not be subject to any defense,
counterclaim or right of set off arising as a result of
failure by the pertinent electric utility to comply with this
subsection (k) of Section 18-104. Nothing in this subsection
(k) of Section 18-104 shall restrict any retail customer or
other person from bringing any suit in any court or from
exercising any other legal or equitable remedy against an
electric utility for any failure by such electric utility to
comply with this subsection (k) of Section 18-104.
(l) The intangible transition property created under a
transitional funding order and the authority of the grantee,
assignee, issuer, electric utility or other person authorized
thereunder to impose and collect instrument funding charges
shall continue beyond the final date set forth in the
applicable transitional funding order until such time as all
grantee instruments authorized in such order or, if the
applicable transitional funding order does not provide for
grantee instruments, the related transitional funding
instruments authorized in such order, have been paid in full.
Upon the later of the final date set forth in the applicable
transitional funding order for the imposition and collection
of instrument funding charges or the repayment in full of any
grantee instruments or transitional funding instruments, as
applicable, authorized in such order, the authority to impose
and collect the related instrument funding charges shall cease
and the relevant electric utility shall be entitled to file
tariffs revoking any deductions from base rates, transition
charges or other rates for tariffed services which were
granted in connection with such instrument funding charges
pursuant to subsection (j) of Section 18-104 or subsection
(k) of Section 18-104. The Commission shall
have no authority to review such tariffs except to determine
that the rates and charges resulting from such revocation do
not exceed the applicable base rates, transition charges, or
other rates for tariffed services which would otherwise have
been in effect at the time of such revocation had no instrument funding charges
ever been deducted therefrom.
(m) If so requested by an electric utility in its application for a
transitional funding order, the Commission, in the relevant
transitional
funding order, may authorize (i) the issuance of grantee instruments
and/or
transitional funding instruments with expected maturity dates later than
December 31, 2008 but not later than December 31, 2010 and (ii) the
imposition
and collection of instrument funding charges by electric utilities, grantees,
or
assignees later than December 31, 2008 but not later than December 31, 2010 if
the electric utility includes in its application a pro forma calculation of the
impact of the issuance of the transitional funding instruments or grantee
instruments and the associated use of proceeds on the revenue requirement
established by the Commission in the electric utility's last rate case, with
such calculation to be presented for illustrative purposes only,
and the Commission,
in its review of the relevant application for the transitional funding order,
finds that such action is in the public interest and that the
instrument funding charges to be applied toward payment of transitional funding
instruments after December 31, 2008 will be deducted, stated, and collected
separately from base rates and, where applicable, other rates for tariffed
services otherwise in effect at such time and as scheduled to be in effect
through such expected maturity date.
(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/19-110)
Sec. 19-110. Certification of alternative gas suppliers.
(a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve residential or small commercial customers and
only to the extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to residential or small
commercial customers.
(b) An alternative gas supplier must obtain a certificate of service
authority from the Commission in accordance with this Section before serving
any customer or other user located in this State. An alternative gas supplier
may request, and the Commission may grant, a certificate of service authority
for the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the State. A certificate granted pursuant to this Section is not property, and the grant of a certificate to an entity does not create a property interest in the certificate. This Section does not diminish the existing rights of a certificate holder to notice and hearing as proscribed by the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and in rules adopted by the Commission. A
person, corporation, or other entity acting as an alternative gas supplier on
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly shall
have 180 days from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd
General Assembly to comply with the requirements of this Section in order to
continue to operate as an alternative gas supplier.
(c) An alternative gas supplier seeking a certificate of service authority
shall
file with the Commission a verified application containing information showing
that the
applicant meets the requirements of this Section. The alternative gas supplier
shall
publish notice of its application in the official State newspaper within 10
days following
the date of its filing. No later than 45 days after a complete application is
properly filed with the
Commission, and such notice is published, the Commission shall issue its order
granting or denying the application.
(d) An application for a certificate of service authority shall identify the
area or
areas in which the applicant intends to offer service and the types of services
it intends
to offer. Applicants that seek to serve residential or small commercial
customers within a
geographic area that is smaller than a gas utility's service area shall submit
evidence demonstrating that the designation of this smaller area does not
violate Section 19-115. An
applicant may
state in its application for certification any limitations that will be imposed
on the number
of customers or maximum load to be served. The applicant shall submit as part of its application a statement indicating:
(1) Whether the applicant has been denied a natural |
| gas supplier license in any state in the United States.
|
|
(2) Whether the applicant has had a natural gas
|
| supplier license suspended or revoked by any state in the United States.
|
|
(3) Where, if any, other natural gas supplier license
|
| applications are pending in the United States.
|
|
(4) Whether the applicant is the subject of any
|
| lawsuits filed in a court of law or formal complaints filed with a regulatory agency alleging fraud, deception, or unfair marketing practices, or other similar allegations, identifying the name, case number, and jurisdiction of each such lawsuit or complaint.
|
|
For the purposes of this subsection (d), formal complaints include only those complaints that seek a binding determination from a state or federal regulatory body.
(e) The Commission shall grant the application for a certificate of service
authority if it makes the findings set forth in this subsection based on the
verified
application and such other information as the applicant may submit.
(1) That the applicant possesses sufficient
|
| technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a certificate of service authority. In determining the level of technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the Commission shall consider:
|
|
(A) the characteristics, including the size and
|
| financial sophistication of the customers that the applicant seeks to serve;
|
|
(B) whether the applicant seeks to provide gas
|
| using property, plant, and equipment that it owns, controls, or operates; and
|
|
(C) the applicant's commitment of resources to
|
| the management of sales and marketing staff, through affirmative managerial policies, independent audits, technology, hands-on field monitoring and training, and, in the case of applicants who will have sales personnel or sales agents within the State of Illinois, the applicant's managerial presence within the State.
|
|
(2) That the applicant will comply with all
|
| applicable federal, State, regional, and industry rules, policies, practices, and procedures for the use, operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity, and reliability of the gas transmission system.
|
|
(3) That the applicant will comply with such
|
| informational or reporting requirements as the Commission may by rule establish.
|
|
(4) That the area to be served by the applicant and
|
| any limitations it proposes on the number of customers or maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions of Section 19-115, provided, that if the applicant seeks to serve an area smaller than the service area of a gas utility or proposes other limitations on the number of customers or maximum amount of load to be served, the Commission can extend the time for considering such a certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on such a request.
|
|
(5) That the applicant shall continue to comply with
|
| requirements for certification stated in this Section.
|
|
(6) That the applicant shall execute and maintain a
|
| license or permit bond issued by a qualifying surety or insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois in favor of the People of the State of Illinois. The amount of the bond shall equal $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers or $500,000 if the applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. Applicants shall be required to submit an additional $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to residential customers using in-person solicitations. The bonds shall be conditioned upon the full and faithful performance of all duties and obligations of the applicant as an alternative retail gas supplier, shall be valid for a period of not less than one year, and may be drawn up to satisfy any penalties imposed and finally adjudicated, by the Commission pursuant to Section 19-120 for a violation of the applicant's duties or obligations, except that the total amount of claims and penalties against the bond shall not exceed the penal sum of the bond and shall not include any consequential or punitive damage. The cost of the bond shall be paid by the applicant. The applicant shall file a copy of this bond, with a notarized verification page from the issuer, as part of its application for certification under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 551.
|
|
(7) That the applicant will comply with all other
|
| applicable laws and rules.
|
|
(e-5) The Commission may deny with prejudice an application in which the applicant fails to provide the Commission with information sufficient for the Commission to grant the application.
(f) The Commission can extend the time for considering such a certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on such a request if:
(1) a party to the application proceeding has
|
| formally requested that the Commission hold hearings in a pleading that alleges that one or more of the allegations or certifications in the application is false or misleading; or
|
|
(2) other facts or circumstances exist that will
|
| necessitate additional time or evidence in order to determine whether a certificate should be issued.
|
|
(g) The Commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules
to carry out the provisions of this Section. Within 30 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, the
Commission shall adopt an emergency rule or rules applicable to the
certification of those gas suppliers that seek to serve residential customers.
Within 180 days of
the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, the Commission shall
adopt
rules that specify criteria which, if met by any such alternative gas
supplier, shall
constitute the demonstration of technical, financial, and managerial resources
and
abilities to provide service required by paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of this
Section,
such as a
requirement to post a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety or
financial
institution, of sufficient size for the nature and scope of the services to be
provided,
demonstration of adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services to
be
provided, and experience in providing similar services in other
jurisdictions.
(h) The Commission may deny with prejudice any application that repeatedly fails to include the attachments, documentation, and affidavits required by the application form or that fails to provide any other information required by this Section.
(i) An alternative gas supplier may seek confidential treatment for the reporting to the Commission of its total annual dekatherms delivered and sold by it to residential and small commercial customers by utility service territory during the preceding year via the filing of an affidavit with the Commission so long as the affidavit meets the requirements of this subsection (i).
The affidavit must be filed contemporaneously with the information for which confidential treatment is sought and must clearly state that the affiant seeks confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (i) and the information for which confidential treatment is sought must be clearly identified on the confidential version of the document filed with the Commission. The affidavit must be accompanied by both a "confidential" and a "public" version of the document or documents containing the information for which confidential treatment is sought.
If the alternative gas supplier has met the affidavit requirements of this subsection (i), then the Commission shall afford confidential treatment to the information identified in the affidavit for a period of 2 years after the date the affidavit is received by the Commission.
Nothing in this subsection (i) prevents an alternative gas supplier from filing a petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for information beyond that identified in this subsection (i) or for information contained in other reports or documents filed with the Commission other than annual rate reports.
Nothing in this subsection (i) prevents the Commission, on its own motion, or any party from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking to reconsider the conferring of confidential status pursuant to this subsection (i).
The Commission, on its own motion, may at any time initiate a docketed proceeding to investigate the continued applicability of this affidavit-based process for seeking confidential treatment. If, at the end of such investigation, the Commission determines that this affidavit-based process for seeking confidential treatment for the information is no longer necessary, the Commission may enter an order to that effect. Notwithstanding any such order, in the event the Commission makes such a determination, nothing in this subsection (i) prevents an alternative gas supplier desiring confidential treatment for such information from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for such information.
(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-958, eff. 1-1-23 .)
|
(220 ILCS 5/19-115)
Sec. 19-115. Obligations of alternative gas suppliers.
(a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve residential or small commercial customers and
only to the extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to residential or small
commercial customers.
(b) An alternative gas supplier:
(1) shall comply with the requirements imposed on |
| public utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have application to the services being offered by the alternative gas supplier;
|
|
(2) shall continue to comply with the requirements
|
| for certification stated in Section 19-110;
|
|
(3) shall comply with complaint procedures
|
| established by the Commission;
|
|
(4) except as provided in subsection (h) of this
|
| Section, shall file with the Chief Clerk of the Commission, within 20 business days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, a copy of bill formats, standard customer contract and customer complaint and resolution procedures, and the name and telephone number of the company representative whom Commission employees may contact to resolve customer complaints and other matters. In the case of a gas supplier that engages in door-to-door solicitation, the company shall file with the Commission the consumer information disclosure required by item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 2DDD of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and shall file updated information within 10 business days after changes in any of the documents or information required to be filed by this item (4);
|
|
(5) shall maintain a customer call center where
|
| customers can reach a representative and receive current information. At least once every 6 months, each alternative gas supplier shall provide written information to customers explaining how to contact the call center. The average answer time for calls placed to the call center shall not exceed 60 seconds where a representative or automated system is ready to render assistance and/or accept information to process calls. The abandon rate for calls placed to the call center shall not exceed 10%. Each alternative gas supplier shall maintain records of the call center's telephone answer time performance and abandon call rate. These records shall be kept for a minimum of 2 years and shall be made available to Commission personnel upon request. In the event that answer times and/or abandon rates exceed the limits established above, the reporting alternative gas supplier may provide the Commission or its personnel with explanatory details. At a minimum, these records shall contain the following information in monthly increments:
|
|
(A) total number of calls received;
(B) number of calls answered;
(C) average answer time;
(D) number of abandoned calls; and
(E) abandon call rate.
Alternative gas suppliers that do not have electronic
|
| answering capability that meets these requirements shall notify the Manager of the Commission's Consumer Services Division or its successor within 30 days following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and work with Staff to develop individualized reporting requirements as to the call volume and responsiveness of the call center.
|
|
On or before March 1 of every year, each entity shall
|
| file a report with the Chief Clerk of the Commission for the preceding calendar year on its answer time and abandon call rate for its call center. A copy of the report shall be sent to the Manager of the Consumer Services Division or its successor;
|
|
(6) by January 1, 2020 and every September 30
|
| thereafter, shall submit to the Commission and the Office of the Attorney General the rates the alternative gas supplier charged to residential customers in the prior year, including each distinct rate charged and whether the rate was a fixed or variable rate, the basis for the variable rate, and any fees charged in addition to the supply rate, including monthly fees, flat fees, or other service charges; and
|
|
(7) shall make publicly available on its website,
|
| without the need for a customer login, rate information for all of its variable, time-of-use, and fixed rate contracts currently available to residential customers, including but not limited to, fixed monthly charges, early termination fees, and per therm charges.
|
|
(c) An alternative gas supplier shall not submit or execute a change in a customer's selection of a natural gas provider unless and until (i) the alternative gas supplier first discloses all material terms and conditions of the offer, including price, to the customer; (ii) the alternative gas supplier has obtained the customer's express agreement to accept the offer after the disclosure of all material terms and conditions of the offer; and (iii) the alternative gas supplier has confirmed the request for a change in accordance with one of the following procedures:
(1) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the
|
| customer's written or electronically signed authorization in a form that meets the following requirements:
|
|
(A) An alternative gas supplier shall obtain any
|
| necessary written or electronically signed authorization from a customer for a change in natural gas service by using a letter of agency as specified in this Section. Any letter of agency that does not conform with this Section is invalid.
|
|
(B) The letter of agency shall be a separate
|
| document (or an easily separable document containing only the authorization language described in item (E) of this paragraph (1)) whose sole purpose is to authorize a natural gas provider change. The letter of agency must be signed and dated by the customer requesting the natural gas provider change.
|
|
(C) The letter of agency shall not be combined
|
| with inducements of any kind on the same document.
|
|
(D) Notwithstanding items (A) and (B) of this
|
| paragraph (1), the letter of agency may be combined with checks that contain only the required letter of agency language prescribed in item (E) of this paragraph (1) and the necessary information to make the check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency check shall not contain any promotional language or material. The letter of agency check shall contain in easily readable, bold face type on the face of the check a notice that the consumer is authorizing a natural gas provider change by signing the check. The letter of agency language also shall be placed near the signature line on the back of the check.
|
|
(E) At a minimum, the letter of agency must be
|
| printed with a print of sufficient size to be clearly legible and must contain clear and unambiguous language that confirms:
|
|
(i) the customer's billing name and address;
(ii) the decision to change the natural gas
|
| provider from the current provider to the prospective alternative gas supplier;
|
|
(iii) the terms, conditions, and nature of
|
| the service to be provided to the customer, including, but not limited to, the rates for the service contracted for by the customer; and
|
|
(iv) that the customer understands that any
|
| natural gas provider selection the customer chooses may involve a charge to the customer for changing the customer's natural gas provider.
|
|
(F) Letters of agency shall not suggest or
|
| require that a customer take some action in order to retain the customer's current natural gas provider.
|
|
(G) If any portion of a letter of agency is
|
| translated into another language, then all portions of the letter of agency must be translated into that language.
|
|
(2) An appropriately qualified independent third
|
| party has obtained, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this paragraph (2), the customer's oral authorization to change natural gas providers that confirms and includes appropriate verification data. The independent third party must (i) not be owned, managed, controlled, or directed by the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's marketing agent; (ii) not have any financial incentive to confirm provider change requests for the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's marketing agent; and (iii) operate in a location physically separate from the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's marketing agent. Automated third-party verification systems and 3-way conference calls may be used for verification purposes so long as the other requirements of this paragraph (2) are satisfied. An alternative gas supplier or alternative gas supplier's sales representative initiating a 3-way conference call or a call through an automated verification system must drop off the call once the 3-way connection has been established. All third-party verification methods shall elicit, at a minimum, the following information:
|
|
(A) the identity of the customer;
(B) confirmation that the person on the call is
|
| authorized to make the provider change;
|
|
(C) confirmation that the person on the call
|
| wants to make the provider change;
|
|
(D) the names of the providers affected by the
|
|
(E) the service address of the service to be
|
|
(F) the price of the service to be provided and
|
| the material terms and conditions of the service being offered, including whether any early termination fees apply.
|
|
Third-party verifiers may not market the alternative
|
| gas supplier's services by providing additional information. All third-party verifications shall be conducted in the same language that was used in the underlying sales transaction and shall be recorded in their entirety. Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall maintain and preserve audio records of verification of customer authorization for a minimum period of 2 years after obtaining the verification. Automated systems must provide customers with an option to speak with a live person at any time during the call.
|
|
(3) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the
|
| customer's authorization via an automated verification system to change natural gas service via telephone. An automated verification system is an electronic system that, through pre-recorded prompts, elicits voice responses, touchtone responses, or both, from the customer and records both the prompts and the customer's responses. Such authorization must elicit the information in paragraph (2)(A) through (F) of this subsection (c). Alternative gas suppliers electing to confirm sales electronically through an automated verification system shall establish one or more toll-free telephone numbers exclusively for that purpose. Calls to the number or numbers shall connect a customer to a voice response unit, or similar mechanism, that makes a date-stamped, time-stamped recording of the required information regarding the alternative gas supplier change.
|
|
The alternative gas supplier shall not use such
|
| electronic authorization systems to market its services.
|
|
(4) When a consumer initiates the call to the
|
| prospective alternative gas supplier, in order to enroll the consumer as a customer, the prospective alternative gas supplier must, with the consent of the customer, make a date-stamped, time-stamped audio recording that elicits, at a minimum, the following information:
|
|
(A) the identity of the customer;
(B) confirmation that the person on the call is
|
| authorized to make the provider change;
|
|
(C) confirmation that the person on the call
|
| wants to make the provider change;
|
|
(D) the names of the providers affected by the
|
|
(E) the service address of the service to be
|
|
(F) the price of the service to be supplied and
|
| the material terms and conditions of the service being offered, including whether any early termination fees apply.
|
|
Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall maintain
|
| and preserve the audio records containing the information set forth above for a minimum period of 2 years.
|
|
(5) In the event that a customer enrolls for service
|
| from an alternative gas supplier via an Internet website, the alternative gas supplier shall obtain an electronically signed letter of agency in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) and any customer information shall be protected in accordance with all applicable statutes and regulations. In addition, an alternative gas supplier shall provide the following when marketing via an Internet website:
|
|
(A) The Internet enrollment website shall, at a
|
|
(i) a copy of the alternative gas supplier's
|
| customer contract that clearly and conspicuously discloses all terms and conditions; and
|
|
(ii) a conspicuous prompt for the customer to
|
| print or save a copy of the contract.
|
|
(B) Any electronic version of the contract shall
|
| be identified by version number, in order to ensure the ability to verify the particular contract to which the customer assents.
|
|
(C) Throughout the duration of the alternative
|
| gas supplier's contract with a customer, the alternative gas supplier shall retain and, within 3 business days of the customer's request, provide to the customer an e-mail, paper, or facsimile of the terms and conditions of the numbered contract version to which the customer assents.
|
|
(D) The alternative gas supplier shall provide a
|
| mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of the electronic letter of agency are recorded by time and date.
|
|
(E) After the customer completes the electronic
|
| letter of agency, the alternative gas supplier shall disclose conspicuously through its website that the customer has been enrolled, and the alternative gas supplier shall provide the customer an enrollment confirmation number.
|
|
(6) When a customer is solicited in person by the
|
| alternative gas supplier's sales agent, the alternative gas supplier may only obtain the customer's authorization to change natural gas service through the method provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection (c).
|
|
Alternative gas suppliers must be in compliance with this subsection (c) within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(d) Complaints may be filed with the Commission under this Section by a customer whose natural gas service has been provided by an alternative gas supplier in a manner not in compliance with subsection (c) of this Section. If, after notice and hearing, the Commission finds that an alternative gas supplier has violated subsection (c), then the Commission may in its discretion do any one or more of the following:
(1) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to
|
| refund the customer charges collected in excess of those that would have been charged by the customer's authorized natural gas provider.
|
|
(2) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to
|
| pay to the customer's authorized natural gas provider the amount the authorized natural gas provider would have collected for natural gas service. The Commission is authorized to reduce this payment by any amount already paid by the violating alternative gas supplier to the customer's authorized natural gas provider.
|
|
(3) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to
|
| pay a fine of up to $1,000 into the Public Utility Fund for each repeated and intentional violation of this Section.
|
|
(4) Issue a cease and desist order.
(5) For a pattern of violation of this Section or for
|
| intentionally violating a cease and desist order, revoke the violating alternative gas supplier's certificate of service authority.
|
|
(e) No alternative gas supplier shall:
(1) enter into or employ any arrangements which have
|
| the effect of preventing any customer from having access to the services of the gas utility in whose service area the customer is located;
|
|
(2) charge customers for such access;
(3) bill for goods or services not authorized by the
|
|
(4) bill for a disputed amount where the alternative
|
| gas supplier has been provided notice of such dispute. The supplier shall attempt to resolve a dispute with the customer. When the dispute is not resolved to the customer's satisfaction, the supplier shall inform the customer of the right to file an informal complaint with the Commission and provide contact information. While the pending dispute is active at the Commission, an alternative gas supplier may bill only for the undisputed amount until the Commission has taken final action on the complaint.
|
|
(f) An alternative gas supplier that is certified to serve residential
or small commercial customers shall not:
(1) deny service to a customer or group of customers
|
| nor establish any differences as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based upon race, gender, or income, except as provided in Section 19-116;
|
|
(2) deny service based on locality, nor establish any
|
| unreasonable difference as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, or facilities as between localities;
|
|
(3) include in any agreement a provision that
|
| obligates a customer to the terms of the agreement if the customer (i) moves outside the State of Illinois; (ii) moves to a location without a transportation service program; or (iii) moves to a location where the customer will not require natural gas service, provided that nothing in this subsection precludes an alternative gas supplier from taking any action otherwise available to it to collect a debt that arises out of service provided to the customer before the customer moved; or
|
|
(4) assign the agreement to any alternative natural
|
|
(A) the supplier is an alternative gas supplier
|
| certified by the Commission;
|
|
(B) the rates, terms, and conditions of the
|
| agreement being assigned do not change during the remainder of the time covered by the agreement;
|
|
(C) the customer is given no less than 30 days
|
| prior written notice of the assignment and contact information for the new supplier; and
|
|
(D) the supplier assigning the contract provides
|
| contact information that a customer can use to resolve a dispute.
|
|
(g) An alternative gas supplier shall comply with the following requirements
with respect to the marketing, offering, and provision of products or services:
(1) All marketing materials, including, but not
|
| limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person solicitations, and telephone solicitations, concerning prices, terms, and conditions of service shall contain information that adequately discloses the prices, terms, and conditions of the products or services and shall disclose the utility gas supply cost rates per therm price available from the Illinois Commerce Commission website applicable at the time the alternative gas supplier is offering or selling the products or services to the customer and shall disclose the date on which the utility gas supply cost rates per therm became effective and the date on which they will expire. All marketing materials, including, but not limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall include the following statement:
|
|
"(Name of the alternative gas supplier) is not
|
| the same entity as your gas delivery company. You are not required to enroll with (name of alternative gas supplier). Beginning on (effective date), the utility gas supply cost rate per therm is (cost). The utility gas supply cost will expire on (expiration date). For more information go to the Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at www.icc.illinois.gov/ags/consumereducation.aspx.".
|
|
This paragraph (1) does not apply to goodwill or
|
| institutional advertising.
|
|
(2) Before any customer is switched from another
|
| supplier, the alternative gas supplier shall give the customer written information that clearly and conspicuously discloses, in plain language, the prices, terms, and conditions of the products and services being offered and sold to the customer. This written information shall be provided in a language in which the customer subject to the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and communicate, and the alternative gas supplier shall not switch a customer who is unable to understand and communicate in a language in which the marketing or solicitation was conducted. The alternative gas supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Nothing in this paragraph (2) may be read to relieve an alternative gas supplier from the duties imposed on it by item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 2DDD of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
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|
(3) The alternative gas supplier shall provide to the
|
|
(A) accurate, timely, and itemized billing
|
| statements that describe the products and services provided to the customer and their prices and that specify the gas consumption amount and any service charges and taxes; provided that this item (g)(3)(A) does not apply to small commercial customers;
|
|
(B) billing statements that clearly and
|
| conspicuously discloses the name and contact information for the alternative gas supplier;
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|
(C) an additional statement, at least annually,
|
| that adequately discloses the average monthly prices, and the terms and conditions, of the products and services sold to the customer; provided that this item (g)(3)(C) does not apply to small commercial customers;
|
|
(D) refunds of any deposits with interest within
|
| 30 days after the date that the customer changes gas suppliers or discontinues service if the customer has satisfied all of his or her outstanding financial obligations to the alternative gas supplier at an interest rate set by the Commission which shall be the same as that required of gas utilities; and
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|
(E) refunds, in a timely fashion, of all
|
| undisputed overpayments upon the oral or written request of the customer.
|
|
(4) An alternative gas supplier and its sales agents
|
| shall refrain from any direct marketing or soliciting to consumers on the gas utility's "Do Not Contact List", which the alternative gas supplier shall obtain on the 15th calendar day of the month from the gas utility in whose service area the consumer is provided with gas service. If the 15th calendar day is a non-business day, then the alternative gas supplier shall obtain the list on the next business day following the 15th calendar day of that month.
|
|
(5) Early Termination.
(A) Any agreement that contains an early
|
| termination clause shall disclose the amount of the early termination fee, provided that any early termination fee or penalty shall not exceed $50 total, regardless of whether or not the agreement is a multiyear agreement.
|
|
(B) In any agreement that contains an early
|
| termination clause, an alternative gas supplier shall provide the customer the opportunity to terminate the agreement without any termination fee or penalty within 10 business days after the date of the first bill issued to the customer for products or services provided by the alternative gas supplier. The agreement shall disclose the opportunity and provide a toll-free phone number that the customer may call in order to terminate the agreement. Beginning January 1, 2020, residential and small commercial customers shall have a right to terminate their agreements with alternative gas suppliers at any time without any termination fees or penalties.
|
|
(6) Within 2 business days after electronic receipt
|
| of a customer switch from the alternative gas supplier and confirmation of eligibility, the gas utility shall provide the customer written notice confirming the switch. The gas utility shall not switch the service until 10 business days after the date on the notice to the customer.
|
|
(7) The alternative gas supplier shall provide each
|
| customer the opportunity to rescind its agreement without penalty within 10 business days after the date on the gas utility notice to the customer. The alternative gas supplier shall disclose all of the following:
|
|
(A) that the gas utility shall send a notice
|
|
(B) that from the date the utility issues the
|
| notice confirming the switch, the customer shall have 10 business days to rescind the switch without penalty;
|
|
(C) that the customer shall contact the gas
|
| utility or the alternative gas supplier to rescind the switch; and
|
|
(D) the contact information for the gas utility.
The alternative gas supplier disclosure shall be
|
| included in its sales solicitations, contracts, and all applicable sales verification scripts.
|
|
(8) All in-person and telephone solicitations shall
|
| be conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language in which the consumer subject to the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and communicate. An alternative gas supplier shall terminate a solicitation if the consumer subject to the marketing or communication is unable to understand and communicate in the language in which the marketing or solicitation is being conducted. An alternative gas supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
|
|
(h) An alternative gas supplier may limit the overall size or availability
of
a
service offering by specifying one or more of the following:
(1) a maximum number of customers and maximum amount
|
| of gas load to be served;
|
|
(2) time period during which the offering will be
|
|
(3) other comparable limitation, but not including
|
| the geographic locations of customers within the area which the alternative gas supplier is certificated to serve.
|
|
The alternative gas supplier shall file the terms and
conditions of
such service offering including the applicable limitations with the Commission
prior to
making the service offering available to customers.
(i) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as preventing an alternative
gas
supplier that is an affiliate of, or which contracts with,
(i) an industry or
trade
organization or association,
(ii) a membership organization or association that
exists for
a purpose other than the purchase of gas, or
(iii) another organization that
meets criteria
established in a rule adopted by the Commission from offering through the
organization
or association services at prices, terms and conditions that are available
solely to the
members of the organization or association.
(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-459, eff. 8-20-21.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/19-125)
Sec. 19-125. Consumer education.
(a) The Commission shall make available upon request and at no charge, and
shall make available to the public
on the Internet through the State of Illinois World Wide Web site:
(1) a list of all certified alternative gas suppliers |
| serving residential and small commercial customers within the service area of each gas utility including, in the case of the Internet, computer links to available web sites of the certified alternative gas suppliers;
|
|
(2) a list of all certified alternative gas suppliers
|
| serving residential or small commercial customers that have been found in the last 3 years by the Commission pursuant to Section 10-108 to have failed to provide service in accordance with this Act;
|
|
(3) guidelines to assist customers in determining
|
| which gas supplier is most appropriate for each customer; and
|
|
(4) Internet links to providers of information that
|
| enables customers to compare prices and services of gas utilities and alternative gas suppliers, if and when that information is available.
|
|
(a-5) The Commission shall develop no later than 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and maintain consumer education information to help residential and small commercial consumers understand their gas supply options and their rights and responsibilities. The Commission shall publish the consumer education information on its World Wide Web site.
(a-10) To assist the Commission in developing consumer education information, the Commission shall form a working group that shall consist of representatives of gas utilities with residential and small commercial gas transportation service programs, alternative gas suppliers, the Attorney General, the Citizens Utility Board, and the Commission.
(a-15) At a minimum, the consumer education information developed by the Commission shall include explanations or descriptions of the following:
(1) The choices available to consumers to take gas
|
| service from an alternative retail gas supplier or remain as a retail customer of the gas utility.
|
|
(2) A consumer's rights and responsibilities in
|
| receiving service from an alternative retail gas supplier or remaining as a retail customer of the gas utility.
|
|
(3) The gas utility's role in delivering gas,
|
| including, but not limited to, utility response to calls for service and gas leaks.
|
|
(4) The legal obligations of alternative retail gas
|
|
(5) The components of a bill that could be received
|
| by a customer taking delivery services.
|
|
(6) The procedures available to customers to address
|
| complaints against a gas utility or an alternative retail gas supplier and a list of phone numbers and other contact information for the Commission, the Attorney General, or the Citizens Utility Board.
|
|
(7) Guidance to assist consumers in making educated
|
| decisions when choosing their natural gas provider, including:
|
|
(A) how to compare prices;
(B) questions to ask when considering natural gas
|
|
(C) current and historical utility gas rates.
(8) The availability of the "Do Not Contact List" for
|
| those who do not wish to be solicited by natural gas providers.
|
|
(b) In any service area where customers are able to choose their natural gas
supplier, the Commission shall require gas utilities and alternative gas
suppliers to inform customers of how they may contact the Commission in order
to
obtain information about the customer choice program.
(c) The Commission shall adopt a uniform disclosure that alternative gas suppliers shall be required to complete for each product offering. The uniform disclosure shall contain, at a minimum:
(1) for products with a fixed price per therm, the
|
|
(2) the length of the initial term of the product,
|
| or, if applicable, the expiration date of the initial term of the product;
|
|
(3) the amount of the termination fees, if any;
(4) the amount of the administrative fees, other
|
| fees, or recurring charges, if any, to be listed separately for each and every fee or charge;
|
|
(5) for products with a variable price per therm, the
|
| terms of such variability, including, but not limited to, any index that is used to calculate the price and any additional charges, costs and fees; and
|
|
(6) for products where a customer's charges are a
|
| fixed amount per billing period regardless of the market price for natural gas or the customer's natural gas consumption during the billing period, the billing period covered.
|
|
If the alternative gas supplier will not offer a
|
| different product for new customers as of the first of the month, then the alternative gas supplier does not have to provide new information until the first day of the month in which a different product or products are being offered.
|
|
The Commission shall post this information on its
|
| World Wide Web site in a manner that shall enable customers to compare prices, terms, and conditions offered by the alternative gas suppliers. The website shall be updated at least monthly and the Commission shall maintain this information on its website for at least 12 months to allow customers to compare the historical plans and prices for all alternative gas suppliers.
|
|
(d) The Commission shall make available in print, upon request and at no charge and on its World Wide Web site, information on which customers of alternative gas suppliers serving residential and small commercial customers may address any complaint with regard to an alternative gas supplier's obligations under Section 19-115 of this Article, including the provision of service in accordance with the terms of its contract, sales tactics, and rates. The Commission shall maintain a summary by category and provider of all formal and informal complaints it receives pursuant to this Section, and it shall publish the summary on a quarterly basis on its World Wide Web site. Individual customer information shall not be included in the summary.
(e) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve residential and small commercial customers and only to the extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to residential and small commercial customers.
(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/19-140)
Sec. 19-140. On-bill financing program; gas utilities. (a) The Illinois General Assembly finds that Illinois homes and businesses have the potential to save energy through conservation and cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Programs created pursuant to this Section will allow utility customers to purchase cost-effective energy efficiency measures, including measures set forth in a Commission-approved energy efficiency plan under Section 8-104 of this Act, with no required initial upfront payment, and to pay the cost of those products and services over time on their utility bill. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a gas utility serving more than 100,000 customers on January 1, 2009 shall offer a Commission-approved on-bill financing program ("program") that allows its retail customers who own a residential single family home, duplex, or other residential building with 4 or less units, or condominium at which the gas service is being provided (i) to borrow funds from a third party lender in order to purchase gas energy efficiency measures approved under the program for installation in such home or condominium without any required upfront payment and (ii) to pay back such funds over time through the gas utility's bill. Based upon the process described in subsection (b-5) of this Section, small commercial customers who own the premises at which gas service is being provided may be included in such program. After receiving a request from a gas utility for approval of a proposed program and tariffs pursuant to this Section, the Commission shall render its decision within 120 days. If no decision is rendered within 120 days, then the request shall be deemed to be approved. Beginning no later than December 31, 2013, a gas utility subject to this subsection (b) shall also offer its program to eligible retail customers that own a multifamily residential or mixed-use building with no more than 50 residential units, provided, however, that such customer must either be a residential customer or small commercial customer and may not use the program in such a way that repayment of the cost of energy efficiency measures is made through tenants' utility bills. A gas utility may impose a per site loan limit not to exceed $150,000. The program, and loans issued thereunder, shall only be offered to customers of the utility that meet the requirements of this Section and that also have a gas service account at the premises where the energy efficiency measures being financed shall be installed. For purposes of this Section, a small commercial customer for a gas utility shall be defined in that gas utility's informational filing that is made under subsection (c-5) of this Section. (b-5) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Commission shall convene a workshop process during which interested participants may discuss issues related to the program, including program design, eligible gas energy efficiency measures, vendor qualifications, and a methodology for ensuring ongoing compliance with such qualifications, financing, sample documents such as request for proposals, contracts and agreements, dispute resolution, pre-installment and post-installment verification, and evaluation. The workshop process shall be completed within 150 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. (c) Not later than 60 days following completion of the workshop process described in subsection (b-5) of this Section, each gas utility subject to subsection (b) of this Section shall submit a proposed program to the Commission that contains the following components: (1) A list of recommended gas energy efficiency |
| measures that will be eligible for on-bill financing. An eligible gas energy efficiency measure ("measure") shall be a product or service for which one or more of the following is true:
|
|
(A) (blank);
(B) the projected gas savings (determined by
|
| rates in effect at the time of purchase) are sufficient to cover the costs of implementing the measures, including finance charges and any program fees not recovered pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section; or
|
|
(C) the product or service is included in a
|
| Commission-approved energy efficiency plan under Section 8-104 of this Act.
|
|
(2) The gas utility shall issue a request for
|
| proposals ("RFP") to lenders for purposes of providing financing to participants to pay for approved measures. The RFP criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the interest rate, origination fees, and credit terms. The utility shall select the winning bidders based on its evaluation of these criteria, with a preference for those bids containing the rates, fees, and terms most favorable to participants.
|
|
(3) The utility shall work with the lenders selected
|
| pursuant to the RFP process, and with vendors, to establish the terms and processes pursuant to which a participant can purchase eligible gas energy efficiency measures using the financing obtained from the lender. The vendor shall explain and offer the approved financing packaging to those customers identified in subsection (b) of this Section and shall assist customers in applying for financing. As part of such process, vendors shall also provide to participants information about any other incentives that may be available for the measures.
|
|
(4) The lender shall conduct credit checks or
|
| undertake other appropriate measures to limit credit risk, and shall review and approve or deny financing applications submitted by customers identified in subsection (b) of this Section. Following the lender's approval of financing and the participant's purchase of the measure or measures, the lender shall forward payment information to the gas utility, and the utility shall add as a separate line item on the participant's utility bill a charge showing the amount due under the program each month.
|
|
(5) A loan issued to a participant pursuant to the
|
| program shall be the sole responsibility of the participant, and any dispute that may arise concerning the loan's terms, conditions, or charges shall be resolved between the participant and lender. Upon transfer of the property title for the premises at which the participant receives gas service from the utility or the participant's request to terminate service at such premises, the participant shall pay in full its gas utility bill, including all amounts due under the program, provided that this obligation may be modified as provided in subsection (g) of this Section. Amounts due under the program shall be deemed amounts owed for residential and, as appropriate, small commercial gas service.
|
|
(6) The gas utility shall remit payment in full to
|
| the lender each month on behalf of the participant. In the event a participant defaults on payment of its gas utility bill, the gas utility shall continue to remit all payments due under the program to the lender, and the utility shall be entitled to recover all costs related to a participant's nonpayment through the automatic adjustment clause tariff established pursuant to Section 19-145 of this Act. In addition, the gas utility shall retain a security interest in the measure or measures purchased under the program, and the utility retains its right to disconnect a participant that defaults on the payment of its utility bill.
|
|
(7) The total outstanding amount financed under the
|
| program in this subsection and subsection (c-5) of this Section shall not exceed $2.5 million for a gas utility or gas utilities under a single holding company, provided that the gas utility or gas utilities may petition the Commission for an increase in such amount.
|
|
(c-5) Within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, each covered gas utility shall submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes its plan for implementing the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly on or before December 31, 2013. A gas utility subject to this Section shall cooperate with any electric utility that provides electric service to buildings within the gas utility's service territory so that it is practical and feasible for the owner of a multifamily building to make a single application to access loans for both gas and electric energy efficiency measures in any individual building.
(d) A program approved by the Commission shall also include the following criteria and guidelines for such program:
(1) guidelines for financing of measures installed
|
| under a program, including, but not limited to, RFP criteria and limits on both individual loan amounts and the duration of the loans;
|
|
(2) criteria and standards for identifying and
|
|
(3) qualifications of vendors that will market or
|
| install measures, as well as a methodology for ensuring ongoing compliance with such qualifications;
|
|
(4) sample contracts and agreements necessary to
|
| implement the measures and program; and
|
|
(5) the types of data and information that utilities
|
| and vendors participating in the program shall collect for purposes of preparing the reports required under subsection (g) of this Section.
|
|
(e) The proposed program submitted by each gas utility shall be consistent with the provisions of this Section that define operational, financial, and billing arrangements between and among program participants, vendors, lenders, and the gas utility.
(f) A gas utility shall recover all of the prudently incurred costs of offering a program approved by the Commission pursuant to this Section, including, but not limited to, all start-up and administrative costs and the costs for program evaluation. All prudently incurred costs under this Section shall be recovered from the residential and small commercial retail customer classes eligible to participate in the program through the automatic adjustment clause tariff established pursuant to Section 8-104 of this Act.
(g) An independent evaluation of a program shall be conducted after 3 years of the program's operation. The gas utility shall retain an independent evaluator who shall evaluate the effects of the measures installed under the program and the overall operation of the program, including, but not limited to, customer eligibility criteria and whether the payment obligation for permanent gas energy efficiency measures that will continue to provide benefits of energy savings should attach to the meter location. As part of the evaluation process, the evaluator shall also solicit feedback from participants and interested stakeholders. The evaluator shall issue a report to the Commission on its findings no later than 4 years after the date on which the program commenced, and the Commission shall issue a report to the Governor and General Assembly including a summary of the information described in this Section as well as its recommendations as to whether the program should be discontinued, continued with modification or modifications or continued without modification, provided that any recommended modifications shall only apply prospectively and to measures not yet installed or financed.
(h) A gas utility offering a Commission-approved program pursuant to this Section shall not be required to comply with any other statute, order, rule, or regulation of this State that may relate to the offering of such program, provided that nothing in this Section is intended to limit the gas utility's obligation to comply with this Act and the Commission's orders, rules, and regulations, including Part 280 of Title 83 of the Illinois Administrative Code.
(i) The source of a utility customer's gas supply shall not disqualify a customer from participation in the utility's on-bill financing program. Customers of alternative gas suppliers may participate in the program under the same terms and conditions applicable to the utility's supply customers.
(Source: P.A. 98-586, eff. 8-27-13.)
|
(220 ILCS 5/21-401) (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026) Sec. 21-401. Applications. (a)(1) A person or entity seeking to provide cable service or video service pursuant to this Article shall not use the public rights-of-way for the installation or construction of facilities for the provision of cable service or video service or offer cable service or video service until it has obtained a State-issued authorization to offer or provide cable or video service under this Section, except as provided for in item (2) of this subsection (a). All cable or video providers offering or providing service in this State shall have authorization pursuant to either (i) the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 (220 ILCS 5/21-100 et seq.); (ii) Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11); or (iii) Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-1095). (2) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a local unit of government from granting a permit to a person or entity for the use of the public rights-of-way to install or construct facilities to provide cable service or video service, at its sole discretion. No unit of local government shall be liable for denial or delay of a permit prior to the issuance of a State-issued authorization. (b) The application to the Commission for State-issued authorization shall contain a completed affidavit submitted by the applicant and signed by an officer or general partner of the applicant affirming all of the following: (1) That the applicant has filed or will timely file |
| with the Federal Communications Commission all forms required by that agency in advance of offering cable service or video service in this State.
|
|
(2) That the applicant agrees to comply with all
|
| applicable federal and State statutes and regulations.
|
|
(3) That the applicant agrees to comply with all
|
| applicable local unit of government regulations.
|
|
(4) An exact description of the cable service or
|
| video service area where the cable service or video service will be offered during the term of the State-issued authorization. The service area shall be identified in terms of either (i) exchanges, as that term is defined in Section 13-206 of this Act; (ii) a collection of United States Census Bureau Block numbers (13 digit); (iii) if the area is smaller than the areas identified in either (i) or (ii), by geographic information system digital boundaries meeting or exceeding national map accuracy standards; or (iv) local unit of government. The description shall include the number of low-income households within the service area or footprint. If an applicant is an incumbent cable operator, the incumbent cable operator and any successor-in-interest shall be obligated to provide access to cable services or video services within any local units of government at the same levels required by the local franchising authorities for the local unit of government on June 30, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-9), and its application shall provide a description of an area no smaller than the service areas contained in its franchise or franchises within the jurisdiction of the local unit of government in which it seeks to offer cable or video service.
|
|
(5) The location and telephone number of the
|
| applicant's principal place of business within this State and the names of the applicant's principal executive officers who are responsible for communications concerning the application and the services to be offered pursuant to the application, the applicant's legal name, and any name or names under which the applicant does or will provide cable services or video services in this State.
|
|
(6) A certification that the applicant has
|
| concurrently delivered a copy of the application to all local units of government that include all or any part of the service area identified in item (4) of this subsection (b) within such local unit of government's jurisdictional boundaries.
|
|
(7) The expected date that cable service or video
|
| service will be initially offered in the area identified in item (4) of this subsection (b). In the event that a holder does not offer cable services or video services within 3 months after the expected date, it shall amend its application and update the expected date service will be offered and explain the delay in offering cable services or video services.
|
|
(8) For any entity that received State-issued
|
| authorization prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly as a cable operator and that intends to proceed as a cable operator under this Article, the entity shall file a written affidavit with the Commission and shall serve a copy of the affidavit with any local units of government affected by the authorization within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly stating that the holder will be providing cable service under the State-issued authorization.
|
|
The application shall include adequate assurance that the applicant possesses the financial, managerial, legal, and technical qualifications necessary to construct and operate the proposed system, to promptly repair any damage to the public right-of-way caused by the applicant, and to pay the cost of removal of its facilities. To accomplish these requirements, the applicant may, at the time the applicant seeks to use the public rights-of-way in that jurisdiction, be required by the State of Illinois or
later be required by the local unit of government, or both, to post a bond, produce a certificate of insurance, or otherwise demonstrate its financial responsibility.
The application shall include the applicant's general standards related to customer service required by Section 22-501 of this Act, which shall include, but not be limited to, installation, disconnection, service and repair obligations; appointment hours; employee ID requirements; customer service telephone numbers and hours; procedures for billing, charges, deposits, refunds, and credits; procedures for termination of service; notice of deletion of programming service and changes related to transmission of programming or changes or increases in rates; use and availability of parental control or lock-out devices; complaint procedures and procedures for bill dispute resolution and a description of the rights and remedies available to consumers if the holder does not materially meet their customer service standards; and special services for customers with visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities.
(c)(1) The applicant may designate information that it submits in its application or subsequent reports as confidential or proprietary, provided that the applicant states the reasons the confidential designation is necessary. The Commission shall provide adequate protection for such information pursuant to Section 4-404 of this Act. If the Commission, a local unit of government, or any other party seeks public disclosure of information designated as confidential, the Commission shall consider the confidential designation in a proceeding under the Illinois Administrative Procedure
Act, and the burden of proof to demonstrate that the designated information is confidential shall be upon the applicant. Designated information shall remain confidential pending the Commission's determination of whether the information is entitled to confidential treatment. Information designated as confidential shall be provided to local units of government for purposes of assessing compliance with this Article as permitted under a Protective Order issued by the Commission pursuant to the Commission's rules and to the Attorney General pursuant to Section 6.5 of the Attorney General Act
(15 ILCS 205/6.5). Information designated as confidential under this Section or determined to be confidential upon Commission review shall only be disclosed pursuant to a valid and enforceable subpoena or court order or as required by the Freedom of Information Act. Nothing herein shall delay the application approval timeframes set forth in this Article.
(2) Information regarding the location of video services that have been or are being offered to the public and aggregate information included in the reports required by this Article shall not be designated or treated as confidential.
(d)(1) The Commission shall post all applications it receives under this Article on its web site within 5
business days.
(2) The Commission shall notify an applicant for a cable service or video service authorization whether the applicant's application and affidavit are complete on or before the 15th business day after the applicant submits the application. If the application and affidavit are not complete, the Commission shall state in its notice all of the reasons the application or affidavit are incomplete, and the applicant shall resubmit a complete application. The Commission shall have 30 days after submission by the applicant of a complete application and affidavit to issue the service authorization. If the Commission does not notify the applicant regarding the completeness of the application and affidavit or issue the service authorization within the time periods required under this subsection, the application and affidavit shall be considered complete and the service authorization issued upon the expiration of the 30th day.
(e) Any authorization issued by the Commission will expire on December 31, 2029 and shall contain or include all of the following:
(1) A grant of authority, including an
|
| authorization issued prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, to provide cable service or video service in the service area footprint as requested in the application, subject to the provisions of this Article in existence on the date the grant of authority was issued, and any modifications to this Article enacted at any time prior to the date in Section 21-1601 of this Act, and to the laws of the State and the ordinances, rules, and regulations of the local units of government.
|
|
(2) A grant of authority to use, occupy, and
|
| construct facilities in the public rights-of-way for the delivery of cable service or video service in the service area footprint, subject to the laws, ordinances, rules, or regulations of this State and local units of governments.
|
|
(3) A statement that the grant of authority is
|
| subject to lawful operation of the cable service or video service by the applicant, its affiliated entities, or its successors-in-interest.
|
|
(e-5) The Commission shall notify a local unit of government within 3
business days of the grant of any authorization within a service area footprint if that authorization includes any part of the local unit of government's jurisdictional boundaries and state whether the holder will be providing video service or cable service under the authorization.
(f) The authorization issued pursuant to this Section
by the Commission may be transferred to any successor-in-interest to the applicant to which it is initially granted without further Commission action if the successor-in-interest (i) submits an application and the information required by subsection (b) of this Section
for the successor-in-interest and (ii) is not in violation of this Article or of any federal, State, or local law, ordinance, rule, or regulation. A successor-in-interest shall file its application and notice of transfer with the Commission and the relevant local units of government no less than 15
business days prior to the completion of the transfer. The Commission is not required or authorized to act upon the notice of transfer; however, the transfer is not effective until the Commission approves the successor-in-interest's application. A local unit of government or the Attorney General may seek to bar a transfer of ownership by filing suit in a court of competent jurisdiction predicated on the existence of a material and continuing breach of this Article by the holder, a pattern of noncompliance with customer service standards by the potential successor-in-interest, or the insolvency of the potential successor-in-interest. If a transfer is made when there are violations of this Article or of any federal, State, or local law, ordinance, rule, or regulation, the successor-in-interest shall be subject to 3
times the penalties provided for in this Article.
(g) The authorization issued pursuant to this Section by the Commission may be terminated, or its cable service or video service area footprint may be modified, by the cable service provider or video service provider by submitting notice to the Commission and to the relevant local unit of government containing a description of the change on the same terms as the initial description pursuant to item (4) of subsection (b) of this Section. The Commission is not required or authorized to act upon that notice. It shall be a violation of this Article for a holder to discriminate against potential residential subscribers because of the race or income of the residents in the local area in which the group resides by terminating or modifying its cable service or video service area footprint. It shall be a violation of this Article for a holder to terminate or modify its cable service or video service area footprint if it leaves an area with no cable service or video service from any provider.
(h) The Commission's authority to administer this Article is limited to the powers and duties explicitly provided under this Article. Its authority under this Article does not include or limit the powers and duties that the Commission has under the other Articles of this Act, the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act,
or any other law or regulation to conduct proceedings, other than as provided in subsection (c), or has to promulgate rules or regulations. The Commission shall not have the authority to limit or expand the obligations and requirements provided in this Section or to regulate or control a person or entity to the extent that person or entity is providing cable service or video service, except as provided in this Article.
(Source: P.A. 101-639, eff. 6-12-20; 102-9, eff. 6-3-21.)
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(220 ILCS 5/21-801) (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026) Sec. 21-801. Applicable fees payable to the local unit of government. (a) Prior to offering cable service or video service in a local unit of government's jurisdiction, a holder shall notify the local unit of government. The notice shall be given to the local unit of government at least 10 days before the holder begins to offer cable service or video service within the boundaries of that local unit of government. (b) In any local unit of government in which a holder offers cable service or video service on a commercial basis, the holder shall be liable for and pay the service provider fee to the local unit of government. The local unit of government shall adopt an ordinance imposing such a fee. The holder's liability for the fee shall commence on the first day of the calendar month that is at least 30 days after the holder receives such ordinance. For any such ordinance adopted on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the holder's liability shall commence on the first day of the calendar month that is at least 30 days after the adoption of such ordinance. The ordinance shall be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to the address listed on the holder's application provided to the local unit of government pursuant to item (6) of subsection (b) of Section 21-401 of this Act. The fee authorized by this Section shall be 5% of gross revenues or the same as the fee paid to the local unit of government by any incumbent cable operator providing cable service. The payment of the service provider fee shall be due on a quarterly basis, 45 days after the close of the calendar quarter. If mailed, the fee is considered paid on the date it is postmarked. Except as provided in this Article, the local unit of government may not demand any additional fees or charges from the holder and may not demand the use of any other calculation method other than allowed under this Article. (c) For purposes of this Article, "gross revenues" means all consideration of any kind or nature, including, without limitation, cash, credits, property, and in-kind contributions received by the holder for the operation of a cable or video system to provide cable service or video service within the holder's cable service or video service area within the local unit of government's jurisdiction. (1) Gross revenues shall include the following: (i) Recurring charges for cable service or video |
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(ii) Event-based charges for cable service or
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| video service, including, but not limited to, pay-per-view and video-on-demand charges.
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(iii) Rental of set-top boxes and other cable
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| service or video service equipment.
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(iv) Service charges related to the provision of
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| cable service or video service, including, but not limited to, activation, installation, and repair charges.
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(v) Administrative charges related to the
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| provision of cable service or video service, including but not limited to service order and service termination charges.
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(vi) Late payment fees or charges, insufficient
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| funds check charges, and other charges assessed to recover the costs of collecting delinquent payments.
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(vii) A pro rata portion of all revenue derived
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| by the holder or its affiliates pursuant to compensation arrangements for advertising or for promotion or exhibition of any products or services derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable service or video service within the local unit of government's jurisdiction. The allocation shall be based on the number of subscribers in the local unit of government divided by the total number of subscribers in relation to the relevant regional or national compensation arrangement.
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(viii) Compensation received by the holder that
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| is derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable service or video service with respect to commissions that are received by the holder as compensation for promotion or exhibition of any products or services on the holder's network, such as a "home shopping" or similar channel, subject to item (ix) of this paragraph (1).
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(ix) In the case of a cable service or video
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| service that is bundled or integrated functionally with other services, capabilities, or applications, the portion of the holder's revenue attributable to the other services, capabilities, or applications shall be included in gross revenue unless the holder can reasonably identify the division or exclusion of the revenue from its books and records that are kept in the regular course of business.
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(x) The service provider fee permitted by
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| subsection (b) of this Section.
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(2) Gross revenues do not include any of the
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(i) Revenues not actually received, even if
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| billed, such as bad debt, subject to item (vi) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (c).
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(ii) Refunds, discounts, or other price
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| adjustments that reduce the amount of gross revenues received by the holder of the State-issued authorization to the extent the refund, rebate, credit, or discount is attributable to cable service or video service.
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(iii) Regardless of whether the services are
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| bundled, packaged, or functionally integrated with cable service or video service, any revenues received from services not classified as cable service or video service, including, without limitation, revenue received from telecommunications services, information services, or the provision of directory or Internet advertising, including yellow pages, white pages, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing, or any other revenues attributed by the holder to noncable service or nonvideo service in accordance with the holder's books and records and records kept in the regular course of business and any applicable laws, rules, regulations, standards, or orders.
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(iv) The sale of cable services or video
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| services for resale in which the purchaser is required to collect the service provider fee from the purchaser's subscribers to the extent the purchaser certifies in writing that it will resell the service within the local unit of government's jurisdiction and pay the fee permitted by subsection (b) of this Section with respect to the service.
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(v) Any tax or fee of general applicability
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| imposed upon the subscribers or the transaction by a city, State, federal, or any other governmental entity and collected by the holder of the State-issued authorization and required to be remitted to the taxing entity, including sales and use taxes.
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(vi) Security deposits collected from subscribers.
(vii) Amounts paid by subscribers to "home
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| shopping" or similar vendors for merchandise sold through any home shopping channel offered as part of the cable service or video service.
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(viii) Any revenues received from video
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| programming accessed via a service that enables users to access content, information, electronic mail, or other services offered over the Internet, including Internet streaming content.
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(3) Revenue of an affiliate of a holder shall be
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| included in the calculation of gross revenues to the extent the treatment of the revenue as revenue of the affiliate rather than the holder has the effect of evading the payment of the fee permitted by subsection (b) of this Section which would otherwise be paid by the cable service or video service.
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(d)(1) Except for a holder providing cable service that is subject to the fee in subsection (i) of this Section, the holder shall pay to the local unit of government or the entity designated by that local unit of government to manage public, education, and government access, upon request as support for public, education, and government access, a fee equal to no less than (i) 1% of gross revenues or (ii) if greater, the percentage of gross revenues that incumbent cable operators pay to the local unit of government or its designee for public, education, and government access support in the local unit of government's jurisdiction. For purposes of item (ii) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d), the percentage of gross revenues that all incumbent cable operators pay shall be equal to the annual sum of the payments that incumbent cable operators in the service area are obligated to pay by franchises and agreements or by contracts with the local government designee for public, education and government access in effect on January 1, 2007, including the total of any lump sum payments required to be made over the term of each franchise or agreement divided by the number of years of the applicable term, divided by the annual sum of such incumbent cable operator's or operators'
gross revenues during the immediately prior calendar year. The sum of payments includes any payments that an incumbent cable operator is required to pay pursuant to item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 21-301.
(2) A local unit of government may require all holders of a State-issued authorization and all cable operators franchised by that local unit of government on June 30, 2007 (the effective date of this Section)
in the franchise area to provide to the local unit of government, or to the entity designated by that local unit of government to manage public, education, and government access, information sufficient to calculate the public, education, and government access equivalent fee and any credits under paragraph (1) of this subsection (d).
(3) The fee shall be due on a quarterly basis and paid 45 days after the close of the calendar quarter. Each payment shall include a statement explaining the basis for the calculation of the fee. If mailed, the fee is considered paid on the date it is postmarked. The liability of the holder for payment of the fee under this subsection shall commence on the same date as the payment of the service provider fee pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section.
(e) The holder may identify and collect the amount of the service provider fee as a separate line item on the regular bill of each subscriber.
(f) The holder may identify and collect the amount of the public, education, and government programming support fee as a separate line item on the regular bill of each subscriber.
(g) All determinations and computations under this Section shall be made pursuant to the definition of gross revenues set forth in this Section and shall be made pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles.
(h) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed to exempt a holder from any tax that is or may later be imposed by the local unit of government, including any tax that is or may later be required to be paid by or through the holder with respect to cable service or video service. A State-issued authorization shall not affect any requirement of the holder with respect to payment of the local unit of government's simplified municipal telecommunications tax or any other tax as it applies to any telephone service provided by the holder. A State-issued authorization shall not affect any requirement of the holder with respect to payment of the local unit of government's 911 or E911 fees, taxes, or charges.
(i) Except for a municipality having a population of 2,000,000 or more, the fee imposed under paragraph (1) of subsection (d) by a local unit of government against a holder who is a cable operator shall be as follows:
(1) the fee shall be collected and paid only for
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| capital costs that are considered lawful under Subchapter VI of the federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and as implemented by the Federal Communications Commission;
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(2) the local unit of government shall impose any fee
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(3) the fee may not exceed 1% of gross revenue; if,
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| however, on the date that an incumbent cable operator files an application under Section 21-401, the incumbent cable operator is operating under a franchise agreement that imposes a fee for support for capital costs for public, education, and government access facilities obligations in excess of 1% of gross revenue, then the cable operator shall continue to provide support for capital costs for public, education, and government access facilities obligations at the rate stated in such agreement.
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(Source: P.A. 103-360, eff. 1-1-24 .)
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(220 ILCS 5/21-1001) (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026) Sec. 21-1001. Local unit of government authority. (a) The holder of a State-issued authorization shall comply with all the applicable construction and technical standards and right-of-way occupancy standards set forth in a local unit of government's code of ordinances relating to the use of public rights-of-way, pole attachments, permit obligations, indemnification, performance bonds, penalties, or liquidated damages. The applicable requirements for a holder that is using its existing telecommunications network or constructing a telecommunications network shall be the same requirements that the local unit of government imposes on telecommunications providers in its jurisdiction. The applicable requirements for a holder that is using or constructing a cable system shall be the same requirements the local unit of government imposes on other cable operators in its jurisdiction. (b) A local unit of government shall allow the holder to install, construct, operate, maintain, and remove a cable service, video service, or telecommunications network within a public right-of-way and shall provide the holder with open, comparable, nondiscriminatory, and competitively neutral access to the public right-of-way on the same terms applicable to other cable service or video service providers or cable operators in its jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, if a local unit of government is permitted by law to require the holder of a State authorization to seek a permit to install, construct, operate, maintain, or remove its cable service, video service, or telecommunications network within a public right-of-way, those permits shall be deemed granted within 45 days after being submitted, if not otherwise acted upon by the local unit of government, provided the holder complies with the requirements applicable to the holder in its jurisdiction. (c) A local unit of government may impose reasonable terms, but it may not discriminate against the holder with respect to any of the following: (1) The authorization or placement of a cable |
| service, video service, or telecommunications network or equipment in public rights-of-way.
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(2) Access to a building.
(3) A local unit of government utility pole
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(d) If a local unit of government imposes a permit fee on incumbent cable operators, it may impose a permit fee on the holder only to the extent it imposes such a fee on incumbent cable operators. In all other cases, these fees may not exceed the actual, direct costs incurred by the local unit of government for issuing the relevant permit. In no event may a fee under this Section be levied if the holder already has paid a permit fee of any kind in connection with the same activity that would otherwise be covered by the permit fee under this Section provided no additional equipment, work, function, or other burden is added to the existing activity for which the permit was issued.
(e) Nothing in this Article shall affect the rights that any holder has under Section 4 of the Telephone Line Right of Way Act (220 ILCS 65/4).
(f) In addition to the other requirements in this Section, if the holder installs, upgrades, constructs, operates, maintains, and removes facilities or equipment within a public right-of-way to provide cable service or video service, it shall comply with the following:
(1) The holder must locate its equipment in the
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| right-of-way as to cause only minimum interference with the use of streets, alleys, and other public ways and places, and to cause only minimum impact upon and interference with the rights and reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of the said streets, alleys, or other public ways. No fixtures shall be placed in any public ways in such a manner to interfere with the usual travel on such public ways, nor shall such fixtures or equipment limit the visibility of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or both.
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(2) The holder shall comply with a local unit of
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| government's reasonable requests to place equipment on public property where possible and promptly comply with local unit of government direction with respect to the location and screening of equipment and facilities. In constructing or upgrading its cable or video network in the right-of-way, the holder shall use the smallest suitable equipment enclosures and power pedestals and cabinets then in use by the holder for the application.
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(3) The holder's construction practices shall be in
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| accordance with all applicable Sections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, as well as all applicable State laws, including the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, and local codes, where applicable, as adopted by the local unit of government. All installation of electronic equipment shall be of a permanent nature, durable, and, where applicable, installed in accordance with the provisions of the National Electrical Safety Code of the National Bureau of Standards and National Electrical Code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters.
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(4) The holder shall not interfere with the local
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| unit of government's performance of public works. Nothing in the State-issued authorization shall be in preference or hindrance to the right of the local unit of government to perform or carry on any public works or public improvements of any kind. The holder expressly agrees that it shall, at its own expense, protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate in the same street or other public place, or remove from such street or other public place any of the network, system, facilities, or equipment when required to do so by the local unit of government because of necessary public health, safety, and welfare improvements. In the event a holder and other users of a public right-of-way, including incumbent cable operators or utilities, are required to relocate and compensation is paid to the users of such public right-of-way, such parties shall be treated equally with respect to such compensation.
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(5) The holder shall comply with all local units of
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| government inspection requirements. The making of post-construction, subsequent or periodic inspections, or both, or the failure to do so shall not operate to relieve the holder of any responsibility, obligation, or liability.
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(6) The holder shall maintain insurance or provide
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| evidence of self insurance as required by an applicable ordinance of the local unit of government.
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(7) The holder shall reimburse all reasonable
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| make-ready expenses, including aerial and underground installation expenses requested by the holder to the local unit of government within 30 days of billing to the holder, provided that such charges shall be at the same rates as charges to others for the same or similar services.
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(8) The holder shall indemnify and hold harmless the
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| local unit of government and all boards, officers, employees, and representatives thereof from all claims, demands, causes of action, liability, judgments, costs and expenses, or losses for injury or death to persons or damage to property owned by, and Worker's Compensation claims against any parties indemnified herein, arising out of, caused by, or as a result of the holder's construction, lines, cable, erection, maintenance, use or presence of, or removal of any poles, wires, conduit, appurtenances thereto, or equipment or attachments thereto. The holder, however, shall not indemnify the local unit of government for any liabilities, damages, cost, and expense resulting from the willful misconduct, or negligence of the local unit of government, its officers, employees, and agents. The obligations imposed pursuant to this Section by a local unit of government shall be competitively neutral.
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(9) The holder, upon request, shall provide the local
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| unit of government with information describing the location of the cable service or video service facilities and equipment located in the unit of local government's rights-of-way pursuant to its State-issued authorization. If designated by the holder as confidential, such information provided pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from inspection and copying under the Freedom of Information Act and shall not be disclosed by the unit of local government to any third party without the written consent of the holder.
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(Source: P.A. 99-6, eff. 6-29-15; 100-20, eff. 7-1-17 .)
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(220 ILCS 5/21-1101) (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2026) Sec. 21-1101. Requirements to provide video services. (a) The holder of a State-issued authorization shall not deny access to cable service or video service to any potential residential subscribers because of the race or income of the residents in the local area in which the potential subscribers reside. (b) (Blank). (c)(1) If the holder of a State-issued authorization is using telecommunications facilities to provide cable or video service and has more than 1,000,000 telecommunications access lines in this State, the holder shall provide access to its cable or video service to a number of households equal to at least 35% of the households in the holder's telecommunications service area in the State within 3 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission and to a number not less than 50% of these households within 5 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission; provided that the holder of a State-issued authorization is not required to meet the 50% requirement in this paragraph (1)
until 2 years after at least 15% of the households with access to the holder's video service subscribe to the service for 6 consecutive months. The holder's obligation to provide such access in the State shall be distributed, as the holder determines, within 3
designated market areas, one in each of the northeastern, central, and southwestern portions of the holder's telecommunications service area in the State. The designated market area for the northeastern portion shall consist of 2
separate and distinct reporting areas: (i) a city with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, and (ii) all other local units of government on a combined basis within such designated market area in which it offers video service. If any state, in which a holder subject to this subsection (c) or one of its affiliates provides or seeks to provide cable or video service, adopts a law permitting state-issued authorization or statewide franchises to provide cable or video service that requires a cable or video provider to offer service to more than 35% of the households in the cable or video provider's service area in that state within 3 years, holders subject to this subsection (c) shall provide service in this State to the same percentage of households within 3 years of adoption of such law in that state. Furthermore, if any state, in which a holder subject to this subsection (c) or one of its affiliates provides or seeks to provide cable or video service, adopts a law requiring a holder of a state-issued authorization or statewide franchises to offer cable or video service to more than 35% of its households if less than 15% of the households with access to the holder's video service subscribe to the service for 6 consecutive months, then as a precondition to further build-out, holders subject to this subsection (c) shall be subject to the same percentage of service subscription in meeting its obligation to provide service to 50% of the households in this State.
(2) Within 3 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission, at least 30% of the total households with access to the holder's cable or video service shall be low-income. Within each designated market area listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), the holder's obligation to offer service to low-income households shall be measured by each exchange, as that term is defined in Section 13-206 of this
Act in which the holder chooses to provide cable or video service. The holder is under no obligation to serve or provide access to an entire exchange; however, in addition to the statewide obligation to provide low-income access provided by this Section, in each exchange in which the holder chooses to provide cable or video service, the holder shall provide access to a percentage of low-income households that is at least equal to the percentage of the total low-income households within that exchange. (d)(1) All other holders shall only provide access to one or more exchanges, as that term is defined in Section 13-206 of this
Act, or to local units of government and shall provide access to their cable or video service to a number of households equal to 35% of the households in the exchange or local unit of government within 3 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission and to a number not less than 50% of these households within 5 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission, provided that if the holder is an incumbent cable operator or any successor-in-interest company, it shall be obligated to provide access to cable or video services within the jurisdiction of a local unit of government at the same levels required by the local franchising authorities for that local unit of government on June 30, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-9). (2) Within 3 years after the date a holder receives a State-issued authorization from the Commission, at least 30% of the total households with access to the holder's cable or video service shall be low-income. Within each designated exchange, as that term is defined in Section 13-206 of this
Act, or local unit of government listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection (d), the holder's obligation to offer service to low-income households shall be measured by each exchange or local unit of government in which the holder chooses to provide cable or video service. Except as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection (d), the holder is under no obligation to serve or provide access to an entire exchange or local unit of government; however, in addition to the statewide obligation to provide low-income access provided by this Section, in each exchange or local unit of government in which the holder chooses to provide cable or video service, the holder shall provide access to a percentage of low-income households that is at least equal to the percentage of the total low-income households within that exchange or local unit of government. (e) A holder subject to subsection (c) of this Section shall provide wireline broadband service, defined as wireline service, capable of supporting, in at least one direction, a speed in excess of 200 kilobits per second (kbps), to the network demarcation point at the subscriber's premises, to a number of households equal to 90% of the households in the holder's telecommunications service area by December 31, 2008, or shall pay within 30 days of December 31, 2008 a sum of $15,000,000 to the Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund established pursuant to Section 13-301.3 of this Act, or any successor fund established by the General Assembly. In that event the holder is required to make a payment pursuant to this subsection (e), the holder shall have no further accounting for this payment, which shall be used in any part of the State for the purposes established in the Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund or for broadband deployment. (f) The holder of a State-issued authorization may satisfy the requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of this Section through the use of any technology, which shall not include direct-to-home satellite service, that offers service, functionality, and content that is demonstrably similar to that provided through the holder's video service system. (g) In any investigation into or complaint alleging that the holder of a State-issued authorization has failed to meet the requirements of this Section, the following factors may be considered in justification or mitigation or as justification for an extension of time to meet the requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of this Section: (1) The inability to obtain access to public and |
| private rights-of-way under reasonable terms and conditions.
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(2) Barriers to competition arising from existing
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| exclusive service arrangements in developments or buildings.
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(3) The inability to access developments or buildings
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| using reasonable technical solutions under commercially reasonable terms and conditions.
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(4) Natural disasters.
(5) Other factors beyond the control of the holder.
(h) If the holder relies on the factors identified in subsection (g) of this Section in response to an investigation or complaint, the holder shall demonstrate the following:
(1) what substantial effort the holder of a
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| State-issued authorization has taken to meet the requirements of subsection (a) or (c) of this Section;
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(2) which portions of subsection (g) of this Section
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(3) the number of days it has been delayed or the
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| requirements it cannot perform as a consequence of subsection (g) of this Section.
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(i) The factors in subsection (g) of this Section may be considered by the Attorney General or by a court of competent jurisdiction in determining whether the holder is in violation of this Article.
(j) Every holder of a State-issued authorization, no later than April 1, 2009, and annually no later than April 1 thereafter, shall report to the Commission for each of the service areas as described in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section in which it provides access to its video service in the State, the following information:
(1) Cable service and video service information:
(A) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area within each designated market area as described in subsection (c) of this Section or exchange or local unit of government as described in subsection (d) of this Section in which it offers video service.
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(B) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area within each designated market area as described in subsection (c) of this Section or exchange or local unit of government as described in subsection (d) of this Section that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(C) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area in the State.
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(D) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area in the State that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(2) Low-income household information:
(A) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area within each designated market area as described in subsection (c) of this Section, as further identified in terms of exchanges, or exchange or local unit of government as described in subsection (d) of this Section in which it offers video service.
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(B) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area within each designated market area as described in subsection (c) of this Section, as further identified in terms of exchanges, or exchange or local unit of government as described in subsection (d) of this Section in the State that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(C) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area in the State.
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(D) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area in the State that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(j-5) The requirements of subsection (c) of this Section shall be satisfied upon the filing of an annual report with the Commission in compliance with subsection (j) of this Section, including an annual report filed prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, that demonstrates the holder of the authorization has satisfied the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section for each of the service areas in which it provides access to its cable service or video service in the State. Notwithstanding the continued application of this Article to the holder, upon satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section, only the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section 21-1101 of this Act and the following reporting requirements shall continue to apply to such holder:
(1) Cable service and video service information:
(A) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area within each designated market area in which it offers cable service or video service.
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(B) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area within each designated market area that are offered access to cable service or video service by the holder.
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(C) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area in the State.
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|
(D) The number of households in the holder's
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| telecommunications service area in the State that are offered access to cable service or video service by the holder.
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(E) The exchanges or local units of government in
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| which the holder added cable service or video service in the prior year.
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(2) Low-income household information:
(A) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area within each designated market area in which it offers video service.
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(B) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area within each designated market area that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(C) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area in the State.
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(D) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's telecommunications service area in the State that are offered access to video service by the holder.
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(j-10) The requirements of subsection (d) of this Section shall be satisfied upon the filing of an annual report with the Commission in compliance with subsection (j) of this Section, including an annual report filed prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, that demonstrates the holder of the authorization has satisfied the requirements of subsection (d) of this Section for each of the service areas in which it provides access to its cable service or video service in the State. Notwithstanding the continued application of this Article to the holder, upon satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (d) of this Section, only the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section and the following reporting requirements shall continue to apply to such holder:
(1) Cable service and video service information:
(A) The number of households in the holder's
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| footprint in which it offers cable service or video service.
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(B) The number of households in the holder's
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| footprint that are offered access to cable service or video service by the holder.
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(C) The exchanges or local units of government in
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| which the holder added cable service or video service in the prior year.
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(2) Low-income household information:
(A) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's footprint in which it offers cable service or video service.
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(B) The number of low-income households in the
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| holder's footprint that are offered access to cable service or video service by the holder.
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(k) The Commission, within 30 days of receiving the first report from holders under this Section, and annually no later than July 1 thereafter, shall submit to the General Assembly a report that includes, based on year-end data, the information submitted by holders pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsections (j), (j-5), and (j-10)
of this Section. The Commission shall make this report available to any member of the public or any local unit of government upon request. All information submitted to the Commission and designated by holders as confidential and proprietary shall be subject to the disclosure provisions in subsection (c) of Section 21-401 of this Act. No individually identifiable customer information shall be subject to public disclosure.
(Source: P.A. 100-20, eff. 7-1-17 .)
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(220 ILCS 5/22-501) Sec. 22-501. Customer service and privacy protection. All cable or video providers in this State shall comply with the following customer service requirements and privacy protections. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to an incumbent cable operator prior to January 1, 2008. For purposes of this paragraph, an incumbent cable operator means a person or entity that provided cable services in a particular area under a franchise agreement with a local unit of government pursuant to Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois
Municipal Code or Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code on January 1, 2007.
A master antenna television, satellite master antenna television, direct broadcast satellite, multipoint distribution service, and other provider of video programming shall only be subject to the provisions of this Article to the extent permitted by federal law. The following definitions apply to the terms used in this Article: "Basic cable or video service" means any service offering or tier that
includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals. "Cable or video provider" means any person or entity providing cable service or video service pursuant to authorization under (i) the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007; (ii) Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code; (iii) Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code; or (iv) a master antenna television, satellite master antenna television, direct broadcast satellite, multipoint distribution services, and other providers of video programming, whatever their technology. A cable or video provider shall not include a landlord providing only broadcast video programming to a single-family home or other residential dwelling consisting of 4
units or less. "Franchise" has the same meaning as found in 47 U.S.C. 522(9). "Local unit of government" means a city, village, incorporated town, or a county. "Normal business hours" means those hours during which most similar businesses in the geographic area of the local unit of government are open to serve customers. In all cases, "normal business hours" must include some evening hours at least one night per week or some weekend hours. "Normal operating conditions" means those service conditions that are within the control of cable or video providers. Those conditions that are not within the control of cable or video providers include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe or unusual weather conditions. Those conditions that are ordinarily within the control of cable or video providers include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of the cable service or video service network. "Service interruption" means the loss of picture or sound on one or more cable service or video service on one or more cable or video channels. "Service line drop" means the point of connection between a premises and the cable or video network that enables the premises to receive cable service or video service. (a) General customer service standards: (1) Cable or video providers shall establish |
| general standards related to customer service, which shall include, but not be limited to, installation, disconnection, service and repair obligations; appointment hours and employee ID requirements; customer service telephone numbers and hours; procedures for billing, charges, deposits, refunds, and credits; procedures for termination of service; notice of deletion of programming service; changes related to transmission of programming; changes or increases in rates; the use and availability of parental control or lock-out devices; the use and availability of an A/B switch if applicable; complaint procedures and procedures for bill dispute resolution; a description of the rights and remedies available to consumers if the cable or video provider does not materially meet its customer service standards; and special services for customers with visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities.
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(2) Cable or video providers' rates for each
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| level of service, rules, regulations, and policies related to its cable service or video service described in paragraph (1) of this subsection (a) must be made available to the public and displayed clearly and conspicuously on the cable or video provider's site on the Internet. If a promotional price or a price for a specified period of time is offered, the cable or video provider shall display the price at the end of the promotional period or specified period of time clearly and conspicuously with the display of the promotional price or price for a specified period of time. The cable or video provider shall provide this information upon request.
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(3) Cable or video providers shall provide notice
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| concerning their general customer service standards to all customers. This notice shall be offered when service is first activated and upon request thereafter. The information in the notice shall also be available on the cable or video providers' websites and shall include all of the information specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection (a), as well as the following: a listing of services offered by the cable or video providers, which shall clearly describe programming for all services and all levels of service; the rates for all services and levels of service; a telephone number through which customers may subscribe to, change, or terminate service, request customer service, or seek general or billing information; instructions on the use of the cable or video services; and a description of rights and remedies that the cable or video providers shall make available to their customers if they do not materially meet the general customer service standards described in this Act.
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(b) General customer service obligations:
(1) Cable or video providers shall render
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| reasonably efficient service, promptly make repairs, and interrupt service only as necessary and for good cause, during periods of minimum use of the system and for no more than 24 hours.
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(2) All service representatives or any other
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| person who contacts customers or potential customers on behalf of the cable or video provider shall have a visible identification card with their name and photograph and shall orally identify themselves upon first contact with the customer. Customer service representatives shall orally identify themselves to callers immediately following the greeting during each telephone contact with the public.
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(3) The cable or video providers shall: (i) maintain
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| a customer service facility within the boundaries of a local unit of government staffed by customer service representatives that have the capacity to accept payment, adjust bills, and respond to repair, installation, reconnection, disconnection, or other service calls and distribute or receive converter boxes, remote control units, digital stereo units, or other equipment related to the provision of cable or video service; (ii) provide customers with bill payment facilities through retail, financial, or other commercial institutions located within the boundaries of a local unit of government; (iii) provide an address, toll-free telephone number or electronic address to accept bill payments and correspondence and provide secure collection boxes for the receipt of bill payments and the return of equipment, provided that if a cable or video provider provides secure collection boxes, it shall provide a printed receipt when items are deposited; or (iv) provide an address, toll-free telephone number, or electronic address to accept bill payments and correspondence and provide a method for customers to return equipment to the cable or video provider at no cost to the customer.
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(4) In each contact with a customer, the service
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| representatives or any other person who contacts customers or potential customers on behalf of the cable or video provider shall state the estimated cost of the service, repair, or installation orally prior to delivery of the service or before any work is performed, shall provide the customer with an oral statement of the total charges before terminating the telephone call or other contact in which a service is ordered, whether in-person or over the Internet, and shall provide a written statement of the total charges before leaving the location at which the work was performed. In the event that the cost of service is a promotional price or is for a limited period of time, the cost of service at the end of the promotion or limited period of time shall be disclosed.
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(5) Cable or video providers shall provide
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| customers a minimum of 30 days' written notice before increasing rates or eliminating transmission of programming and shall submit the notice of any rate increase to the local unit of government in advance of distribution to customers, provided that the cable or video provider is not in violation of this provision if the elimination of transmission of programming was outside the control of the provider, in which case the provider shall use reasonable efforts to provide as much notice as possible, and any rate decrease related to the elimination of transmission of programming shall be applied to the date of the change.
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(6) Cable or video providers shall provide clear
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| visual and audio reception that meets or exceeds applicable Federal Communications Commission technical standards. If a customer experiences poor video or audio reception due to the equipment of the cable or video provider, the cable or video provider shall promptly repair the problem at its own expense.
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(c) Bills, payment, and termination:
(1) Cable or video providers shall render monthly
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| bills that are clear, accurate, and understandable.
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(2) Every residential customer who pays bills
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| directly to the cable or video provider shall have at least 28 days from the date of the bill to pay the listed charges.
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(3) Customer payments shall be posted promptly.
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| When the payment is sent by United States mail, payment is considered paid on the date it is postmarked.
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(4) Cable or video providers may not terminate
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| residential service for nonpayment of a bill unless the cable or video provider furnishes notice of the delinquency and impending termination at least 15 days prior to the proposed termination. Notice of proposed termination shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the customer to whom service is billed. Notice of proposed termination shall not be mailed until the 24th day after the date of the bill for services. Notice of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a billing statement only if the notice is designed to be conspicuous. The cable or video providers may not assess a late fee prior to the 24th day after the date of the bill for service.
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(5) Every notice of impending termination shall
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| include all of the following: the name and address of customer; the amount of the delinquency; the date on which payment is required to avoid termination; and the telephone number of the cable or video provider's service representative to make payment arrangements and to provide additional information about the charges for failure to return equipment and for reconnection, if any.
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(6) Service may only be terminated on days when the
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| customer is able to reach a service representative of the cable or video providers, either in person or by telephone.
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(7) Any service terminated by a cable or video
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| provider without good cause shall be restored without any reconnection fee, charge, or penalty; good cause for termination includes, but is not limited to, failure to pay a bill by the date specified in the notice of impending termination, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds, theft of service, abuse of equipment or personnel, or other similar subscriber actions.
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(8) Cable or video providers shall cease charging a
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| customer for any or all services within one business day after it receives a request to immediately terminate service or on the day requested by the customer if such a date is at least 5 days from the date requested by the customer. Nothing in this subsection (c) shall prohibit the provider from billing for charges that the customer incurs prior to the date of termination. Cable or video providers shall issue a credit no later than the customer's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted. Cable or video providers shall issue a refund or return a deposit promptly, but not later than either the customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever is earlier, or the return of equipment, if any, whichever is later.
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(9) The customers or subscribers of a cable or
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| video provider shall be allowed to disconnect their service at any time within the first 30 days after subscribing to or upgrading the service. Within this 30-day period, cable or video providers shall not charge or impose any fees or penalties on the customer for disconnecting service, including, but not limited to, any installation charge or the imposition of an early termination charge, except the cable or video provider may impose a charge or fee to offset any rebates or credits received by the customer and may impose monthly service or maintenance charges, including pay-per-view and premium services charges, during such 30-day period.
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(d) Response to customer inquiries:
(1) Cable or video providers will maintain a
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| toll-free telephone access line that is available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to accept calls regarding installation, termination, service, and complaints. Trained, knowledgeable, qualified service representatives of the cable or video providers will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours. Customer service representatives shall be able to provide credit, waive fees, schedule appointments, and change billing cycles. Any difficulties that cannot be resolved by the customer service representatives shall be referred to a supervisor who shall make his or her best efforts to resolve the issue immediately. If the supervisor does not resolve the issue to the customer's satisfaction, the customer shall be informed of the cable or video provider's complaint procedures and procedures for billing dispute resolution and given a description of the rights and remedies available to customers to enforce the terms of this Article, including the customer's rights to have the complaint reviewed by the local unit of government, to request mediation, and to review in a court of competent jurisdiction.
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(2) After normal business hours, the access line
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| may be answered by a service or an automated response system, including an answering machine. Inquiries received by telephone or e-mail after normal business hours shall be responded to by a trained service representative on the next business day. The cable or video provider shall respond to a written billing inquiry within 10 days of receipt of the inquiry.
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(3) Cable or video providers shall provide
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| customers seeking non-standard installations with a total installation cost estimate and an estimated date of completion. The actual charge to the customer shall not exceed the estimated cost without the written consent of the customer.
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(4) If the cable or video provider receives
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| notice that an unsafe condition exists with respect to its equipment, it shall investigate such condition immediately and shall take such measures as are necessary to remove or eliminate the unsafe condition. The cable or video provider shall inform the local unit of government promptly, but no later than 2 hours after it receives notification of an unsafe condition that it has not remedied.
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(5) Under normal operating conditions, telephone
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| answer time by the cable or video provider's customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed 30 seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis. The cable or video provider shall not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with these telephone answering standards unless an historical record of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
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(6) Under normal operating conditions, the cable
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| or video provider's customers will receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
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(e) Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards related to installations, outages, and service calls will be met no less than 95% of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
(1) Standard installations will be performed within
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| 7 business days after an order has been placed. "Standard" installations are those that are located up to 125 feet from the existing distribution system.
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(2) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the
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| cable or video providers, the cable or video providers will begin working on "service interruptions" promptly and in no event later than 24 hours after the interruption is reported by the customer or otherwise becomes known to the cable or video providers. Cable or video providers must begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after notification of the service problem and correct the problem.
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(3) The "appointment window" alternatives for
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| installations, service calls, and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at a maximum, a 4-hour time block during evening, weekend, and normal business hours. The cable or video provider may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of these hours for the express convenience of the customer.
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(4) Cable or video providers may not cancel an
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| appointment with a customer after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment. If the cable or video provider's representative is running late for an appointment with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the customer will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled, as necessary, at a time that is convenient for the customer, even if the rescheduled appointment is not within normal business hours.
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(f) Public benefit obligation:
(1) All cable or video providers offering service
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| pursuant to the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007, the Illinois Municipal Code, or the Counties Code shall provide a free service line drop and free basic service to all current and future public buildings within their footprint, including, but not limited to, all local unit of government buildings, public libraries, and public primary and secondary schools, whether owned or leased by that local unit of government ("eligible buildings"). Such service shall be used in a manner consistent with the government purpose for the eligible building and shall not be resold.
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(2) This obligation only applies to those cable or
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| video service providers whose cable service or video service systems pass eligible buildings and its cable or video service is generally available to residential subscribers in the same local unit of government in which the eligible building is located. The burden of providing such service at each eligible building shall be shared by all cable and video providers whose systems pass the eligible buildings in an equitable and competitively neutral manner, and nothing herein shall require duplicative installations by more than one cable or video provider at each eligible building. Cable or video providers operating in a local unit of government shall meet as necessary and determine who will provide service to eligible buildings under this subsection (f). If the cable or video providers are unable to reach an agreement, they shall meet with the local unit of government, which shall determine which cable or video providers will serve each eligible building. The local unit of government shall bear the costs of any inside wiring or video equipment costs not ordinarily provided as part of the cable or video provider's basic offering.
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(g) After the cable or video providers have offered service for one year, the cable or video providers shall make an annual report to the Commission, to the local unit of government, and to the Attorney General that it is meeting the standards specified in this Article, identifying the number of complaints it received over the prior year in the State and specifying the number of complaints related to each of the following: (1) billing, charges, refunds, and credits; (2) installation or termination of service; (3) quality of service and repair; (4) programming; and (5) miscellaneous complaints that do not fall within these categories.
(h) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall offer the lowest-cost basic cable or video service as a stand-alone service to residential customers at reasonable rates. Cable or video providers shall not require the subscription to any service other than the lowest-cost basic service or to any telecommunications or information service, as a condition of access to cable or video service, including programming offered on a per channel or per program basis. Cable or video providers shall not discriminate between subscribers to the lowest-cost basic service, subscribers to other cable services or video services, and other subscribers with regard to the rates charged for cable or video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.
(i) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall ensure that charges for changes in the subscriber's selection of services or equipment shall be based on the cost of such change and shall not exceed nominal amounts when the system's configuration permits changes in service tier selection to be effected solely by coded entry on a computer terminal or by other similarly simple method.
(j) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall have a rate structure for the provision of cable or video service that is uniform throughout the area within the boundaries of the local unit of government. This subsection (j) is not intended to prohibit bulk discounts to multiple dwelling units or to prohibit reasonable discounts to senior citizens or other economically disadvantaged groups.
(k) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall not charge a subscriber for any service or equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested or affirmatively agreed to by name. For purposes of this subsection (k), a subscriber's failure to refuse a cable or video provider's proposal to provide service or equipment shall not be deemed to be an affirmative request for such service or equipment.
(l) No contract or service agreement containing an early termination clause offering residential cable or video services or any bundle including such services shall be for a term longer than 2 years. Any contract or service offering with a term of service that contains an early termination fee shall limit the early termination fee to not more than the value of any additional goods or services provided with the cable or video services, the amount of the discount reflected in the price for cable services or video services for the period during which the consumer benefited from the discount, or a declining fee based on the remainder of the contract term.
(m) Cable or video providers shall not discriminate in the provision of services for the hearing and visually impaired, and shall comply with the accessibility requirements of 47 U.S.C. 613. Cable or video providers shall deliver and pick-up or provide customers with pre-paid shipping and packaging for the return of converters and other necessary equipment at the home of customers with disabilities. Cable or video providers shall provide free use of a converter or remote control unit to mobility impaired customers.
(n)(1) To the extent consistent with federal law, cable or video providers shall comply with the provisions of 47 U.S.C. 532(h) and (j). The cable or video providers shall not exercise any editorial control over any video programming provided pursuant to this Section, or in any other way consider the content of such programming, except that a cable or video provider may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased access program that
contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and may consider such content to the minimum extent necessary to establish a reasonable price for the commercial use of designated channel capacity by an unaffiliated person. This subsection (n) shall permit cable or video providers to enforce prospectively a written and published policy of prohibiting programming that the cable or video provider reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards.
(2) Upon customer request, the cable or video
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| provider shall, without charge, fully scramble or otherwise fully block the audio and video programming of each channel carrying such programming so that a person who is not a subscriber does not receive the channel or programming.
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(3) In providing sexually explicit adult programming
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| or other programming that is indecent on any channel of its service primarily dedicated to sexually oriented programming, the cable or video provider shall fully scramble or otherwise fully block the video and audio portion of such channel so that a person who is not a subscriber to such channel or programming does not receive it.
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(4) Scramble means to rearrange the content of the
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| signal of the programming so that the programming cannot be viewed or heard in an understandable manner.
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(o) Cable or video providers will maintain a listing, specific to the level of street address, of the areas where its cable or video services are available. Customers who inquire about purchasing cable or video service shall be informed about whether the cable or video provider's cable or video services are currently available to them at their specific location.
(p) Cable or video providers shall not disclose the name, address, telephone number or other personally identifying information of a cable service or video service customer to be used in mailing lists or to be used for other commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business unless the cable or video provider has provided to the customer a notice, separately or included in any other customer service notice, that clearly and conspicuously describes the customer's ability to prohibit the disclosure. Cable or video providers shall provide an address and telephone number for a customer to use without a toll charge to prevent disclosure of the customer's name and address in mailing lists or for other commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of its business to other businesses or affiliates of the cable or video provider. Cable or video providers shall comply with the consumer privacy requirements of Section 26-4.5 of the Criminal Code of 2012, the Restricted Call Registry Act, and 47 U.S.C. 551 that are in effect as of June 30, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-9)
and as amended thereafter.
(q) Cable or video providers shall implement an informal process for handling inquiries from local units of government and customers concerning billing issues, service issues, privacy concerns, and other consumer complaints. In the event that an issue is not resolved through this informal process, a local unit of government or the customer may request nonbinding mediation with the cable or video provider, with each party to bear its own costs of such mediation. Selection of the mediator will be by mutual agreement, and preference will be given to mediation services that do not charge the consumer for their services. In the event that the informal process does not produce a satisfactory result to the customer or the local unit of government, enforcement may be pursued as provided in subdivision (4) of subsection (r) of this Section.
(r) The Attorney General and the local unit of government may enforce all of the customer service and privacy protection standards of this Section with respect to complaints received from residents within the local unit of government's jurisdiction, but it may not adopt or seek to enforce any additional or different customer service or performance standards under any other authority or provision of law.
(1) The local unit of government may, by ordinance,
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| provide a schedule of penalties for any material breach of this Section by cable or video providers in addition to the penalties provided herein. No monetary penalties shall be assessed for a material breach if it is out of the reasonable control of the cable or video providers or its affiliate. Monetary penalties adopted in an ordinance pursuant to this Section shall apply on a competitively neutral basis to all providers of cable service or video service within the local unit of government's jurisdiction. In no event shall the penalties imposed under this subsection (r) exceed $750 for each day of the material breach, and these penalties shall not exceed $25,000 for each occurrence of a material breach per customer.
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(2) For purposes of this Section, "material breach"
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| means any substantial failure of a cable or video service provider to comply with service quality and other standards specified in any provision of this Act. The Attorney General or the local unit of government shall give the cable or video provider written notice of any alleged material breaches of this Act and allow such provider at least 30 days from receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach.
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(3) A material breach, for the purposes of assessing
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| penalties, shall be deemed to have occurred for each day that a material breach has not been remedied by the cable service or video service provider after the expiration of the period specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection (r) in each local unit of government's jurisdiction, irrespective of the number of customers affected.
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(4) Any customer, the Attorney General, or a local
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| unit of government may pursue alleged violations of this Act by the cable or video provider in a court of competent jurisdiction. A cable or video provider may seek judicial review of a decision of a local unit of government imposing penalties in a court of competent jurisdiction. No local unit of government shall be subject to suit for damages or other relief based upon its action in connection with its enforcement or review of any of the terms, conditions, and rights contained in this Act except a court may require the return of any penalty it finds was not properly assessed or imposed.
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(s) Cable or video providers shall credit customers for violations in the amounts stated herein. The credits shall be applied on the statement issued to the customer for the next monthly billing cycle following the violation or following the discovery of the violation. Cable or video providers are responsible for providing the credits described herein and the customer is under no obligation to request the credit. If the customer is no longer taking service from the cable or video provider, the credit amount will be refunded to the customer by check within 30 days of the termination of service. A local unit of government may, by ordinance, adopt a schedule of credits payable directly to customers for breach of the customer service standards and obligations contained in this Article, provided the schedule of customer credits applies on a competitively neutral basis to all providers of cable service or video service in the local unit of government's jurisdiction and the credits are not greater than the credits provided in this Section.
(1) Failure to keep an appointment or to notify
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| the customer prior to the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment: $25.00.
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(2) Violation of customer service and billing
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| standards in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section: $25.00 per occurrence.
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(3) Violation of the bundling rules in subsection
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| (h) of this Section: $25.00 per month.
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(t) The enforcement powers granted to the Attorney General in Article XXI of this
Act shall apply to this Article, except that the Attorney General may not seek penalties for violation of this Article
other than in the amounts specified herein. Nothing in this Section shall limit or affect the powers of the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of Article XXI
of this
Act or the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
(u) This Article
applies to all cable and video providers in the State, including but not limited to those operating under a local franchise as that term is used in 47 U.S.C. 522(9), those operating under authorization pursuant to Section 11-42-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code, those operating under authorization pursuant to Section 5-1095 of the Counties Code, and those operating under a State-issued authorization pursuant to Article XXI of this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-45, eff. 6-28-13.)
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