Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 095-0130
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Public Act 095-0130


 

Public Act 0130 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 095-0130
 
HB0894 Enrolled LRB095 05215 MJR 25290 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
Section 16-115 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/16-115)
    Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail electric
suppliers.
    (a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain a
certificate of service authority from the Commission in
accordance with this Section before serving any retail customer
or other user located in this State. An alternative retail
electric 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.
    (b) An alternative retail electric 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 retail electric 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
the application is properly filed with the Commission, and such
notice is published, the Commission shall issue its order
granting or denying the application.
    (c) 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
retail customers within a geographic area that is smaller than
an electric utility's service area shall submit evidence
demonstrating that the designation of this smaller area does
not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant that seeks to serve
residential or small commercial retail customers may state in
its application for certification any limitations that will be
imposed on the number of customers or maximum load to be
served.
    (d) 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
    (i) the characteristics, including the size and financial
    sophistication, of the customers that the applicant seeks
    to serve, and (ii) whether the applicant seeks to provide
    electric power and energy using property, plant and
    equipment which it owns, controls or operates;
        (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 interconnected electric transmission system;
        (3) That the applicant will only provide service to
    retail customers in an electric utility's service area that
    are eligible to take delivery services under this Act;
        (4) That the applicant will comply with such
    informational or reporting requirements as the Commission
    may by rule establish and provide the information required
    by Section 16-112. Any data related to contracts for the
    purchase and sale of electric power and energy shall be
    made available for review by the Staff of the Commission on
    a confidential and proprietary basis and only to the extent
    and for the purposes which the Commission determines are
    reasonably necessary in order to carry out the purposes of
    this Act;
        (5) (Blank) That if the applicant, its corporate
    affiliates or the applicant's principal source of
    electricity (to the extent such source is known at the time
    of the application) owns or controls facilities, for public
    use, for the transmission or distribution of electricity to
    end-users within a defined geographic area to which
    electric power and energy can be physically and
    economically delivered by the electric utility or
    utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed
    service will be offered, the applicant, its corporate
    affiliates or principal source of electricity, as the case
    may be, provides delivery services to the electric utility
    or utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed
    service will be offered that are reasonably comparable to
    those offered by the electric utility, and provided
    further, that the applicant agrees to certify annually to
    the Commission that it is continuing to provide such
    delivery services and that it has not knowingly assisted
    any person or entity to avoid the requirements of this
    Section. For purposes of this subparagraph, "principal
    source of electricity" shall mean a single source that
    supplies at least 65% of the applicant's electric power and
    energy, and the purchase of transmission and distribution
    services pursuant to a filed tariff under the jurisdiction
    of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or a state
    public utility commission shall not constitute control of
    access to the provider's transmission and distribution
    facilities;
        (6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve
    residential or small commercial retail customers, 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 16-115A,
    provided, that 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;
        (7) That the applicant meets the requirements of
    subsection (a) of Section 16-128; and
        (8) That the applicant will comply with all other
    applicable laws and regulations.
    (e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or
self-generation facility and that seeks certification only to
provide electric power and energy from such facility to retail
customers at separate locations which customers are both (i)
owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate affiliate of, such
applicant and (ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be
granted a certificate of service authority upon filing an
application and notifying the Commission that it has entered
into an agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant
to Section 16-118. Provided, however, that if the retail
customer owning such cogeneration or self-generation facility
would not be charged a transition charge due to the exemption
provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the
certification, and the retail customers at separate locations
are taking delivery services in conjunction with purchasing
power and energy from the facility, the retail customer on
whose premises the facility is located shall not thereafter be
required to pay transition charges on the power and energy that
such retail customer takes from the facility.
    (f) The Commission shall have the authority to promulgate
rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this
Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission shall adopt a
rule or rules applicable to the certification of those
alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve only
nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical
demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i)
expedited and streamlined procedures for certification of such
alternative retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific
criteria which, if met by any such alternative retail electric
supplier, shall constitute the demonstration of technical,
financial and managerial resources and abilities to provide
service required by subsection (d) (1) 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.
(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2008