Public Act 102-0609
 
HB3404 EnrolledLRB102 13143 SPS 18486 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  




  
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic 
Opportunity.
    "Qualifying gas pipeline project" means the construction 
or installation of gas equipment used in connection with the 
distribution and delivery of natural gas in Pembroke Township.

 
    Section 10. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot 
Program.
 
    (a) The Department shall create the Pembroke Township 
Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program for a duration of 5 
years. The Program shall provide that the Department shall 
distribute grants, subject to appropriation, from moneys in 
the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Fund for the 
conversion of appliances to be compatible with natural gas.

    (b) The Department shall adopt rules for the 
administration of the Program. At a minimum, the rules shall 
require that the applicant for the grants demonstrate that the 
grants will result in the conversion of necessary equipment to 
have the ability to utilize natural gas. The rules shall allow 
for conversion grants awarded to residents of Pembroke 
Township and to Pembroke Township to provide assistance for 
the use of natural gas and shall ensure that the applicant 
complies with all other requirements of the rules.
    (c) A grantee must maintain all records as required by 
rule. The records shall be subject to audit by the Department, 
by an auditor appointed by the Department, or by a State 
officer authorized to conduct audits.

    (d) Eligible applicants under this Program may include a 
nonprofit or community action association that will help the 
residents of Pembroke with the convergence of natural gas 
services in the residents' homes. Notwithstanding any 
provision of law to the contrary, an entity regulated under 
the Public Utilities Act may serve as a grantee under this Act.
 
    Section 15. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot 
Program Fund. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment 
Pilot Program Fund is created as a special fund in the State

treasury. Subject to appropriation, all moneys in the Fund 
shall be used by the
Department to fund grants for qualified 
utility infrastructure
projects. The Department may accept 
private and public funds,
including federal funds, for deposit 
into the Fund. Earnings
attributable to moneys in the Fund 
shall be deposited into the
Fund.

 
    Section 20. Data collection and reporting. The Department 
shall collect data regarding the successes and challenges of 
the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program and 
shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General 
Assembly by March 1 of each year beginning in 2022 until the 
Pilot Program terminates. The report shall: (i) make a 
recommendation as to whether the Pilot Program should 
continue; (ii) provide cost estimates, including the average 
per person costs; and (iii) recommend ways in which the Pilot 
Program can be improved to better address the needs for 
natural gas distribution.
 
    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 
Section 5.935 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.935 new)
    Sec. 5.935. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment 
Pilot Program Fund.
 
    Section 95. The Public Utilities Act is amended  by 
changing Section 8-406 and by adding Section  8-406.2 as 
follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/8-406)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406)
    Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and 
necessity. 
    (a) No public utility not owning any city or village

franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in 
furnishing any
product or commodity within this State as of 
July 1, 1921 and not
possessing a certificate of
public 
convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce 
Commission,
the State Public Utilities  Commission or
the 
Public Utilities Commission, at the time this amendatory Act 
of 1985 goes
into effect, shall transact any business in this 
State until it shall have
obtained a certificate from the 
Commission that public convenience and
necessity require the 
transaction of such business. A certificate of public 
convenience and necessity requiring the transaction of public 
utility business in any area of this State shall include 
authorization to the public utility receiving the certificate 
of public convenience and necessity to construct such plant, 
equipment, property, or facility as is provided for under the 
terms and conditions of its tariff and as is necessary to 
provide utility service and carry out the transaction of 
public utility business by the public utility in the 
designated area. 
    (b) No public utility shall begin the construction of any 
new plant,
equipment, property or facility which is not in 
substitution of any
existing plant, equipment, property or 
facility or any extension or
alteration thereof or in addition 
thereto,
unless and until it shall have obtained from the

Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity 
require such
construction. Whenever after a hearing the 
Commission determines that any
new construction or the 
transaction of any business by a public utility will
promote 
the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have 
the
power to issue certificates of public convenience and 
necessity. The
Commission shall determine that proposed 
construction will promote the
public convenience and necessity 
only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the
proposed 
construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and

efficient service to its customers and is the
least-cost means 
of
satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the 
proposed construction will promote the development of an 
effectively competitive electricity market that operates 
efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least 
cost means of satisfying those objectives;
(2) that the 
utility is capable of efficiently managing and
supervising the 
construction process and has taken sufficient action to
ensure 
adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof; 
and (3)
that the utility is capable of financing the proposed 
construction without
significant adverse financial 
consequences for the utility or its
customers.
    (c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 
1987, no
construction shall commence on any new nuclear
power 
plant to be located within this State, and no certificate of 
public
convenience and necessity or other authorization shall 
be issued therefor
by the Commission, until the Director of 
the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency finds that the 
United States Government, through its
authorized agency, has 
identified and approved a demonstrable technology or
means for 
the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such

construction has been specifically approved by a statute 
enacted by the General
Assembly.
    As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means 
those aqueous
wastes resulting from the operation of the first 
cycle of the solvent
extraction system or equivalent and the 
concentrated wastes of the
subsequent extraction cycles or 
equivalent in a facility for reprocessing
irradiated reactor 
fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to
fuel 
reprocessing.
    (d) In making its determination under subsection (b) of 
this Section, the Commission shall attach primary
weight to 
the cost or cost savings to the customers of the utility. The

Commission may consider any or all factors which will or may 
affect such
cost or cost savings, including the public 
utility's engineering judgment regarding the materials used 
for construction.
    (e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which 
shall remain
in force not to exceed one year in cases of 
emergency, to assure maintenance
of adequate service or to 
serve particular customers, without notice or
hearing, pending 
the determination of an application for a certificate, and
may 
by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section 
temporary
acts or operations for which the issuance of a 
certificate will not be
required in the public interest.
    A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may 
apply for and
obtain a certificate of public convenience and 
necessity pursuant to this
Section with respect to any matter 
as to which it has received the
authorization or order of the 
Commission under the Electric Supplier Act,
and any such 
authorization or order granted a public utility by the

Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be 
deemed to
be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the 
same force and effect
as, a certificate of public convenience 
and necessity issued pursuant to this
Section.
    No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a 
party to or shall
be entitled to be heard or to otherwise 
appear or participate in any
proceeding initiated under this 
Section for authorization of power plant
construction and as 
to matters as to which a remedy is available under The
Electric 
Supplier Act.
    (f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the 
Commission, upon
its own motion or upon application by the 
person or corporation affected.
Unless exercised within a 
period of 2 years from the grant thereof
authority conferred 
by a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by
the 
Commission shall be null and void.
    No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall 
be construed as
granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege, 
immunity or franchise.
    (g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions 
described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or 
that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this 
Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of 
this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would 
apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of 
this Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an 
electric line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For 
purposes of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of 
the following:
        (1) replace or upgrade  any existing high voltage 
    electric service line and related facilities, 
    notwithstanding its length;
        (2) relocate any existing high voltage electric 
    service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its 
    length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a 
    roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or
        (3) construct a high voltage electric service line and 
    related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a 
    single customer's premises or to provide a generator 
    interconnection to the public utility's transmission 
    system and that will pass under or over the premises  owned 
    by the customer or generator to be served or under or over 
    premises for which the customer or generator has secured 
    the necessary right of way. 
    (h)  A public utility seeking to construct a high-voltage 
electric service line and related facilities (Project) must 
show that the utility has held a minimum of 2 pre-filing public 
meetings to receive public comment concerning the Project in 
each county where the Project is to be located, no earlier than 
6 months prior to filing an application for a certificate of 
public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Notice 
of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of 
general circulation within the affected county once a week for 
3 consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior 
to the first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2 
contiguous counties and where in one county the transmission 
line mileage and number of landowners over whose property the 
proposed route traverses is one-fifth or less of the 
transmission line mileage and number of such landowners of the 
other county, then the utility may combine the 2 pre-filing 
meetings in the county with the greater transmission line 
mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements 
regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both counties. 
Notice of the public meeting, including a description of the 
Project, must be provided in writing to the clerk of each 
county where the Project is to be located. A representative of 
the Commission shall be invited to each pre-filing public 
meeting.
    (i) For applications filed after the effective date of 
this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the 
Commission shall by registered mail notify each owner of 
record of land, as identified in the records of the relevant 
county tax assessor, included in the right-of-way over which 
the utility seeks in its application to construct a 
high-voltage electric line of the time and place scheduled for 
the initial hearing on the public utility's application.  The 
utility shall reimburse the Commission for the cost of the 
postage and supplies incurred for mailing the notice.
(Source: P.A. 99-399, eff. 8-18-15.)
 
    (220 ILCS 5/8-406.2 new)
    Sec. 8-406.2. Certificate of public convenience and 
necessity; extension of utility service area and facilities to 
serve designated hardship areas.
    (a) This Section is intended to provide a mechanism by 
which a gas public utility may extend its service territory 
and gas distribution system to provide service to designated 
low-income areas whose residents do not have access to natural 
gas service and must purchase more costly alternatives to 
satisfy their energy needs.
    (b) In this Section:
    "Designated hardship area" is limited to Pembroke 
Township, if the Township meets certain requirements. Any 
"designated hardship area" only applies to the specific 
community of Pembroke within the scope of the Project. 
Pembroke Township will only be categorized as a "designated 
hardship area" if it meets the following requirements:
        (1) the area is designated as a qualified census tract 
    by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as 
    published in the most current Federal Register; if the 
    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ceases to 
    make this designation, then at least 25% of the households 
    in the area are at or below the poverty level; and
        (2) the area is not currently served by a gas utility.
    "Hardship area facilities" means all gas distribution 
system facilities that are proposed to be constructed or 
extended and used to serve the designated hardship area, 
through and including retail gas meters. "Hardship area 
facilities" includes the capacity to address reasonably 
foreseeable growth in areas adjacent to or in the vicinity of 
the designated hardship area.
    (c) A gas public utility may apply for a certificate of 
public convenience and necessity pursuant to this Section to 
increase its gas service territory and extend its gas 
distribution system to serve a designated hardship area. An 
application under this Section shall include all of the 
following:
        (1) a description of the designated hardship area and 
    its relationship to the existing gas distribution system 
    of the applicant;
        (2) a showing that the designated hardship area meets 
    the criteria for being a designated hardship area under  
    subsection (b) of this Section;
        (3) a description of the hardship area facilities 
    proposed to serve the designated hardship area;
        (4) a projection of the costs to construct and deploy 
    the hardship area facilities;
        (5) a showing that the estimated cost to construct and 
    deploy the hardship area facilities is equal to or less 
    than 250% of the amount allowed under the gas utilities' 
    then current tariffs to provide standard service to extend 
    main and services; and
        (6) a statement to confirm that the public utility has 
    held at least 2 pre-filing public meetings in the 
    community and considered public input from those meetings 
    when developing and implementing its plans.
    (d) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant 
a certificate of public convenience and necessity under this 
Section if, based upon the application filed with the 
Commission and the evidentiary record, the Commission finds 
that all of the following criteria are satisfied:
        (1) the area to be served is a designated hardship 
    area;
        (2) the proposed hardship area facilities will provide 
    adequate, reliable, and efficient gas delivery service to 
    the customers within the designated hardship area and are 
    the least-cost means of providing such gas delivery 
    service to these customers;
        (3) the public utility is capable of efficiently 
    managing and supervising the construction of the hardship 
    area facilities and has taken sufficient action to ensure 
    adequate and efficient construction and supervision of the 
    construction;
        (4) the public utility is capable of financing the 
    construction of the hardship area facilities without 
    significant adverse financial consequences for the utility 
    or its customers;
        (5) the estimated cost to construct and deploy the 
    hardship area facilities is equal to or less than 250% of 
    the amount allowed under the gas utilities then current 
    tariffs to provide standard service to extend main and 
    services;
        (6) the public utility can guarantee that residents of 
    Hopkins Park who choose to opt out of converting to a 
    natural gas delivery service will not be assessed any 
    charges relating to the pipeline construction or any other 
    fees relating to the designated hardship area facilities;
        (7) the public utility disclosed to the Commission the 
    mapping of the proposed pipeline and infrastructure 
    management requirements within the designated hardship 
    area; and
        (8) the public utility has guaranteed that, before 
    implementation, it will disclose to the Commission the 
    cost to the utility for customers of Hopkins Park to 
    utilize gas services. 
    (e) The Commission shall issue its decision with findings 
of fact and conclusions of law granting or denying the 
application no later than 120 days after the application is 
filed.
  
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.

Effective Date:  8/27/2021