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Public Act 91-0902
SB1541 Enrolled LRB9110220JSgc
AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by adding
Section 8-505.1.
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 adding
Section 8-505.1 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/8-505.1 new)
Sec. 8-505.1. Non-emergency vegetation management
activities.
(a) In conducting its non-emergency vegetation
management activities, an electric public utility shall:
(1) Follow the most current guidelines set forth by
the International Society of Arboriculture and the most
current applicable Occupational Safety and Health
Administration or American National Standards Institute
standards.
(2) Provide direct notice of vegetation management
activities at least 21 days before beginning those
activities. If the vegetation management activities will
occur in an incorporated municipality, the notice must be
given to the mayor. If the vegetation management
activities will occur in an unincorporated area, the
notice must be given to the chairman of the county board.
Maps or a description of the area to be affected by
vegetation management activities must accompany the
notice. Notification may be discontinued upon the
request of the governing body of the municipality or
county. Requests for the termination of notices shall be
in writing.
(3) Directly notify affected customers no fewer
than 7 days before the activity is scheduled to begin.
(4) Provide notified customers with a toll-free
telephone number to call regarding the vegetation
management activities.
The Commission shall have sole authority to investigate
and issue complaints against the utility under this
subsection (a).
(b) A public utility shall not be required to comply
with the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of
subsection (a) when (i) it is taking actions to restore
reliable service after interruptions of service; (ii) there
is a franchise, contract, or written agreement between the
public utility and the municipality mandating specific
vegetation management practices; or (iii) there is a mutual
agreement between the municipality or county and the public
utility to waive the requirements of paragraph (2), (3), or
(4) of subsection (a), to the extent of the waiver agreement.
(c) If (i) no franchise, contract, or written agreement
between a utility and a municipality mandates a specific
vegetation management practice, (ii) no applicable tariff
governing non-emergency vegetation management practices has
been approved by the Commission, and (iii) the municipality
enacts an ordinance establishing standards for non-emergency
vegetation management practices that are more restrictive
than the standards established by this Section, then the
electric public utility may recover from the municipality the
difference between the costs of complying with the standards
established under the municipality's ordinance and the costs
of complying with the standards established by this Section.
Before beginning any non-emergency vegetation management
activities in a municipality that has enacted an ordinance
establishing standards for vegetation management practices
that are more restrictive than the standards established by
this Section, an electric public utility shall provide to the
municipality a good faith estimate of the costs of complying
with the more restrictive municipal standards for vegetation
management practices.
The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
available to a customer or class of customers under this Act
nor invalidate any tariff approved or rule promulgated by the
Commission.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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