AUTHORITY: Implementing Sections 16-104(b) and 16-115A of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/16-104(b) and 16-115A] and Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act [20 ILCS 3855/1-92] and authorized by Sections 10-101, 8-501, 20-110, 20-120 and 20-130 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/10-101, 8-501, 20-110, 20-120 and 20-130].

SOURCE: Adopted at 39 Ill. Reg. 5577, effective April 1, 2015.

SUBPART A: GENERAL

 

Section 470.10  Definitions

 

"Aggregate Area" means the area within the geographic boundaries of a municipality, a township or the unincorporated areas of a county that has adopted an ordinance to aggregate residential and/or small commercial retail electric loads.

 

"Aggregation Customer" means a residential or small commercial retail customer receiving retail electric supplier (RES) service pursuant to an Aggregation Program.

 

"Aggregation Program" means a program offered by a municipality, township or county, individually or collectively, pursuant to Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-104(b) of the PUA.

 

"Aggregation Supplier" means the retail electric supplier chosen by the Governmental Aggregator that provides electric supply service to the aggregated residential and small commercial retail electrical loads located within the Aggregate Area.

 

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

 

"Electric Utility" means an electric utility, as defined in Section 16-102 of the PUA.

 

"Governmental Aggregator" means the corporate authorities of a municipality, a township board, or a county board in the Aggregate Area that individually or collectively procure electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads located within its or their jurisdiction (Section 1-10 of the IPA Act). "Governmental Aggregator" shall have the same meaning as "aggregated entity" as used in Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

 

"Incumbent Aggregation Supplier" means the Aggregation Supplier currently providing retail electric supply service pursuant to an Aggregation Program.

 

"IPA Act" means the Illinois Power Agency Act [20 ILCS 3855].

 

"Office of Retail Market Development" or "ORMD" has the meaning ascribed in Section 20-110 of the PUA.

 

"Opt-in Aggregation Program" means an Aggregation Program offered in accordance with Section 1-92 of the IPA Act and Section 16-104(b) of the PUA, whereby the corporate authorities of a municipality, township board, or county board adopt an ordinance to aggregate the electric loads of residential and small commercial retail customers, provided, however, that only those residential and small commercial retail customers that affirmatively elect to participate in the Opt-in Aggregation Program will have their electric load included in the Opt-in Aggregation Program.

 

"Opt-out Aggregation Program" means an Aggregation Program offered in accordance with Section 1-92 of the IPA Act and Section 16-104(b) of the PUA, whereby the corporate authorities of a municipality, township board, or county board adopt an ordinance to aggregate the electric loads of residential and small commercial retail customers, when the voters of the municipality, township or county previously passed, by a majority of electors voting on the question, a referendum granting the municipality, township or county the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers, except for those customers who take no action and thus remain RES customers or customers on hourly service, or customers who affirmatively elect not to participate in the Opt-out Aggregation Program.

 

"PUA" means the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

 

"Retail Electric Supplier" or "RES" means either:

 

an alternative retail electric supplier (ARES) as defined in Section 16-102 of the PUA and certified by the Commission pursuant to Section 16-115 of the PUA, meeting all obligations of an ARES pursuant to Section 16-115A of the PUA, and authorized to provide electric power and energy supply services in an Illinois electric utility's service territory; or

 

an Illinois electric utility as defined in Section 16-102 of the PUA providing service pursuant to Section 16-116 of the PUA and meeting all obligations provided in Sections 16-115A and 16-116 of the PUA.

 

"RES Customer" means a retail customer receiving RES service who is not an Aggregation Customer.

 

"RES Service" means electric supply service provided by a RES to retail electric customers.

 

"Retail Customer" shall have the meaning ascribed in Section 16-102 of the PUA.

 

"Small Commercial Retail Customer" shall have the meaning ascribed in Section 16-102 of the PUA.

 

"Utility Fixed-Price Service" means electric supply service provided by the electric utility to retail customers under fixed-price service tariffs.

 

"Utility Hourly Service" means electric supply service provided by the electric utility to retail customers, pursuant to tariff, that is not under fixed-price service tariffs.

 

Section 470.20  Construction of this Part

 

In the event of any conflict between this Part and the requirements provided in electric utility tariffs on file with the Commission as of April 1, 2015, this Part shall control.

SUBPART B: CUSTOMER INFORMATION

 

Section 470.100  Transfer of Customer Information

 

a)         Upon request of a Governmental Aggregator and receipt of a verification from the Governmental Aggregator that either an ordinance has been adopted authorizing an Opt-in Aggregation Program, pursuant to Section 1-92 of the IPA Act, or an ordinance has been adopted and a referendum passed authorizing an Opt-out Aggregation Program, pursuant to Section 1-92 of the IPA Act, the electric utility shall provide the information required in this subsection.  If, however, the Governmental Aggregator is a township board, then the electric utility's obligation to provide customer account numbers is contingent upon the township board first providing an accurate customer list to the electric utility.  The electric utility shall provide to the Governmental Aggregator, in electronic format, the following:

 

1)         the account numbers, names and addresses of all residential and small commercial retail customers on utility fixed price service in the Aggregate Area that are reflected in the electric utility's records at the time of the request;

 

2)         the account numbers, names and addresses of all residential and small commercial retail customers that receive, or have applied to receive, RES Service in the Aggregate Area that are reflected in the electric utility's records at the time of the request.  The identification of customers that receive RES service, or have applied to receive RES service, shall not include the name of the RES providing those services; and

 

3)         the account numbers, names and addresses of all residential and small commercial retail customers that receive utility hourly service in the Aggregate Area that are reflected in the electric utility's records at the time of the request.

 

b)         If requested by the Governmental Aggregator, the Incumbent Aggregation Supplier shall provide the Governmental Aggregator with information that allows the Governmental Aggregator to identify Aggregation Customers.  Unless otherwise agreed upon between the Governmental Aggregator and the Incumbent Aggregation Supplier, the identifying information shall be provided within 10 business days after the request.

 

Section 470.110  Protection of Customer Information

 

a)         To protect the customer-specific information described in Section 470.100 and to ensure compliance with Section 1-92 of the IPA Act, the Aggregation Supplier shall establish and follow appropriate protocols to preserve the confidentiality of customer-specific information and limit the use of customer-specific information strictly and only to effectuate the provisions of Section 1-92 of the IPA Act.  The Aggregation Supplier shall ensure that these protocols:

 

1)         provide that the Aggregation Supplier shall not disclose, use, sell or provide customer-specific information to any person, firm or entity for any purpose outside of the Aggregation Program;

 

2)         provide that the Aggregation Supplier shall not use the customer-specific information to market products other than the service the Aggregation Supplier has contracted to provide the Governmental Aggregator under the applicable Aggregation Program consistent with Section 1-92 of the IPA Act;

 

3)         provide that if the Aggregation Supplier receives the account numbers of customers receiving or pending to receive RES service who have not opted into the Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier shall destroy the customer numbers or return them to the Governmental Aggregator;

 

4)         except as otherwise required by record retention obligations imposed by applicable law, within 30 days following: a customer's opt-out of the Aggregation Program, a customer's exit from the Aggregation Program, or the end of the term during which the Aggregation Supplier is providing service to the Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier must dispose of, delete, and/or destroy all customer-specific information in whatever format that is in its possession as a result of having been the Aggregation Supplier to an Aggregation Program.  The Aggregation Supplier may not use customer-specific information retained due to record retention obligations to market to customers; and

 

5)         provide for the usage restrictions and additional records retention requirements set forth in Section 470.240.

 

b)         Breaches of these confidentiality provisions by the Aggregation Supplier will be subject to the imposition of financial penalties by the Commission as described in Section 16-115B(b) of the PUA.

SUBPART C: OBLIGATIONS OF AGGREGATION SUPPLIERS

 

Section 470.200  Notification to the Commission

 

a)         Aggregation Suppliers shall provide the following Aggregation Program information to the Commission's ORMD for posting on the Commission's public website:

 

1)         the end date (expressed in month/year) of the aggregation contract and, if different, the end date (expressed in month/year) of the aggregation rate or rates;

 

2)         the aggregation rate or rates (expressed in cents per kWh);

 

3)         any fees for early termination of the contract by the customer;

 

4)         whether the Aggregation Supplier is providing a green or clean energy product and a description of the product, and the clean energy or renewable requirement set by the Governmental Aggregator, if any;

 

5)         whether the Aggregation Supplier is providing energy efficiency or demand response products and a description of the products, and the energy efficiency or demand response requirement set by the Governmental Aggregator, if any; and

 

6)         a copy of the Aggregation Supplier's disclosure required by Section 1-92(f) of the IPA Act, if applicable, and any payments, inducements or donations, including civic contributions and consulting fees made by the Aggregation Supplier, either directly or indirectly, to the Governmental Aggregator.

 

b)         The information required in subsection (a) shall be provided within three business days after the Governmental Aggregator and the Aggregation Supplier have determined this information to be final and this information has been made public, but no later than three business days after the customer disclosures required under Section 470.210 are sent.

 

c)         No penalties shall be levied against an Aggregation Supplier pursuant to Section 16-115B(b) of the PUA for failure to comply with this Section unless:

 

1)         Commission Staff has provided a notice to the Aggregation Supplier regarding its failure to comply with this Section and informing the Aggregation Supplier that it has one business day to remedy the failure, and the Aggregation Supplier fails to provide the information within one business day; or

 

2)         the Aggregation Supplier has failed to provide the information to ORMD within the timeframe specified in subsection (b) three or more times in a calendar year.

 

Section 470.210  Customer Disclosures

 

a)         Prior to enrolling or re-enrolling retail customers in an Opt-in or Opt-out Aggregation Program, or whenever there is a change in the rates, end date or choice of Aggregation Supplier of the Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier shall verify that retail customers have been sent disclosures as required by Section 1-92 of the IPA Act evidenced by:

 

1)         a written verification from the Governmental Aggregator that the required disclosure has been sent; or

 

2)         the Aggregation Supplier has sent the required disclosures in compliance with subsection (b) of this Section, Section 470.220, Section 470.230 and Section 470.240.

 

b)         If the Aggregation Supplier sends the required disclosure to retail customers, the disclosure shall state:

 

1)         the legal name of the Aggregation Supplier, the name under which the Aggregation Supplier will market its products, if different, and its business address;

 

2)         the Governmental Aggregator's name and, if available, the Governmental Aggregator's logo to be included on the envelope and first page of any disclosures, and the statement "Important Electricity Aggregation Information Enclosed" must be printed conspicuously on the envelope;

 

3)         that customers may purchase their electricity supply from a RES (without providing a price comparison) or the electric utility (either utility fixed-price or hourly service) and the PlugInIllinois.org Internet address;

 

4)         that customers may request from the Illinois Power Agency, without charge, a list of all supply options available to them in a format that allows comparison of prices and products;

 

5)         the cost to obtain service pursuant to Section 16-103 of the PUA, how to access it, and the fact that it is available to customers without penalty if the customer is currently receiving service under that Section; the disclosure shall not contain a comparison of the proposed aggregation rate to the electric utility's fixed-price service rate;

 

6)         the Aggregation Supplier's toll-free telephone number for billing questions, disputes and complaints;

 

7)         a local or toll-free telephone number, with the available calling hours, that customers may call with any questions regarding the Aggregation Program; this number shall be provided by the Aggregation Supplier unless otherwise agreed to with the Government Aggregator and shall not be an electric utility number;

 

8)         the prices, terms and conditions of the products and services being offered to the customer;

 

9)         the presence or absence of early termination fees or penalties and applicable amounts or the formula pursuant to which they are calculated; and

 

10)        that net metering customers, pursuant to Section 16-107.5(d)(3) and (e)(3) of the PUA, may forfeit credits for electric supply service and delivery service, or both, if they switch to the Aggregation Supplier.

 

Section 470.220  Opt-out Aggregation Provisions

 

If the Aggregation Supplier sends the disclosures required by Section 1-92 of the IPA Act:

 

a)         the customer disclosure sent for Opt-out Aggregation Programs shall also:

 

1)         describe the method to opt out and the opt-out due date expressed as month, day and year;

 

2)         include a statement that those customers who do not opt out of the Opt-out Aggregation Program will have been deemed to have authorized and agreed to being enrolled in the Opt-out Aggregation Program and to having their electric supply service switched to the Aggregation Supplier under the terms and conditions applicable to the opt-out aggregation program;

 

b)         the opt-out due date shall be a minimum of 21 calendar days after the date of the disclosure postmark;

 

c)         the Aggregation Supplier shall allow customers to opt out by the following methods:

 

1)         by returning a postage paid postcard or similar notice supplied by the Aggregation Supplier; and

 

2)         by at least one of the following additional methods:

 

A)        telephone;

 

B)        e-mail; or

 

C)        Aggregation Supplier or Governmental Aggregator website.

 

Section 470.230  Opt-in Aggregation Provisions

 

a)         If the Aggregation Supplier sends the required disclosures, the disclosure shall describe the affirmative actions needed to join the Aggregation Program.

 

b)         The Aggregation Supplier shall verify a customer's request to join the Opt-in Aggregation Program in the same manner as an electric service provider confirms a change in a customer's selection of a provider of electric service under Section 2EE(a) through (c) of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act [815 ILCS 505].

 

Section 470.240  RES Customers

 

a)         The Aggregation Supplier shall verify that residential and small commercial retail customers receiving, or pending to receive, non-aggregation RES service have been sent the disclosures identified in this subsection (a), as evidenced by a written verification from the Governmental Aggregator, or by the Aggregation Supplier having sent the disclosures.  The disclosures to customers receiving or pending to receive non-aggregation RES service shall contain the following information:

 

1)         Notification that an Aggregation Program is currently on-going in their municipality, township or unincorporated area;

 

2)         A disclosure that adequately describes, in plain language, the prices, terms and conditions of the products and services being offered to the customer;

 

3)         If the Aggregation Program contains a fee for the early termination from the program by the customer, the amount of that fee;

 

4)         A description of the affirmative action necessary for the customer to join the Aggregation Program;

 

5)         In addition, the body of the notice shall contain, in type size no smaller than the largest type size used in the body of the notice, the following statement:

 

"This notice is informational only. Your electric utility has informed us that you are currently served or have chosen to be served by a competitive retail electric supplier. If you want to continue to receive service from your chosen supplier, you do not need to take any additional action. Consult your contract or contact your chosen supplier for further details if you have questions about your contract, including whether you have a cancellation fee for early termination."

 

b)         In the event the Aggregation Supplier sends the disclosures identified in subsection (a), the Aggregation Supplier shall send the required disclosure notice only one time during the term of the contract between the Governmental Aggregator and the Aggregation Supplier. The Aggregation Supplier shall send no additional disclosure notices to residential and small commercial retail customers receiving, or pending to receive, non-aggregation RES service during the remainder of the term of the contract between the Governmental Aggregator and the Aggregation Supplier.

 

c)         Within 45 calendar days after the Aggregation Supplier sends the disclosure notice required by subsection (a), the Aggregation Supplier shall destroy all customer-specific information provided to it by the Governmental Aggregator or the utility regarding those customers.

 

d)         The customer-specific information of customers receiving or pending to receive non-aggregation RES service that is provided to the Aggregation Supplier for purposes of providing the notices required by subsection (a) shall not be utilized by the Aggregation Supplier for marketing purposes.

 

e)         If the Aggregation Supplier receives the account numbers of customers receiving, or pending to receive, non-aggregation RES service in the Aggregate Area as part of a list of account numbers created by the electric utility and supplied to the Aggregation Supplier by the Governmental Aggregator, the Aggregation Supplier shall not utilize those customer account numbers for any purpose and shall immediately destroy the customer account numbers or return them to the Governmental Aggregator.

 

f)         Disclosures sent to customers receiving, or pending to receive, non-aggregation RES service shall not contain a comparison of the proposed aggregation rate to the customer's current RES rate, but may include the information contained in Section 470.210(b)(4).

 

g)         If an Aggregation Supplier receives a request from a RES customer to join the Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier shall inform the RES customer that he/she may be subject to fees for early termination pursuant to his/her current RES contract.

 

h)         In the case of an Opt-out Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier shall not switch RES customers to the Aggregation Program unless the RES customer elects to opt in.  The Aggregation Supplier shall verify a RES customer's request to join the Aggregation Program in the same manner as an electric service provider confirms a change in a customer's selection of a provider of electric service under Section 2EE(a) through (c) of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

 

Section 470.250  Customers on Utility Hourly Service

 

a)         Unless otherwise agreed to with the Governmental Aggregator, if the Aggregation Supplier sends the required disclosures, the disclosures shall be sent to customers on Utility Hourly Service and shall contain the following information:

 

1)         that a customer may be denied his/her/its request to join the Aggregation Program based on the terms and conditions of the electric utility's applicable hourly service tariff;

 

2)         that potential savings depend on the customer's actual hourly use patterns, that savings may vary, and that the disclosure shall contain no comparison of rates; and

 

3)         a description of the affirmative action necessary for the customer to join the Aggregation Program.

 

b)         Disclosures sent to customers on Utility Hourly Service shall not contain a comparison of the proposed aggregation rate to the electric utility's fixed-price service rate, but may include the information contained in Section 470.210(b)(4).

 

c)         In the case of an Opt-out Aggregation Program, the Aggregation Supplier shall verify a Utility Hourly Service customer's request to join the Aggregation Program in the same manner as an electric service provider confirms a change in a customer's selection of a provider of electric service under Section 2EE(a) through (c) of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

 

Section 470.260  Failure to Comply

 

Unless otherwise noted, a violation of this Part shall be subject to the fines and penalties set forth in the PUA, including Section 16-115B(b), applicable to RES, and Sections 5-202 and 5-203, applicable to public utilities, including electric delivery utilities.