Section 275.10  Scope and Application

 

This Part shall apply to all electric and gas public utilities engaged in the production, storage, distribution, sale, delivery or furnishing of electricity and gas, or both, subject to the jurisdiction of this Commission.  Such electric and gas utilities, or any one of them, are hereafter referred to as "public utilities" or "public utility," as the case may be.

 

Section 275.20  Definitions

 

As used herein, the term:

 

a)         "Affiliate of a Public Utility" shall include any individual or corporation which directly or indirectly controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, a public utility;

 

b)         "Electric and Gas Public Utility" shall have the meaning assigned to it in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 111⅔, par. 3-105) [220 ILCS 5/3-105];

 

c)         "Promotional Practices or Allowances" shall mean:

 

1)         Any payment, donation, gift, subsidy, conveyance, transfer or other consideration (whether in cash, property, merchandise, labor or as a guarantee) granted to any group, corporation or individual for the purpose or evident design of inducing the recipient to:

 

A)        Purchase, select or use the service or additional service of the public utility;

 

B)        Purchase or install equipment, facilities or appliances designed to use such utility service;

 

C)        Specify the purchase or installation of equipment, facilities or appliances designed to use such utility service.

 

2)         Subsections (c)(1)(A) through (c)(1)(C) above shall include, without limitation:

 

A)        Free, or less than cost, installation, operation, repair, modification or maintenance of equipment, facilities or appliances of any other person;

 

B)        Free, or less than cost, public utility service;

 

C)        Free, or less than cost, non-utility professional service except payments to architects or engineers for feasibility studies made on behalf of the utilities;

 

D)        Payment of cash or other considerations to architects, builders, subdividers, developers or others in the same category for work done on property not owned by the utility;

 

E)        Less than cost financing of the purchase price of equipment, facilities or appliances;

 

F)         Guarantees as to the maximum amount of bills for utility service;

 

G)        Financing assistance – the extension of credit, making of a loan or investment, directly or indirectly, to any group, corporation or individual by any means whatsoever including, without limitation, loans, advances, guarantees, investments, leases, sale and repurchase or sale and lease-back agreements, sales on open account and conditional or installment sales contracts;

 

H)        Discounts or allowances (including trade-in allowances, cash, merchandise or labor) for the purchase or service of air conditioning or heating equipment, stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers or other appliances;

 

I)         Installation of free, or less than cost, wiring, piping or other facilities on the customer's side of a service entrance;

 

J)         Advertising or contributing to advertising on account of a customer or potential user of the utility's service.

 

3)         Exceptions:  Notwithstanding the foregoing definitions, the following shall not be considered as a promotional practice or allowance:

 

A)        Making emergency repairs to equipment, facilities or appliances of customers;

 

B)        Offering allowances or financing assistance to employees of the utility to encourage employees' use of the utility's service;

 

C)        Ownership by the utility of equipment for the utilization of its service when such ownership is incidental to demonstrations of sixty days or less in duration;

 

D)        Providing light bulbs, street or outdoor lighting service, service pipe or other service equipment or facilities, in accordance with rate schedules filed with and approved by the Commission;

 

E)        Providing appliances to an educational institution for the purpose of instructing students in the use of such appliances;

 

F)         Selling household appliances at retail and, in connection therewith, the holding of inventories, making and fulfillment of reasonable warranties against defects in material and workmanship existing at the time of delivery and the extension of credit, provided that the effective rate of interest on any deferred payments and the terms with respect thereto shall not be more favorable than those generally applicable to sales by non-utility dealers in such appliances, and provided that no such sale be made by the utility below its invoice cost and that no trade-in allowance in excess of market value may be made;

 

G)        Any action consistent with such rules as the Commission may, from time to time, adopt with respect to standards of service, local ordinances, franchises and contributions;

 

H)        As of January 1, 1994, practices or allowances which are part of a program designed to utilize economical means of conservation, non-conventional technologies relying on renewable energy resources, cogeneration, and improvement in energy efficiency as approved by the Commission as part of a utility's least-cost plan.

 

(Source:  Expedited Correction at 17 Ill. Reg. 8902, effective January 1, 1993)

 

Section 275.30  Promotional Practices or Allowances Prohibited

 

No electric or gas utility and/or its affiliates shall, without first obtaining specific authorization from this Commission, engage in or make any of the following promotional practices or allowances:

 

a)         Make any loans, guarantee of loans or grants to any group, corporation or individual for building construction; or engage, in any way, in the investment in or financing of any non-utility property for the purpose or evident design of inducing the use of utility service;

 

b)         Make any payment to any group, corporation or individual for any promotional, advertising or publicity purpose of any of said group, corporation or individual except for payments not exceeding one-half the cost for joint advertising with dealers of electric or gas appliances for the sale of said appliances;

 

c)         Make any payment or extend any other consideration to architects, engineers, builders, subdividers or others for work done on property not owned by said electric or gas utility and/or its affiliated companies except for feasibility studies to determine the cost of using electricity or gas;

 

d)         Purchase or acquire for the purpose of leasing or renting to others, or make loans to others for the purchase of any electric or gas equipment, appliance or facilities, the cost of which exceeds $2,500.00 for each specific location, without first having obtained the approval of this Commission;

 

e)         Guarantee the maximum dollar amount of electric or gas bills.

 

Section 275.40  Standards Governing Promotional Practices and Allowances

 

All promotional practices and allowances must be:

 

a)         Not unlawfully or unreasonably discriminatory and uniformly applied (No public electric or gas utility or its affiliates shall, directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any device whatsoever, offer or grant to any group, corporation or individual any form of promotional practice or allowance except such as is uniformly extended to all groups, corporations or individuals in a reasonably defined class.  No public electric or gas utility or its affiliates shall, in the granting of a promotional practice or allowance, make, offer or grant any preference or advantage to any group, corporation or individual or subject any group, corporation or individual to any prejudice or disadvantage.  No public electric or gas utility or its affiliates shall establish or maintain any unreasonable difference in the offering or granting of promotional practices or allowances either as between localities or as between classes to whom promotional practices are offered or granted.  No public electric or gas utility or its affiliates shall classify the groups, corporations or individuals to whom its promotional practices or allowances are offered or granted except to the extent permitted by the Public Utilities Act of the State of Illinois);

 

b)         Reasonable as a business practice, economically feasible and compensatory;

 

c)         Reasonably calculated to benefit both the utility and its customers;

 

d)         Just and reasonable.

 

Section 275.50  Filing of Present Promotional Practices and Allowances with and Approved by the Commission

 

a)         Each public electric or gas utility shall file with the Commission on or before May 1, 1969, a schedule setting forth all promotional practices being engaged in or promotional allowances being offered by said utility or an affiliate thereof as of May 1, 1969, which are not in violation of this Part or of the Commission's Interim Orders of July 12, 1967 and March 13, 1968 in Docket No. 52538, as amended by this Part, and said practices and allowances shall be approved by the Commission and shall become effective immediately upon filing.  Said schedule shall set forth an accurate description of each promotional practice and allowance, the class of groups, corporations or individuals to which each promotional practice or allowance is being granted, and the conditions under which each promotional practice or allowance is being granted.  Each public utility shall send a copy of such schedule to each other public utility providing electric or gas utility service in all or any portion of the service area of the filing utility.

 

b)         No public electric or gas utility or affiliate thereof shall continue to engage in any promotional practice or allowance, as hereinabove set forth after May 1, 1969, unless a schedule, as hereinabove prescribed, shall have been filed with the Commission.

 

Section 275.60  Filing of Proposed Promotional Practices and Allowances

 

a)         No public electric or gas utility, after the effective date of this Part, shall be required to file with the Commission a schedule of any variation in any promotional practice or allowance filed pursuant to Section 275.50 (a) hereof, unless as a result of such variation:

 

1)         Any promotional practice or allowance provided for in cash, property or its equivalent in said variation, with respect to any residential dwelling unit for space heating, air conditioning, or any combination of space heating, air conditioning, wiring or piping, range, dryer or any other household appliance, is increased to more than 15¢ per square foot.

 

2)         Any promotional practice or allowance in cash, property or its equivalent, with respect to the purchase or installation of a range in any dwelling unit, is increased to more than $35 or to more than $20 for a dryer or any other household appliance; provided, however, that no such variation in practice or allowance shall be deemed a qualified promotional practice or allowance unless the cost of such practice or allowance can be recovered from the additional revenue obtained, less the incremental cost of supplying the additional electricity or gas, in a period of time not in excess of 50% of the estimated life of the space heating, air conditioning or appliance being promoted.

 

b)         Each utility shall notify the Commission, for its information, by letter, of any variation of its promotional practices or allowances whenever any such variation is put into effect.

 

c)         No public electric or gas utility, or affiliate thereof, shall grant or offer any promotional practice or allowance other than those set forth in Section 275.50 (a) and Section 275.60 hereof, directly or indirectly, or in concert with other groups, corporations or individuals, or by any means whatsoever, unless or until a schedule showing such promotional practice shall have been filed with the Commission and concurrently therewith a copy thereof shall have been given to each other electric and gas public utility providing utility service in all  or any portion of the service area of the filing utility, and said variation shall have been approved by the Commission.

 

Section 275.70  Filing of Annual Report

 

Each public electric or gas utility shall file with the Commission, concurrently with the annual reports required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 260 (General Orders 181 and 182), a report of the promotional practices granted or promotional allowances made by such public utility and/or by an affiliate of said public utility during the period covered by said annual report, which report shall show in reasonable detail the amounts expended with respect to each promotional practice granted and allowance made.

 

Section 275.80  Retroactive Effect

 

Notwithstanding any provisions of this Part, any public electric or gas utility, or affiliate thereof, may perform commitments entered into prior to January 1, 1969, unless such commitments were made in violation of the Commission's Interim Orders of July 12, 1967, and March 13, 1968, in Docket No. 52538, if a written list of such commitments is filed with the Commission, within 30 days after the effective date of this Part, describing the nature of the commitment and the premises for which the commitment has been incurred; provided, however, that no such commitment shall be performed by a public utility unless prior to a date two years after said effective date the pouring of concrete caissons, footings or foundations or the driving of pilings has commenced on said premises, or unless the approval of the Commission for an extension of time has been obtained.

 

Section 275.90  Right to Amend

 

The adoption of this Part shall in no way preclude the Commission from altering or amending it, in whole or in part, or from requiring or authorizing rules or regulations containing other provisions whenever the Commission shall deem it in the public interest to do so.

 

Section 275.100  Powers of Suspension

 

All schedules of promotional practices and allowances filed with the Commission by any public electric or gas utility shall be subject to the suspension and other powers of this Commission with respect to rates, charges and classifications of public utilities, and all rules, regulations and practices relating thereto, as set forth in the Public Utilities Act of the State of Illinois.