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91_SB0023
LRB91000408JSgc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Sections 16-102 and 16-115.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Sections 16-102 and 16-115 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/16-102)
8 Sec. 16-102. Definitions. For the purposes of this
9 Article the following terms shall be defined as set forth in
10 this Section.
11 "Alternative retail electric supplier" means every
12 person, cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation,
13 company, association, joint stock company or association,
14 firm, partnership, individual, or other entity, their
15 lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court
16 whatsoever, that offers electric power or energy for sale,
17 lease or in exchange for other value received to one or more
18 retail customers, or that engages in the delivery or
19 furnishing of electric power or energy to such retail
20 customers, and shall include, without limitation, resellers,
21 aggregators and power marketers, but shall not include (i)
22 electric utilities (or any agent of the electric utility to
23 the extent the electric utility provides tariffed services to
24 retail customers through that agent), (ii) any electric
25 cooperative or municipal system as defined in Section 17-100
26 to the extent that the electric cooperative or municipal
27 system is serving retail customers within any area in which
28 it is or would be entitled to provide service under the law
29 in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this
30 amendatory Act of 1997, (iii) a public utility that is owned
31 and operated by any public institution of higher education of
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1 this State, or a public utility that is owned by such public
2 institution of higher education and operated by any of its
3 lessees or operating agents, within any area in which it is
4 or would be entitled to provide service under the law in
5 effect immediately prior to the effective date of this
6 amendatory Act of 1997, (iv) any retail customer to the
7 extent that customer obtains its electric power and energy
8 from its own cogeneration or self-generation facilities
9 located on its premises, (v) any entity that owns, sells,
10 leases, operates, or arranges for the installation of
11 cogeneration or self-generation facilities located on the
12 premises of to be owned by a retail customer described in
13 subparagraph (iv), but only as to the electric power and
14 energy provided to that retail customer extent the entity is
15 engaged in selling or arranging for such installation, or
16 (vi) an industrial or manufacturing customer that owns its
17 own distribution facilities, to the extent that the customer
18 provides service from that distribution system to a
19 third-party contractor located on the customer's premises
20 that is integrally and predominantly engaged in the
21 customer's industrial or manufacturing process; provided,
22 that if the industrial or manufacturing customer has elected
23 delivery services, the customer shall pay transition charges
24 applicable to the electric power and energy consumed by the
25 third-party contractor unless such charges are otherwise paid
26 by the third party contractor, which shall be calculated
27 based on the usage of, and the base rates or the contract
28 rates applicable to, the third-party contractor in accordance
29 with Section 16-102.
30 "Base rates" means the rates for those tariffed services
31 that the electric utility is required to offer pursuant to
32 subsection (a) of Section 16-103 and that were identified in
33 a rate order for collection of the electric utility's base
34 rate revenue requirement, excluding (i) separate automatic
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1 rate adjustment riders then in effect, (ii) special or
2 negotiated contract rates, (iii) delivery services tariffs
3 filed pursuant to Section 16-108, (iv) real-time pricing, or
4 (v) tariffs that were in effect prior to October 1, 1996 and
5 that based charges for services on an index or average of
6 other utilities' charges, but including (vi) any subsequent
7 redesign of such rates for tariffed services that is
8 authorized by the Commission after notice and hearing.
9 "Competitive service" includes (i) any service that has
10 been declared to be competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of
11 this Act, (ii) contract service, and (iii) services, other
12 than tariffed services, that are related to, but not
13 necessary for, the provision of electric power and energy or
14 delivery services.
15 "Contract service" means (1) services, including the
16 provision of electric power and energy or other services,
17 that are provided by mutual agreement between an electric
18 utility and a retail customer that is located in the electric
19 utility's service area, provided that, delivery services
20 shall not be a contract service until such services are
21 declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113; and also
22 means (2) the provision of electric power and energy by an
23 electric utility to retail customers outside the electric
24 utility's service area pursuant to Section 16-116. Provided,
25 however, contract service does not include electric utility
26 services provided pursuant to (i) contracts that retail
27 customers are required to execute as a condition of receiving
28 tariffed services, or (ii) special or negotiated rate
29 contracts for electric utility services that were entered
30 into between an electric utility and a retail customer prior
31 to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and
32 filed with the Commission.
33 "Delivery services" means those services provided by the
34 electric utility that are necessary in order for the
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1 transmission and distribution systems to function so that
2 retail customers located in the electric utility's service
3 area can receive electric power and energy from suppliers
4 other than the electric utility, and shall include, without
5 limitation, standard metering and billing services.
6 "Electric utility" means a public utility, as defined in
7 Section 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license,
8 permit or right to furnish or sell electricity to retail
9 customers within a service area.
10 "Mandatory transition period" means the period from the
11 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 through January
12 1, 2005.
13 "Municipal system" shall have the meaning set forth in
14 Section 17-100.
15 "Real-time pricing" means charges for delivered electric
16 power and energy that vary on an hour-to-hour basis for
17 nonresidential retail customers and that vary on a periodic
18 basis during the day for residential retail customers.
19 "Retail customer" means a single entity using electric
20 power or energy at a single premises and that (A) either (i)
21 is receiving or is eligible to receive tariffed services from
22 an electric utility, or (ii) that is served by a municipal
23 system or electric cooperative within any area in which the
24 municipal system or electric cooperative is or would be
25 entitled to provide service under the law in effect
26 immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory
27 Act of 1997, or (B) an entity which on the effective date of
28 this Act was receiving electric service from a public utility
29 and (i) was engaged in the practice of resale and
30 redistribution of such electricity within a building prior to
31 January 2, 1957, or (ii) was providing lighting services to
32 tenants in a multi-occupancy building, but only to the extent
33 such resale, redistribution or lighting service is authorized
34 by the electric utility's tariffs that were on file with the
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1 Commission on the effective date of this Act.
2 "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which
3 an electric utility was lawfully entitled to provide electric
4 power and energy to retail customers as of the effective date
5 of this amendatory Act of 1997, and includes (ii) the
6 location of any retail customer to which the electric utility
7 was lawfully providing electric utility services on such
8 effective date.
9 "Small commercial retail customer" means those
10 nonresidential retail customers of an electric utility
11 consuming 15,000 kilowatt-hours or less of electricity
12 annually in its service area.
13 "Tariffed service" means services provided to retail
14 customers by an electric utility as defined by its rates on
15 file with the Commission pursuant to the provisions of
16 Article IX of this Act, but shall not include competitive
17 services.
18 "Transition charge" means a charge expressed in cents per
19 kilowatt-hour that is calculated for a customer or class of
20 customers as follows for each year in which an electric
21 utility is entitled to recover transition charges as provided
22 in Section 16-108:
23 (1) the amount of revenue that an electric utility
24 would receive from the retail customer or customers if it
25 were serving such customers' electric power and energy
26 requirements as a tariffed service based on (A) all of
27 the customers' actual usage during the 3 years ending 90
28 days prior to the date on which such customers were first
29 eligible for delivery services pursuant to Section
30 16-104, and (B) on (i) the base rates in effect on
31 October 1, 1996 (adjusted for the reductions required by
32 subsection (b) of Section 16-111, for any reduction
33 resulting from a rate decrease under Section 16-101(b),
34 for any restatement of base rates made in conjunction
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1 with an elimination of the fuel adjustment clause
2 pursuant to subsection (b), (d), or (f) of Section 9-220
3 and for any removal of decommissioning costs from base
4 rates pursuant to Section 16-114) and any separate
5 automatic rate adjustment riders (other than a
6 decommissioning rate as defined in Section 16-114) under
7 which the customers were receiving or, had they been
8 customers, would have received electric power and energy
9 from the electric utility during the year immediately
10 preceding the date on which such customers were first
11 eligible for delivery service pursuant to Section 16-104,
12 or (ii) to the extent applicable, any contract rates,
13 including contracts or rates for consolidated or
14 aggregated billing, under which such customers were
15 receiving electric power and energy from the electric
16 utility during such year;
17 (2) less the amount of revenue, other than revenue
18 from transition charges and decommissioning rates, that
19 the electric utility would receive from such retail
20 customers for delivery services provided by the electric
21 utility, assuming such customers were taking delivery
22 services for all of their usage, based on the delivery
23 services tariffs in effect during the year for which the
24 transition charge is being calculated and on the usage
25 identified in paragraph (1);
26 (3) less the market value for the electric power
27 and energy that the electric utility would have used to
28 supply all of such customers' electric power and energy
29 requirements, as a tariffed service, based on the usage
30 identified in paragraph (1), with such market value
31 determined in accordance with Section 16-112 of this Act;
32 (4) less the following amount which represents the
33 amount to be attributed to new revenue sources and cost
34 reductions by the electric utility through the end of the
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1 period for which transition costs are recovered pursuant
2 to Section 16-108, referred to in this Article XVI as a
3 "mitigation factor":
4 (A) for nonresidential retail customers, an
5 amount equal to the greater of (i) 0.5 cents per
6 kilowatt-hour during the period October 1, 1999
7 through December 31, 2004, 0.6 cents per
8 kilowatt-hour in calendar year 2005, and 0.9 cents
9 per kilowatt-hour in calendar year 2006, multiplied
10 in each year by the usage identified in paragraph
11 (1), or (ii) an amount equal to the following
12 percentages of the amount produced by applying the
13 applicable base rates (adjusted as described in
14 subparagraph (1)(B)) or contract rate to the usage
15 identified in paragraph (1): 8% for the period
16 October 1, 1999 through December 31, 2002, 10% in
17 calendar years 2003 and 2004, 11% in calendar year
18 2005 and 12% in calendar year 2006; and
19 (B) for residential retail customers, an
20 amount equal to the following percentages of the
21 amount produced by applying the base rates in effect
22 on October 1, 1996 (adjusted as described in
23 subparagraph (1)(B)) to the usage identified in
24 paragraph (1): (i) 6% from May 1, 2002 through
25 December 31, 2002, (ii) 7% in calendar years 2003
26 and 2004, (iii) 8% in calendar year 2005, and (iv)
27 10% in calendar year 2006;
28 (5) divided by the usage of such customers
29 identified in paragraph (1),
30 provided that the transition charge shall never be less than
31 zero.
32 "Unbundled service" means a component or constituent part
33 of a tariffed service which the electric utility subsequently
34 offers separately to its customers.
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1 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
2 (220 ILCS 5/16-115)
3 Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail electric
4 suppliers.
5 (a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain
6 a certificate of service authority from the Commission in
7 accordance with this Section before serving any retail
8 customer or other user located in this State. An alternative
9 retail electric supplier may request, and the Commission may
10 grant, a certificate of service authority for the entire
11 State or for a specified geographic area of the State.
12 (b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a
13 certificate of service authority shall file with the
14 Commission a verified application containing information
15 showing that the applicant meets the requirements of this
16 Section. The alternative retail electric supplier shall
17 publish notice of its application in the official State
18 newspaper within 10 days following the date of its filing.
19 No later than 45 days after the application is properly filed
20 with the Commission, and such notice is published, the
21 Commission shall issue its order granting or denying the
22 application.
23 (c) An application for a certificate of service
24 authority shall identify the area or areas in which the
25 applicant intends to offer service and the types of services
26 it intends to offer. Applicants that seek to serve
27 residential or small commercial retail customers within a
28 geographic area that is smaller than an electric utility's
29 service area shall submit evidence demonstrating that the
30 designation of this smaller area does not violate Section
31 16-115A. An applicant that seeks to serve residential or
32 small commercial retail customers may state in its
33 application for certification any limitations that will be
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1 imposed on the number of customers or maximum load to be
2 served.
3 (d) The Commission shall grant the application for a
4 certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set
5 forth in this subsection based on the verified application
6 and such other information as the applicant may submit:
7 (1) That the applicant possesses sufficient
8 technical, financial and managerial resources and
9 abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a
10 certificate of service authority. In determining the
11 level of technical, financial and managerial resources
12 and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the
13 Commission shall consider (i) the characteristics,
14 including the size and financial sophistication, of the
15 customers that the applicant seeks to serve, and (ii)
16 whether the applicant seeks to provide electric power and
17 energy using property, plant and equipment which it owns,
18 controls or operates;
19 (2) That the applicant will comply with all
20 applicable federal, State, regional and industry rules,
21 policies, practices and procedures for the use,
22 operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity and
23 reliability, of the interconnected electric transmission
24 system;
25 (3) That the applicant will only provide service to
26 retail customers in an electric utility's service area
27 that are eligible to take delivery services under this
28 Act;
29 (4) That the applicant will comply with such
30 informational or reporting requirements as the Commission
31 may by rule establish and provide the information
32 required by Section 16-112. Any data related to
33 contracts for the purchase and sale of electric power and
34 energy shall be made available for review by the Staff of
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1 the Commission on a confidential and proprietary basis
2 and only to the extent and for the purposes which the
3 Commission determines are reasonably necessary in order
4 to carry out the purposes of this Act;
5 (5) That if the applicant, its corporate affiliates
6 or the applicant's principal source of electricity (to
7 the extent such source is known at the time of the
8 application) owns or controls facilities, for public use,
9 for the transmission or distribution of electricity to
10 end-users within a defined geographic area to which
11 electric power and energy can be physically and
12 economically delivered by the electric utility or
13 utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed
14 service will be offered, the applicant, its corporate
15 affiliates or principal source of electricity, as the
16 case may be, provides delivery services to the electric
17 utility or utilities in whose service area or areas the
18 proposed service will be offered that are reasonably
19 comparable to those offered by the electric utility, and
20 provided further, that the applicant agrees to certify
21 annually to the Commission that it is continuing to
22 provide such delivery services and that it has not
23 knowingly assisted any person or entity to avoid the
24 requirements of this Section. For purposes of this
25 subparagraph, "principal source of electricity" shall
26 mean a single source that supplies at least 65% of the
27 applicant's electric power and energy, and the purchase
28 of transmission and distribution services pursuant to a
29 filed tariff under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy
30 Regulatory Commission or a state public utility
31 commission shall not constitute control of access to the
32 provider's transmission and distribution facilities;
33 (6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to
34 serve residential or small commercial retail customers,
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1 that the area to be served by the applicant and any
2 limitations it proposes on the number of customers or
3 maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions
4 of Section 16-115A, provided, that the Commission can
5 extend the time for considering such a certificate
6 request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on
7 such a request;
8 (7) That the applicant meets the requirements of
9 subsection (a) of Section 16-128; and
10 (8) That the applicant will comply with all other
11 applicable laws and regulations.
12 (e) A retail customer that obtains electric power and
13 energy from owns a cogeneration or self-generation facility
14 located on its premises and that seeks certification only to
15 provide electric power and energy from such facility to
16 retail customers at separate locations which customers are
17 both (i) owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate
18 affiliate of, such applicant and (ii) eligible for delivery
19 services, shall be granted a certificate of service authority
20 upon filing an application and notifying the Commission that
21 it has entered into an agreement with the relevant electric
22 utilities pursuant to Section 16-118.
23 (f) The Commission shall have the authority to
24 promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions
25 of this Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission
26 shall adopt a rule or rules applicable to the certification
27 of those alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to
28 serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum
29 electrical demands of one megawatt or more which shall
30 provide for (i) expedited and streamlined procedures for
31 certification of such alternative retail electric suppliers
32 and (ii) specific criteria which, if met by any such
33 alternative retail electric supplier, shall constitute the
34 demonstration of technical, financial and managerial
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1 resources and abilities to provide service required by
2 subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such as a requirement to
3 post a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety or
4 financial institution, of sufficient size for the nature and
5 scope of the services to be provided; demonstration of
6 adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services
7 to be provided; and experience in providing similar services
8 in other jurisdictions.
9 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
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