Section 790.220  Safety and Equipment Standards

a)         All telecommunications carriers and end users are required to provide the necessary protection, bonding, and grounding to for all facilities that connect to the facilities of telecommunications carriers, end users, and other portions of the Public Switched Network, to comply with Section 9, "Grounding Methods of Electric Supply and Communications Facilities," of the National Electrical Safety Code C2-2002 (2002 edition, approved June 4, 2001, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York NY 10016-5997); no later amendments or editions are included.

b)         ILECs may not impose safety and engineering standards on a telecommunications carrier's or end user's equipment that are more stringent than the safety and engineering standards that the ILEC applies to its own equipment.

c)         In the event that an ILEC determines that a telecommunications carrier's or end user's equipment is not necessary for interconnection or access to unbundled network elements or does not meet the safety standards in subsection (a), the telecommunications carrier or end user shall be given ten calendar days to comply with the requirements or remove the equipment. If, after ten calendar days, the parties do not resolve the dispute, a decision by the ILEC to disconnect the equipment will be deemed proper, if challenged, if it can demonstrate to the Commission that the continued operation of such equipment will result in an immediate danger to surrounding equipment or the ILEC's premises or personnel. If the ILEC cannot make such demonstration, the telecommunications carrier or end user shall be allowed to continue to operate the equipment at issue during the pendency of the dispute.

d)         After the ten calendar days provided for in subsection (c), the telecommunications carrier or end user may file a complaint with the Commission pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200 or 83 Ill. Adm. Code 766, whichever is applicable, seeking a formal resolution of the dispute. If, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, the Commission finds that the equipment in question does not meet equipment and/or safety standards, the telecommunications carrier or end user shall remove the equipment within ten calendar days after receipt of the Commission's order. In the event that the ILEC disconnected the telecommunications carrier's or end user's equipment and the Commission finds that the disconnection was improper, the ILEC shall reimburse the telecommunications carrier or end user for costs associated with the improper disconnection within ten calendar days after receipt of the Commission's order.