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Public Act 096-0176
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| HB0722 Enrolled |
LRB096 08034 MJR 18140 b |
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AN ACT concerning utilities.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by |
adding Section 1-92 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 3855/1-92 new) |
Sec. 1-92. Aggregation of electrical load by |
municipalities and counties. |
(a) The corporate authorities of a municipality or county |
board of a county
may
adopt an ordinance under which it may |
aggregate in accordance with this
Section residential and small |
commercial retail electrical loads located, respectively, |
within the
municipality or the unincorporated areas of the |
county and, for that purpose, may solicit bids and enter into |
service
agreements to facilitate
for those
loads the sale and |
purchase of electricity and related services and equipment. |
The corporate authorities or county
board may also exercise |
such authority jointly with any other municipality or county.
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Two or
more
municipalities or counties, or a combination of |
both, may initiate a
process
jointly to authorize aggregation |
by a majority vote of each particular
municipality or
county as |
required by this Section. |
If the corporate authorities or the county board seek to |
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operate the aggregation program as an opt-out program for |
residential and small commercial retail customers, then prior |
to the adoption of an ordinance with respect to aggregation of |
residential and small commercial retail electric loads, the |
corporate authorities of a municipality or the county board of |
a county shall submit a referendum to its residents to |
determine whether or not the aggregation program shall operate |
as an opt-out program for residential and small commercial |
retail customers. |
In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the |
general election law, notice of the referendum shall state |
briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether |
the corporate authorities or the county board shall adopt an |
opt-out aggregation program for residential and small |
commercial retail customers shall be submitted to the electors |
of the municipality or county board at a regular election and |
approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question. |
The corporate authorities or county board must certify to the |
proper election authority, which must submit the question at an |
election in accordance with the Election Code. |
The election authority must submit the question in |
substantially the following form: |
Shall the (municipality or county in which the question |
is being voted upon) have the authority to arrange for the |
supply of electricity for its residential and small |
commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such |
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program? |
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No". |
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote |
in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities or county |
board may implement an opt-out aggregation program for |
residential and small commercial retail customers. |
A referendum must pass in each particular municipality or |
county that is engaged in the aggregation program. If the |
referendum fails, then the corporate authorities or county |
board shall operate the aggregation program as an opt-in |
program for residential and small commercial retail customers. |
An
ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the |
aggregation will occur
only with
the prior consent of each |
person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an
electric |
load
center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,
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however,
authorizes the aggregation of electric loads that are |
served or authorized to be served by an electric cooperative as |
defined by and pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act or loads |
served by a municipality that owns and operates its own |
electric distribution system. No
aggregation shall take
effect |
unless
approved by a majority of the members of the corporate |
authority or county board voting upon the ordinance.
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A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a |
public utility or an
alternative retail electric supplier.
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(b) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this |
Section, the corporate
authorities or the county board, with |
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assistance from the Illinois Power Agency, shall develop a plan |
of operation and
governance for the
aggregation program so |
authorized. Before adopting a plan under this Section,
the
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corporate authorities or county board shall hold at least 2 |
public hearings on
the plan.
Before the first hearing, the |
corporate authorities or county board shall
publish notice of
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the hearings once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper |
of general
circulation
in the jurisdiction. The notice shall |
summarize the plan and state the date,
time, and
location of |
each hearing.
Any load aggregation plan established pursuant to |
this Section shall: |
(1) provide for universal
access to all applicable |
residential customers and equitable treatment of |
applicable
residential customers; |
(2) describe demand management and energy efficiency |
services to be
provided to each class of customers;
and |
(3) meet any requirements established by law
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concerning aggregated service offered pursuant to this |
Section. |
(c) The process for soliciting bids for electricity and |
other related services and awarding proposed agreements for the |
purchase of electricity and other related services shall be |
conducted in the following order: |
(1) The corporate authorities or county board may |
solicit bids for electricity and other related services. |
(2) Notwithstanding Section 16-122 of the Public |
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Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and |
Deceptive Business Practices Act, an electric utility that |
provides residential and small commercial retail electric |
service in the aggregate area must, upon request of the |
corporate authorities or the county board in the aggregate |
area, submit to the requesting party, in an electronic |
format, those names and addresses of residential and small |
commercial retail customers in the aggregate area that are |
reflected in the electric utility's records at the time of |
the request. Any corporate authority or county board |
receiving customer information from an electric utility |
shall be subject to the limitations on the disclosure of |
the information described in Section 16-122 of the Public |
Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and |
Deceptive Business Practices Act, and an electric utility |
shall not be held liable for any claims arising out of the |
provision of information pursuant to this item (2). |
(d) If the corporate authorities or county board operate |
under an opt-in program for residential and small commercial |
retail customers, then the corporate authorities or county |
board shall comply with all of the following: |
(1) Within 60 days after receiving the bids, the |
corporate authorities or county board shall allow |
residential and small commercial retail customers to |
commit to the terms and conditions of a bid that has been |
selected by the corporate authorities or county board. |
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(2) If (A) the corporate authorities or county board |
award proposed agreements for the purchase of electricity |
and other related services and (B) an agreement is reached |
between the corporate authorities or county board for those |
services, then customers committed to the terms and |
conditions according to item (1) of this subsection (d) |
shall be committed to the agreement. |
(e) If the corporate authorities or county board operate as |
an opt-out program for residential and small commercial retail |
customers, then it shall be the duty of the aggregated entity |
to fully inform
residential and small commercial retail |
customers in advance that they have the right to opt out of the |
aggregation program.
The disclosure shall prominently state |
all charges to be made and
shall include
full disclosure of the |
cost to obtain service pursuant to Section 16-103 of the Public |
Utilities Act, how
to access it,
and the fact that it is |
available to them without penalty, if they are
currently |
receiving
service under that Section. The Illinois Power Agency |
shall furnish, without charge, to
any citizen a
list of all |
supply options available to them in a format that
allows
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comparison of prices and products. |
The Illinois Power Agency shall provide assistance to |
municipalities, counties, or associations working with |
municipalities to help complete the plan and bidding process. |
This Section does not prohibit municipalities or counties |
from entering into an intergovernmental agreement to aggregate |