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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Section 9-220 as follows:
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6 | (220 ILCS 5/9-220) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 9-220)
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7 | Sec. 9-220. Rate changes based on changes in fuel costs.
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8 | (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9-201, the
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9 | Commission may authorize the increase or decrease of rates and | ||||||
10 | charges
based upon changes in the cost of fuel used in the | ||||||
11 | generation or production
of electric power, changes in the cost | ||||||
12 | of purchased power, or changes in
the cost of purchased gas | ||||||
13 | through the application of fuel adjustment
clauses or purchased | ||||||
14 | gas adjustment clauses. The Commission may also
authorize the | ||||||
15 | increase or decrease of rates and charges based upon | ||||||
16 | expenditures
or revenues resulting from the purchase or sale of | ||||||
17 | emission allowances created
under the federal Clean Air Act | ||||||
18 | Amendments of 1990,
through such fuel adjustment clauses, as a | ||||||
19 | cost of fuel. For the purposes of
this paragraph, cost of fuel | ||||||
20 | used in the generation or production of electric
power shall | ||||||
21 | include the amount of any fees paid by the utility for the
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22 | implementation and operation of a process for the | ||||||
23 | desulfurization of the
flue gas when burning high sulfur coal | ||||||
24 | at any location within the State of
Illinois irrespective of | ||||||
25 | the attainment status designation of such
location; but shall | ||||||
26 | not include transportation costs
of coal
(i) except to the | ||||||
27 | extent that for contracts entered into on
and after the | ||||||
28 | effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997,
the cost of the | ||||||
29 | coal, including transportation costs,
constitutes the lowest | ||||||
30 | cost for adequate and reliable fuel
supply reasonably available | ||||||
31 | to the public utility in
comparison to the cost, including | ||||||
32 | transportation costs, of
other adequate and reliable sources of |
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1 | fuel supply reasonably
available to the public utility, or (ii)
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2 | except as otherwise provided in the next 3 sentences of this | ||||||
3 | paragraph.
Such costs of fuel
shall, when requested by a | ||||||
4 | utility or at the conclusion of the utility's
next general | ||||||
5 | electric rate proceeding, whichever shall first occur, include
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6 | transportation costs of coal purchased under existing coal | ||||||
7 | purchase
contracts. For purposes of this paragraph "existing | ||||||
8 | coal purchase
contracts" means contracts for the purchase of | ||||||
9 | coal in effect on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
10 | 1991, as such contracts may
thereafter be amended, but only to | ||||||
11 | the extent that any such amendment does
not increase the | ||||||
12 | aggregate quantity of coal to be purchased under such
contract.
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13 | Nothing herein shall authorize an electric utility
to recover | ||||||
14 | through its fuel adjustment clause any amounts of
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15 | transportation costs of coal that were included in the revenue
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16 | requirement used to set base rates in its most recent general
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17 | rate proceeding.
Cost shall be based upon uniformly applied | ||||||
18 | accounting
principles. Annually, the Commission shall initiate | ||||||
19 | public hearings to
determine whether the clauses reflect actual | ||||||
20 | costs of fuel, gas, power, or
coal transportation purchased to | ||||||
21 | determine whether such purchases were
prudent, and to reconcile | ||||||
22 | any amounts collected with the actual costs of
fuel, power, | ||||||
23 | gas, or coal transportation prudently purchased. In each such
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24 | proceeding, the burden of proof shall be upon the utility to | ||||||
25 | establish the
prudence of its cost of fuel, power, gas, or coal
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26 | transportation purchases
and costs.
The Commission shall
issue | ||||||
27 | its final order in each such annual proceeding for an
electric | ||||||
28 | utility by December 31 of the year immediately
following the | ||||||
29 | year to which the proceeding pertains, provided,
that the | ||||||
30 | Commission shall issue its final order with respect
to such | ||||||
31 | annual proceeding for the years 1996 and earlier by December | ||||||
32 | 31, 1998.
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33 | (b) A public utility providing electric service, other than | ||||||
34 | a public utility
described in subsections (e) or (f) of this | ||||||
35 | Section, may at
any time during the mandatory transition period | ||||||
36 | file with the
Commission proposed tariff sheets that eliminate |
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1 | the public
utility's fuel adjustment clause and adjust the | ||||||
2 | public
utility's base rate tariffs by the amount necessary for | ||||||
3 | the
base fuel component of the base rates to recover the public
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4 | utility's average fuel and power supply costs per kilowatt-hour | ||||||
5 | for the 2
most recent years for which the Commission
has issued | ||||||
6 | final orders in annual proceedings pursuant to
subsection (a), | ||||||
7 | where the average fuel and power supply costs
per kilowatt-hour | ||||||
8 | shall be calculated as the sum of the public
utility's prudent | ||||||
9 | and allowable fuel and power supply costs as
found by the | ||||||
10 | Commission in the 2 proceedings divided by the
public utility's | ||||||
11 | actual jurisdictional kilowatt-hour sales for
those 2 years. | ||||||
12 | Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent
provisions in | ||||||
13 | Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of
this Section or | ||||||
14 | in any rules or regulations promulgated by the
Commission | ||||||
15 | pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, the
Commission | ||||||
16 | shall review and shall by order approve, or approve
as | ||||||
17 | modified, the proposed tariff sheets within 60 days after
the | ||||||
18 | date of the public utility's filing. The Commission may
modify | ||||||
19 | the public utility's proposed tariff sheets only to the
extent | ||||||
20 | the Commission finds necessary to achieve conformance
to the | ||||||
21 | requirements of this subsection (b). During the 5
years | ||||||
22 | following the date of the Commission's order, but in any
event | ||||||
23 | no earlier than January 1, 2007, a public utility whose
fuel | ||||||
24 | adjustment clause has been eliminated pursuant to this
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25 | subsection shall not file proposed tariff sheets seeking, or
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26 | otherwise petition the Commission for, reinstatement of a fuel
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27 | adjustment clause.
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28 | (c) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent
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29 | provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of
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30 | this Section or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the
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31 | Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, a
public | ||||||
32 | utility providing electric service, other than a public utility
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33 | described
in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, may at any | ||||||
34 | time
during the mandatory transition period file with the
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35 | Commission proposed tariff sheets that establish the rate per
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36 | kilowatt-hour to be applied pursuant to the public utility's
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1 | fuel adjustment clause at the average value for such rate
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2 | during the preceding 24 months, provided that such average
rate | ||||||
3 | results in a credit to customers' bills, without making
any | ||||||
4 | revisions to the public utility's base rate tariffs. The
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5 | proposed tariff sheets shall establish the fuel adjustment
rate | ||||||
6 | for a specific time period of at least 3 years but not
more | ||||||
7 | than 5 years, provided that the terms and conditions for
any | ||||||
8 | reinstatement earlier than 5 years shall be set forth in
the | ||||||
9 | proposed tariff sheets and subject to modification or
approval | ||||||
10 | by the Commission. The Commission shall review and
shall by | ||||||
11 | order approve the proposed tariff sheets if it finds
that the | ||||||
12 | requirements of this subsection are met. The
Commission shall | ||||||
13 | not conduct the annual hearings specified in the
last 3 | ||||||
14 | sentences of subsection (a) of this Section for the
utility for | ||||||
15 | the period that the factor established pursuant to
this | ||||||
16 | subsection is in effect.
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17 | (d) A public utility providing electric service, or a | ||||||
18 | public utility
providing gas service
may file with the | ||||||
19 | Commission proposed tariff sheets that
eliminate the public | ||||||
20 | utility's fuel or purchased gas
adjustment clause and adjust | ||||||
21 | the public utility's base rate
tariffs to provide for recovery | ||||||
22 | of power supply costs or gas
supply costs that would have been | ||||||
23 | recovered through such
clause; provided, that the provisions of | ||||||
24 | this subsection (d) shall not be
available to a public utility | ||||||
25 | described in subsections (e) or (f) of this
Section to | ||||||
26 | eliminate its fuel adjustment clause. Notwithstanding any | ||||||
27 | contrary
or inconsistent
provisions in Section 9-201 of this | ||||||
28 | Act, in subsection (a) of
this Section, or in any rules or | ||||||
29 | regulations promulgated by
the Commission pursuant to | ||||||
30 | subsection (g) of this Section, the
Commission shall review and | ||||||
31 | shall by order approve, or approve
as modified in the | ||||||
32 | Commission's order, the proposed tariff
sheets within 240 days | ||||||
33 | after the date of the public utility's
filing. The Commission's | ||||||
34 | order shall approve rates and
charges that the Commission, | ||||||
35 | based on information in the
public utility's filing or on the | ||||||
36 | record if a hearing is held
by the Commission, finds will |
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1 | recover the reasonable, prudent
and necessary jurisdictional | ||||||
2 | power supply costs or gas supply
costs incurred or to be | ||||||
3 | incurred by the public utility during
a 12 month period found | ||||||
4 | by the Commission to be appropriate
for these purposes, | ||||||
5 | provided, that such period shall be either
(i) a 12 month | ||||||
6 | historical period occurring during the 15
months ending on the | ||||||
7 | date of the public utility's filing, or
(ii) a 12 month future | ||||||
8 | period ending no later than 15 months
following the date of the | ||||||
9 | public utility's filing. The public
utility shall include with | ||||||
10 | its tariff filing information
showing both (1) its actual | ||||||
11 | jurisdictional power supply costs
or gas supply costs for a 12 | ||||||
12 | month historical period
conforming to (i) above and (2) its | ||||||
13 | projected jurisdictional
power supply costs or gas supply costs | ||||||
14 | for a future 12 month
period conforming to (ii) above. If the | ||||||
15 | Commission's order
requires modifications in the tariff sheets | ||||||
16 | filed by the
public utility, the public utility shall have 7 | ||||||
17 | days following
the date of the order to notify the Commission | ||||||
18 | whether the
public utility will implement the modified tariffs | ||||||
19 | or elect to
continue its fuel or purchased gas adjustment | ||||||
20 | clause in force
as though no order had been entered. The | ||||||
21 | Commission's order
shall provide for any reconciliation of | ||||||
22 | power supply costs or
gas supply costs, as the case may be, and | ||||||
23 | associated revenues
through the date that the public utility's | ||||||
24 | fuel or purchased
gas adjustment clause is eliminated. During | ||||||
25 | the 5 years
following the date of the Commission's order, a | ||||||
26 | public utility
whose fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause | ||||||
27 | has been
eliminated pursuant to this subsection shall not file | ||||||
28 | proposed
tariff sheets seeking, or otherwise petition the | ||||||
29 | Commission
for, reinstatement or adoption of a fuel or | ||||||
30 | purchased gas
adjustment clause. Nothing in this subsection (d) | ||||||
31 | shall be
construed as limiting the Commission's authority to | ||||||
32 | eliminate
a public utility's fuel adjustment clause or | ||||||
33 | purchased gas
adjustment clause in accordance with any other | ||||||
34 | applicable
provisions of this Act.
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35 | (e) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent | ||||||
36 | provisions in
Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of |
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1 | this Section, or in
any rules promulgated by the Commission | ||||||
2 | pursuant
to subsection (g) of this Section, a public utility | ||||||
3 | providing
electric service to more than 1,000,000 customers in | ||||||
4 | this State may, within the
first 6 months after the
effective | ||||||
5 | date of this amendatory Act of 1997, file with the
Commission | ||||||
6 | proposed tariff sheets that eliminate, effective
January 1, | ||||||
7 | 1997, the public utility's fuel adjustment clause
without | ||||||
8 | adjusting its base rates, and such tariff sheets shall be
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9 | effective upon filing. To the extent the application of the | ||||||
10 | fuel
adjustment clause had resulted in net charges to customers | ||||||
11 | after
January 1, 1997, the utility shall also file a tariff | ||||||
12 | sheet that
provides for a refund stated on a per kilowatt-hour | ||||||
13 | basis of such
charges over a period not to exceed 6 months; | ||||||
14 | provided
however, that such refund shall not include the | ||||||
15 | proportional
amounts of taxes paid under the Use Tax Act, | ||||||
16 | Service Use Tax Act,
Service Occupation Tax Act, and Retailers' | ||||||
17 | Occupation Tax Act on
fuel used in generation. The Commission | ||||||
18 | shall issue an order
within 45 days after the date of the | ||||||
19 | public utility's filing
approving or approving as modified such | ||||||
20 | tariff sheet. If the fuel
adjustment clause is eliminated | ||||||
21 | pursuant to this subsection, the
Commission shall not conduct | ||||||
22 | the annual hearings specified in the
last 3 sentences of | ||||||
23 | subsection (a) of this Section for the
utility for any period | ||||||
24 | after December 31, 1996 and prior to any
reinstatement of such | ||||||
25 | clause. A public utility whose fuel
adjustment clause has been | ||||||
26 | eliminated pursuant to this subsection
shall not file a | ||||||
27 | proposed tariff sheet seeking, or otherwise
petition the | ||||||
28 | Commission for, reinstatement of the fuel adjustment
clause | ||||||
29 | prior to January 1, 2007.
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30 | (f) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent | ||||||
31 | provisions in Section
9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of | ||||||
32 | this Section, or in any rules or
regulations promulgated by the | ||||||
33 | Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this
Section, a public | ||||||
34 | utility providing electric service to more than 500,000
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35 | customers but fewer than 1,000,000 customers in this State may, | ||||||
36 | within the
first
6 months after the effective date of this |
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1 | amendatory Act of 1997, file with the
Commission proposed | ||||||
2 | tariff sheets that eliminate, effective January 1, 1997,
the | ||||||
3 | public utility's fuel adjustment clause and adjust its base | ||||||
4 | rates by the
amount necessary for the base fuel component of | ||||||
5 | the base rates to recover
91% of the public utility's average | ||||||
6 | fuel and power supply costs for the 2 most
recent years for | ||||||
7 | which the Commission, as of January 1, 1997, has issued final
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8 | orders in annual proceedings pursuant to subsection (a), where | ||||||
9 | the average fuel
and power supply costs per kilowatt-hour shall | ||||||
10 | be calculated as the sum of the
public utility's prudent and | ||||||
11 | allowable fuel and power supply costs as found by
the | ||||||
12 | Commission in the 2 proceedings divided by the public utility's | ||||||
13 | actual
jurisdictional kilowatt-hour sales for those 2 years, | ||||||
14 | provided, that such
tariff sheets shall be effective upon | ||||||
15 | filing. To the extent the application of
the fuel adjustment | ||||||
16 | clause had resulted in net charges to customers after
January | ||||||
17 | 1, 1997, the utility shall also file a tariff sheet that | ||||||
18 | provides for a
refund stated on a per kilowatt-hour basis of | ||||||
19 | such charges over a period not to
exceed 6 months. Provided | ||||||
20 | however, that such refund shall not include the
proportional | ||||||
21 | amounts of taxes paid under the Use Tax Act, Service Use Tax | ||||||
22 | Act,
Service Occupation Tax Act, and Retailers' Occupation Tax | ||||||
23 | Act on fuel used in
generation. The Commission shall issue an | ||||||
24 | order within 45 days after the date
of the public utility's | ||||||
25 | filing approving or approving as modified such tariff
sheet. If | ||||||
26 | the fuel adjustment clause is eliminated pursuant to this
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27 | subsection, the Commission shall not conduct the annual | ||||||
28 | hearings specified in
the last 3 sentences of subsection (a) of | ||||||
29 | this Section for the utility for any
period after December 31, | ||||||
30 | 1996 and prior to any reinstatement of such clause.
A public | ||||||
31 | utility whose fuel adjustment clause has been eliminated | ||||||
32 | pursuant to
this subsection shall not file a proposed tariff | ||||||
33 | sheet seeking, or otherwise
petition the Commission for, | ||||||
34 | reinstatement of the fuel adjustment clause prior
to January 1, | ||||||
35 | 2007.
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36 | (g) The Commission shall have authority to promulgate rules |
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1 | and
regulations to
carry out the provisions of this Section.
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2 | (h) Any gas utility may enter into a 20-year supply | ||||||
3 | contract with any company for synthetic natural gas produced | ||||||
4 | from coal through the gasification process if the company has | ||||||
5 | commenced construction of a coal gasification facility by July | ||||||
6 | 1, 2008. The cost for the synthetic natural gas is reasonable | ||||||
7 | and prudent and recoverable through the purchased gas | ||||||
8 | adjustment clause for years one through 10 of the contract if: | ||||||
9 | (i) the only coal used in the gasification process has high | ||||||
10 | volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur | ||||||
11 | per million Btu content; (ii) at the time the contract term | ||||||
12 | commences, the price per million Btu does not exceed $5 in 2004 | ||||||
13 | dollars, adjusted annually based on the change in the Annual | ||||||
14 | Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Midwest | ||||||
15 | Region as published in April by the United States Department of | ||||||
16 | Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (or a suitable Consumer Price | ||||||
17 | Index calculation if this Consumer Price Index is not | ||||||
18 | available) for the previous calendar year; provided that the | ||||||
19 | price per million Btu shall not exceed $5.50 at any time during | ||||||
20 | the contract; (iii) the utility's aggregate long-term supply | ||||||
21 | contracts for the purchase of synthetic natural gas produced | ||||||
22 | from coal through the gasification process does not exceed 25% | ||||||
23 | of the annual system supply requirements of the utility at the | ||||||
24 | time the contract is entered into; and (iv) the contract is | ||||||
25 | entered into within one year after the effective date of this | ||||||
26 | amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly and terminates 20 | ||||||
27 | years after the commencement of the production of synthetic | ||||||
28 | natural gas. The contract shall provide that if, at any time | ||||||
29 | during years 11 through 20 of the contract, the Commission | ||||||
30 | determines that the cost for the synthetic natural gas under | ||||||
31 | the contract is not reasonable and prudent, then the company | ||||||
32 | shall reimburse the utility for the difference between the cost | ||||||
33 | deemed reasonable and prudent by the Commission and the cost | ||||||
34 | imposed under the contract. | ||||||
35 | (i) If a gas utility or an affiliate of a gas utility has | ||||||
36 | an ownership interest in any entity that produces or sells |
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1 | synthetic natural gas, Article VII of this Act shall apply.
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2 | (Source: P.A. 92-537, eff. 6-6-02.)
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3 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
4 | becoming law.
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