HB0458eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0458 Engrossed LRB095 07712 MJR 27868 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding Sections 17-800, 17-801, 17-802, 17-803, 17-804, 17-805, and 17-806 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/17-800 new)

Sec. 17-800. Definitions. For purposes of this Section and Sections following this Section and preceding Section 17-807:

"Board" means the Board of Directors elected to run and operate the Southern Illinois Aggregate for the Viability of Energy Solutions Program pursuant to this Act.

"Company" means any business entity that provides, or has provided, electric service in the program area within the 6 months preceding the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

"Competitive service provider" or "CSP" means the company or entity chosen by the Southern Illinois Aggregate for Viable Energy Solutions Program to provide electric power to residential customers in the program area.

"Customer" means any person, business, or other entity in the program area that has received residential, commercial, or industrial electricity within the 12 months immediately preceding this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

"Program area" means any municipality and part of a county that is not a municipality situated within the counties of Alexander, Clay, Edwards, Effingham, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Williamson, and Union and does not mean any portion of these areas that receive electric service from a municipality that owns and operates its own electric distribution system or electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act.

"Program member" means any municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality that is in the program area and has elected to join the SAVES Program.

"Southern Illinois Aggregate for Viable Energy Solutions Program" or "SAVES Program" means the entity created by the program members situated within the program area that have chosen to participate in municipal aggregation, pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(220 ILCS 5/17-801 new)

Sec. 17-801. Southern Illinois Aggregate for Viable Energy Solutions (SAVES) Program.

(a) There is hereby created a Southern Illinois Aggregate for Viable Energy Solutions (SAVES) Program that shall be available to all people in the program area receiving electric service from an investor-owned utility, but shall not be available to customers that receive residential, commercial, or industrial electric service from a municipality that owns and operates its own electric distribution system or electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act.

(b) The SAVES Program shall be a not-for-profit program, but the Board of Directors will be entitled to pay reasonable expenses and reimbursements necessary to carry out the purposes of the program.

(c) The SAVES Program is authorized to aggregate the retail and wholesale electrical load of customers within its boundaries.

(d) The SAVES Program shall be governed by a Board of Directors.

(220 ILCS 5/17-802 new)

Sec. 17-802. Program membership; ordinance.

(a) At any time after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, a municipality and part of a county that is not a municipality within the program area may aggregate the retail and wholesale electrical load located in its boundaries either individually or jointly with any other municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality in the program area by becoming a member of the SAVES Program. A corporate authority of a municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality within the program area seeking to become a member of the SAVES Program shall adopt an ordinance under which it may aggregate one or more classes of the retail or wholesale electrical loads. The ordinance shall specify that the aggregation shall occur automatically for all such electric account holders unless the account holder declines by choosing to opt out.

(b) Before adopting an ordinance to become a member of the SAVES Program, the municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality shall hold at least one public hearing. Before the first hearing, the municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality shall publish notice of the hearing once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the ordinance, plan, and state the date, time, and location of each hearing.

Once an ordinance is passed and a municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality has chosen to become a member of the SAVES Program, an agreement shall be entered into with the Board of Directors of the SAVES Program detailing the rights, duties, and obligations of the program members and the SAVES Program. The Board shall adopt an agreement that takes into account the needs and capability of its members to receive electric power.

(220 ILCS 5/17-803 new)

Sec. 17-803. Board of directors.

(a) The SAVES Program shall consist of a Board of Directors consisting of 11 members. The first 5 members appointed to the Board shall serve for an initial term of 3 years and the remaining members shall serve for an initial term of 2 years. Each director shall hold office until a successor has been appointed. Thereafter, all terms shall be for a period of 3 years.

(b) The Board of Directors shall consist of members who live in the program area and who have not worked for an investor owned utility in the 3 years preceding their nomination to the Board of Directors.

(c) The corporate authorities of the program members shall appoint the initial Board of Directors within 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly by using their weighted vote. Each municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality that has adopted an ordinance as required under this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and is a member of the SAVES Program at the time of the election shall have a weighted vote that is equal to the number of residents that were listed as residing in that municipality or part of a county that is not a municipality. The number of residents shall be the number listed with the United States Census Bureau in 2000, including any updated census information that has since been accepted by the United States Census Bureau.

(d) The members of the Board of Directors shall consist of the following:

(1) 3 directors shall be residents of a part of a county that is not a municipality in the program area;

(2) 3 directors shall be residents of cities with more than 10,000 residents in the program area;

(3) 3 directors shall be residents of cities with less than 10,000 residents in the program area; and

(4) 2 members shall be residents of the program area.

(e) During any subsequent vacancy in the Board of Directors for any reason, the corporate authorities of the program members shall fill the vacancy by applying the weighted vote described in subsection (c) of this Section.

(f) No member who sits on the Board of Directors shall receive a salary.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no trustee, officer, or employee of the State, any State agency, or municipality who is appointed a director shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his or her office or employment by reason of his or her acceptance of a position on the Board of Directors, his or her service thereon, or his or her employment therewith.

(h)The Board of Directors shall choose from among their own number a chairman and vice-chairman. They shall from time to time select such officers and employees, including a chief executive officer and such engineering, marketing, and legal officers and employees as they may require for the performance of their duties and shall prescribe the duties and compensation of each officer and employee. The Board of Directors shall adopt by-laws and rules and regulations suitable to the purposes of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(220 ILCS 5/17-804 new)

Sec. 17-804. Board of Directors; powers and duties. Except as otherwise limited by this Act, the Board of Directors shall have all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of the program, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power to:

(1) solicit bids, broker, and contract for wholesale and retail electric power and energy services for customers;

(2) negotiate and enter into agreements for services to facilitate the sale and purchase of electric energy and other related services. However, if the price for energy would initially exceed the price of the electricity available from an investor owned utility that serves the area, then the agreement shall not be approved by the Board of Directors, unless the price for energy under the aggregation plan will be lower than the price of the electricity available from an investor owned utility that serves the area in the subsequent years or the excess price is due to the purchase of renewable energy;

(3) make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the SAVES Program under this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, including contracts with any person, firm, corporation, municipality, or part of a county that is not a municipality, State agency, or other entity;

(4) enter into agreements to purchase power from the State, any State agency, any municipality, or part of a county that is not a municipality, any private entity, or any other available source at such price or prices as may be negotiated for the purchase of such power;

(5) enter into intergovernmental agreements with program members for the provision of services consistent with the program;

(6) maintain an office or offices at such place or places in the State as it may determine;

(7) make any inquiry, investigation, survey, or study which the SAVES Program may deem necessary to enable it effectively to carry out the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly; and

(8) implement toll-free telephone numbers and Internet websites that shall allow customers and residents in the program area to obtain information on the SAVES Program.

(220 ILCS 5/17-805 new)

Sec. 17-805. Plan of operation and governance.

(a) The Board shall adopt an operation and governance plan for the program. The operation and governance plan adopted shall detail the services to be provided by the SAVES Program and shall specify all customer rights and obligations of the SAVES Program and the customers. The plan shall be sufficiently detailed to allow customers to readily understand the services that the SAVES Program is to provide and to compare those services to similar services provided by other electricity providers. The SAVES Program shall write the plan in clear and plain language so that consumers may readily understand it. The plan shall contain all of the following:

(1) A detailed description of services the SAVES Program is to provide to the customers and noting whether the service is to be provided directly by the SAVES Program or by a party contracted by the SAVES Program.

(2) A detailed description of the SAVES Program's plan for providing the required opt-out disclosure notices to customers. The plan shall describe the steps that the SAVES Program shall take to ensure that all customers within the SAVES Program's boundaries are notified. The plan shall also identify the time frames associated with the opt-out disclosure notice.

(3) A detailed description of the SAVES Program's customer service procedures and dispute resolution processes.

(4) A detailed description of the policies associated with a customer moving into the aggregation area or within the aggregation area. The SAVES Program shall provide the customer an opportunity to opt out of the aggregation. A customer may opt out of the SAVES Program at any time without penalty.

(5) A description of the SAVES Program's policies regarding the ability of a customer who has previously opted out of the aggregation to join the aggregation, including identification of any associated conditions.

(b) Any customer that leaves the aggregation program shall default to the bundled utility service until the person chooses an alternative supplier or returns to the aggregation program.

(c) The SAVES Program shall keep its operation and governance plan available for public inspection and shall, upon request, provide a copy of the plan to any existing or potential customer of the aggregation.

(d) The SAVES Program shall not alter its operation and governance plan in any way that materially affects the customers of the aggregation without first providing notice to all affected customers and providing these customers the opportunity to opt out of the aggregation according to the procedures established for the initial opt-out disclosure notice. The notice shall set forth the changes to the plan, inform the customer of its right to opt out of the aggregation without penalty, and identify the method and time frame for the customer to opt out.

(220 ILCS 5/17-806 new)

Sec. 17-806. Duties and obligations.

(a) The SAVES Program and the program members shall not require any license or permission from the Commission nor shall it be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission.

(b) A company must provide the SAVES Program with a list of all eligible customers within the jurisdictional boundaries of the SAVES Program. The list shall contain information consistent with the information required by the program member to facilitate customer communications. The SAVES Program must be provided with an updated customer list from the company every 3 months. The company shall provide coordination services consistent with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission guidelines and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations that affect the distribution and transmission of electric power. The company must provide customers participating in the SAVES Program with information about changes in the market price and wires charges.

(c) It shall be the responsibility of the program member, or its designee, to notify customers prior to enrollment of all of the following:

(1) Actions taken to select the CSP.

(2) Services that the CSP provide and actual terms and conditions under which the CSP is providing those services.

(3) Fixed prices are to be expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour. Variable rates must include a description of factors that cause the rate to vary and how often this shall occur.

(4) Information comparing rates by the current electric provider and the CSP.

(5) Itemized list of fees and charges, if any, that are not included in the rates.

(6) Dates covered by the CSP's offer.

(7) That if the customer switches back to service with the company the customer shall return to the rates that are in effect in the area at the time the customer switches back.

(8) Credit and deposit policies.

(9) Limitations or conditions for customer inclusion. A customer shall not be enrolled as part of an opt-out program unless it is clearly disclosed, prior to the aggregation taking effect, that the person will be enrolled automatically in the aggregation program and shall remain so enrolled unless the person affirmatively elects by a stated procedure not to be enrolled.

(10) Explanation of opt-out process steps necessary to exercise the customer's option and any associated time frame for a response. The process must, at a minimum, allow for the return of a post card and must allow at least 21 calendar days from the date of the postmark for the customer to respond.

(11) A local or toll-free telephone number for questions.

The SAVES Program or the program members shall not release to the CSP any information pertaining to any customers that are not active participants in the program. The SAVES Program, or its designee, must maintain a record of the customer's opt out decision.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.