HB0825eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0825 Engrossed LRB095 08559 MJR 28742 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 4-602 and 4-603 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/4-602 new)

Sec. 4-602. Electric utility workforce study.

(a) The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive workforce analysis study of each electric utility to determine the adequacy of the total in-house staffing in each job classification or job title critical to maintaining quality reliability and restoring service in each electric utility's service territory. Each report shall contain a yearly detailed comparison beginning with 1995 and ending in 2006 of each electric utility's ratio of:

(1) in-house workers, commonly referred to as "linemen", to customers;

(2) customer service call-center employees to customers; and

(3) meter service or repair employees to customers.

The ratios shall be reported from each utility's named service area, district, division, outlying area, village, municipality, reporting point, or region. The analysis shall determine the total number of contractor employees for the same time frame and shall be conducted in the same manner as the in-house analysis.

(b) The Commission may hold public hearings while conducting the analysis to assist in the adequacy of the study. The Commission must hold public hearings on the study and present the results to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2009.

(c) An electric utility shall bear the costs of issuing any reports required by this Section and it shall not be entitled to recovery of any costs incurred in complying with this Section.

(220 ILCS 5/4-603 new)

Sec. 4-603. Adequate employment for in-house utility employees. The Commission shall develop benchmarks for employee staffing levels for each classification and employee training for each classification.

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