Public Utilities Committee
Filed: 3/9/2010
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 6208
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 6208, AS AMENDED, by | ||||||
3 | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
4 | following:
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5 | "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | ||||||
6 | Section 16-115C as follows: | ||||||
7 | (220 ILCS 5/16-115C) | ||||||
8 | Sec. 16-115C. Licensure of agents, brokers, and | ||||||
9 | consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | ||||||
10 | electricity supply for third parties. | ||||||
11 | (a) The purpose of this Section is to adopt licensing and | ||||||
12 | code of conduct rules in a competitive retail electricity | ||||||
13 | market to protect Illinois consumers from unfair or deceptive | ||||||
14 | acts or practices and to provide persons acting as agents, | ||||||
15 | brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of | ||||||
16 | retail electricity supply for third parties with notice of the |
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1 | illegality of those acts or practices. | ||||||
2 | (a-5) All third-party sales representatives engaged in the | ||||||
3 | marketing of retail electricity supply must, prior to the | ||||||
4 | customer signing a contract, disclose that they are not | ||||||
5 | employed by the electric utility operating in the applicable | ||||||
6 | service territory. | ||||||
7 | (b) For purposes of this Section, "agents, brokers, and | ||||||
8 | consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | ||||||
9 | electricity supply for third parties" means any person or | ||||||
10 | entity that attempts to procure on behalf of or sell retail | ||||||
11 | electric service to an electric customer in the State. "Agents, | ||||||
12 | brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of | ||||||
13 | retail electricity supply for third parties" does not include | ||||||
14 | the Illinois Power Agency or any of its employees, any entity | ||||||
15 | licensed as an alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to | ||||||
16 | 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451 offering retail electric service on its | ||||||
17 | own behalf, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a single | ||||||
18 | alternative retail electric supplier on condition that | ||||||
19 | exclusivity is disclosed to any third party contracted in such | ||||||
20 | agent capacity, any person or entity representing a municipal | ||||||
21 | power agency, as defined in Section 11-119.1-3 of the Illinois | ||||||
22 | Municipal Code, or any person or entity that is attempting to | ||||||
23 | procure on behalf of or sell retail electric service to a third | ||||||
24 | party that has aggregate billing demand of all of its | ||||||
25 | affiliated electric service accounts in Illinois of greater | ||||||
26 | than 1,500 kW. |
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1 | (c) No person or entity shall act as an agent, broker, or | ||||||
2 | consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | ||||||
3 | electricity supply for third parties unless that person or | ||||||
4 | entity is licensed by the Commission under this Section or is | ||||||
5 | offering services on their own behalf under 83 Ill. Adm. Code | ||||||
6 | 451. | ||||||
7 | (d) The Commission shall create requirements for licensure | ||||||
8 | as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement | ||||||
9 | or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties, which | ||||||
10 | shall include all of the following criteria: | ||||||
11 | (1) Technical competence. | ||||||
12 | (2) Managerial competence. | ||||||
13 | (3) Financial responsibility, including the posting of | ||||||
14 | an appropriate performance bond. | ||||||
15 | (4) Annual reporting requirements. | ||||||
16 | (e) Any person or entity required to be licensed under this | ||||||
17 | Section must: | ||||||
18 | (1) disclose in plain language in writing to all | ||||||
19 | persons it solicits the price per kilowatt-hour, inclusive | ||||||
20 | of all fees received by the licensee, to be paid by the | ||||||
21 | customer total anticipated remuneration to be paid to it by | ||||||
22 | any third party over the period of the proposed underlying | ||||||
23 | customer contract; | ||||||
24 | (2) disclose, if applicable, to all customers, prior to | ||||||
25 | the customer signing a contract, the fact that they will be | ||||||
26 | receiving compensation from the supplier; |
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1 | (3) (2) not hold itself out as independent or | ||||||
2 | unaffiliated with any supplier, or both, or use words | ||||||
3 | reasonably calculated to give that impression, unless the | ||||||
4 | person offering service under this Section has no | ||||||
5 | contractual relationship with any retail electricity | ||||||
6 | supplier or its affiliates regarding retail electric | ||||||
7 | service in Illinois; | ||||||
8 | (4) (3) not utilize false, misleading, materially | ||||||
9 | inaccurate, defamatory, or otherwise deceptive language or | ||||||
10 | materials in the soliciting or providing of its services; | ||||||
11 | (5) (4) maintain copies of all marketing materials | ||||||
12 | disseminated to third parties for a period of not less than | ||||||
13 | 3 years; | ||||||
14 | (6) (5) not present electricity pricing information in | ||||||
15 | a manner that favors one supplier over another, unless a | ||||||
16 | valid pricing comparison is made utilizing all relevant | ||||||
17 | costs and terms; and | ||||||
18 | (7) (6) comply with the requirements of Sections 2EE, | ||||||
19 | 2FF, 2GG, and 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive | ||||||
20 | Business Practices Act. | ||||||
21 | (f) Any person or entity licensed under this Section shall | ||||||
22 | file with the Commission all of the following information no | ||||||
23 | later than March of each year: | ||||||
24 | (1) A verified report detailing any and all contractual | ||||||
25 | relationships that it has with certified electricity | ||||||
26 | suppliers in the State regarding retail electric service in |
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1 | Illinois. | ||||||
2 | (2) A verified report detailing the distribution of its | ||||||
3 | customers with the various certified electricity suppliers | ||||||
4 | in Illinois during the prior calendar year. A report under | ||||||
5 | this Section shall not be required to contain | ||||||
6 | customer-identifying information. | ||||||
7 | (3) A copy of its verified financial statement. | ||||||
8 | (3) (4) A verified statement of any changes to the | ||||||
9 | original licensure qualifications and notice of continuing | ||||||
10 | compliance with all requirements. | ||||||
11 | (g) The Commission shall have jurisdiction over | ||||||
12 | disciplinary proceedings and complaints for violations of this | ||||||
13 | Section. The findings of a violation of this Section by the | ||||||
14 | Commission shall result in a progressive disciplinary scale. | ||||||
15 | For a first violation, the Commission may, in its discretion, | ||||||
16 | shall suspend the license of the person so disciplined for a | ||||||
17 | period of no less than one month. For a second violation within | ||||||
18 | a 5-year period, the Commission shall suspend the license for | ||||||
19 | the person so disciplined for a period of not less than 6 | ||||||
20 | months. For a third or subsequent violation within a 5-year | ||||||
21 | period, the Commission shall suspend the license of the | ||||||
22 | disciplined person for a period of not less than 2 years. | ||||||
23 | (h) This Section shall not apply to a retail customer that | ||||||
24 | operates or manages either directly or indirectly any | ||||||
25 | facilities, equipment, or property used or contemplated to be | ||||||
26 | used to distribute electric power or energy if that retail |
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1 | customer is a political subdivision or public institution of | ||||||
2 | higher education of this State, or any corporation, company, | ||||||
3 | limited liability company, association, joint-stock company or | ||||||
4 | association, firm, partnership, or individual, or their | ||||||
5 | lessees, trusts, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever | ||||||
6 | that are owned or controlled by the political subdivision, | ||||||
7 | public institution of higher education, or operated by any of | ||||||
8 | its lessees or operating agents. | ||||||
9 | (Source: P.A. 95-679, eff. 10-11-07.)
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10 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
11 | becoming law.".
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