99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB3015

 

Introduced 2/18/2016, by Sen. Chris Nybo

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
220 ILCS 5/19-150 new

    Amends the Public Utilities Act. Creates a provision that provides that corporate authorities of a municipality or county board of a county may adopt an ordinance under which it may aggregate residential customers and small commercial customer natural gas loads located, respectively, within the municipality or the unincorporated areas of the county and may solicit bids and enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of natural gas and related services and equipment. Requires the corporate authority or county board to develop a plan of operation and governance for the aggregation program. Sets forth provisions concerning the establishment of a process for selecting a natural gas supplier and awarding a proposed agreement, compliance requirements if the program the corporate authorities or county board operates under is an opt-in program, and disclosure requirements for an opt-out program. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules. Provides that no municipality or county shall implement, in its plan of operation and governance, an opt-out program that automatically enrolls a customer that is currently under contract with an alternative retail gas supplier or an entity that provides services in competition with and similar to an alternative retail gas supplier into its municipal or county opt-out program. Provides that the Commission shall not require a natural gas public utility without a Commission-approved small volume transportation program to accommodate aggregated load switching for any natural gas customers. Effective immediately.


LRB099 19650 EGJ 44047 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3015LRB099 19650 EGJ 44047 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding
5Section 19-150 as follows:
 
6    (220 ILCS 5/19-150 new)
7    Sec. 19-150. Aggregation of natural gas load by
8municipalities and counties.
9    (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality or county
10board of a county may adopt an ordinance under which it may
11aggregate in accordance with this Section residential
12customers and small commercial customer natural gas loads
13located, respectively, within the municipality or the
14unincorporated areas of the county and, for that purpose, may
15solicit bids and enter into service agreements to facilitate
16for those loads the sale and purchase of natural gas and
17related services and equipment.
18    The corporate authorities or county board may also exercise
19such authority jointly with any other municipality or county.
20Two or more municipalities or counties, or a combination of
21both, may initiate a process jointly to authorize aggregation
22by a majority vote of each particular municipality or county as
23required by this Section.

 

 

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1    If the corporate authorities or the county board seek to
2operate the aggregation program as an opt-out program for
3residential customers and small commercial customers, then
4prior to the adoption of an ordinance with respect to
5aggregation of residential customers and small commercial
6customer natural gas loads, the corporate authorities of a
7municipality or the county board of a county shall submit a
8referendum to its residents to determine whether or not the
9aggregation program shall operate as an opt-out program for
10residential customers and small commercial customers.
11    In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the
12general election law, notice of the referendum shall state
13briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether
14the corporate authorities or the county board shall adopt an
15opt-out aggregation program for residential customers and
16small commercial customers shall be submitted to the electors
17of the municipality or county board at a regular election and
18approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question.
19The corporate authorities or county board must certify to the
20proper election authority, which must submit the question at an
21election in accordance with the Election Code.
22    The election authority must submit the question in
23substantially the following form:
24        "Shall the (municipality or county in which the
25    question is being voted upon) have the authority to arrange
26    for the supply of natural gas for its residential customers

 

 

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1    and small commercial customers who have not opted out of
2    such program?"
3    The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or
4"No".
5    If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
6in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities or county
7board may implement an opt-out aggregation program for
8residential customers and small commercial customers.
9    A referendum must pass in each particular municipality or
10county that is engaged in the aggregation program. If the
11referendum fails, then the corporate authorities or county
12board shall operate the aggregation program as an opt-in
13program for residential customers and small commercial
14customers.
15    An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the
16aggregation shall occur only with the prior consent of each
17person owning, occupying, controlling, or using a natural gas
18load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,
19however, authorizes the aggregation of natural gas loads that
20are served or authorized to be served by a municipality that
21owns and operates its own gas distribution system. No
22aggregation shall take effect unless approved by a majority of
23the members of the corporate authority or county board voting
24upon the ordinance. A governmental aggregator under this
25Section is not a public utility, agent, broker, consultant or
26an alternative retail gas supplier.

 

 

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1    (b) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this
2Section, the corporate authorities or the county board shall
3develop a plan of operation and governance for the aggregation
4program so authorized. Before adopting a plan under this
5Section, the corporate authorities or county board shall hold
6at least 2 public hearings on the plan. Before the first
7hearing, the corporate authorities or county board shall
8publish notice of the hearings once a week for 2 consecutive
9weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the
10jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the plan and state the
11date, time, and location of each hearing. Any load aggregation
12plan established pursuant to this Section shall:
13        (1) provide for universal access to all applicable
14    residential customers and equitable treatment of
15    applicable residential customers;
16        (2) describe demand management and energy efficiency
17    services to be provided to each class of customers; and
18        (3) meet any requirements established by law
19    concerning aggregated service offered pursuant to this
20    Section.
21    (c) The process for selecting a natural gas supplier and
22awarding proposed agreements for the purchase of natural gas
23and other related services shall be conducted in the following
24order:
25        (1) First, the corporate authorities or county board
26    may solicit bids for natural gas and other related

 

 

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1    services.
2        (2) Then, notwithstanding Section 19-115 of this Act
3    and Section 2FFF of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
4    Business Practices Act, a natural gas utility that provides
5    residential customers and small commercial customers
6    natural gas service in the aggregate area must, upon
7    request of the corporate authorities or the county board in
8    the aggregate area, submit to the requesting party, in an
9    electronic format, those account numbers, names, and
10    addresses of residential customers and small commercial
11    customers in the aggregate area that are reflected in the
12    natural gas utility's records at the time of the request.
13    Any corporate authority or county board receiving customer
14    information from a natural gas utility shall be subject to
15    the limitations on the disclosure of the information
16    described in Section 19-115 of this Act and Section 2FFF of
17    the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act,
18    and a natural gas utility shall not be held liable for any
19    claims arising out of the provision of information pursuant
20    to this item (2).
21    (d) If the corporate authorities or county board operate
22under an opt-in program for residential customers and small
23commercial customers, then:
24        (1) within 60 days after receiving the bids, the
25    corporate authorities or county board shall allow
26    residential customers and small commercial customers to

 

 

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1    commit to the terms and conditions of a bid that has been
2    selected by the corporate authorities or county board; and
3        (2) if (A) the corporate authorities or county board
4    award proposed agreements for the purchase of natural gas
5    and other related services and (B) an agreement is reached
6    between the corporate authorities or county board for those
7    services, then residential customers and small commercial
8    customers committed to the terms and conditions according
9    to item (1) of this subsection (d) shall be committed to
10    the agreement.
11    (e) If the corporate authorities or county board operate as
12an opt-out program for residential customers and small
13commercial customers, then it shall be the duty of the
14aggregated entity to fully inform residential customers and
15small commercial customers in advance that they have the right
16to opt out of the aggregation program. The disclosure shall
17prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full
18disclosure of the cost to obtain service pursuant to Section
1919-115 of this Act, how to access it, and the fact that it is
20available to them without penalty, if they are currently
21receiving service under that Section. Early termination fees,
22subject to paragraph (5) of subsection (g) of Section 19-115 of
23this Act, for consumers currently under contract with an
24alternative retail gas supplier or an entity that provides
25services in competition with and similar to an alternative
26retail gas supplier, are not considered penalties under this

 

 

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1subsection.
2    (f) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules to
3implement this Section, including, but not limited to, the
4protection of customers already under contract with an
5alternative retail gas supplier, gas utility processes for
6enrollment of opt-out customers, and minimum opt-out
7disclosure requirements for opt-out aggregation. The rules
8adopted under this subsection (f) shall specifically state that
9if a customer is currently under contract with an alternative
10retail gas supplier or an entity that provides services in
11competition with and similar to an alternative retail gas
12supplier, the customer shall not be automatically enrolled in
13the relevant municipal or county opt-out program and that the
14opt-out program shall not interfere with the existing agreement
15between the customer and alternative retail gas supplier or an
16entity that provides services in competition with and similar
17to an alternative retail gas supplier. Nothing shall prohibit a
18customer under contract with an alternative retail gas supplier
19or an entity that provides services in competition with and
20similar to an alternative retail gas supplier from explicitly,
21in writing, affirmatively choosing to enter into the local
22municipality's or county's opt-out program. The opt-out
23disclosure rules adopted under this subsection shall, at a
24minimum, disclose the possibility of a contract termination
25fee, subject to the terms of paragraph (5) of subsection (g) of
26Section 19-115 of this Act, for those customers under contract

 

 

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1with alternative retail gas suppliers or an entity that
2provides services in competition with and similar to an
3alternative retail gas supplier.
4    (g) No municipality or county shall implement, in its plan
5of operation and governance, an opt-out program that
6automatically enrolls a customer that is currently under
7contract with an alternative retail gas supplier or an entity
8that provides services in competition with and similar to an
9alternative retail gas supplier into its municipal or county
10opt-out program. A customer that is currently under contract
11with an alternative retail gas supplier or an entity that
12provides services in competition with and similar to an
13alternative retail gas supplier that seeks to enroll in an
14opt-out program shall be required by the municipality or
15county, as applicable, to explicitly, in writing, affirm the
16choice to enter into said opt-out program.
17    (h) Nothing in this Section shall require a natural gas
18public utility without a Commission-approved small volume
19transportation program to accommodate aggregated load
20switching for any natural gas customers.
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22becoming law.