Rep. Lance Yednock
Filed: 5/8/2023
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 76
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 76 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 8-406 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (220 ILCS 5/8-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and | ||||||
8 | necessity. | ||||||
9 | (a) No public utility not owning any city or village
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10 | franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in | ||||||
11 | furnishing any
product or commodity within this State as of | ||||||
12 | July 1, 1921 and not
possessing a certificate of
public | ||||||
13 | convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce | ||||||
14 | Commission,
the State Public Utilities Commission, or
the | ||||||
15 | Public Utilities Commission, at the time Public Act 84-617 | ||||||
16 | goes
into effect (January 1, 1986), shall transact any |
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1 | business in this State until it shall have
obtained a | ||||||
2 | certificate from the Commission that public convenience and
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3 | necessity require the transaction of such business. A | ||||||
4 | certificate of public convenience and necessity requiring the | ||||||
5 | transaction of public utility business in any area of this | ||||||
6 | State shall include authorization to the public utility | ||||||
7 | receiving the certificate of public convenience and necessity | ||||||
8 | to construct such plant, equipment, property, or facility as | ||||||
9 | is provided for under the terms and conditions of its tariff | ||||||
10 | and as is necessary to provide utility service and carry out | ||||||
11 | the transaction of public utility business by the public | ||||||
12 | utility in the designated area. | ||||||
13 | (b) No public utility shall begin the construction of any | ||||||
14 | new plant,
equipment, property, or facility which is not in | ||||||
15 | substitution of any
existing plant, equipment, property, or | ||||||
16 | facility, or any extension or
alteration thereof or in | ||||||
17 | addition thereto,
unless and until it shall have obtained from | ||||||
18 | the
Commission a certificate that public convenience and | ||||||
19 | necessity require such
construction. Whenever after a hearing | ||||||
20 | the Commission determines that any
new construction or the | ||||||
21 | transaction of any business by a public utility will
promote | ||||||
22 | the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have | ||||||
23 | the
power to issue certificates of public convenience and | ||||||
24 | necessity. The
Commission shall determine that proposed | ||||||
25 | construction will promote the
public convenience and necessity | ||||||
26 | only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the
proposed |
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1 | construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and
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2 | efficient service to its customers and is the
least-cost means | ||||||
3 | of
satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the | ||||||
4 | proposed construction will promote the development of an | ||||||
5 | effectively competitive electricity market that operates | ||||||
6 | efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least | ||||||
7 | cost means of satisfying those objectives;
(2) that the | ||||||
8 | utility is capable of efficiently managing and
supervising the | ||||||
9 | construction process and has taken sufficient action to
ensure | ||||||
10 | adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof; | ||||||
11 | and (3)
that the utility is capable of financing the proposed | ||||||
12 | construction without
significant adverse financial | ||||||
13 | consequences for the utility or its
customers. | ||||||
14 | (b-5) As used in this subsection (b-5): | ||||||
15 | "Qualifying direct current applicant" means an entity that | ||||||
16 | seeks to provide direct current bulk transmission service for | ||||||
17 | the purpose of transporting electric energy in interstate | ||||||
18 | commerce. | ||||||
19 | "Qualifying direct current project" means a high voltage | ||||||
20 | direct current electric service line that crosses at least one | ||||||
21 | Illinois border, the Illinois portion of which is physically | ||||||
22 | located within the region of the Midcontinent Independent | ||||||
23 | System Operator, Inc., or its successor organization, and runs | ||||||
24 | through the counties of Pike, Scott, Greene, Macoupin, | ||||||
25 | Montgomery, Christian, Shelby, Cumberland, and Clark, is | ||||||
26 | capable of transmitting electricity at voltages of 345 |
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1 | kilovolts or above, and may also include associated | ||||||
2 | interconnected alternating current interconnection facilities | ||||||
3 | in this State that are part of the proposed project and | ||||||
4 | reasonably necessary to connect the project with other | ||||||
5 | portions of the grid. | ||||||
6 | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a | ||||||
7 | qualifying direct current applicant that does not own, | ||||||
8 | control, operate, or manage, within this State, any plant, | ||||||
9 | equipment, or property used or to be used for the transmission | ||||||
10 | of electricity at the time of its application or of the | ||||||
11 | Commission's order may file an application on or before | ||||||
12 | December 31, 2023 with the Commission pursuant to this Section | ||||||
13 | or Section 8-406.1 for, and the Commission may grant, a | ||||||
14 | certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct, | ||||||
15 | operate, and maintain a qualifying direct current project. The | ||||||
16 | qualifying direct current applicant may also include in the | ||||||
17 | application requests for authority under Section 8-503. The | ||||||
18 | Commission shall grant the application for a certificate of | ||||||
19 | public convenience and necessity and requests for authority | ||||||
20 | under Section 8-503 if it finds that the qualifying direct | ||||||
21 | current applicant and the proposed qualifying direct current | ||||||
22 | project satisfy the requirements of this subsection and | ||||||
23 | otherwise satisfy the criteria of this Section or Section | ||||||
24 | 8-406.1 and the criteria of Section 8-503, as applicable to | ||||||
25 | the application and to the extent such criteria are not | ||||||
26 | superseded by the provisions of this subsection. The |
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1 | Commission's order on the application for the certificate of | ||||||
2 | public convenience and necessity shall also include the | ||||||
3 | Commission's findings and determinations on the request or | ||||||
4 | requests for authority pursuant to Section 8-503. Prior to | ||||||
5 | filing its application under either this Section or Section | ||||||
6 | 8-406.1, the qualifying direct current applicant shall conduct | ||||||
7 | 3 public meetings in accordance with subsection (h) of this | ||||||
8 | Section. If the qualifying direct current applicant | ||||||
9 | demonstrates in its application that the proposed qualifying | ||||||
10 | direct current project is designed to deliver electricity to a | ||||||
11 | point or points on the electric transmission grid in either or | ||||||
12 | both the PJM Interconnection, LLC or the Midcontinent | ||||||
13 | Independent System Operator, Inc., or their respective | ||||||
14 | successor organizations, the proposed qualifying direct | ||||||
15 | current project shall be deemed to be, and the Commission | ||||||
16 | shall find it to be, for public use. If the qualifying direct | ||||||
17 | current applicant further demonstrates in its application that | ||||||
18 | the proposed transmission project has a capacity of 1,000 | ||||||
19 | megawatts or larger and a voltage level of 345 kilovolts or | ||||||
20 | greater, the proposed transmission project shall be deemed to | ||||||
21 | satisfy, and the Commission shall find that it satisfies, the | ||||||
22 | criteria stated in item (1) of subsection (b) of this Section | ||||||
23 | or in paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of Section 8-406.1, as | ||||||
24 | applicable to the application, without the taking of | ||||||
25 | additional evidence on these criteria. Prior to the transfer | ||||||
26 | of functional control of any transmission assets to a regional |
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1 | transmission organization, a qualifying direct current | ||||||
2 | applicant shall request Commission approval to join a regional | ||||||
3 | transmission organization in an application filed pursuant to | ||||||
4 | this subsection (b-5) or separately pursuant to Section 7-102 | ||||||
5 | of this Act. The Commission may grant permission to a | ||||||
6 | qualifying direct current applicant to join a regional | ||||||
7 | transmission organization if it finds that the membership, and | ||||||
8 | associated transfer of functional control of transmission | ||||||
9 | assets, benefits Illinois customers in light of the attendant | ||||||
10 | costs and is otherwise in the public interest. Nothing in this | ||||||
11 | subsection (b-5) requires a qualifying direct current | ||||||
12 | applicant to join a regional transmission organization. | ||||||
13 | Nothing in this subsection (b-5) requires the owner or | ||||||
14 | operator of a high voltage direct current transmission line | ||||||
15 | that is not a qualifying direct current project to obtain a | ||||||
16 | certificate of public convenience and necessity to the extent | ||||||
17 | it is not otherwise required by this Section 8-406 or any other | ||||||
18 | provision of this Act. | ||||||
19 | (c) (Blank). After September 11, 1987 (the effective date | ||||||
20 | of Public Act 85-377), no
construction shall commence on any | ||||||
21 | new nuclear
power plant to be located within this State, and no | ||||||
22 | certificate of public
convenience and necessity or other | ||||||
23 | authorization shall be issued therefor
by the Commission, | ||||||
24 | until the Director of the Illinois Environmental
Protection | ||||||
25 | Agency finds that the United States Government, through its
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26 | authorized agency, has identified and approved a demonstrable |
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1 | technology or
means for the disposal of high level nuclear | ||||||
2 | waste, or until such
construction has been specifically | ||||||
3 | approved by a statute enacted by the General
Assembly. | ||||||
4 | As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means | ||||||
5 | those aqueous
wastes resulting from the operation of the first | ||||||
6 | cycle of the solvent
extraction system or equivalent and the | ||||||
7 | concentrated wastes of the
subsequent extraction cycles or | ||||||
8 | equivalent in a facility for reprocessing
irradiated reactor | ||||||
9 | fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to
fuel | ||||||
10 | reprocessing. | ||||||
11 | (d) In making its determination under subsection (b) of | ||||||
12 | this Section, the Commission shall attach primary
weight to | ||||||
13 | the cost or cost savings to the customers of the utility. The
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14 | Commission may consider any or all factors which will or may | ||||||
15 | affect such
cost or cost savings, including the public | ||||||
16 | utility's engineering judgment regarding the materials used | ||||||
17 | for construction. | ||||||
18 | (e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which | ||||||
19 | shall remain
in force not to exceed one year in cases of | ||||||
20 | emergency, to assure maintenance
of adequate service or to | ||||||
21 | serve particular customers, without notice or
hearing, pending | ||||||
22 | the determination of an application for a certificate, and
may | ||||||
23 | by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section | ||||||
24 | temporary
acts or operations for which the issuance of a | ||||||
25 | certificate will not be
required in the public interest. | ||||||
26 | A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may |
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1 | apply for and
obtain a certificate of public convenience and | ||||||
2 | necessity pursuant to this
Section with respect to any matter | ||||||
3 | as to which it has received the
authorization or order of the | ||||||
4 | Commission under the Electric Supplier Act,
and any such | ||||||
5 | authorization or order granted a public utility by the
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6 | Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be | ||||||
7 | deemed to
be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the | ||||||
8 | same force and effect
as, a certificate of public convenience | ||||||
9 | and necessity issued pursuant to this
Section. | ||||||
10 | No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a | ||||||
11 | party to or shall
be entitled to be heard or to otherwise | ||||||
12 | appear or participate in any
proceeding initiated under this | ||||||
13 | Section for authorization of power plant
construction and as | ||||||
14 | to matters as to which a remedy is available under the
Electric | ||||||
15 | Supplier Act. | ||||||
16 | (f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the | ||||||
17 | Commission, upon
its own motion or upon application by the | ||||||
18 | person or corporation affected.
Unless exercised within a | ||||||
19 | period of 2 years from the grant thereof,
authority conferred | ||||||
20 | by a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by
the | ||||||
21 | Commission shall be null and void. | ||||||
22 | No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall | ||||||
23 | be construed as
granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege, | ||||||
24 | immunity or franchise. | ||||||
25 | (g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions | ||||||
26 | described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or |
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1 | that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this | ||||||
2 | Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of | ||||||
3 | this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would | ||||||
4 | apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of | ||||||
5 | this Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an | ||||||
6 | electric line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For | ||||||
7 | purposes of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of | ||||||
8 | the following: | ||||||
9 | (1) replace or upgrade any existing high voltage | ||||||
10 | electric service line and related facilities, | ||||||
11 | notwithstanding its length; | ||||||
12 | (2) relocate any existing high voltage electric | ||||||
13 | service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its | ||||||
14 | length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a | ||||||
15 | roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or | ||||||
16 | (3) construct a high voltage electric service line and | ||||||
17 | related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a | ||||||
18 | single customer's premises or to provide a generator | ||||||
19 | interconnection to the public utility's transmission | ||||||
20 | system and that will pass under or over the premises owned | ||||||
21 | by the customer or generator to be served or under or over | ||||||
22 | premises for which the customer or generator has secured | ||||||
23 | the necessary right of way. | ||||||
24 | (h) A public utility seeking to construct a high-voltage | ||||||
25 | electric service line and related facilities (Project) must | ||||||
26 | show that the utility has held a minimum of 2 pre-filing public |
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1 | meetings to receive public comment concerning the Project in | ||||||
2 | each county where the Project is to be located, no earlier than | ||||||
3 | 6 months prior to filing an application for a certificate of | ||||||
4 | public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Notice | ||||||
5 | of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of | ||||||
6 | general circulation within the affected county once a week for | ||||||
7 | 3 consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior | ||||||
8 | to the first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2 | ||||||
9 | contiguous counties and where in one county the transmission | ||||||
10 | line mileage and number of landowners over whose property the | ||||||
11 | proposed route traverses is one-fifth or less of the | ||||||
12 | transmission line mileage and number of such landowners of the | ||||||
13 | other county, then the utility may combine the 2 pre-filing | ||||||
14 | meetings in the county with the greater transmission line | ||||||
15 | mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements | ||||||
16 | regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both counties. | ||||||
17 | Notice of the public meeting, including a description of the | ||||||
18 | Project, must be provided in writing to the clerk of each | ||||||
19 | county where the Project is to be located. A representative of | ||||||
20 | the Commission shall be invited to each pre-filing public | ||||||
21 | meeting. | ||||||
22 | (i) For applications filed after August 18, 2015 (the | ||||||
23 | effective date of Public Act 99-399), the Commission shall, by | ||||||
24 | certified mail, notify each owner of record of land, as | ||||||
25 | identified in the records of the relevant county tax assessor, | ||||||
26 | included in the right-of-way over which the utility seeks in |
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1 | its application to construct a high-voltage electric line of | ||||||
2 | the time and place scheduled for the initial hearing on the | ||||||
3 | public utility's application. The utility shall reimburse the | ||||||
4 | Commission for the cost of the postage and supplies incurred | ||||||
5 | for mailing the notice. | ||||||
6 | (j) Any new nuclear reactor built in the State after the | ||||||
7 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General | ||||||
8 | Assembly must be an advanced nuclear reactor. As used in this | ||||||
9 | subsection, "advanced nuclear reactor" has the meaning given | ||||||
10 | to that term in 42 U.S.C. 16271. | ||||||
11 | This subsection does not apply to the renewal or | ||||||
12 | subsequent renewal of any license for an existing nuclear | ||||||
13 | reactor that began operation prior to the effective date of | ||||||
14 | this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. | ||||||
15 | (Source: P.A. 102-609, eff. 8-27-21; 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; | ||||||
16 | 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-931, eff. 5-27-22.) | ||||||
17 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
18 | becoming law.".
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