HB6208 Engrossed LRB096 18255 MJR 36137 b

1     AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
5 Section 16-115C as follows:
 
6     (220 ILCS 5/16-115C)
7     Sec. 16-115C. Licensure of agents, brokers, and
8 consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail
9 electricity supply for third parties.
10     (a) The purpose of this Section is to adopt licensing and
11 code of conduct rules in a competitive retail electricity
12 market to protect Illinois consumers from unfair or deceptive
13 acts or practices and to provide persons acting as agents,
14 brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of
15 retail electricity supply for third parties with notice of the
16 illegality of those acts or practices.
17     (a-5) All third-party sales representatives engaged in the
18 marketing of retail electricity supply must, prior to the
19 customer signing a contract, disclose that they are not
20 employed by the electric utility operating in the applicable
21 service territory.
22     (b) For purposes of this Section, "agents, brokers, and
23 consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail

 

 

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1 electricity supply for third parties" means any person or
2 entity that attempts to procure on behalf of or sell retail
3 electric service to an electric customer in the State. "Agents,
4 brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of
5 retail electricity supply for third parties" does not include
6 the Illinois Power Agency or any of its employees, any entity
7 licensed as an alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to
8 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451 offering retail electric service on its
9 own behalf, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a single
10 alternative retail electric supplier on condition that
11 exclusivity is disclosed to any third party contracted in such
12 agent capacity, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a
13 retail electric supplier on condition that exclusivity is
14 disclosed to any third party contracted in such agent capacity,
15 any person or entity representing a municipal power agency, as
16 defined in Section 11-119.1-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code,
17 or any person or entity that is attempting to procure on behalf
18 of or sell retail electric service to a third party that has
19 aggregate billing demand of all of its affiliated electric
20 service accounts in Illinois of greater than 1,500 kW.
21     (c) No person or entity shall act as an agent, broker, or
22 consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail
23 electricity supply for third parties unless that person or
24 entity is licensed by the Commission under this Section or is
25 offering services on their own behalf under 83 Ill. Adm. Code
26 451.

 

 

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1     (d) The Commission shall create requirements for licensure
2 as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement
3 or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties, which
4 shall include all of the following criteria:
5         (1) Technical competence.
6         (2) Managerial competence.
7         (3) Financial responsibility, including the posting of
8     an appropriate performance bond.
9         (4) Annual reporting requirements.
10     (e) Any person or entity required to be licensed under this
11 Section must:
12         (1) disclose in plain language in writing to all
13     persons it solicits the price per kilowatt-hour, and the
14     total anticipated cost, inclusive of all fees received by
15     the licensee, to be paid by the customer total anticipated
16     remuneration to be paid to it by any third party over the
17     period of the proposed underlying customer contract;
18         (2) disclose, if applicable, to all customers, prior to
19     the customer signing a contract, the fact that they will be
20     receiving compensation from the supplier;
21         (3) (2) not hold itself out as independent or
22     unaffiliated with any supplier, or both, or use words
23     reasonably calculated to give that impression, unless the
24     person offering service under this Section has no
25     contractual relationship with any retail electricity
26     supplier or its affiliates regarding retail electric

 

 

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1     service in Illinois;
2         (4) (3) not utilize false, misleading, materially
3     inaccurate, defamatory, or otherwise deceptive language or
4     materials in the soliciting or providing of its services;
5         (5) (4) maintain copies of all marketing materials
6     disseminated to third parties for a period of not less than
7     3 years;
8         (6) (5) not present electricity pricing information in
9     a manner that favors one supplier over another, unless a
10     valid pricing comparison is made utilizing all relevant
11     costs and terms; and
12         (7) (6) comply with the requirements of Sections 2EE,
13     2FF, 2GG, and 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
14     Business Practices Act.
15     (f) Any person or entity licensed under this Section shall
16 file with the Commission all of the following information no
17 later than March of each year:
18         (1) A verified report detailing any and all contractual
19     relationships that it has with certified electricity
20     suppliers in the State regarding retail electric service in
21     Illinois.
22         (2) A verified report detailing the distribution of its
23     customers with the various certified electricity suppliers
24     in Illinois during the prior calendar year. A report under
25     this Section shall not be required to contain
26     customer-identifying information.

 

 

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1         A public redacted version of the verified report may be
2     submitted to the Commission along with a proprietary
3     version. The public redacted version may redact from the
4     verified report the name or names of every certified
5     electricity supplier contained in the report to protect
6     against disclosure of competitively sensitive market share
7     information. The information shall be afforded proprietary
8     treatment for 2 years after the date of the filing of the
9     verified report.
10         (3) A copy of its verified financial statement.
11         (3) (4) A verified statement of any changes to the
12     original licensure qualifications and notice of continuing
13     compliance with all requirements.
14     (g) The Commission shall have jurisdiction over
15 disciplinary proceedings and complaints for violations of this
16 Section. The findings of a violation of this Section by the
17 Commission shall result in a progressive disciplinary scale.
18 For a first violation, the Commission may, in its discretion,
19 shall suspend the license of the person so disciplined for a
20 period of no less than one month. For a second violation within
21 a 5-year period, the Commission shall suspend the license for
22 the person so disciplined for a period of not less than 6
23 months. For a third or subsequent violation within a 5-year
24 period, the Commission shall suspend the license of the
25 disciplined person for a period of not less than 2 years.
26     (h) This Section shall not apply to a retail customer that

 

 

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1 operates or manages either directly or indirectly any
2 facilities, equipment, or property used or contemplated to be
3 used to distribute electric power or energy if that retail
4 customer is a political subdivision or public institution of
5 higher education of this State, or any corporation, company,
6 limited liability company, association, joint-stock company or
7 association, firm, partnership, or individual, or their
8 lessees, trusts, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever
9 that are owned or controlled by the political subdivision,
10 public institution of higher education, or operated by any of
11 its lessees or operating agents.
12 (Source: P.A. 95-679, eff. 10-11-07.)
 
13     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
14 becoming law.