Rep. JoAnn D. Osmond

Filed: 4/23/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3170

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3170 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
5changing Section 1-92 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 3855/1-92)
7    Sec. 1-92. Aggregation of electrical load by
8municipalities, townships, and counties.
9    (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality, township
10board, or county board of a county may adopt an ordinance under
11which it may aggregate in accordance with this Section
12residential and small commercial retail electrical loads
13located, respectively, within the municipality, the township,
14or the unincorporated areas of the county and, for that
15purpose, may solicit bids and enter into service agreements to
16facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity

 

 

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1and related services and equipment.
2    The corporate authorities, township board, or county board
3may also exercise such authority jointly with any other
4municipality, township, or county. Two or more municipalities,
5townships, or counties, or a combination of both, may initiate
6a process jointly to authorize aggregation by a majority vote
7of each particular municipality, township, or county as
8required by this Section.
9    If the corporate authorities, township board, or the county
10board seek to operate the aggregation program as an opt-out
11program for residential and small commercial retail customers,
12then prior to the adoption of an ordinance with respect to
13aggregation of residential and small commercial retail
14electric loads, the corporate authorities of a municipality,
15the township board, or the county board of a county shall
16submit a referendum to its residents to determine whether or
17not the aggregation program shall operate as an opt-out program
18for residential and small commercial retail customers.
19    In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the
20general election law, notice of the referendum shall state
21briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether
22the corporate authorities, the township board, or the county
23board shall adopt an opt-out aggregation program for
24residential and small commercial retail customers shall be
25submitted to the electors of the municipality, township board,
26or county board at a regular election and approved by a

 

 

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1majority of the electors voting on the question. The corporate
2authorities, township board, or county board must certify to
3the proper election authority, which must submit the question
4at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
5    The election authority must submit the question in
6substantially the following form:
7        Shall the (municipality, township, or county in which
8    the question is being voted upon) have the authority to
9    arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential
10    and small commercial retail customers who have not opted
11    out of such program?
12The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
13    If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
14in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities, township
15board, or county board may implement an opt-out aggregation
16program for residential and small commercial retail customers.
17    A referendum must pass in each particular municipality,
18township, or county that is engaged in the aggregation program.
19If the referendum fails, then the corporate authorities,
20township board, or county board shall operate the aggregation
21program as an opt-in program for residential and small
22commercial retail customers.
23    An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the
24aggregation will occur only with the prior consent of each
25person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric
26load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,

 

 

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1however, authorizes the aggregation of electric loads that are
2served or authorized to be served by an electric cooperative as
3defined by and pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act or loads
4served by a municipality that owns and operates its own
5electric distribution system. No aggregation shall take effect
6unless approved by a majority of the members of the corporate
7authority, township board, or county board voting upon the
8ordinance.
9    A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a
10public utility or an alternative retail electric supplier.
11    For purposes of this Section, "township" means the portion
12of a township that is an unincorporated portion of a county
13that is not otherwise a part of a municipality. In addition to
14such other limitations as are included in this Section, a
15township board shall only have authority to aggregate
16residential and small commercial customer loads in accordance
17with this Section if the county board of the county in which
18the township is located (i) is not also submitting a referendum
19to its residents at the same general election that the township
20board proposes to submit a referendum under this subsection
21(a), (ii) has not received authorization through passage of a
22referendum to operate an opt-out aggregation program for
23residential and small commercial retail customers under this
24subsection (a), and (iii) has not otherwise enacted an
25ordinance under this subsection (a) authorizing the operation
26of an opt-in aggregation program for residential and small

 

 

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

 

 

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1conducted in the following order:
2        (1) The corporate authorities, township board, or
3    county board may solicit bids for electricity and other
4    related services.
5        (1.5) A township board shall request from the electric
6    utility those residential and small commercial customers
7    within their aggregate area either by zip code or zip codes
8    or other means as determined by the electric utility. The
9    electric utility shall then provide to the township board
10    the residential and small commercial customers, including
11    the names and addresses of residential and small commercial
12    customers, electronically. The township board shall be
13    responsible for authenticating the residential and small
14    commercial customers contained in this listing and
15    providing edits of the data to affirm, add, or delete the
16    residential and small commercial customers located within
17    its jurisdiction. The township board shall provide the
18    edited list to the electric utility in an electronic format
19    or other means selected by the electric utility and certify
20    that the information is accurate.
21        (2) Notwithstanding Section 16-122 of the Public
22    Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and
23    Deceptive Business Practices Act, an electric utility that
24    provides residential and small commercial retail electric
25    service in the aggregate area must, upon request of the
26    corporate authorities, township board, or the county board

 

 

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1    in the aggregate area, submit to the requesting party, in
2    an electronic format, those account numbers, names, and
3    addresses of residential and small commercial retail
4    customers in the aggregate area that are reflected in the
5    electric utility's records at the time of the request;
6    provided, however, that any township board has first
7    provided an accurate customer list to the electric utility
8    as provided for herein.
9    Any corporate authority, township board, or county board
10receiving customer information from an electric utility shall
11be subject to the limitations on the disclosure of the
12information described in Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities
13Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
14Business Practices Act, and an electric utility shall not be
15held liable for any claims arising out of the provision of
16information pursuant to this item (2).
17    (d) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
18board operate under an opt-in program for residential and small
19commercial retail customers, then the corporate authorities,
20township board, or county board shall comply with all of the
21following:
22        (1) Within 60 days after receiving the bids, the
23    corporate authorities, township board, or county board
24    shall allow residential and small commercial retail
25    customers to commit to the terms and conditions of a bid
26    that has been selected by the corporate authorities,

 

 

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1    township board, or county board.
2        (2) If (A) the corporate authorities, township board,
3    or county board award proposed agreements for the purchase
4    of electricity and other related services and (B) an
5    agreement is reached between the corporate authorities,
6    township board, or county board for those services, then
7    customers committed to the terms and conditions according
8    to item (1) of this subsection (d) shall be committed to
9    the agreement.
10    (e) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
11board operate as an opt-out program for residential and small
12commercial retail customers, then it shall be the duty of the
13aggregated entity to fully inform residential and small
14commercial retail customers in advance that they have the right
15to opt out of the aggregation program. The disclosure shall
16prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full
17disclosure of the cost to obtain service pursuant to Section
1816-103 of the Public Utilities Act, how to access it, and the
19fact that it is available to them without penalty, if they are
20currently receiving service under that Section. The Illinois
21Power Agency shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a
22list of all supply options available to them in a format that
23allows comparison of prices and products.
24    The Illinois Power Agency shall provide assistance to
25municipalities, townships, counties, or associations working
26with municipalities to help complete the plan and bidding

 

 

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1process.
2    This Section does not prohibit municipalities or counties
3from entering into an intergovernmental agreement to aggregate
4residential and small commercial retail electric loads.
5(Source: P.A. 96-176, eff. 1-1-10; 97-338, eff. 8-12-11.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.".