Sen. Suzi Schmidt

Filed: 3/26/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3170

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1or county board at a regular election and approved by a
2majority of the electors voting on the question. The corporate
3authorities, township board, or county board must certify to
4the proper election authority, which must submit the question
5at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
6    The election authority must submit the question in
7substantially the following form:
8        Shall the (municipality, township, or county in which
9    the question is being voted upon) have the authority to
10    arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential
11    and small commercial retail customers who have not opted
12    out of such program?
13The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
14    If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
15in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities, township
16board, or county board may implement an opt-out aggregation
17program for residential and small commercial retail customers.
18    A referendum must pass in each particular municipality,
19township, or county that is engaged in the aggregation program.
20If the referendum fails, then the corporate authorities,
21township board, or county board shall operate the aggregation
22program as an opt-in program for residential and small
23commercial retail customers.
24    An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the
25aggregation will occur only with the prior consent of each
26person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric

 

 

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1load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,
2however, authorizes the aggregation of electric loads that are
3served or authorized to be served by an electric cooperative as
4defined by and pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act or loads
5served by a municipality that owns and operates its own
6electric distribution system. No aggregation shall take effect
7unless approved by a majority of the members of the corporate
8authority, township board, or county board voting upon the
9ordinance.
10    A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a
11public utility or an alternative retail electric supplier.
12    For purposes of this Section, "township" means the portion
13of a township that is an unincorporated portion of a county
14that is not otherwise a part of a municipality. In addition to
15such other limitations as are included in this Section, a
16township board shall only have authority to aggregate
17residential and small commercial customer loads in accordance
18with this Section if the county board of the county in which
19the township is located (i) is not also submitting a referendum
20to its residents at the same general election that the township
21board proposes to submit a referendum under this subsection
22(a), (ii) has not received authorization through passage of a
23referendum to operate an opt-out aggregation program for
24residential and small commercial retail customers under to this
25subsection (a), and (iii) has not otherwise enacted an
26ordinance under this subsection (a) authorizing the operation

 

 

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

 

 

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1purchase of electricity and other related services shall be
2conducted in the following order:
3        (1) The corporate authorities, township board, or
4    county board may solicit bids for electricity and other
5    related services.
6        (2) Notwithstanding Section 16-122 of the Public
7    Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and
8    Deceptive Business Practices Act, an electric utility that
9    provides residential and small commercial retail electric
10    service in the aggregate area must: ,
11            (A) upon request of the corporate authorities or
12        the county board in the aggregate area, submit to the
13        requesting party, in an electronic format, those
14        account numbers, names, and addresses of residential
15        and small commercial retail customers in the aggregate
16        area that are reflected in the electric utility's
17        records at the time of the request; and
18            (B) following the township board's submission to
19        the electric utility of those zip codes included in the
20        aggregate area, submit to the township board, in an
21        electronic format or other means selected by the
22        electric utility, those names and addresses of
23        residential and small commercial retail customers that
24        are located in such zip codes as reflected in the
25        electric utility's records at the time of the request;
26        upon the township board's receipt of the information

 

 

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1        provided by the electric utility, the township board
2        shall review the information and submit to the electric
3        utility, in an electronic format or other means
4        selected by the utility, either confirmation that the
5        information is accurate or corrections to the
6        information.
7    Any corporate authority, township board, or county board
8receiving customer information from an electric utility shall
9be subject to the limitations on the disclosure of the
10information described in Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities
11Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
12Business Practices Act, and an electric utility shall not be
13held liable for any claims arising out of the provision of
14information pursuant to this item (2).
15    (d) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
16board operate under an opt-in program for residential and small
17commercial retail customers, then the corporate authorities,
18township board, or county board shall comply with all of the
19following:
20        (1) Within 60 days after receiving the bids, the
21    corporate authorities, township board, or county board
22    shall allow residential and small commercial retail
23    customers to commit to the terms and conditions of a bid
24    that has been selected by the corporate authorities,
25    township board, or county board.
26        (2) If (A) the corporate authorities, township board,

 

 

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1    or county board award proposed agreements for the purchase
2    of electricity and other related services and (B) an
3    agreement is reached between the corporate authorities,
4    township board, or county board for those services, then
5    customers committed to the terms and conditions according
6    to item (1) of this subsection (d) shall be committed to
7    the agreement.
8    (e) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
9board operate as an opt-out program for residential and small
10commercial retail customers, then it shall be the duty of the
11aggregated entity to fully inform residential and small
12commercial retail customers in advance that they have the right
13to opt out of the aggregation program. The disclosure shall
14prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full
15disclosure of the cost to obtain service pursuant to Section
1616-103 of the Public Utilities Act, how to access it, and the
17fact that it is available to them without penalty, if they are
18currently receiving service under that Section. The Illinois
19Power Agency shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a
20list of all supply options available to them in a format that
21allows comparison of prices and products.
22    The Illinois Power Agency shall provide assistance to
23municipalities, townships, counties, or associations working
24with municipalities to help complete the plan and bidding
25process.
26    This Section does not prohibit municipalities or counties

 

 

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1from entering into an intergovernmental agreement to aggregate
2residential and small commercial retail electric loads.
3(Source: P.A. 96-176, eff. 1-1-10; 97-338, eff. 8-12-11.)
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.".