Full Text of HB5056 95th General Assembly
HB5056 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB5056
Introduced , by Rep. James D. Brosnahan SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Public Utilities Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning legislative findings.
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A BILL FOR
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HB5056 |
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LRB095 19474 MJR 45769 b |
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 16-101A as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/16-101A)
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| Sec. 16-101A. Legislative findings.
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| (a) The The citizens and businesses of the State of | 9 |
| Illinois
have been well-served by a comprehensive electrical | 10 |
| utility
system which has provided safe, reliable, and | 11 |
| affordable
service. The electrical utility system in the State | 12 |
| of
Illinois has historically been subject to State and federal
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| regulation, aimed at assuring the citizens and businesses of
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| the State of safe, reliable, and affordable service, while at
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| the same time assuring the utility system of a return on its
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| investment.
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| (b) Competitive forces are affecting the market for
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| electricity as a result of recent federal regulatory and
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| statutory changes and the activities of other states.
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| Competition in the electric services market may create
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| opportunities for new products and services for customers and
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| lower costs for users of electricity. Long-standing regulatory
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| relationships need to be altered to accommodate the
competition |
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HB5056 |
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LRB095 19474 MJR 45769 b |
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| that could fundamentally alter the structure of
the electric | 2 |
| services market.
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| (c) With the advent of increasing competition in this
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| industry, the State has a continued interest in assuring that
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| the safety, reliability, and affordability of electrical power
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| is not sacrificed to competitive pressures, and to that end,
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| intends to implement safeguards to assure that the industry
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| continues to operate the electrical system in a manner that
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| will serve the public's interest. Under the existing
regulatory | 10 |
| framework, the industry has been encouraged to
undertake | 11 |
| certain investments in its physical plant and
personnel to | 12 |
| enhance its efficient operation, the cost of
which it has been | 13 |
| permitted to pass on to consumers. The
State has an interest in | 14 |
| providing the existing utilities a
reasonable opportunity to | 15 |
| obtain a return on certain
investments on which they depended | 16 |
| in undertaking those
commitments in the first instance while, | 17 |
| at the same time, not
permitting new entrants into the industry | 18 |
| to take unreasonable
advantage of the investments made by the | 19 |
| formerly regulated
industry.
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| (d) A competitive wholesale and retail market must
benefit | 21 |
| all Illinois citizens. The Illinois Commerce
Commission should | 22 |
| act to promote the development of an
effectively competitive | 23 |
| electricity market that operates
efficiently and is equitable | 24 |
| to all consumers. Consumer
protections must be in place to | 25 |
| ensure that all customers
continue to receive safe, reliable, | 26 |
| affordable, and
environmentally safe electric service.
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HB5056 |
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LRB095 19474 MJR 45769 b |
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| (e) All consumers must benefit in an equitable and timely
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| fashion from the lower costs for electricity that result from
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| retail and wholesale competition and receive sufficient
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| information to make informed choices among suppliers and
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| services. The use of renewable resources and energy efficiency
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| resources should be encouraged in competitive markets.
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| (f) The efficiency of electric markets depends both upon | 8 |
| the competitiveness of supply and upon the | 9 |
| price-responsiveness of the demand for service. Therefore, to | 10 |
| ensure the lowest total cost of service and to enhance the | 11 |
| reliability of service, all classes of the electricity | 12 |
| customers of electric utilities should have access to and be | 13 |
| able to voluntarily use real-time pricing and other | 14 |
| price-response and demand-response mechanisms.
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| (g) Including cost-effective renewable resources in a | 16 |
| diverse electricity supply portfolio will reduce long-term | 17 |
| direct and indirect costs to consumers by decreasing | 18 |
| environmental impacts and by avoiding or delaying the need for | 19 |
| new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. | 20 |
| It serves the public interest to allow electric utilities to | 21 |
| recover costs for reasonably and prudently incurred expenses | 22 |
| for electricity generated by renewable resources.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-977, eff. 6-30-06; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)
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