Full Text of HB5467 95th General Assembly
HB5467ham001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Public Utilities Committee
Filed: 4/8/2008
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09500HB5467ham001 |
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LRB095 19475 MJR 48929 a |
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5467
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5467 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Sections 19-110, 19-115, 19-120, and 19-125 as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/19-110)
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| Sec. 19-110. Certification of alternative gas suppliers.
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| (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to | 9 |
| alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve | 10 |
| residential or small commercial customers and
only to the | 11 |
| extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to | 12 |
| residential or small
commercial customers.
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| (b) An alternative gas supplier must obtain a certificate | 14 |
| of service
authority from the Commission in accordance with | 15 |
| this Section before serving
any customer or other user located | 16 |
| in this State. An alternative gas supplier
may request, and the |
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| Commission may grant, a certificate of service authority
for | 2 |
| the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the | 3 |
| State. A
person, corporation, or other entity acting as an | 4 |
| alternative gas supplier on
the effective date of this | 5 |
| amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly shall
have 180 days | 6 |
| from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd
| 7 |
| General Assembly to comply with the requirements of this | 8 |
| Section in order to
continue to operate as an alternative gas | 9 |
| supplier.
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| (c) The Commission shall not grant any application for a | 11 |
| certificate of service authority, nor shall the Commission | 12 |
| approve any application, petition or other request, | 13 |
| authorizing the sale of natural gas to residential or small | 14 |
| commercial customers by an entity other than a gas utility. | 15 |
| Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no tariff | 16 |
| filed on or after February 1, 2008, shall provide for the sale | 17 |
| of natural gas to residential or small commercial customers by | 18 |
| a person or company other than a gas utility as defined in | 19 |
| Section 19-105 of this Article and in accordance with the | 20 |
| provisions of this Act governing that utility service. | 21 |
| An alternative gas supplier shall not solicit, enter into, | 22 |
| or extend any contracts with residential or small commercial | 23 |
| customers on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act | 24 |
| of the 95th General Assembly. Following the expiration of all | 25 |
| contracts that are in effect prior to the effective date of | 26 |
| this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly between an |
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| alternative gas supplier and its residential or small | 2 |
| commercial customers, any certificate of service authority for | 3 |
| the alternative retail gas supplier shall thereafter become | 4 |
| null and void and those residential and small commercial | 5 |
| customers previously served under those contracts shall | 6 |
| thereafter purchase natural gas from their gas utility. Upon | 7 |
| the expiration of all contracts authorized under an existing | 8 |
| tariff permitting the sale of natural gas to residential or | 9 |
| small business customers by a person or company other than a | 10 |
| gas utility, the tariff shall be permanently cancelled. An | 11 |
| alternative gas supplier seeking a certificate of service | 12 |
| authority
shall
file with the Commission a verified application | 13 |
| containing information showing
that the
applicant meets the | 14 |
| requirements of this Section. The alternative gas supplier
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| shall
publish notice of its application in the official State | 16 |
| newspaper within 10
days following
the date of its filing. No | 17 |
| later than 45 days after the application is
properly filed with | 18 |
| the
Commission, and such notice is published, the Commission | 19 |
| shall issue its order
granting or denying the application.
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| (d) (Blank). An application for a certificate of service | 21 |
| authority shall identify the
area or
areas in which the | 22 |
| applicant intends to offer service and the types of services
it | 23 |
| intends
to offer. Applicants that seek to serve residential or | 24 |
| small commercial
customers within a
geographic area that is | 25 |
| smaller than a gas utility's service area shall submit
evidence | 26 |
| demonstrating that the designation of this smaller area does |
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| not
violate Section 19-115. An
applicant may
state in its | 2 |
| application for certification any limitations that will be | 3 |
| imposed
on the number
of customers or maximum load to be | 4 |
| served.
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| (e) The Commission shall grant the application for a | 6 |
| certificate of service
authority that was filed before February | 7 |
| 1, 2008, if it makes the findings set forth in this subsection | 8 |
| based on the
verified
application and such other information as | 9 |
| the applicant may submit.
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| (1) That the applicant possess sufficient technical, | 11 |
| financial, and
managerial resources and abilities to | 12 |
| provide the service for which it
seeks a certificate of | 13 |
| service authority. In determining the level of
technical, | 14 |
| financial, and managerial resources and abilities which | 15 |
| the
applicant must demonstrate, the Commission shall | 16 |
| consider
the characteristics, including the size and | 17 |
| financial sophistication of the
customers that the | 18 |
| applicant seeks to serve, and shall consider whether the
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| applicant seeks to provide gas using property, plant, and | 20 |
| equipment that it
owns, controls, or operates.
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| (2) That the applicant will comply with all applicable | 22 |
| federal, State,
regional, and industry rules, policies, | 23 |
| practices, and procedures
for the use, operation, and | 24 |
| maintenance of the safety, integrity, and
reliability of | 25 |
| the gas transmission system.
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| (3) That the applicant will comply with such |
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| informational or reporting
requirements as the Commission | 2 |
| may by rule establish.
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| (4) That
the area to be served by the applicant and any | 4 |
| limitations it proposes on the
number of customers or | 5 |
| maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions
of | 6 |
| Section 19-115, provided, that if the applicant seeks to | 7 |
| serve an area
smaller than the service area of a gas | 8 |
| utility or proposes other limitations
on the number of | 9 |
| customers or maximum amount of load to be served, the
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| Commission can extend the time for
considering such a | 11 |
| certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule
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| hearings on such a request.
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| (5) That the applicant will comply with all other | 14 |
| applicable laws and
rules.
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| (f) (Blank). The Commission shall have the authority to | 16 |
| promulgate rules
to carry out the provisions of this Section. | 17 |
| Within 30 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act | 18 |
| of the 92nd General Assembly, the
Commission shall adopt an | 19 |
| emergency rule or rules applicable to the
certification of | 20 |
| those gas suppliers that seek to serve residential customers.
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| Within 180 days of
the effective
date of this amendatory Act of | 22 |
| the 92nd General Assembly, the Commission shall
adopt
rules | 23 |
| that specify criteria which, if met by any such alternative gas
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| supplier, shall
constitute the demonstration of technical, | 25 |
| financial, and managerial resources
and
abilities to provide | 26 |
| service required by item (1) of subsection (e) of this
Section,
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| such as a
requirement to post a bond or letter of credit, from | 2 |
| a responsible surety or
financial
institution, of sufficient | 3 |
| size for the nature and scope of the services to be
provided,
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| demonstration of adequate insurance for the scope and nature of | 5 |
| the services to
be
provided, and experience in providing | 6 |
| similar services in other
jurisdictions. | 7 |
| (g) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that | 8 |
| may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head | 9 |
| under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to | 10 |
| make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions | 11 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, | 12 |
| however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to | 13 |
| implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of | 14 |
| the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to | 15 |
| the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House | 16 |
| and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the | 17 |
| General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | 18 |
| suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action | 19 |
| in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | 20 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | 21 |
| interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | 22 |
| Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | 23 |
| explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | 24 |
| the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | 25 |
| contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | 26 |
| Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the |
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| meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | 2 |
| Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | 3 |
| definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | 4 |
| jurisdiction of the Governor.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02; 92-852, eff. 8-26-02.)
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| (220 ILCS 5/19-115)
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| Sec. 19-115. Obligations of alternative gas suppliers.
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| (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to | 9 |
| alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve | 10 |
| residential or small commercial customers and
only to the | 11 |
| extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to | 12 |
| residential or small
commercial customers.
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| (b) An alternative gas supplier shall:
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| (1) comply with the requirements imposed on public | 15 |
| utilities by Sections
8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and | 16 |
| 8-507 of this Act, to the
extent that these Sections have | 17 |
| application to the services being
offered by the | 18 |
| alternative gas supplier; and
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| (2) continue to comply with the requirements for | 20 |
| certification stated
in
Section 19-110.
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| (c) An alternative gas supplier shall have in its | 22 |
| possession an authorization obtained prior to the switch that | 23 |
| verifies a customer's decision to switch to obtain verifiable | 24 |
| authorization from a
customer, in a form or manner approved by | 25 |
| the Commission, before the customer
is
switched from another |
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| supplier. The authorization shall be obtained prior to the | 2 |
| switch and shall be in a form or manner approved by the | 3 |
| Commission.
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| (d) No alternative gas supplier shall:
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| (1) enter into or employ any
arrangements which have | 6 |
| the effect of preventing any customer from having
access to
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| the services of the gas utility in whose service area the | 8 |
| customer is located;
or
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| (2) charge customers for such access ; | 10 |
| (3) on or after the effective date of this amendatory | 11 |
| Act of the 95th General Assembly, extend, solicit, or enter | 12 |
| into any contracts with residential or small commercial | 13 |
| customers; or | 14 |
| (4) collect or impose an early termination fee .
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| (e) An alternative gas supplier that is certified to serve | 16 |
| residential
or small commercial customers shall not:
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| (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers | 18 |
| nor
establish any differences as to prices, terms,
| 19 |
| conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any | 20 |
| other respect, whereby
such denial or differences are based | 21 |
| upon race, gender, or income; or
| 22 |
| (2) deny service based on locality, nor establish any | 23 |
| unreasonable
difference as to prices, terms, conditions, | 24 |
| services, products, or facilities
as
between localities.
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| (f) An alternative gas supplier shall comply with the | 26 |
| following requirements
with respect to the marketing, |
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| offering, and provision of products or services:
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| (1) Any marketing materials which make statements | 3 |
| concerning prices,
terms, and conditions of service shall | 4 |
| contain information that
adequately discloses the prices, | 5 |
| terms and conditions of the products
or services.
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| (2) The alternative gas supplier shall be prohibited | 7 |
| from switching Before any customer is switched from another | 8 |
| supplier , beginning on the effective date of this | 9 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly , the
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| alternative gas supplier shall give the customer written | 11 |
| information
that adequately discloses, in plain language, | 12 |
| the prices, terms, and
conditions of the products and | 13 |
| services being offered and sold to the
customer .
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| (3) The alternative gas supplier shall continue to | 15 |
| provide to the customer:
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| (A) accurate, timely, and itemized billing | 17 |
| statements that describe
the products and services
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| provided to the customer and their prices
and that | 19 |
| specify the
gas consumption amount and any service
| 20 |
| charges and taxes; provided that this item (f)(3)(A) | 21 |
| does not apply to small
commercial customers;
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| (B) an additional
statement, at least annually, | 23 |
| that adequately discloses the average
monthly prices, | 24 |
| and the terms and conditions, of the products and
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| services sold to the customer; provided that this item | 26 |
| (f)(3)(B) does not
apply to small commercial |
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| customers;
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| (C) refunds of any deposits with interest within 30 | 3 |
| days after the
date
that the customer changes gas | 4 |
| suppliers or discontinues service if the customer
has | 5 |
| satisfied all of his or her outstanding financial | 6 |
| obligations for alternative gas service, excluding | 7 |
| termination fees, to the
alternative gas supplier at an | 8 |
| interest rate set by the Commission which shall
be the | 9 |
| same as that required of gas utilities; and
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| (D) refunds, in a timely fashion, of all undisputed | 11 |
| overpayments upon
the oral or written request of the | 12 |
| customer.
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| (g) All contracts that existed prior to the effective date | 14 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly between an | 15 |
| alternative gas supplier and a residential or small commercial | 16 |
| customer shall automatically terminate on January 1, 2010. An | 17 |
| alternative gas supplier may limit the overall size or | 18 |
| availability
of
a
service offering by specifying one or more of | 19 |
| the following:
| 20 |
| (1) a maximum number
of
customers and maximum amount of | 21 |
| gas load to be served;
| 22 |
| (2) time period during which
the
offering will be | 23 |
| available; or
| 24 |
| (3) other comparable limitation, but not including
the
| 25 |
| geographic locations of customers within the area which the | 26 |
| alternative gas
supplier is
certificated to serve.
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| The alternative gas supplier shall file the terms and
| 2 |
| conditions of
such service offering including the applicable | 3 |
| limitations with the Commission
prior to
making the service | 4 |
| offering available to customers.
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| (h) (Blank). Nothing in this Section shall be construed as | 6 |
| preventing an alternative
gas
supplier that is an affiliate of, | 7 |
| or which contracts with,
(i) an industry or
trade
organization | 8 |
| or association,
(ii) a membership organization or association | 9 |
| that
exists for
a purpose other than the purchase of gas, or
| 10 |
| (iii) another organization that
meets criteria
established in a | 11 |
| rule adopted by the Commission from offering through the
| 12 |
| organization
or association services at prices, terms and | 13 |
| conditions that are available
solely to the
members of the | 14 |
| organization or association. | 15 |
| (i) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that | 16 |
| may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head | 17 |
| under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to | 18 |
| make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions | 19 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, | 20 |
| however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to | 21 |
| implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of | 22 |
| the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to | 23 |
| the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House | 24 |
| and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the | 25 |
| General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | 26 |
| suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action |
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| in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | 2 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | 3 |
| interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | 4 |
| Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | 5 |
| explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | 6 |
| the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | 7 |
| contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | 8 |
| Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | 9 |
| meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | 10 |
| Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | 11 |
| definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | 12 |
| jurisdiction of the Governor.
| 13 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02; 92-852, eff. 8-26-02.)
| 14 |
| (220 ILCS 5/19-120)
| 15 |
| Sec. 19-120. Commission oversight of services provided by | 16 |
| gas
suppliers. | 17 |
| (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to | 18 |
| alternative gas
suppliers
serving or seeking to serve | 19 |
| residential or small commercial customers and
only to the | 20 |
| extent such
alternative gas suppliers provide services to | 21 |
| residential or small
commercial customers.
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| (b) The Commission shall have jurisdiction in accordance | 23 |
| with the provisions
of Article X of this Act to entertain and | 24 |
| dispose of any complaint against any
alternative
gas supplier | 25 |
| alleging that:
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| (1) the alternative gas supplier has violated or is
in
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| nonconformance with any applicable provisions of Section | 3 |
| 19-110 or Section
19-115;
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| (2) an alternative gas supplier has failed to provide | 5 |
| service in
accordance with the
terms of its contract or | 6 |
| contracts with a customer or customers;
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| (3) the
alternative
gas supplier has violated or is in | 8 |
| nonconformance with the transportation
services tariff
of, | 9 |
| or any of its agreements relating to transportation | 10 |
| services with, the gas
utility or
municipal system | 11 |
| providing transportation services; or
| 12 |
| (4) the
alternative gas
supplier has violated or failed | 13 |
| to comply with the requirements of Sections
8-201
through | 14 |
| 8-207, 8-301, 8-505, or 8-507 of this Act as made | 15 |
| applicable to
alternative gas
suppliers.
| 16 |
| (c) The Commission shall have authority after notice and | 17 |
| hearing held on
complaint or on the Commission's own motion to:
| 18 |
| (1) order an alternative gas supplier to cease and | 19 |
| desist, or correct,
any violation of or nonconformance with | 20 |
| the provisions of Section
19-110 or 19-115;
| 21 |
| (2) impose financial penalties for violations of or | 22 |
| nonconformances
with the provisions of Section 19-110 or | 23 |
| 19-115, not to exceed (i)
$10,000 per occurrence or (ii) | 24 |
| $30,000 per day for those violations or
nonconformances | 25 |
| which continue after the Commission issues a
| 26 |
| cease-and-desist order; and
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| (3) alter, modify, revoke, or suspend the certificate | 2 |
| of service
authority
of an alternative gas supplier for | 3 |
| substantial or repeated violations of
or nonconformances | 4 |
| with the provisions of Section 19-110 or 19-115.
| 5 |
| For purposes of this subsection (c), each violation of | 6 |
| Section 19-110 or 19-115 is a separate and distinct offense for | 7 |
| each residential or small commercial customer that an | 8 |
| alternative gas supplier supplies with gas. In the case of a | 9 |
| continuing violation, each day's continuance thereof shall be a | 10 |
| separate and distinct offense for each customer. | 11 |
| In construing and enforcing the provisions of this Act | 12 |
| relating to penalties, the act, omission, or failure of any | 13 |
| officer, agent, or employee of an alternative gas supplier that | 14 |
| is acting within the scope of his official duties or | 15 |
| employment, shall in every case be deemed to be the act, | 16 |
| omission, or failure of such alternative gas supplier. | 17 |
| (d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit, | 18 |
| restrict, or
mitigate
in
any way the power and authority of the | 19 |
| State's Attorneys or the Attorney
General under the Consumer | 20 |
| Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. | 21 |
| (e) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that | 22 |
| may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head | 23 |
| under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to | 24 |
| make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions | 25 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, | 26 |
| however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to |
|
|
|
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| implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of | 2 |
| the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to | 3 |
| the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House | 4 |
| and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the | 5 |
| General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | 6 |
| suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action | 7 |
| in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | 8 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | 9 |
| interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | 10 |
| Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | 11 |
| explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | 12 |
| the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | 13 |
| contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | 14 |
| Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | 15 |
| meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | 16 |
| Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | 17 |
| definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | 18 |
| jurisdiction of the Governor.
| 19 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02; 92-852, eff. 8-26-02.)
| 20 |
| (220 ILCS 5/19-125)
| 21 |
| Sec. 19-125. Consumer education.
| 22 |
| (a) The Commission shall make available upon request and at | 23 |
| no charge, and
shall make available to the public
on the | 24 |
| Internet through the State of Illinois World Wide Web site:
| 25 |
| (1) a list of all certified alternative gas suppliers |
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| serving residential
and
small commercial customers
within | 2 |
| the service area of each gas utility including, in the case | 3 |
| of the
Internet, computer links to available web sites of | 4 |
| the certified alternative
gas
suppliers;
| 5 |
| (2) a list of all certified alternative gas suppliers | 6 |
| serving residential
or
small commercial customers
that | 7 |
| have been found in the last 3 years by the Commission | 8 |
| pursuant to Section
10-108 to have failed
to provide | 9 |
| service in accordance with this Act;
| 10 |
| (3) guidelines to assist customers in determining | 11 |
| which gas supplier is
most
appropriate for each
customer; | 12 |
| and
| 13 |
| (4) Internet links to providers of information
that | 14 |
| enable enables customers
to
compare prices and
services of | 15 |
| gas utilities and alternative gas suppliers, if and
when | 16 |
| that information is available ; and . | 17 |
| (5) details regarding the implementation of subsection | 18 |
| (c) of Section 19-110 of this Article and item (3) of | 19 |
| subsection (d) and item (2) of subsection (f) of Section | 20 |
| 19-115 of this Article.
| 21 |
| (b) In any service area where customers are able to choose | 22 |
| their natural gas
supplier, the Commission shall require gas | 23 |
| utilities and alternative gas
suppliers to inform customers of | 24 |
| how they may contact the Commission in order
to
obtain | 25 |
| information about the customer choice program. | 26 |
| (c) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that |
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| may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head | 2 |
| under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to | 3 |
| make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions | 4 |
| of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, | 5 |
| however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to | 6 |
| implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of | 7 |
| the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to | 8 |
| the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House | 9 |
| and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the | 10 |
| General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | 11 |
| suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action | 12 |
| in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | 13 |
| amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | 14 |
| interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | 15 |
| Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | 16 |
| explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | 17 |
| the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | 18 |
| contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | 19 |
| Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | 20 |
| meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | 21 |
| Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | 22 |
| definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | 23 |
| jurisdiction of the Governor.
| 24 |
| (Source: P.A. 92-852, eff. 8-26-02.)
| 25 |
| Section 97. Severability. If any provision of this Act or |
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LRB095 19475 MJR 48929 a |
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| 1 |
| its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, | 2 |
| the invalidity of that provision or application does not affect | 3 |
| other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given | 4 |
| effect without the invalid provision or application.
| 5 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 6 |
| becoming law.".
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