Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB0877
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Full Text of SB0877  95th General Assembly

SB0877sam001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 5/17/2007

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 877

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 877 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding
5 Section 9-220.3 as follows:
 
6     (220 ILCS 5/9-220.3 new)
7     Sec. 9-220.3. Renewable energy portfolio standard and
8 energy efficiency portfolio standard.
9     (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is
10 desirable to obtain the environmental quality, public health,
11 employment, economic development, rate stabilization, and fuel
12 diversity benefits of developing new renewable energy
13 resources for use in Illinois. The General Assembly has
14 previously found and declared that the benefits of electricity
15 from renewable energy resources accrue to the public at large,
16 thus consumers and electric utilities and alternative retail

 

 

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1 electric suppliers share an interest in developing and using a
2 significant level of these environmentally preferable
3 resources in the State's electricity supply portfolio. The
4 General Assembly has previously found and declared that
5 renewable forms of energy should be promoted as an important
6 element of the energy and environmental policies of the State.
7     (b) For purposes of this Section:
8     "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that
9 represents the environmental attributes of a certain amount of
10 energy produced from a renewable energy resource.
11     "Renewable energy resources" includes energy or renewable
12 energy credits from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic
13 cells and panels, dedicated crops grown for energy production
14 and organic waste biomass, hydropower that does not involve new
15 construction or significant expansion of hydropower dams, and
16 other such alternative sources of environmentally preferable
17 energy. For purposes of this Section, "renewable energy
18 resources" includes landfill gas from landfills located in the
19 State. "Renewable energy resources" does not include, however,
20 energy from the incineration, burning or heating of waste wood,
21 tires, garbage, general household, institutional and
22 commercial waste, industrial lunchroom or office waste,
23 landscape waste, or construction or demolition debris.
24     (c) The following renewable energy portfolio standards
25 shall apply:
26         (1) An electric utility shall procure or obtain

 

 

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1     renewable energy resources in amounts that equal or exceed
2     the following percentages of the total electricity that
3     such electric utility supplies to its retail Illinois
4     customers: 2% by December 31, 2008; 4% by December 31,
5     2009; 5% by December 31, 2010; 6% by December 31, 2011; 7%
6     by December 31, 2012; 8% by December 31, 2013; 9% by
7     December 31, 2014; and 10% by December 31, 2015. It shall
8     be the goal of the State that cost-effective renewable
9     energy resources be available to supply an amount of the
10     total electricity that electric utilities supply to their
11     retail customers that will continue to increase after 2015
12     by 1.5% per year to 25% by 2025. Provided, however, that if
13     the Commission's promulgation of rules pursuant to item (7)
14     is delayed beyond March 31, 2008, but occurs prior to April
15     1, 2009, the initial target year and each subsequent target
16     year shall be delayed by one year; the targets shall be
17     delayed by an additional year for each additional year or
18     fraction thereof that the Commission's promulgation of
19     rules is delayed. In the event that the Commission's
20     promulgation of rules is delayed after March 31, 2008, but
21     occurs before July 1, 2008, the utility shall nonetheless
22     meet one-quarter of the target for 2008 of electricity
23     supplied to retail Illinois customers by December 31, 2008.
24     To the extent that it is available, at least 75% of the
25     renewable energy resources used to meet these standards
26     shall come from wind generation. For purposes of this

 

 

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1     subsection (c), "cost-effective" shall mean that the costs
2     of procuring renewable energy resources do not cause the
3     limit stated in item (3) to be exceeded.
4         (2) For the purposes of this subsection (c), the
5     required procurement of renewable energy resources for a
6     particular year shall be measured as a percentage of the
7     actual amount of electricity (megawatthours) supplied by
8     the electric utility in the calendar year ending
9     immediately prior to the procurement.
10         (3) Notwithstanding the requirements of item (1) of
11     this subsection (c), an electric utility may reduce the
12     amount of renewable energy resources procured under new
13     contracts in any single year by an amount necessary to
14     limit the estimated average increase due to the cost of
15     these resources included in the amounts paid by retail
16     customers in connection with electric service to no more
17     than 0.5% of the amount paid by such customers during the
18     preceding calendar year, with such limit increasing by 0.5%
19     in each of the 3 years 2009 through 2011, for a maximum cap
20     on the allowed estimated average increase due to the cost
21     of these resources of 2.0%. The maximum cap on the allowed
22     estimated average increase due to the cost of these
23     resources is 2%. No later than June 30, 2011, the
24     Commission shall review the rate limitation and report to
25     the General Assembly its findings as to whether the rate
26     cap unduly constrains the procurement of renewable energy

 

 

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1     resources that are cost effective.
2         (4) Renewable energy resources shall be counted for the
3     purpose of meeting the renewable energy standards set forth
4     in item (1) of this subsection (c) only if they are
5     generated from facilities located in the State, provided
6     that cost-effective renewable resources are available from
7     such facilities. After December 31, 2011, renewable energy
8     resources located in states that adjoin Illinois may be
9     counted towards compliance with the standards set forth in
10     item (1) of this subsection (c) so long as such resources
11     are generated from resources that meet the definition of
12     renewable energy resources as defined by this statute. Any
13     electric utility with fewer than 100,000 but more than
14     50,000 customers in Illinois as of January 1, 2007 shall be
15     allowed to count renewable energy resources generated in a
16     state adjoining Illinois for the purpose of meeting the
17     renewable energy standard set forth in item (1) of this
18     subsection (c) if such resources are generated from a
19     facility constructed in the year 2006.
20         (5) Each electric utility shall report to the
21     Commission on compliance with these standards by April 1 of
22     each year, beginning in 2009.
23         (6) If an electric utility does not, during a calendar
24     year, procure or obtain the full amount of renewable energy
25     resources specified by the standards in item (1) of this
26     subsection (c), as modified by the limitations of item (3)

 

 

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1     of this subsection (c), then the electric utility shall pay
2     a penalty of $40 per megawatthour for any shortfall during
3     such year unless and until the utility makes sufficient
4     additional purchases in the following year to offset the
5     shortfall. Provided, however, that, if the electric
6     utility proves to the Commission that cost-effective
7     renewable energy resources are not available in sufficient
8     quantities to meet the renewable energy standards set forth
9     in item (1) of this subsection (c), as modified by the
10     limitations of item (3) of this subsection (c), and, if the
11     Commission finds that the electric utility has, in fact,
12     proved that the cost-effective renewable energy resources
13     are not available in sufficient quantities, after notice
14     and a hearing conducted in accordance with the Commission's
15     rules of practice, then the Commission shall waive the
16     penalty. Any penalty payment shall be deposited into the
17     Renewable Energy Resources Trust Fund to be used by the
18     Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the
19     sole purposes of supporting the actual development,
20     construction, and utilization of renewable energy projects
21     in the State.
22         (7) The Commission shall promulgate rules as necessary
23     within 9 months after the effective date of this Act to
24     assist in implementing this subsection (c) including, but
25     not limited to, methods of procurement, accounting,
26     tracking, and reporting in order to achieve the full

 

 

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1     objectives of this subsection (c). The rules shall also
2     provide for recovery of costs incurred and the pass through
3     to customers of any savings achieved by electric utilities
4     as a result of procuring or obtaining the renewable energy
5     resources specified under item (1) of this subsection (c).
6     The rate elements and rates used for such cost recovery may
7     be established by the electric utility, subject to the
8     Commission's review and approval, outside the context of a
9     general rate case.
10         (8) In connection with their compliance with the
11     requirements of item (1) of this subsection (c), electric
12     utilities may enter into long-term contracts of up to 20
13     years in length with providers of renewable energy
14     resources, and the costs or savings associated with those
15     contracts shall be reflected in tariffed rates for the
16     duration of those contracts.
17         (9) Nothing shall prohibit an electric utility from
18     issuing a competitive solicitation for renewable energy
19     resources in order to meet the standards of item (1) of
20     this subsection (c) and from beginning to recover the
21     associated costs in advance of the conclusion of the
22     rulemaking referenced in item (7) of this subsection (c),
23     provided that such electric utility shall have first
24     requested and received Commission approval for the design
25     and conduct of such solicitation and the associated cost
26     recovery methodology and tariff, which the Commission

 

 

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1     shall review and consider.
 
2     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3 becoming law.".