Full Text of HB3674 95th General Assembly
HB3674 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB3674
Introduced 2/28/2007, by Rep. Carolyn H. Krause SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
|
220 ILCS 5/17-800 new |
|
220 ILCS 5/17-810 new |
|
220 ILCS 5/17-815 new |
|
220 ILCS 5/17-820 new |
|
|
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that a person may
not provide aggregation services in this State unless the person is
registered with the Illinois Commerce Commission as an aggregator. Provides registration requirements for aggregators. Provides for approval of aggregation by the voters. Provides that the Commission may adopt rules necessary for implementation of the provisions and provides that the Commission may levy penalties for certain violations. Effective immediately. |
| |
|
|
| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
|
|
A BILL FOR
|
|
|
|
|
HB3674 |
|
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 |
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 |
| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | 5 |
| Sections 17-800, 17-810, 17-815, and 17-820 as
follows:
| 6 |
| (220 ILCS 5/17-800 new)
| 7 |
| Sec. 17-800. Registration of aggregators. | 8 |
| (a) A person may
not provide aggregation services in this | 9 |
| State unless the person is
registered with the Commission as an | 10 |
| aggregator. | 11 |
| (b) For purposes of this Article, "aggregator" means a | 12 |
| person joining
2 or more customers, other than municipalities | 13 |
| and corporations, into a single purchasing unit to
negotiate | 14 |
| the purchase of electricity from retail electric
providers. | 15 |
| Aggregators may not sell or take title to electricity.
Retail | 16 |
| electric providers are not aggregators. | 17 |
| (c) A person registering under this Section shall comply
| 18 |
| with all customer protection provisions, all disclosure
| 19 |
| requirements, and all marketing guidelines established by the
| 20 |
| Commission and by this Act. | 21 |
| (d) The Commission shall establish terms and conditions it
| 22 |
| determines necessary to regulate the reliability and integrity | 23 |
| of
aggregators in this State on or before June 1, 2008. |
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| (e) An aggregator may register any time after September 1,
| 2 |
| 2008. | 3 |
| (f) The Commission shall have up to 60 days to process
| 4 |
| applications for registration filed by aggregators. | 5 |
| (g) Registration is not required of a customer that is
| 6 |
| aggregating loads from its own location or facilities. | 7 |
| (h) The Commission shall work with the Department of
| 8 |
| Commerce and Economic Opportunity to communicate information | 9 |
| about
opportunities for operation as aggregators to potential | 10 |
| new
aggregators, including small and historically | 11 |
| underutilized
businesses. | 12 |
| (220 ILCS 5/17-810 new)
| 13 |
| Sec. 17-810. Registration of municipal or county | 14 |
| aggregators. | 15 |
| (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality or county | 16 |
| board of a county
may
adopt an ordinance, under which it may | 17 |
| aggregate in accordance with this
Section one or
more classes | 18 |
| of the retail electrical loads located, respectively, within | 19 |
| the
municipality or
county and, for that purpose, may solicit | 20 |
| bids and enter into service
agreements to facilitate
for those
| 21 |
| loads the sale and purchase of electricity and related services | 22 |
| and equipment.
The corporate authorities or county
board also
| 23 |
| may exercise such authority jointly with any other municipality | 24 |
| or county.
An
ordinance under this Section shall specify | 25 |
| whether the aggregation will occur
only with
the prior consent |
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| of each person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an
| 2 |
| electric load
center proposed to be aggregated or will occur | 3 |
| automatically for all such
persons
pursuant to the opt-out | 4 |
| requirements of this Section. Nothing in this Section,
however,
| 5 |
| authorizes the aggregation of retail electric loads of an | 6 |
| electric load center
that is located
in the certified territory | 7 |
| of a nonprofit electric supplier or an electric load
center | 8 |
| served
by distribution facilities of a municipal electric | 9 |
| utility. If
an ordinance
adopted under this Section specifies | 10 |
| that aggregation will occur automatically,
the corporate | 11 |
| authorities or county board shall
certify the
question of the | 12 |
| authority to aggregate in accordance with the Election Code to
| 13 |
| the
election authority for submission to the voters at the next | 14 |
| election. No
aggregation pursuant to an ordinance adopted
under | 15 |
| this Section that provides for an election under this Section | 16 |
| shall take
effect unless
approved by a majority of the electors | 17 |
| voting upon the ordinance at the
election held
pursuant to this | 18 |
| Section.
| 19 |
| No corporate authority or county board acting pursuant to | 20 |
| an ordinance under
this
Section that provides for automatic | 21 |
| aggregation
shall
aggregate the electrical load of any electric | 22 |
| load center located within its
jurisdiction
unless it clearly | 23 |
| discloses to the person owning, occupying,
controlling, or
| 24 |
| using the load center that the person will be enrolled | 25 |
| automatically in the
aggregation
program and will remain so | 26 |
| enrolled unless the person affirmatively elects by a
stated
|
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 4 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| procedure not to be so enrolled. The disclosure shall state | 2 |
| prominently the
rates, charges,
and other terms and conditions | 3 |
| of enrollment. The stated procedure shall allow
any
person | 4 |
| enrolled in the aggregation program the opportunity to opt out | 5 |
| of the
program
every 3 years, without paying an exit fee. Any | 6 |
| such person that leaves the
aggregation program pursuant to the | 7 |
| stated procedure shall default to the
bundled utility service | 8 |
| until the person chooses an alternative supplier or
returns to | 9 |
| the aggregation program.
| 10 |
| A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a | 11 |
| public utility or an
alternative retail electric supplier and
| 12 |
| shall be subject to supervision and regulation by the
| 13 |
| Commission only to the extent provided in this Section.
| 14 |
| A municipality may initiate a process to authorize | 15 |
| aggregation by a majority
vote of the municipal council, with | 16 |
| the approval of the mayor. A county may
initiate the
process to | 17 |
| authorize aggregation by a majority vote of the county board. | 18 |
| Two or
more
municipalities or counties, or a combination of | 19 |
| both, may initiate a
process
jointly to authorize aggregation | 20 |
| by a majority vote of each particular
municipality or
county as | 21 |
| herein required.
| 22 |
| Upon the applicable requisite authority under this | 23 |
| Section, the corporate
authorities or the county board shall | 24 |
| develop a plan of operation and
governance for the
aggregation | 25 |
| program so authorized. Before adopting a plan under this | 26 |
| Section,
the
corporate authorities or county board shall hold |
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 5 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| at least 2 public hearings on
the plan.
Before the first | 2 |
| hearing, the corporate authorities or county board shall
| 3 |
| publish notice of
the hearings once a week for 2 consecutive | 4 |
| weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation
in the | 5 |
| jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the plan and state the | 6 |
| date,
time, and
location of each hearing.
Any load aggregation | 7 |
| plan established pursuant to this Section shall:
| 8 |
| (1) provide for universal
access to all applicable | 9 |
| customers and equitable treatment of applicable
classes of
| 10 |
| customers;
| 11 |
| (2) describe demand management and energy efficiency | 12 |
| services to be
provided to each class of customers;
and
| 13 |
| (3) meet any requirements established by law or the | 14 |
| Commission
concerning aggregated service offered pursuant | 15 |
| to this Section.
| 16 |
| The plan shall be filed with the Commission for
review and | 17 |
| approval and shall include, without limitation, an | 18 |
| organizational
structure of
the program, its operations, and | 19 |
| funding; the methods of establishing rates and
allocating
costs | 20 |
| among participants; the methods for entering and terminating | 21 |
| agreements
with other
entities; the rights and | 22 |
| responsibilities of program participants, including
the terms | 23 |
| and conditions under which retail customers who have chosen to | 24 |
| opt
out of the aggregated service may take service from the | 25 |
| aggregated entity; and
procedures for termination of the
| 26 |
| program. Within 120 days after receipt of the plan, the |
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 6 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| Commission shall issue
an order either approving or rejecting | 2 |
| the plan. If the Commission rejects the
plan, it shall state | 3 |
| detailed reasons for rejecting the plan in its order.
Upon | 4 |
| approval of the plan, the corporate authorities or county
board | 5 |
| may
solicit bids for electricity and other related services | 6 |
| pursuant to the methods
established in
the plan. The corporate | 7 |
| authorities or county board shall report the results of
this
| 8 |
| solicitation and proposed
agreement awards to the Commission, | 9 |
| which shall have 15
business days to suspend such awards if the | 10 |
| solicitation or awards
are not in
conformance with the plan or | 11 |
| if the cost for energy would in the first year
exceed the cost
| 12 |
| of that energy if that energy was obtained from an electric | 13 |
| utility under
Section 16-103 of this Act by
citizens in the | 14 |
| municipality or county or group of municipalities and counties,
| 15 |
| unless the
applicant can demonstrate that the cost for energy | 16 |
| under the aggregation plan
will be
lower in the subsequent | 17 |
| years or the applicant can demonstrate that such excess
cost is
| 18 |
| due to the purchase of renewable energy. If the
Commission does | 19 |
| not suspend the proposed contract awards within 15 business
| 20 |
| days
after
filing, the corporate authorities or county board | 21 |
| shall have the right to award
the proposed
agreements.
| 22 |
| It shall be the duty of the aggregated entity to fully | 23 |
| inform
retail customers in advance of automatic enrollment that | 24 |
| they are to be
automatically
enrolled
and that they have the | 25 |
| right to opt out of the aggregated entity without
penalty.
The | 26 |
| disclosure shall prominently state all charges to be made and
|
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 7 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| shall include
full disclosure of the cost to obtain service | 2 |
| pursuant to Section 16-103 of this Act, how
to access it,
and | 3 |
| the fact that it is available to them without penalty, if they | 4 |
| are
currently receiving
service under that Section. The | 5 |
| Commission shall furnish, without charge, to
any citizen a
list | 6 |
| of all supply options available to them in a format that
allows
| 7 |
| comparison of prices and products. | 8 |
| (b) A
municipal or county aggregator may not provide | 9 |
| aggregation services in this
State unless the municipal or | 10 |
| county aggregator registers with the
Commission. | 11 |
| (c) In this Section, "municipal or county aggregator" means | 12 |
| a person
authorized by 2 or more municipal or county governing | 13 |
| bodies to join the
bodies into a single purchasing unit to | 14 |
| negotiate the purchase of
electricity from retail electric | 15 |
| providers or aggregation by a
municipality or county under the | 16 |
| Illinois Municipal Code. | 17 |
| (d) A municipal or county aggregator may register any time | 18 |
| after
September 1, 2008. | 19 |
| (220 ILCS 5/17-815 new)
| 20 |
| Sec. 17-815. Registration of private corporation or | 21 |
| organization aggregators. | 22 |
| (a) A private corporation or organization aggregator may | 23 |
| not
provide aggregation services in this State unless the | 24 |
| private corporations or organization aggregator registers with | 25 |
| the Commission. |
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 8 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| (b) In this Section, "private corporation or organization | 2 |
| aggregator"
means a person, private corporation, or | 3 |
| organization authorized by
2 or more private corporation or | 4 |
| organization bodies to join the
bodies into a single purchasing | 5 |
| unit or multiple purchasing units
to negotiate the purchase of | 6 |
| electricity from retail electric
providers for the facilities | 7 |
| of the aggregated private corporations or organization or | 8 |
| aggregation by a person, private corporation, or organization. | 9 |
| (c) A private corporation or organization aggregator may | 10 |
| register any
time after September 1, 2008. | 11 |
| (220 ILCS 5/17-820 new)
| 12 |
| Sec. 17-820. Rules and revocation of certification. | 13 |
| (a) The
Commission may suspend, revoke, or amend a retail | 14 |
| certification for significant violations of this Article or
the | 15 |
| rules adopted under this title or of any reliability standard
| 16 |
| adopted by an independent organization certified by the | 17 |
| Commission
to ensure the reliability of a power region's | 18 |
| electrical network,
including the failure to observe any | 19 |
| scheduling, operating,
planning, reliability, or settlement | 20 |
| protocols established by the
independent organization. The | 21 |
| Commission may also suspend or
revoke a retail electric | 22 |
| provider's certificate if the provider no
longer has the | 23 |
| financial or technical capability to provide
continuous and | 24 |
| reliable electric service. | 25 |
| (b) The Commission may suspend or revoke a power generation
|
|
|
|
HB3674 |
- 9 - |
LRB095 11265 MJR 31783 b |
|
| 1 |
| company's registration for significant violations of this | 2 |
| Article or
the rules adopted under this Article or of the | 3 |
| reliability standards
adopted by an independent organization | 4 |
| certified by the Commission
to ensure the reliability of a | 5 |
| power region's electrical network,
including the failure to | 6 |
| observe any scheduling, operating,
planning, reliability, or | 7 |
| settlement protocols established by the
independent | 8 |
| organization. | 9 |
| (c) The Commission may suspend or revoke an aggregator's
| 10 |
| registration for significant violations of this Article or of | 11 |
| the
rules adopted under this Article. | 12 |
| (d) The Commission may adopt rules necessary to implement | 13 |
| the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General | 14 |
| Assembly. | 15 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 |
| becoming law. |
|