Full Text of SB3903 102nd General Assembly
SB3903eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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 changing | 5 | | Sections 16-115 and 16-115A as follows:
| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/16-115)
| 7 | | Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail
electric | 8 | | suppliers. | 9 | | (a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain
a | 10 | | certificate of service authority from the Commission in
| 11 | | accordance with this Section before serving any retail
| 12 | | customer or other user located in this State. An alternative
| 13 | | retail electric supplier may request, and the Commission may
| 14 | | grant, a certificate of service authority for the entire State
| 15 | | or for a specified geographic area of the State.
| 16 | | (b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a
| 17 | | certificate of service authority shall file with the
| 18 | | Commission a verified application containing information
| 19 | | showing that the applicant meets the requirements of this
| 20 | | Section. The alternative retail electric supplier shall
| 21 | | publish notice of its application in the official State
| 22 | | newspaper within 10 days following the date of its filing. No
| 23 | | later than 45 days after the application is properly filed
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| 1 | | with the Commission, and such notice is published, the
| 2 | | Commission shall issue its order granting or denying the
| 3 | | application.
| 4 | | (c) An application for a certificate of service
authority | 5 | | shall identify the area or areas in which the
applicant | 6 | | intends to offer service and the types of services
it intends | 7 | | to offer. Applicants that seek to serve
residential or small | 8 | | commercial retail customers within a
geographic area that is | 9 | | smaller than an electric utility's
service area shall submit | 10 | | evidence demonstrating that the
designation of this smaller | 11 | | area does not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant
that seeks | 12 | | to serve residential or small
commercial retail customers may | 13 | | state in its application for
certification any limitations | 14 | | that will be imposed on the
number of customers or maximum load | 15 | | to be served.
| 16 | | (d) The Commission shall grant the application for a
| 17 | | certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set
| 18 | | forth in this subsection
based on the verified
application and | 19 | | such other information as the applicant may
submit:
| 20 | | (1) That the applicant possesses sufficient
technical, | 21 | | financial and managerial resources and
abilities to | 22 | | provide the service for which it seeks a
certificate of | 23 | | service authority. In determining the
level of technical, | 24 | | financial and managerial resources
and abilities which the | 25 | | applicant must demonstrate, the
Commission shall consider | 26 | | (i) the characteristics,
including the size and financial |
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| 1 | | sophistication, of the
customers that the applicant seeks | 2 | | to serve ; , and (ii)
whether the applicant seeks to provide | 3 | | electric power and
energy using property, plant and | 4 | | equipment which it owns,
controls or operates; and (iii) | 5 | | the applicant's commitment of resources to the management | 6 | | of sales and marketing staff, through affirmative | 7 | | managerial policies, independent audits, technology, | 8 | | hands-on field monitoring, and training, and in the case | 9 | | of applicants who have sales personnel or sales agents | 10 | | within the State, the applicant's managerial presence | 11 | | within the State;
| 12 | | (2) That the applicant will comply with all
applicable | 13 | | federal, State, regional and industry rules,
policies, | 14 | | practices and procedures for the use,
operation, and | 15 | | maintenance of the safety, integrity and
reliability, of | 16 | | the interconnected electric transmission
system;
| 17 | | (3) That the applicant will only provide service to
| 18 | | retail customers in an electric utility's service area
| 19 | | that are eligible to take delivery services under this
| 20 | | Act;
| 21 | | (4) That the applicant will comply with such
| 22 | | informational or reporting requirements as the Commission
| 23 | | may by rule establish and provide the information required | 24 | | by Section 16-112.
Any data related to
contracts for the | 25 | | purchase and sale of electric power and
energy shall be | 26 | | made available for review by the Staff of
the Commission |
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| 1 | | on a confidential and proprietary basis
and only to the | 2 | | extent and for the purposes which the
Commission | 3 | | determines are reasonably necessary in order
to carry out | 4 | | the purposes of this Act;
| 5 | | (5) That the applicant will procure renewable energy | 6 | | resources in accordance with Section 16-115D of this Act, | 7 | | and will source electricity from clean coal facilities, as | 8 | | defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, | 9 | | in amounts at least equal to the percentages set forth in | 10 | | subsections (c) and (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois | 11 | | Power Agency Act. For purposes of this Section:
| 12 | | (i) (blank); | 13 | | (ii) (blank); | 14 | | (iii) the required sourcing of electricity | 15 | | generated by clean coal facilities, other than the | 16 | | initial clean coal facility, shall be limited to the | 17 | | amount of electricity that can be procured or sourced | 18 | | at a price at or below the benchmarks approved by the | 19 | | Commission each year in accordance with item (1) of | 20 | | subsection (c) and items (1) and (5) of subsection (d) | 21 | | of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; | 22 | | (iv) all alternative retail electric suppliers | 23 | | shall execute a sourcing agreement to source | 24 | | electricity from the initial clean coal facility, on | 25 | | the terms set forth in paragraphs (3) and (4) of | 26 | | subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power |
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| 1 | | Agency Act, except that in lieu of the requirements in | 2 | | subparagraphs (A)(v), (B)(i), (C)(v), and (C)(vi) of | 3 | | paragraph (3) of that subsection (d), the applicant | 4 | | shall execute one or more of the following: | 5 | | (1) if the sourcing agreement is a power | 6 | | purchase agreement, a contract with the initial | 7 | | clean coal facility to purchase in each hour an | 8 | | amount of electricity equal to all clean coal | 9 | | energy made available from the initial clean coal | 10 | | facility during such hour, which the utilities are | 11 | | not required to procure under the terms of | 12 | | subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois | 13 | | Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the | 14 | | numerator of which is the alternative retail | 15 | | electric supplier's retail market sales of | 16 | | electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in | 17 | | the State during the prior calendar month and the | 18 | | denominator of which is the total sales of | 19 | | electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in | 20 | | the State by alternative retail electric suppliers | 21 | | during such prior month that are subject to the | 22 | | requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection | 23 | | (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section | 24 | | 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus the | 25 | | total sales of electricity (expressed in | 26 | | kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their |
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| 1 | | service areas during such prior month, pursuant to | 2 | | subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act; or | 3 | | (2) if the sourcing agreement is a contract | 4 | | for differences, a contract with the initial clean | 5 | | coal facility in each hour with respect to an | 6 | | amount of electricity equal to all clean coal | 7 | | energy made available from the initial clean coal | 8 | | facility during such hour, which the utilities are | 9 | | not required to procure under the terms of | 10 | | subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois | 11 | | Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the | 12 | | numerator of which is the alternative retail | 13 | | electric supplier's retail market sales of | 14 | | electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in | 15 | | the State during the prior calendar month and the | 16 | | denominator of which is the total sales of | 17 | | electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in | 18 | | the State by alternative retail electric suppliers | 19 | | during such prior month that are subject to the | 20 | | requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection | 21 | | (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section | 22 | | 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus the | 23 | | total sales of electricity (expressed in | 24 | | kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their | 25 | | service areas during such prior month, pursuant to | 26 | | subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act; |
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| 1 | | (v) if, in any year after the first year of | 2 | | commercial operation, the owner of the clean coal | 3 | | facility fails to demonstrate to the Commission that | 4 | | the initial clean coal facility captured and | 5 | | sequestered at least 50% of the total carbon emissions | 6 | | that the facility would otherwise emit or that | 7 | | sequestration of emissions from prior years has | 8 | | failed, resulting in the release of carbon into the | 9 | | atmosphere, the owner of the facility must offset | 10 | | excess emissions. Any such carbon offsets must be | 11 | | permanent, additional, verifiable, real, located | 12 | | within the State of Illinois, and legally and | 13 | | practicably enforceable. The costs of any such offsets | 14 | | that are not recoverable shall not exceed $15 million | 15 | | in any given year. No costs of any such purchases of | 16 | | carbon offsets may be recovered from an alternative | 17 | | retail electric supplier or its customers. All carbon | 18 | | offsets purchased for this purpose and any carbon | 19 | | emission credits associated with sequestration of | 20 | | carbon from the facility must be permanently retired. | 21 | | The initial clean coal facility shall not forfeit its | 22 | | designation as a clean coal facility if the facility | 23 | | fails to fully comply with the applicable carbon | 24 | | sequestration requirements in any given year, provided | 25 | | the requisite offsets are purchased. However, the | 26 | | Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the State |
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| 1 | | of Illinois, may specifically enforce the facility's | 2 | | sequestration requirement and the other terms of this | 3 | | contract provision. Compliance with the sequestration | 4 | | requirements and offset purchase requirements that | 5 | | apply to the initial clean coal facility shall be | 6 | | reviewed annually by an independent expert retained by | 7 | | the owner of the initial clean coal facility, with the | 8 | | advance written approval of the Attorney General; | 9 | | (vi) The Commission shall, after notice and | 10 | | hearing, revoke the certification of any alternative | 11 | | retail electric supplier that fails to execute a | 12 | | sourcing agreement with the initial clean coal | 13 | | facility as required by item (5) of subsection (d) of | 14 | | this Section. The sourcing agreements with this | 15 | | initial clean coal facility shall be subject to both | 16 | | approval of the initial clean coal facility by the | 17 | | General Assembly and satisfaction of the requirements | 18 | | of item (4) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the | 19 | | Illinois Power Agency Act, and shall be executed | 20 | | within 90 days after any such approval by the General | 21 | | Assembly. The Commission shall not accept an | 22 | | application for certification from an alternative | 23 | | retail electric supplier that has lost certification | 24 | | under this subsection (d), or any corporate affiliate | 25 | | thereof, for at least one year from the date of | 26 | | revocation; |
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| 1 | | (6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve
| 2 | | residential or small commercial retail customers, that
the | 3 | | area to be served by the applicant and any
limitations it | 4 | | proposes on the number of customers or
maximum amount of | 5 | | load to be served meet the provisions
of Section 16-115A, | 6 | | provided, that the Commission can
extend the time for | 7 | | considering such a certificate
request by up to 90 days, | 8 | | and can schedule hearings on
such a request;
| 9 | | (7) That the applicant meets the requirements of | 10 | | subsection (a) of Section
16-128;
| 11 | | (8) That the applicant discloses whether the applicant | 12 | | is the subject of any lawsuit filed in a court of law or | 13 | | formal complaint filed with a regulatory agency alleging | 14 | | fraud, deception, or unfair marketing practices or other | 15 | | similar allegations and, if the applicant is the subject | 16 | | of such lawsuit or formal complaint, the applicant shall | 17 | | identify the name, case number, and jurisdiction of each | 18 | | lawsuit or complaint. For the purpose of this item (8), | 19 | | "formal complaint" includes only those complaints that | 20 | | seek a binding determination from a State or federal | 21 | | regulatory body; | 22 | | (9) That the applicant shall continue to comply with | 23 | | requirements for certification stated in this Section; | 24 | | (10) That the applicant shall execute and maintain a | 25 | | license or permit bond issued by a qualifying surety or | 26 | | insurance company authorized to transact business in the |
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| 1 | | State of Illinois in favor of the People of the State of | 2 | | Illinois. The amount of the bond shall equal $30,000 if | 3 | | the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail | 4 | | customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt | 5 | | or more, $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only | 6 | | non-residential retail customers with annual electrical | 7 | | consumption greater than 15,000 kWh, or $500,000 if the | 8 | | applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. | 9 | | Applicants shall be required to submit an additional | 10 | | $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to | 11 | | residential customers using in-person solicitations. The | 12 | | bond shall be conditioned upon the full and faithful | 13 | | performance of all duties and obligations of the applicant | 14 | | as an alternative retail electric supplier and shall be | 15 | | valid for a period of not less than one year. The cost of | 16 | | the bond shall be paid by the applicant. The applicant | 17 | | shall file a copy of this bond, with a notarized | 18 | | verification page from the issuer, as part of its | 19 | | application for certification under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451; | 20 | | and | 21 | | (11) That the applicant will comply with all other
| 22 | | applicable laws and regulations.
| 23 | | (d-3) The Commission may deny with prejudice an | 24 | | application in which the applicant fails to provide the | 25 | | Commission with information sufficient for the Commission to | 26 | | grant the application. |
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| 1 | | (d-5) (Blank). | 2 | | (e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or | 3 | | self-generation facility
and that seeks certification only to
| 4 | | provide electric power and energy from such facility to
retail | 5 | | customers at separate locations which customers are
both (i) | 6 | | owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate
affiliate of, | 7 | | such applicant and
(ii) eligible for delivery services, shall | 8 | | be granted a
certificate of service authority upon filing an | 9 | | application
and notifying the Commission that it has entered | 10 | | into an
agreement with the relevant electric utilities | 11 | | pursuant to
Section 16-118.
Provided, however, that if the | 12 | | retail customer owning such cogeneration or
self-generation | 13 | | facility would not be charged a transition charge due to the
| 14 | | exemption provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 | 15 | | prior to the
certification, and the retail customers at | 16 | | separate locations are taking
delivery services in conjunction | 17 | | with purchasing power and energy from the
facility, the retail | 18 | | customer on whose premises the facility is located shall
not | 19 | | thereafter be required to pay transition charges on the power | 20 | | and energy
that such retail customer takes from the facility.
| 21 | | (f) The Commission shall have the authority to
promulgate | 22 | | rules and regulations to carry out the provisions
of this | 23 | | Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission
shall adopt a | 24 | | rule or rules applicable to the certification of
those | 25 | | alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve
only | 26 | | nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical
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| 1 | | demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i)
| 2 | | expedited and streamlined procedures
for certification of such | 3 | | alternative
retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific | 4 | | criteria which,
if met by any such alternative retail electric | 5 | | supplier, shall
constitute the demonstration of technical, | 6 | | financial and
managerial resources and abilities to provide | 7 | | service required
by subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such | 8 | | as a requirement
to post a bond or letter of credit, from a | 9 | | responsible surety
or financial institution, of sufficient | 10 | | size for the nature
and scope of the services to be provided; | 11 | | demonstration of
adequate insurance for the scope and nature | 12 | | of the services to
be provided; and experience in providing | 13 | | similar services in
other jurisdictions.
| 14 | | (g) An alternative retail electric supplier may seek | 15 | | confidential treatment for the following information by filing | 16 | | an affidavit with the Commission so long as the affidavit | 17 | | meets the requirements in this subsection (g): | 18 | | (1) the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold | 19 | | by an alternative retail electric supplier to retail | 20 | | customers within each utility service territory and the | 21 | | total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold by an | 22 | | alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers | 23 | | in all utility service territories in the preceding | 24 | | calendar year as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.770; | 25 | | (2) the total peak demand supplied by an alternative | 26 | | retail electric supplier during the previous year in each |
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| 1 | | utility service territory as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code | 2 | | 465.40; | 3 | | (3) a good faith estimate of the amount an alternative | 4 | | retail electric supplier expects to be obliged to pay the | 5 | | utility under single billing tariffs during the next 12 | 6 | | months and the amount of any bond or letter of credit used | 7 | | to demonstrate an alternative retail electric supplier's | 8 | | credit worthiness to provide single billing services | 9 | | pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.510(a) and (b). | 10 | | The affidavit must be filed contemporaneously with the | 11 | | information for which confidential treatment is sought and | 12 | | must clearly state that the affiant seeks confidential | 13 | | treatment pursuant to this subsection (g) and the information | 14 | | for which confidential treatment is sought must be clearly | 15 | | identified on the confidential version of the document filed | 16 | | with the Commission. The affidavit must be accompanied by a | 17 | | "confidential" and a "public" version of the document or | 18 | | documents containing the information for which confidential | 19 | | treatment is sought. | 20 | | If the alternative retail electric supplier has met the | 21 | | affidavit requirements of this subsection (g), then the | 22 | | Commission shall afford confidential treatment to the | 23 | | information identified in the affidavit for a period of 2 | 24 | | years after the date the affidavit is received by the | 25 | | Commission. | 26 | | Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an alternative |
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| 1 | | retail electric supplier from filing a petition with the | 2 | | Commission seeking confidential treatment for information | 3 | | beyond that identified in this subsection (g) or for | 4 | | information contained in other reports or documents filed with | 5 | | the Commission. | 6 | | Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents the Commission, on | 7 | | its own motion, or any party from filing a formal petition with | 8 | | the Commission seeking to reconsider the conferring of | 9 | | confidential status on an item of information afforded | 10 | | confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (g). | 11 | | The Commission, on its own motion, may at any time | 12 | | initiate a docketed proceeding to investigate the continued | 13 | | applicability of this subsection (g) to the information | 14 | | contained in items (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subsection | 15 | | (g). If, at the end of such investigation, the Commission | 16 | | determines that a particular item of information should no | 17 | | longer be eligible for the affidavit-based process outlined in | 18 | | this subsection (g), the Commission may enter an order to | 19 | | remove that item from the list of items eligible for the | 20 | | process set forth in this subsection (g). Notwithstanding any | 21 | | such order, in the event the Commission makes such a | 22 | | determination, nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an | 23 | | alternative retail electric supplier desiring confidential | 24 | | treatment for such information from filing a formal petition | 25 | | with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for such | 26 | | information. |
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20 .)
| 2 | | (220 ILCS 5/16-115A)
| 3 | | Sec. 16-115A. Obligations of alternative retail electric
| 4 | | suppliers. | 5 | | (a) An alternative retail electric supplier:
| 6 | | (i) shall comply with the requirements imposed on | 7 | | public
utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, | 8 | | 8-505
and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these | 9 | | Sections
have application to the services being offered by | 10 | | the
alternative retail electric supplier;
| 11 | | (ii) shall continue to comply with the requirements | 12 | | for
certification stated in subsection (d) of Section | 13 | | 16-115; | 14 | | (iii) by May 31, 2020 and every June 30 thereafter, | 15 | | shall submit to the Commission and the Office of the | 16 | | Attorney General the rates the retail electric supplier | 17 | | charged to residential customers in the prior year, | 18 | | including each distinct rate charged and whether the rate | 19 | | was a fixed or variable rate, the basis for the variable | 20 | | rate, and any fees charged in addition to the supply rate, | 21 | | including monthly fees, flat fees, or other service | 22 | | charges; and | 23 | | (iv) shall make publicly available on its website, | 24 | | without the need for a customer login, rate information | 25 | | for all of its variable, time-of-use, and fixed rate |
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| 1 | | contracts currently available to residential customers, | 2 | | including, but not limited to, fixed monthly charges, | 3 | | early termination fees, and kilowatt-hour charges.
| 4 | | (b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain | 5 | | verifiable
authorization from a customer, in a form or manner | 6 | | approved by the Commission
consistent with Section 2EE of the | 7 | | Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act, before | 8 | | the customer is switched from another supplier.
| 9 | | (c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric
| 10 | | utility other than the electric utility in whose service area
| 11 | | a customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any
| 12 | | arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail
| 13 | | customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one
| 14 | | megawatt from having access to the services of the electric
| 15 | | utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii)
| 16 | | charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall | 17 | | not be
construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a
| 18 | | supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service, | 19 | | notice
period for terminating service and provisions governing | 20 | | early
termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by | 21 | | Section 16-119.
| 22 | | (d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is
| 23 | | certified to serve residential or small commercial retail
| 24 | | customers shall not:
| 25 | | (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers
| 26 | | nor establish any differences as to prices, terms,
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| 1 | | conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any
| 2 | | other respect, whereby such denial or differences are | 3 | | based upon
race, gender or income, except as provided in | 4 | | Section 16-115E.
| 5 | | (2) deny service to a customer or group of customers | 6 | | based on locality
nor establish any unreasonable | 7 | | difference as to prices,
terms, conditions, services, | 8 | | products, or facilities as
between localities.
| 9 | | (e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply
| 10 | | with the following requirements with respect to the marketing,
| 11 | | offering and provision of products or services to residential
| 12 | | and small commercial retail customers:
| 13 | | (i) All marketing materials, including, but not | 14 | | limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person | 15 | | solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall contain | 16 | | information that adequately
discloses the prices, terms, | 17 | | and conditions of the
products or services that the | 18 | | alternative retail
electric supplier is offering or | 19 | | selling to the
customer and shall disclose the current | 20 | | utility electric supply price to compare applicable at the | 21 | | time the alternative retail electric supplier is offering | 22 | | or selling the products or services to the customer and | 23 | | shall disclose the date on which the utility electric | 24 | | supply price to compare became effective and the date on | 25 | | which it will expire. The utility electric supply price to | 26 | | compare shall be the sum of the electric supply charge and |
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| 1 | | the transmission services charge and shall not include the | 2 | | purchased electricity adjustment. The disclosure shall | 3 | | include a statement that the price to compare does not | 4 | | include the purchased electricity adjustment, and, if | 5 | | applicable, the range of the purchased electricity | 6 | | adjustment. All marketing materials, including, but not | 7 | | limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person | 8 | | solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall include | 9 | | the following statement:
| 10 | | "(Name of the alternative retail electric | 11 | | supplier) is not the same entity as your electric | 12 | | delivery company. You are not required to enroll with | 13 | | (name of alternative retail electric supplier). | 14 | | Beginning on (effective date), the electric supply | 15 | | price to compare is (price in cents per kilowatt | 16 | | hour). The electric utility electric supply price will | 17 | | expire on (expiration date). The utility electric | 18 | | supply price to compare does not include the purchased | 19 | | electricity adjustment factor. For more information go | 20 | | to the Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at | 21 | | www.pluginillinois.org.". | 22 | | If applicable, the statement shall also include the | 23 | | following statement: | 24 | | "The purchased electricity adjustment factor may | 25 | | range between +.5 cents and -.5 cents per kilowatt | 26 | | hour.". |
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| 1 | | This paragraph (i) does not apply to goodwill or | 2 | | institutional advertising. | 3 | | (ii) Before any customer is switched from
another | 4 | | supplier, the alternative retail electric
supplier shall | 5 | | give the customer written information
that adequately | 6 | | discloses, in plain language, the
prices, terms and | 7 | | conditions of the products and
services being offered and | 8 | | sold to the customer. This written information shall be | 9 | | provided in a language in which the customer subject to | 10 | | the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and | 11 | | communicate, and the alternative retail electric supplier | 12 | | shall not switch a customer who is unable to understand | 13 | | and communicate in a language in which the marketing or | 14 | | solicitation was conducted. The alternative retail | 15 | | electric supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the | 16 | | Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
| 17 | | (iii) An alternative retail electric supplier
shall | 18 | | provide documentation to the Commission and to
customers | 19 | | that substantiates any claims made by the
alternative | 20 | | retail electric supplier regarding the
technologies and | 21 | | fuel types used to generate the
electricity offered or | 22 | | sold to customers.
| 23 | | (iv) The alternative retail electric supplier
shall | 24 | | provide to the customer (1) itemized billing
statements | 25 | | that describe the products and services
provided to the | 26 | | customer and their prices, and (2)
an additional |
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| 1 | | statement, at least annually, that
adequately discloses | 2 | | the average monthly prices, and
the terms and conditions, | 3 | | of the products and
services sold to the customer. | 4 | | (v) All in-person and telephone solicitations shall be | 5 | | conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language | 6 | | in which the consumer subject to the marketing or | 7 | | solicitation is able to understand and communicate. An | 8 | | alternative retail electric supplier shall terminate a | 9 | | solicitation if the consumer subject to the marketing or | 10 | | communication is unable to understand and communicate in | 11 | | the language in which the marketing or solicitation is | 12 | | being conducted. An alternative retail electric supplier | 13 | | shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and | 14 | | Deceptive Business Practices Act. | 15 | | (vi) Each alternative retail electric supplier shall | 16 | | conduct training for individual representatives engaged in | 17 | | in-person solicitation and telemarketing to residential | 18 | | customers on behalf of that alternative retail electric | 19 | | supplier prior to conducting any such solicitations on the | 20 | | alternative retail electric supplier's behalf. Each | 21 | | alternative retail electric supplier shall submit a copy | 22 | | of its training material to the Commission on an annual | 23 | | basis and the Commission shall have the right to review | 24 | | and require updates to the material. After initial | 25 | | training, each alternative retail electric supplier shall | 26 | | be required to conduct refresher training for its |
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| 1 | | individual representatives every 6 months.
| 2 | | (f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit
the | 3 | | overall size or availability of a service offering by
| 4 | | specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of
| 5 | | customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time
| 6 | | period during which the offering will be available, or other
| 7 | | comparable limitation, but not including the geographic
| 8 | | locations of customers within the area which the alternative
| 9 | | retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The
| 10 | | alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and
| 11 | | conditions of such service offering including the applicable
| 12 | | limitations with the Commission prior to making the service
| 13 | | offering available to customers.
| 14 | | (f-5) An alternative retail electric supplier shall | 15 | | maintain sufficient managerial resources and abilities to | 16 | | provide the service for which it has a certificate of service | 17 | | authority. In determining the level of managerial resources | 18 | | and abilities that the alternative retail electric supplier | 19 | | must demonstrate, the Commission shall consider, in addition | 20 | | to the requirements in Section 16-115, the following: | 21 | | (1) complaints to the Commission by consumers | 22 | | regarding the alternative retail electric supplier, | 23 | | including those that reflect on the alternative retail | 24 | | electric supplier's ability to properly manage | 25 | | solicitation and authorization; and | 26 | | (2) the alternative retail electric's supplier's |
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| 1 | | involvement, including resources the alternative retail | 2 | | electric supplier dedicates to the process and the | 3 | | alternative retail electric supplier's ability to manage | 4 | | the issues raised by complaints, and the resolutions of | 5 | | the complaints. | 6 | | (f-10) An alternative retail electric supplier shall file | 7 | | with the Commission a notification of any material change, as | 8 | | defined and prescribed by the Commission, to the information | 9 | | supplied in a certification application within 30 days after | 10 | | the material change. | 11 | | (g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
| 12 | | preventing an alternative retail electric supplier,
which is | 13 | | an affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an
industry or | 14 | | trade organization or association, (ii) a
membership | 15 | | organization or association that exists for a
purpose other | 16 | | than the purchase of electricity, or (iii)
another | 17 | | organization that meets criteria established in a rule
adopted | 18 | | by the Commission, from offering through the
organization or | 19 | | association services at prices, terms and
conditions that are | 20 | | available solely to the members of the
organization or | 21 | | association.
| 22 | | (Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-459, eff. 8-20-21.)
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