Full Text of HB3404 102nd General Assembly
HB3404enr 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | 8 | | Opportunity. | 9 | | "Qualifying gas pipeline project" means the construction | 10 | | or installation of gas equipment used in connection with the | 11 | | distribution and delivery of natural gas in Pembroke Township.
| 12 | | Section 10. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot | 13 | | Program.
| 14 | | (a) The Department shall create the Pembroke Township | 15 | | Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program for a duration of 5 | 16 | | years. The Program shall provide that the Department shall | 17 | | distribute grants, subject to appropriation, from moneys in | 18 | | the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Fund for the | 19 | | conversion of appliances to be compatible with natural gas.
| 20 | | (b) The Department shall adopt rules for the | 21 | | administration of the Program. At a minimum, the rules shall | 22 | | require that the applicant for the grants demonstrate that the |
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| 1 | | grants will result in the conversion of necessary equipment to | 2 | | have the ability to utilize natural gas. The rules shall allow | 3 | | for conversion grants awarded to residents of Pembroke | 4 | | Township and to Pembroke Township to provide assistance for | 5 | | the use of natural gas and shall ensure that the applicant | 6 | | complies with all other requirements of the rules. | 7 | | (c) A grantee must maintain all records as required by | 8 | | rule. The records shall be subject to audit by the Department, | 9 | | by an auditor appointed by the Department, or by a State | 10 | | officer authorized to conduct audits.
| 11 | | (d) Eligible applicants under this Program may include a | 12 | | nonprofit or community action association that will help the | 13 | | residents of Pembroke with the convergence of natural gas | 14 | | services in the residents' homes. Notwithstanding any | 15 | | provision of law to the contrary, an entity regulated under | 16 | | the Public Utilities Act may serve as a grantee under this Act. | 17 | | Section 15. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot | 18 | | Program Fund. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment | 19 | | Pilot Program Fund is created as a special fund in the State
| 20 | | treasury. Subject to appropriation, all moneys in the Fund | 21 | | shall be used by the
Department to fund grants for qualified | 22 | | utility infrastructure
projects. The Department may accept | 23 | | private and public funds,
including federal funds, for deposit | 24 | | into the Fund. Earnings
attributable to moneys in the Fund | 25 | | shall be deposited into the
Fund.
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| 1 | | Section 20. Data collection and reporting. The Department | 2 | | shall collect data regarding the successes and challenges of | 3 | | the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program and | 4 | | shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General | 5 | | Assembly by March 1 of each year beginning in 2022 until the | 6 | | Pilot Program terminates. The report shall: (i) make a | 7 | | recommendation as to whether the Pilot Program should | 8 | | continue; (ii) provide cost estimates, including the average | 9 | | per person costs; and (iii) recommend ways in which the Pilot | 10 | | Program can be improved to better address the needs for | 11 | | natural gas distribution. | 12 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 13 | | Section 5.935 as follows: | 14 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.935 new) | 15 | | Sec. 5.935. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment | 16 | | Pilot Program Fund. | 17 | | Section 95. The Public Utilities Act is amended by | 18 | | changing Section 8-406 and by adding Section 8-406.2 as | 19 | | follows: | 20 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406) | 21 | | Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and |
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| 1 | | necessity. | 2 | | (a) No public utility not owning any city or village
| 3 | | franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in | 4 | | furnishing any
product or commodity within this State as of | 5 | | July 1, 1921 and not
possessing a certificate of
public | 6 | | convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce | 7 | | Commission,
the State Public Utilities Commission or
the | 8 | | Public Utilities Commission, at the time this amendatory Act | 9 | | of 1985 goes
into effect, shall transact any business in this | 10 | | State until it shall have
obtained a certificate from the | 11 | | Commission that public convenience and
necessity require the | 12 | | transaction of such business. A certificate of public | 13 | | convenience and necessity requiring the transaction of public | 14 | | utility business in any area of this State shall include | 15 | | authorization to the public utility receiving the certificate | 16 | | of public convenience and necessity to construct such plant, | 17 | | equipment, property, or facility as is provided for under the | 18 | | terms and conditions of its tariff and as is necessary to | 19 | | provide utility service and carry out the transaction of | 20 | | public utility business by the public utility in the | 21 | | designated area. | 22 | | (b) No public utility shall begin the construction of any | 23 | | new plant,
equipment, property or facility which is not in | 24 | | substitution of any
existing plant, equipment, property or | 25 | | facility or any extension or
alteration thereof or in addition | 26 | | thereto,
unless and until it shall have obtained from the
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| 1 | | Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity | 2 | | require such
construction. Whenever after a hearing the | 3 | | Commission determines that any
new construction or the | 4 | | transaction of any business by a public utility will
promote | 5 | | the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have | 6 | | the
power to issue certificates of public convenience and | 7 | | necessity. The
Commission shall determine that proposed | 8 | | construction will promote the
public convenience and necessity | 9 | | only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the
proposed | 10 | | construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and
| 11 | | efficient service to its customers and is the
least-cost means | 12 | | of
satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the | 13 | | proposed construction will promote the development of an | 14 | | effectively competitive electricity market that operates | 15 | | efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least | 16 | | cost means of satisfying those objectives;
(2) that the | 17 | | utility is capable of efficiently managing and
supervising the | 18 | | construction process and has taken sufficient action to
ensure | 19 | | adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof; | 20 | | and (3)
that the utility is capable of financing the proposed | 21 | | construction without
significant adverse financial | 22 | | consequences for the utility or its
customers. | 23 | | (c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 24 | | 1987, no
construction shall commence on any new nuclear
power | 25 | | plant to be located within this State, and no certificate of | 26 | | public
convenience and necessity or other authorization shall |
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| 1 | | be issued therefor
by the Commission, until the Director of | 2 | | the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency finds that the | 3 | | United States Government, through its
authorized agency, has | 4 | | identified and approved a demonstrable technology or
means for | 5 | | the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such
| 6 | | construction has been specifically approved by a statute | 7 | | enacted by the General
Assembly. | 8 | | As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means | 9 | | those aqueous
wastes resulting from the operation of the first | 10 | | cycle of the solvent
extraction system or equivalent and the | 11 | | concentrated wastes of the
subsequent extraction cycles or | 12 | | equivalent in a facility for reprocessing
irradiated reactor | 13 | | fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to
fuel | 14 | | reprocessing. | 15 | | (d) In making its determination under subsection (b) of | 16 | | this Section , the Commission shall attach primary
weight to | 17 | | the cost or cost savings to the customers of the utility. The
| 18 | | Commission may consider any or all factors which will or may | 19 | | affect such
cost or cost savings, including the public | 20 | | utility's engineering judgment regarding the materials used | 21 | | for construction. | 22 | | (e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which | 23 | | shall remain
in force not to exceed one year in cases of | 24 | | emergency, to assure maintenance
of adequate service or to | 25 | | serve particular customers, without notice or
hearing, pending | 26 | | the determination of an application for a certificate, and
may |
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| 1 | | by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section | 2 | | temporary
acts or operations for which the issuance of a | 3 | | certificate will not be
required in the public interest. | 4 | | A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may | 5 | | apply for and
obtain a certificate of public convenience and | 6 | | necessity pursuant to this
Section with respect to any matter | 7 | | as to which it has received the
authorization or order of the | 8 | | Commission under the Electric Supplier Act,
and any such | 9 | | authorization or order granted a public utility by the
| 10 | | Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be | 11 | | deemed to
be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the | 12 | | same force and effect
as, a certificate of public convenience | 13 | | and necessity issued pursuant to this
Section. | 14 | | No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a | 15 | | party to or shall
be entitled to be heard or to otherwise | 16 | | appear or participate in any
proceeding initiated under this | 17 | | Section for authorization of power plant
construction and as | 18 | | to matters as to which a remedy is available under The
Electric | 19 | | Supplier Act. | 20 | | (f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the | 21 | | Commission, upon
its own motion or upon application by the | 22 | | person or corporation affected.
Unless exercised within a | 23 | | period of 2 years from the grant thereof
authority conferred | 24 | | by a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by
the | 25 | | Commission shall be null and void. | 26 | | No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall |
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| 1 | | be construed as
granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege, | 2 | | immunity or franchise. | 3 | | (g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions | 4 | | described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or | 5 | | that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this | 6 | | Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of | 7 | | this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would | 8 | | apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of | 9 | | this Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an | 10 | | electric line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For | 11 | | purposes of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of | 12 | | the following: | 13 | | (1) replace or upgrade any existing high voltage | 14 | | electric service line and related facilities, | 15 | | notwithstanding its length; | 16 | | (2) relocate any existing high voltage electric | 17 | | service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its | 18 | | length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a | 19 | | roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or | 20 | | (3) construct a high voltage electric service line and | 21 | | related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a | 22 | | single customer's premises or to provide a generator | 23 | | interconnection to the public utility's transmission | 24 | | system and that will pass under or over the premises owned | 25 | | by the customer or generator to be served or under or over | 26 | | premises for which the customer or generator has secured |
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| 1 | | the necessary right of way. | 2 | | (h) A public utility seeking to construct a high-voltage | 3 | | electric service line and related facilities (Project) must | 4 | | show that the utility has held a minimum of 2 pre-filing public | 5 | | meetings to receive public comment concerning the Project in | 6 | | each county where the Project is to be located, no earlier than | 7 | | 6 months prior to filing an application for a certificate of | 8 | | public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Notice | 9 | | of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of | 10 | | general circulation within the affected county once a week for | 11 | | 3 consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior | 12 | | to the first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2 | 13 | | contiguous counties and where in one county the transmission | 14 | | line mileage and number of landowners over whose property the | 15 | | proposed route traverses is one-fifth or less of the | 16 | | transmission line mileage and number of such landowners of the | 17 | | other county, then the utility may combine the 2 pre-filing | 18 | | meetings in the county with the greater transmission line | 19 | | mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements | 20 | | regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both counties. | 21 | | Notice of the public meeting, including a description of the | 22 | | Project, must be provided in writing to the clerk of each | 23 | | county where the Project is to be located. A representative of | 24 | | the Commission shall be invited to each pre-filing public | 25 | | meeting. | 26 | | (i) For applications filed after the effective date of |
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| 1 | | this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the | 2 | | Commission shall by registered mail notify each owner of | 3 | | record of land, as identified in the records of the relevant | 4 | | county tax assessor, included in the right-of-way over which | 5 | | the utility seeks in its application to construct a | 6 | | high-voltage electric line of the time and place scheduled for | 7 | | the initial hearing on the public utility's application. The | 8 | | utility shall reimburse the Commission for the cost of the | 9 | | postage and supplies incurred for mailing the notice. | 10 | | (Source: P.A. 99-399, eff. 8-18-15.) | 11 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-406.2 new) | 12 | | Sec. 8-406.2. Certificate of public convenience and | 13 | | necessity; extension of utility service area and facilities to | 14 | | serve designated hardship areas. | 15 | | (a) This Section is intended to provide a mechanism by | 16 | | which a gas public utility may extend its service territory | 17 | | and gas distribution system to provide service to designated | 18 | | low-income areas whose residents do not have access to natural | 19 | | gas service and must purchase more costly alternatives to | 20 | | satisfy their energy needs. | 21 | | (b) In this Section: | 22 | | "Designated hardship area" is limited to Pembroke | 23 | | Township, if the Township meets certain requirements. Any | 24 | | "designated hardship area" only applies to the specific | 25 | | community of Pembroke within the scope of the Project. |
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| 1 | | Pembroke Township will only be categorized as a "designated | 2 | | hardship area" if it meets the following requirements: | 3 | | (1) the area is designated as a qualified census tract | 4 | | by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as | 5 | | published in the most current Federal Register; if the | 6 | | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ceases to | 7 | | make this designation, then at least 25% of the households | 8 | | in the area are at or below the poverty level; and | 9 | | (2) the area is not currently served by a gas utility. | 10 | | "Hardship area facilities" means all gas distribution | 11 | | system facilities that are proposed to be constructed or | 12 | | extended and used to serve the designated hardship area, | 13 | | through and including retail gas meters. "Hardship area | 14 | | facilities" includes the capacity to address reasonably | 15 | | foreseeable growth in areas adjacent to or in the vicinity of | 16 | | the designated hardship area. | 17 | | (c) A gas public utility may apply for a certificate of | 18 | | public convenience and necessity pursuant to this Section to | 19 | | increase its gas service territory and extend its gas | 20 | | distribution system to serve a designated hardship area. An | 21 | | application under this Section shall include all of the | 22 | | following: | 23 | | (1) a description of the designated hardship area and | 24 | | its relationship to the existing gas distribution system | 25 | | of the applicant; | 26 | | (2) a showing that the designated hardship area meets |
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| 1 | | the criteria for being a designated hardship area under | 2 | | subsection (b) of this Section; | 3 | | (3) a description of the hardship area facilities | 4 | | proposed to serve the designated hardship area; | 5 | | (4) a projection of the costs to construct and deploy | 6 | | the hardship area facilities; | 7 | | (5) a showing that the estimated cost to construct and | 8 | | deploy the hardship area facilities is equal to or less | 9 | | than 250% of the amount allowed under the gas utilities' | 10 | | then current tariffs to provide standard service to extend | 11 | | main and services; and | 12 | | (6) a statement to confirm that the public utility has | 13 | | held at least 2 pre-filing public meetings in the | 14 | | community and considered public input from those meetings | 15 | | when developing and implementing its plans. | 16 | | (d) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant | 17 | | a certificate of public convenience and necessity under this | 18 | | Section if, based upon the application filed with the | 19 | | Commission and the evidentiary record, the Commission finds | 20 | | that all of the following criteria are satisfied: | 21 | | (1) the area to be served is a designated hardship | 22 | | area; | 23 | | (2) the proposed hardship area facilities will provide | 24 | | adequate, reliable, and efficient gas delivery service to | 25 | | the customers within the designated hardship area and are | 26 | | the least-cost means of providing such gas delivery |
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| 1 | | service to these customers; | 2 | | (3) the public utility is capable of efficiently | 3 | | managing and supervising the construction of the hardship | 4 | | area facilities and has taken sufficient action to ensure | 5 | | adequate and efficient construction and supervision of the | 6 | | construction; | 7 | | (4) the public utility is capable of financing the | 8 | | construction of the hardship area facilities without | 9 | | significant adverse financial consequences for the utility | 10 | | or its customers; | 11 | | (5) the estimated cost to construct and deploy the | 12 | | hardship area facilities is equal to or less than 250% of | 13 | | the amount allowed under the gas utilities then current | 14 | | tariffs to provide standard service to extend main and | 15 | | services; | 16 | | (6) the public utility can guarantee that residents of | 17 | | Hopkins Park who choose to opt out of converting to a | 18 | | natural gas delivery service will not be assessed any | 19 | | charges relating to the pipeline construction or any other | 20 | | fees relating to the designated hardship area facilities; | 21 | | (7) the public utility disclosed to the Commission the | 22 | | mapping of the proposed pipeline and infrastructure | 23 | | management requirements within the designated hardship | 24 | | area; and | 25 | | (8) the public utility has guaranteed that, before | 26 | | implementation, it will disclose to the Commission the |
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| 1 | | cost to the utility for customers of Hopkins Park to | 2 | | utilize gas services. | 3 | | (e) The Commission shall issue its decision with findings | 4 | | of fact and conclusions of law granting or denying the | 5 | | application no later than 120 days after the application is | 6 | | filed.
| 7 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 | | becoming law. |
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