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91_SB0423
LRB9101348JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 16-125.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 16-125 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
8 Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
9 requirements.
10 (a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to
11 all customers in this State and the effective implementation
12 of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall,
13 within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt
14 rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the
15 reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and
16 facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction. No
17 rule concerning vegetative management shall be construed to
18 preempt local regulation of vegetation. No rule shall permit
19 vegetative management by a utility which entails going onto
20 the property not owned or within the easement of the utility
21 without the permission of the owner.
22 (b) These rules and regulations shall require each
23 electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier
24 owning, controlling, or operating transmission and
25 distribution facilities and equipment subject to the
26 Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as
27 "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures
28 for restoring transmission and distribution services to
29 customers after transmission or distribution outages on a
30 nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer
31 has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric
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1 utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power
2 and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a
3 minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
4 submit annually to the Commission.
5 (1) the number and duration of planned and
6 unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts
7 on customers;
8 (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
9 were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
10 facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
11 inactions of operating personnel or agents;
12 (3) customer service interruptions that were due
13 solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative
14 retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying
15 power or energy;
16 (4) a detailed report of the age, current
17 condition, reliability and performance of the
18 jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and
19 distribution facilities, which shall include, without
20 limitation, the following data:
21 (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
22 outages and voltage variances reportable under the
23 Commission's rules;
24 (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
25 for transmission construction and maintenance, the
26 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
27 entity's transmission investment, and the average
28 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
29 transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage
30 of total depreciation lives;
31 (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
32 for distribution construction and maintenance, the
33 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
34 entity's distribution investment, and the average
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1 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
2 distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage
3 of total depreciation lives;
4 (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
5 among other areas identified in Commission rules,
6 reliability, customer service, and understandability
7 of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
8 and
9 (v) the corresponding information, in the same
10 format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
11 (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
12 improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
13 and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
14 reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
15 delivery reliability needed for fair and open
16 competition; and
17 (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
18 implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph
19 (5) for the previous reporting period.
20 (c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria
21 that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's
22 annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such
23 criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items
24 required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant
25 characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of
26 the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering
27 practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits
28 of avoiding the risks of service disruption.
29 (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the
30 Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the
31 following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the
32 Commission shall assess the annual report of each
33 jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability
34 performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include
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1 specific identification of, and recommendations concerning,
2 any potential reliability problems that it has identified as
3 a result of its evaluation.
4 (e) In the event that more than 30,000 customers of an
5 electric utility are subjected to a continuous power
6 interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the
7 transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard
8 voltage, or that results in the total loss of power
9 transmission, the utility shall be responsible for
10 compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4
11 hours or more for all actual damages, which shall not
12 include consequential damages, suffered as a result of the
13 power interruption. The utility shall also reimburse the
14 affected municipality, county, or other unit of local
15 government in which the power interruption has taken place
16 for all emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the
17 unit of local government as a result of the interruption. A
18 waiver of the requirements of this subsection may be granted
19 by the Commission in instances in which the utility can show
20 that the power interruption was a result of any one or more
21 of the following causes:
22 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
23 conditions.
24 (2) Customer tampering.
25 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
26 international unrest or animals.
27 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
28 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
29 or contractors.
30 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
31 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
32 (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
33 that causes damage and affects more than 30,000 customers,
34 the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the
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1 replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the
2 power surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show
3 that the power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or
4 more of the following causes:
5 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
6 conditions.
7 (2) Customer tampering.
8 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
9 international unrest or animals.
10 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
11 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
12 or contractors.
13 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
14 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers
15 with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the
16 Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections
17 (e) and (f) shall not count toward the 30,000 customers
18 required therein.
19 (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned
20 or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will
21 result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the
22 standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
23 defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
24 reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers
25 no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the
26 repairs or maintenance.
27 (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
28 sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
29 as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
30 awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be
31 limited to actual damages, which shall not include
32 consequential damages, and litigation costs. Damage awards
33 may not be paid out of utility rate funds.
34 (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
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1 diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
2 available to a customer or a class of customers.
3 (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
4 utility to maintain service records detailing information on
5 each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of
6 the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
7 (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more
8 customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be
9 required to be recorded or reported. The service record
10 shall include, for each occurrence, the following
11 information:
12 (1) The date.
13 (2) The time of occurrence.
14 (3) The duration of the incident.
15 (4) The number of customers affected.
16 (5) A description of the cause.
17 (6) The geographic area affected.
18 (7) The specific equipment involved in the
19 fluctuation or interruption.
20 (8) A description of measures taken to restore
21 service.
22 (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
23 cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.
24 (10) A description of measures taken to prevent
25 future occurrence.
26 (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
27 affected customers.
28 (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
29 waived for affected customers.
30 Copies of the records containing this information shall
31 be available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
32 and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
33 exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
34 each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
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1 available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
2 be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
3 reasonable cost of reproduction.
4 (k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of
5 this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility
6 having 1,000,000 or more customers.
7 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)