Public Act 093-1052
 
SB2525 Enrolled LRB093 20790 AMC 46705 b

    AN ACT concerning public utilities.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding
Section 7-210 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/7-210 new)
    Sec. 7-210. Commission oversight of nonpublic, unregulated
sales at retail of natural gas by public utilities.
    (a) This Section shall apply to any gas utility that served
more than 60,000 gas customers but less than 75,000 gas
customers in this State on January 1, 2000 and that provides
competitive electric power and energy to electric delivery
service customers through a business division of its electric
utility pursuant to Section 16-116. For the purposes of this
Section, terms shall have the same meaning as defined in
Section 7-108, Article XVI, and Article XIX.
    (b) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
93rd General Assembly, unregulated sales of natural gas by a
gas utility within or outside its service area shall be subject
to the provisions of this Section. This Section shall not be
interpreted to invalidate any contract for unregulated sales of
natural gas executed by a gas utility prior to the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, but
unregulated sales of natural gas pursuant to such contract
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly shall be subject to the provisions of this
Section.
    (c) A gas utility offering unregulated sales of natural gas
to an end-use customer within or outside its service area shall
be subject to Sections 7-102(g), 7-205, 7-206, and 9-230 with
respect to such sales.
    (d) Notwithstanding any language of Article XIX to the
contrary, a gas utility offering unregulated sales of natural
gas to a residential customer or a small commercial customer
within or outside its service area shall be subject to Sections
19-110(e)(2), 19-110(e)(3), 19-110(e)(5), 19-115, and 19-120.
    (e) A gas utility offering unregulated sales of natural gas
to an end-use customer within or outside its service area shall
not subsidize such sales through the utility's regulated
business. Costs and revenues from the gas utility's unregulated
sales of gas to an end-use customer within or outside its
service area shall not be included in the calculation of the
utility's regulated gas rates and charges.
    (f) A gas utility offering unregulated sales of natural gas
to an end-use customer within or outside its service area shall
not discriminate in the provision of regulated gas service
based upon the existence or terms of an unregulated sale of
natural gas.
    (g) The Commission shall require a gas utility to file
reports regarding its unregulated sales of natural gas in the
State. The reports shall be treated as confidential documents.
To the extent the Commission determines it to be necessary and
in the public interest, the Commission may order an audit of a
gas utility regarding its unregulated sales of natural gas in
the State.
    (h) The Commission shall have the authority to require the
gas utility to file its contracts for unregulated sales of
natural gas in the State. The contracts shall be treated as
confidential documents.
    (i) Within 120 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Commission
shall adopt provisions requiring functional separation between
a gas utility's unregulated retail sales of natural gas in the
State and its regulated retail gas services in the State. In
establishing or considering the functional separations
provisions, the Commission shall take into account the effects
on the cost and reliability of service and the obligation of
the gas utility under the Act. The Commission shall adopt
separations provisions that are a cost effective means to
ensure compliance with this Section. The provisions adopted by
the Commission shall permit a gas utility to offer unregulated
retail sales of natural gas in the State through the same
business division of the utility that offers competitive
electric power and energy to electric delivery service
customers. Until provisions are adopted by the Commission, the
gas utility shall comply with the functional separations rules
for electric utilities adopted pursuant to Section 16-119A, to
the extent determined applicable by the Commission through
emergency rules established within 60 days of the passage of
this Act.
    (j) A gas utility shall not release or assign gas storage
capacity procured for its regulated Illinois retail customers
to its business division offering unregulated retail sales of
natural gas or allow such storage capacity to be managed by
that business division.
    (k) Except as approved by the Commission, a gas utility
shall not use gas commodity or interstate pipeline services for
unregulated retail sales of natural gas in the State if such
commodity or service was procured for its regulated Illinois
retail customers.
    (l) In addition to any other remedy provided in the Act,
the Commission may order a gas utility to cease offering
unregulated retail sales of natural gas in the State if it
finds, after notice and hearing, that the gas utility willfully
violated this Section.
    (m) This Section shall not be applicable to unregulated
sales of natural gas by an affiliate of a gas utility. Nothing
herein shall be construed as impacting the applicability of
other Sections of the Act to the unregulated sale of natural
gas by an affiliate.