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| Public Act 099-0457 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning public aid.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing | ||||
Section 13 as follows:
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(305 ILCS 20/13)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018) | ||||
Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
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(a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance
Fund is | ||||
hereby created as a special fund in the State
Treasury. The | ||||
Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund
is authorized | ||||
to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals, | ||||
foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received | ||||
pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
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collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized | ||||
to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations, | ||||
corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made | ||||
in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax | ||||
Act. Subject to appropriation,
the Department shall use
moneys | ||||
from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund
for | ||||
payments to electric or gas public utilities,
municipal | ||||
electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives
on behalf | ||||
of their customers who are participants in the
program | ||||
authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision | ||
of
weatherization services and for
administration of the | ||
Supplemental Low-Income Energy
Assistance Fund. The yearly | ||
expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10%
of the | ||
amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The | ||
yearly administrative expenses of the
Supplemental Low-Income | ||
Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed
10% of the amount | ||
collected during that year
pursuant to this Section, except | ||
when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy | ||
Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any | ||
unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be | ||
utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are | ||
reallocated.
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(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111
of the | ||
Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this | ||
Section,
each public utility, electric
cooperative, as defined | ||
in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act,
and municipal | ||
utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
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Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
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distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois
shall, | ||
effective January 1, 1998,
assess each of
its customer accounts | ||
a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for
the Supplemental | ||
Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
The delivering public | ||
utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric
or gas
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cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to | ||
the collection of
the
fee imposed by this Section.
The
monthly | ||
charge shall be as follows:
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(1) $0.48 per month on each account for
residential | ||
electric service;
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(2) $0.48 per month on each account for
residential gas | ||
service;
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(3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential | ||
electric service
which had less than 10 megawatts
of peak | ||
demand during the previous calendar year;
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(4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential | ||
gas service which
had distributed to it less than
4,000,000 | ||
therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
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(5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential | ||
electric service
which had 10 megawatts or greater
of peak | ||
demand during the previous calendar year; and
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(6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential | ||
gas service
which had 4,000,000 or more therms of
gas | ||
distributed to it during the previous calendar year. | ||
The incremental change to such charges imposed by this | ||
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be | ||
used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers | ||
and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000 | ||
customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009. | ||
In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and | ||
shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the | ||
Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs | ||
established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the | ||
Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of | ||
implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this | ||
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage | ||
Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs | ||
described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a | ||
utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General | ||
Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made | ||
no later than February 1, 2010.
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(c) For purposes of this Section:
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(1) "residential electric service" means
electric | ||
utility service for household purposes delivered to a
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dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
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residential rate, or electric utility service for | ||
household
purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units | ||
which is billed
under a residential rate and is registered | ||
by a separate meter
for each dwelling unit;
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(2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
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service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
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2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
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or gas utility service for household purposes distributed | ||
to a
dwelling unit or units which is billed under a | ||
residential
rate and is registered by a separate meter for | ||
each dwelling
unit;
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(3) "non-residential electric service" means
electric | ||
utility service which is not residential electric
service; | ||
and
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(4) "non-residential gas service" means gas
utility | ||
service which is not residential gas service.
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(d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this | ||
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
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utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
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distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
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Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
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Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs, | ||
which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the | ||
first billing cycle following such filing.
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(e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by
electric and | ||
gas public utilities shall be considered a charge
for public | ||
utility service.
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(f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in | ||
which the charges
imposed by the Section were collected, each | ||
public
utility,
municipal utility, and electric cooperative | ||
shall remit to the
Department of Revenue all moneys received as | ||
payment of the
Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed | ||
and furnished by the
Department of Revenue showing such | ||
information as the Department of Revenue may
reasonably | ||
require; provided, however, that a utility offering an | ||
Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act | ||
shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and | ||
recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section | ||
that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy | ||
Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th | ||
General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a | ||
public
utility, municipal
utility, or electric cooperative may | ||
elect either: (i) to apply
such partial payments first to | ||
amounts owed to the
utility or cooperative for its services and | ||
then to payment
for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to | ||
apply such partial payments
on a pro-rata basis between amounts | ||
owed to the
utility or cooperative for its services and to | ||
payment for the
Energy Assistance Charge.
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(g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
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Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
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remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
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Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each | ||
utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's | ||
customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department | ||
to establish an equitable and practical methodology for | ||
implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010 | ||
program year.
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(h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
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prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of | ||
funds
appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block | ||
Grant Fund for the
program authorized under Section 4 of this | ||
Act.
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(i) The Department of Revenue may establish such
rules as | ||
it deems necessary to implement this Section.
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(j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
may | ||
establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement
this | ||
Section.
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(k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to | ||
customers of
municipal electric or gas utilities and electric | ||
or gas cooperatives if
the municipal
electric or gas
utility or | ||
electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
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impose the
charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an | ||
electric
cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose | ||
the charge provided by
this
Section, the municipal electric or | ||
gas utility or electric cooperative shall
inform the
Department | ||
of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose | ||
the
charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric | ||
or gas
cooperative does not
assess
this charge, the Department | ||
may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income
Energy | ||
Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the | ||
program
authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
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In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department | ||
may not cause a
disproportionate share of those federal funds | ||
to benefit customers of systems
which do not assess the charge | ||
provided by this Section.
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This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018
unless
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renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly | ||
shall
consider the results of the evaluations described in | ||
Section 8 in its
deliberations.
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(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13.)
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