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92_HB4667eng
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1 AN ACT in relation to utilities.
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
5 changing Sections 19-105, 19-110, 19-115, and 19-120 and
6 adding Sections 19-125, 19-130, and 19-135 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/19-105)
8 Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this
9 Article, the following terms shall be defined as set forth in
10 this Section.
11 "Alternative gas supplier" means every person,
12 cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company,
13 association, joint stock company or association, firm,
14 partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees,
15 trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever,
16 that offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other
17 value received to one or more customers, or that engages in
18 the furnishing of gas to one or more customers, and shall
19 include affiliated interests of a gas utility, resellers,
20 aggregators and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas
21 utilities (or any agent of the gas utility to the extent the
22 gas utility provides tariffed services to customers through
23 an agent); (ii) public utilities that are owned and operated
24 by any political subdivision, public institution of higher
25 education or municipal corporation of this State, or public
26 utilities that are owned by a political subdivision, public
27 institution of higher education, or municipal corporation and
28 operated by any of its lessees or operating agents; (iii)
29 residential natural gas cooperatives that are not-for-profit
30 corporations established for the purpose of administering and
31 operating, on a cooperative basis, the furnishing of natural
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1 gas to residences for the benefit of their members who are
2 residential consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership
3 or operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas
4 at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel
5 and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail to the
6 public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel.
7 "Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in
8 Section 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license,
9 permit, or right to furnish or sell gas or transportation
10 services to customers within a service area.
11 "Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas
12 utility service for household purposes distributed to a
13 dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
14 residential rate or gas utility service for household
15 purposes distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is
16 billed under a residential rate and is registered by a
17 separate meter for each dwelling unit.
18 "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which
19 a gas utility was lawfully entitled to provide gas to
20 customers as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
21 the 92nd General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of
22 any customer to which the gas utility was lawfully providing
23 gas utility services on such effective date.
24 "Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail
25 customer of a natural gas utility who is identified by the
26 alternative gas supplier, prior to becoming a customer of the
27 alternative gas supplier, as consuming 5,000 or fewer therms
28 of natural gas during the previous year; provided that any
29 alternative gas supplier may remove the customer from
30 designation as a "small commercial customer" if the customer
31 consumes more than 5,000 therms of natural gas in any
32 calendar year after becoming a customer of the alternative
33 gas supplier.
34 "Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers
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1 by a gas utility as defined by its rates on file with the
2 Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article IX of this
3 Act.
4 "Transportation services" means those services provided
5 by the gas utility that are necessary in order for the
6 storage, transmission and distribution systems to function so
7 that customers located in the gas utility's service area can
8 receive gas from suppliers other than the gas utility and
9 shall include, without limitation, standard metering and
10 billing services.
11 (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02.)
12 (220 ILCS 5/19-110)
13 Sec. 19-110. Certification of alternative gas suppliers.
14 (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to
15 alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve
16 residential or small commercial customers and only to the
17 extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to
18 residential or small commercial customers.
19 (b) An alternative gas supplier must obtain a
20 certificate of service authority from the Commission in
21 accordance with this Section before serving any customer or
22 other user located in this State. An alternative gas
23 supplier may request, and the Commission may grant, a
24 certificate of service authority for the entire State or for
25 a specified geographic area of the State. A person,
26 corporation, or other entity acting as an alternative gas
27 supplier on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
28 92nd General Assembly shall have 180 days from the effective
29 date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly to
30 comply with the requirements of this Section in order to
31 continue to operate as an alternative gas supplier.
32 (c) An alternative gas supplier seeking a certificate of
33 service authority shall file with the Commission a verified
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1 application containing information showing that the applicant
2 meets the requirements of this Section. The alternative gas
3 supplier shall publish notice of its application in the
4 official State newspaper within 10 days following the date of
5 its filing. No later than 45 days after the application is
6 properly filed with the Commission, and such notice is
7 published, the Commission shall issue its order granting or
8 denying the application.
9 (d) An application for a certificate of service
10 authority shall identify the area or areas in which the
11 applicant intends to offer service and the types of services
12 it intends to offer. Applicants that seek to serve
13 residential or small commercial customers within a geographic
14 area that is smaller than a gas utility's service area shall
15 submit evidence demonstrating that the designation of this
16 smaller area does not violate Section 19-115. An applicant
17 may state in its application for certification any
18 limitations that will be imposed on the number of customers
19 or maximum load to be served.
20 (e) The Commission shall grant the application for a
21 certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set
22 forth in this subsection based on the verified application
23 and such other information as the applicant may submit.
24 (1) That the applicant possess sufficient
25 technical, financial, and managerial resources and
26 abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a
27 certificate of service authority. In determining the
28 level of technical, financial, and managerial resources
29 and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the
30 Commission shall consider the characteristics, including
31 the size and financial sophistication of the customers
32 that the applicant seeks to serve, and shall consider
33 whether the applicant seeks to provide gas using
34 property, plant, and equipment that it owns, controls, or
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1 operates.
2 (2) That the applicant will comply with all
3 applicable federal, State, regional, and industry rules,
4 policies, practices, and procedures for the use,
5 operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity, and
6 reliability of the gas transmission system.
7 (3) That the applicant will comply with such
8 informational or reporting requirements as the Commission
9 may by rule establish.
10 (4) That the area to be served by the applicant and
11 any limitations it proposes on the number of customers or
12 maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions
13 of Section 19-115, provided, that if the applicant seeks
14 to serve an area smaller than the service area of a gas
15 utility or proposes other limitations on the number of
16 customers or maximum amount of load to be served, the
17 Commission can extend the time for considering such a
18 certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule
19 hearings on such a request.
20 (5) That the applicant will comply with all other
21 applicable laws and rules.
22 (f) The Commission shall have the authority to
23 promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this Section.
24 Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory
25 Act of the 92nd General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt
26 an emergency rule or rules applicable to the certification of
27 those gas suppliers that seek to serve residential customers.
28 Within 180 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act
29 of the 92nd General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt
30 rules that specify criteria which, if met by any such
31 alternative gas supplier, shall constitute the demonstration
32 of technical, financial, and managerial resources and
33 abilities to provide service required by item (1) of
34 subsection (e) of this Section, such as a requirement to post
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1 a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety or
2 financial institution, of sufficient size for the nature and
3 scope of the services to be provided, demonstration of
4 adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services
5 to be provided, and experience in providing similar services
6 in other jurisdictions.
7 (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02.)
8 (220 ILCS 5/19-115)
9 Sec. 19-115. Obligations of alternative gas suppliers.
10 (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to
11 alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve
12 residential or small commercial customers and only to the
13 extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to
14 residential or small commercial customers.
15 (b) An alternative gas supplier shall:
16 (1) comply with the requirements imposed on public
17 utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505
18 and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections
19 have application to the services being offered by the
20 alternative gas supplier; and
21 (2) continue to comply with the requirements for
22 certification stated in Section 19-110.
23 (c) An alternative gas supplier shall obtain verifiable
24 authorization from a customer, in a form or manner approved
25 by the Commission, before the customer is switched from
26 another supplier.
27 (d) No alternative gas supplier shall:
28 (1) enter into or employ any arrangements which
29 have the effect of preventing any customer from having
30 access to the services of the gas utility in whose
31 service area the customer is located; or
32 (2) charge customers for such access.
33 (e) An alternative gas supplier that is certified to
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1 serve residential or small commercial customers shall not:
2 (1) deny service to a customer or group of
3 customers nor establish any differences as to prices,
4 terms, conditions, services, products, facilities, or in
5 any other respect, whereby such denial or differences are
6 based upon race, gender, or income; or
7 (2) deny service based on locality, nor establish
8 any unreasonable difference as to prices, terms,
9 conditions, services, products, or facilities as between
10 localities.
11 (f) An alternative gas supplier shall comply with the
12 following requirements with respect to the marketing,
13 offering, and provision of products or services:
14 (1) Any marketing materials which make statements
15 concerning prices, terms, and conditions of service shall
16 contain information that adequately discloses the prices,
17 terms and conditions of the products or services.
18 (2) Before any customer is switched from another
19 supplier, the alternative gas supplier shall give the
20 customer written information that adequately discloses,
21 in plain language, the prices, terms, and conditions of
22 the products and services being offered and sold to the
23 customer.
24 (3) The alternative gas supplier shall provide to
25 the customer:
26 (A) accurate, timely, and itemized billing
27 statements that describe the products and services
28 provided to the customer and their prices and that
29 specify the gas consumption amount and any service
30 charges and taxes; provided that this item (f)(3)(A)
31 does not apply to small commercial customers; and
32 (B) an additional statement, at least
33 annually, that adequately discloses the average
34 monthly prices, and the terms and conditions, of the
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1 products and services sold to the customer; provided
2 that this item (f)(3)(B) does not apply to small
3 commercial customers;.
4 (C) refunds of any deposits with interest
5 within 30 days after the date that the customer
6 changes gas suppliers or discontinues service if the
7 customer has satisfied all of his or her outstanding
8 financial obligations to the alternative gas
9 supplier at an interest rate set by the Commission
10 which shall be the same as that required of gas
11 utilities; and
12 (D) refunds, in a timely fashion, of all
13 undisputed overpayments upon the oral or written
14 request of the customer.
15 (g) An alternative gas supplier may limit the overall
16 size or availability of a service offering by specifying one
17 or more of the following:
18 (1) a maximum number of customers and maximum
19 amount of gas load to be served;
20 (2) time period during which the offering will be
21 available; or
22 (3) other comparable limitation, but not including
23 the geographic locations of customers within the area
24 which the alternative gas supplier is certificated to
25 serve.
26 The alternative gas supplier shall file the terms and
27 conditions of such service offering including the applicable
28 limitations with the Commission prior to making the service
29 offering available to customers.
30 (h) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
31 preventing an alternative gas supplier that is an affiliate
32 of, or which contracts with, (i) an industry or trade
33 organization or association, (ii) a membership organization
34 or association that exists for a purpose other than the
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1 purchase of gas, or (iii) another organization that meets
2 criteria established in a rule adopted by the Commission from
3 offering through the organization or association services at
4 prices, terms and conditions that are available solely to the
5 members of the organization or association.
6 (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02.)
7 (220 ILCS 5/19-120)
8 Sec. 19-120. Commission oversight of services provided
9 by gas suppliers.
10 (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to
11 alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve
12 residential or small commercial customers and only to the
13 extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to
14 residential or small commercial customers.
15 (b) The Commission shall have jurisdiction in accordance
16 with the provisions of Article X of this Act to entertain and
17 dispose of any complaint against any alternative gas supplier
18 alleging that:
19 (1) the alternative gas supplier has violated or is
20 in nonconformance with any applicable provisions of
21 Section 19-110 or Section 19-115;
22 (2) an alternative gas supplier has failed to
23 provide service in accordance with the terms of its
24 contract or contracts with a customer or customers;
25 (3) the alternative gas supplier has violated or is
26 in nonconformance with the transportation services tariff
27 of, or any of its agreements relating to transportation
28 services with, the gas utility or municipal system
29 providing transportation services; or
30 (4) the alternative gas supplier has violated or
31 failed to comply with the requirements of Sections 8-201
32 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505, or 8-507 of this Act as made
33 applicable to alternative gas suppliers.
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1 (c) The Commission shall have authority after notice and
2 hearing held on complaint or on the Commission's own motion
3 to:
4 (1) order an alternative gas supplier to cease and
5 desist, or correct, any violation of or nonconformance
6 with the provisions of Section 19-110 or 19-115;
7 (2) impose financial penalties for violations of or
8 nonconformances with the provisions of Section 19-110 or
9 19-115, not to exceed (i) $10,000 per occurrence or (ii)
10 $30,000 per day for those violations or nonconformances
11 which continue after the Commission issues a
12 cease-and-desist order; and
13 (3) alter, modify, revoke, or suspend the
14 certificate of service authority of an alternative gas
15 supplier for substantial or repeated violations of or
16 nonconformances with the provisions of Section 19-110 or
17 19-115.
18 (Source: P.A. 92-529, eff. 2-8-02.)
19 (220 ILCS 5/19-125 new)
20 Sec. 19-125. Consumer education.
21 (a) The Commission shall make available upon request and
22 at no charge, and shall make available to the public on the
23 Internet through the State of Illinois World Wide Web site:
24 (1) a list of all certified alternative gas
25 suppliers serving residential and small commercial
26 customers within the service area of each gas utility
27 including, in the case of the Internet, computer links to
28 available web sites of the certified alternative gas
29 suppliers;
30 (2) a list of all certified alternative gas
31 suppliers serving residential or small commercial
32 customers that have been found in the last 3 years by the
33 Commission pursuant to Section 10-108 to have failed to
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1 provide service in accordance with this Act;
2 (3) guidelines to assist customers in determining
3 which gas supplier is most appropriate for each customer;
4 and
5 (4) Internet links to providers of information that
6 enables customers to compare prices and services of gas
7 utilities and alternative gas suppliers, if and when that
8 information is available.
9 (b) In any service area where customers are able to
10 choose their natural gas supplier, the Commission shall
11 require gas utilities and alternative gas suppliers to inform
12 customers of how they may contact the Commission in order to
13 obtain information about the customer choice program.
14 (220 ILCS 5/19-130 new)
15 Sec. 19-130. Commission study and report. Beginning in
16 2003, and ending in 2007, the Commission shall prepare an
17 annual report regarding the development of natural gas
18 markets in Illinois. The report shall be filed by July 1 of
19 each year with the Joint Committee on Legislative Support
20 Services of the General Assembly and the Governor and shall
21 be publicly available. The report shall include, at a
22 minimum, the following information:
23 (1) the aggregate annual demand of retail natural
24 gas customers in the State of Illinois in the preceding
25 calendar year;
26 (2) the total annual therms delivered and sold to
27 retail customers in the State of Illinois by each gas
28 utility and each alternative gas supplier in the
29 preceding calendar year;
30 (3) the percentage of therms delivered and sold to
31 customers in the State of Illinois in the preceding
32 calendar year by each gas utility and each alternative
33 gas supplier;
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1 (4) the total number of customers in the State of
2 Illinois served in the preceding calendar year by each
3 gas utility and each alternative gas supplier;
4 (5) an analysis of the status and development of
5 the retail natural gas market in the State of Illinois;
6 and
7 (6) any other information the Commission considers
8 significant in assessing the development of gas markets
9 in the State of Illinois.
10 (220 ILCS 5/19-135 new)
11 Sec. 19-135. Single billing. It is the intent of the
12 General Assembly that in any service area where customers are
13 able to choose their natural gas supplier, a single billing
14 option shall be offered to customers for both the services
15 provided by the alternative gas supplier and the delivery
16 services provided by the gas utility. A gas utility shall
17 file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of this Act that allows
18 alternative gas suppliers to issue single bills to
19 residential and small commercial customers for both the
20 services provided by the alternative gas supplier and the
21 delivery services provided by the gas utility to customers;
22 provided that if a form of single billing is being offered in
23 a gas utility's service area on the effective date of this
24 amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, that form of
25 single billing shall remain in effect unless and until
26 otherwise ordered by the Commission.
27 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
28 becoming law.
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