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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 8-505.2 and by changing Section 16-125 as follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | (220 ILCS 5/8-505.2 new)
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7 | Sec. 8-505.2. Non-emergency vegetation management; | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | schedules; filings; annual reporting requirements. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | (a) Each electric utility shall submit to the Commission a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | vegetation management schedule for the utility's service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | areas. The schedule shall include the utility's non-emergency | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | trimming schedule and shall be no more than 4 years in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | duration. The schedule must ensure that trees in all parts of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | the electric utility's service areas are trimmed at least once | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | every 4 years. Within 30 days after the utility submits the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | schedule to the Commission, the Commission shall post the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | schedule on the Commission's web site on a separate page | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | reserved exclusively for utility vegetation management | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | schedules. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | (b) Each electric utility must submit an annual report to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | the Commission indicating what percentage of the utility's | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | vegetation management schedule has been completed. Upon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | submitting the annual report, a representative of the utility |
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1 | shall sign and file with the Commission an affidavit that lists | ||||||
2 | the number and nature of all complaints for the previous | ||||||
3 | calendar year related to the ANSI A300 standards.
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4 | (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
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5 | Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
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6 | requirements. | ||||||
7 | (a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to all
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8 | customers in this State and the effective implementation of
the | ||||||
9 | provisions of this Article, the Commission shall , within
180 | ||||||
10 | days of the effective date of this Article, adopt rules
and | ||||||
11 | regulations that develop service quality measures for | ||||||
12 | assessing and assuring the reliability of
the transmission and | ||||||
13 | distribution systems and facilities that
are under the | ||||||
14 | Commission's jurisdiction. The rules and regulations shall | ||||||
15 | require the quality and reliability to be the same as or better | ||||||
16 | than levels that existed on July 1, 1996.
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17 | (b) These rules and regulations shall require each electric | ||||||
18 | utility or
alternative retail electric supplier owning, | ||||||
19 | controlling, or operating
transmission and distribution | ||||||
20 | facilities and equipment subject to the
Commission's | ||||||
21 | jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as "jurisdictional
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22 | entities", to adopt and implement procedures for restoring | ||||||
23 | transmission and
distribution services to customers after | ||||||
24 | transmission or distribution outages
on a nondiscriminatory | ||||||
25 | basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen
the |
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1 | electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or | ||||||
2 | another entity
as its provider of electric power and energy. | ||||||
3 | These rules and regulations
shall also, at a minimum, | ||||||
4 | specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
submit | ||||||
5 | annually to the Commission.
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6 | (1) the number and duration of planned and
unplanned | ||||||
7 | outages during the prior year and their impacts
on | ||||||
8 | customers;
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9 | (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
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10 | were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
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11 | facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
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12 | inactions of operating personnel or agents;
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13 | (3) customer service interruptions that were due
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14 | solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative
retail | ||||||
15 | electric supplier or a public utility in supplying
power or | ||||||
16 | energy;
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17 | (4) a detailed report of the age, current
condition, | ||||||
18 | reliability and performance of the
jurisdictional entity's | ||||||
19 | existing transmission and
distribution facilities, which | ||||||
20 | shall include, without
limitation, the following data:
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21 | (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
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22 | outages and voltage variances reportable under the
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23 | Commission's rules;
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24 | (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
for | ||||||
25 | transmission construction and maintenance, the
ratio | ||||||
26 | of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
entity's |
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1 | transmission investment, and the average
remaining | ||||||
2 | depreciation lives of the entity's
transmission | ||||||
3 | facilities, expressed as a percentage
of total | ||||||
4 | depreciation lives;
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5 | (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
for | ||||||
6 | distribution construction and maintenance, the
ratio | ||||||
7 | of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
entity's | ||||||
8 | distribution investment, and the average
remaining | ||||||
9 | depreciation lives of the entity's
distribution | ||||||
10 | facilities, expressed as a percentage
of total | ||||||
11 | depreciation lives;
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12 | (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
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13 | among other areas identified in Commission rules,
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14 | reliability, customer service, and understandability
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15 | of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
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16 | and
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17 | (v) the corresponding information, in the same
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18 | format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
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19 | (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
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20 | improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
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21 | and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
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22 | reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
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23 | delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition; | ||||||
24 | and
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25 | (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
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26 | implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph |
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1 | (5)
for the previous reporting period ; and .
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2 | (7) the number of non-supervisory employees by | ||||||
3 | classification or job title working at each calendar year's | ||||||
4 | end at each headquarter, service area, reporting point, or | ||||||
5 | plant and if the total number of non-supervisory employees | ||||||
6 | is 1% or greater less than the preceding year's report and | ||||||
7 | a detailed explanation showing reasons for the decrease in | ||||||
8 | employees and the effect on safety and reliability.
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9 | (c) The Commission rules shall set forth : | ||||||
10 | (1) The
the criteria
that will be used to assess each | ||||||
11 | jurisdictional entity's annual report and
evaluate its | ||||||
12 | reliability performance. Such criteria
must take into | ||||||
13 | account, at a minimum: the items required to be
reported in | ||||||
14 | subsection (b); the relevant characteristics of
the area | ||||||
15 | served; the age and condition of the system's
equipment and | ||||||
16 | facilities; good engineering practices; the
costs of | ||||||
17 | potential actions; and the benefits of avoiding the
risks | ||||||
18 | of service disruption.
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19 | (2) Standards for inspecting, maintaining, and | ||||||
20 | repairing each of the following: | ||||||
21 | (i) Electric generation facilities in Illinois | ||||||
22 | that are owned by public utilities or provide service | ||||||
23 | to public utilities under contracts with terms of 2 | ||||||
24 | years or more. | ||||||
25 | (ii) Electric transmission or distribution | ||||||
26 | facilities in this State that are owned by public |
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1 | utilities. | ||||||
2 | The inspection standards shall set intervals for | ||||||
3 | inspection of key components of the above ground and | ||||||
4 | underground transmission and distribution systems. These | ||||||
5 | shall include, but are not limited to, annual visual | ||||||
6 | patrols of urban transformers, conductors, capacitors, | ||||||
7 | regulators, and protective devices. Visual patrols shall | ||||||
8 | be conducted every 2 years of the same equipment in rural | ||||||
9 | locations. Inspection patrols shall be conducted by a | ||||||
10 | person with the requisite knowledge, skills, training, | ||||||
11 | experience, and competence in maintaining and operating | ||||||
12 | electric transmission and distribution systems. | ||||||
13 | (3) Standards that the Commission determines are | ||||||
14 | necessary for the safe and reliable operation of each of | ||||||
15 | the following: | ||||||
16 | (i) Electric generation facilities in the State | ||||||
17 | that are owned by public utilities or provide service | ||||||
18 | to public utilities under contracts with terms of 2 | ||||||
19 | years or more. | ||||||
20 | (ii) Electric transmission or distribution | ||||||
21 | facilities in this State that are owned by public | ||||||
22 | utilities.
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23 | (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year
the | ||||||
24 | Commission issues the rules required by subsection
(a) or the | ||||||
25 | following year if the rules are issued after June
1, the | ||||||
26 | Commission shall assess the annual report of each
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1 | jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability | ||||||
2 | performance. The
Commission's evaluation shall
include | ||||||
3 | specific identification of, and recommendations
concerning, | ||||||
4 | any potential reliability problems that it has
identified as a | ||||||
5 | result of its evaluation.
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6 | (e) In the event that more than 0.8% of the total
30,000
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7 | customers of an electric
utility are subjected to a continuous | ||||||
8 | power interruption of
4 hours or more that results in the | ||||||
9 | transmission of power
at less than 50% of the standard voltage, | ||||||
10 | or that results in
the total loss of power transmission, the | ||||||
11 | utility shall be
responsible for compensating customers | ||||||
12 | affected by that interruption for 4
hours or more for all
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13 | actual damages, which shall not include consequential
damages, | ||||||
14 | suffered as a result of the power interruption.
The utility | ||||||
15 | shall also reimburse the affected municipality,
county, or | ||||||
16 | other unit of local government in which the power
interruption | ||||||
17 | has taken place for all
emergency and contingency expenses | ||||||
18 | incurred by the unit of
local government as a result of the | ||||||
19 | interruption. A waiver
of the requirements of this subsection | ||||||
20 | may be granted by the
Commission in instances in which the | ||||||
21 | utility can show that
the power interruption was a result of | ||||||
22 | any
one or more of the following causes:
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23 | (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
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24 | conditions.
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25 | (2) Customer tampering.
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26 | (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
international |
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1 | unrest or animals.
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2 | (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a | ||||||
3 | party other
than the utility, its employees, agents, or
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4 | contractors.
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5 | Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
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6 | subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
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7 | (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
that | ||||||
8 | causes damage and affects more than 0.8% of the total
30,000
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9 | customers of an electric utility , the electric utility
shall | ||||||
10 | pay to
affected customers the replacement value of all goods
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11 | damaged as a result of the power surge or other fluctuation
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12 | unless the utility can show that the power surge or other
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13 | fluctuation was due to one or more of the following causes:
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14 | (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
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15 | conditions.
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16 | (2) Customer tampering.
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17 | (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
international | ||||||
18 | unrest or animals.
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19 | (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a | ||||||
20 | party other
than the utility, its employees, agents, or
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21 | contractors.
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22 | Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
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23 | subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers with | ||||||
24 | respect to
whom a waiver has been granted by the Commission | ||||||
25 | pursuant to subparagraphs
(1)-(4) of subsections (e) and (f) | ||||||
26 | shall not count toward the 0.8% of the total
30,000 customers
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1 | required therein.
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2 | (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform
planned or | ||||||
3 | routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment
that will | ||||||
4 | result in transmission of power at less than 50%
of the | ||||||
5 | standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
(as | ||||||
6 | defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
reasonable | ||||||
7 | efforts to notify potentially affected customers
no less than | ||||||
8 | 24 hours in advance of performance of the
repairs or | ||||||
9 | maintenance.
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10 | (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
sought | ||||||
11 | exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
as | ||||||
12 | provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
awarded | ||||||
13 | under this Section for a power interruption shall be
limited to | ||||||
14 | actual damages, which shall not include
consequential damages, | ||||||
15 | and litigation costs. Damage awards
may not be paid out of | ||||||
16 | utility rate funds.
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17 | (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
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18 | diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
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19 | available to a customer or a class of customers.
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20 | (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
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21 | utility to maintain service records detailing
information on | ||||||
22 | each instance of transmission of power at
less than 50% of the | ||||||
23 | standard voltage, loss of power, or
power fluctuation (as | ||||||
24 | defined in subsection (f)), that
affects 10 or more customers. | ||||||
25 | Occurrences that are
momentary shall not be required to be | ||||||
26 | recorded or reported.
The service record shall include, for |
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1 | each occurrence, the
following information:
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2 | (1) The date.
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3 | (2) The time of occurrence.
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4 | (3) The duration of the incident.
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5 | (4) The number of customers affected.
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6 | (5) A description of the cause.
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7 | (6) The geographic area affected.
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8 | (7) The specific equipment involved in the
fluctuation | ||||||
9 | or interruption.
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10 | (8) A description of measures taken to restore
service.
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11 | (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
cause | ||||||
12 | of the power interruption or fluctuation.
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13 | (10) A description of measures taken to prevent
future | ||||||
14 | occurrence.
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15 | (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
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16 | affected customers.
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17 | (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
waived | ||||||
18 | for affected customers.
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19 | Copies of the records containing this information shall
be | ||||||
20 | available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
and | ||||||
21 | copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
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22 | exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
each | ||||||
23 | record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
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24 | available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
be | ||||||
25 | obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
reasonable | ||||||
26 | cost of reproduction.
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1 | (k) (Blank).
The requirements of subsections (e) through | ||||||
2 | (j) of
this Section shall apply only to an electric public | ||||||
3 | utility
having 1,000,000 or more customers.
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4 | (l) The Commission shall be authorized to levy financial | ||||||
5 | penalties upon any entity that fails to meet the service | ||||||
6 | quality and reliability standards of Sections 8-505.2 and | ||||||
7 | 16-125.
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8 | (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
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9 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
10 | becoming law.
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