Section 421.10  Applicability

 

This Part shall apply to all electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers. Unless otherwise required pursuant to a contract or a tariff governed by Section 16-118(b) of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/16-118(b)], a utility shall not be required to provide the information required by this Part to those customers to whom the utility provides only delivery services for power that is provided and billed by a different utility or alternative retail electric supplier.  Unless otherwise required pursuant to a contract or a tariff governed by Section 16-118(b) of the Public Utilities Act, a utility is not required to provide to the Illinois Commerce Commission the information required by this Part as such information relates to power that the utility only delivers and does not generate and/or sell itself.

 

Section 421.20  Definitions

 

For purposes of this Part, the following definitions shall apply:

 

            "Act" means the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

 

            "Alternative retail electric supplier" or "ARES" has the same meaning as defined in Section 16-102 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/16-102].

 

            "Biomass power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the combustion of dedicated crops grown for energy production and organic wastes.

 

            "Carbon dioxide" means the chemical compound with each single carbon atom combined with two oxygen atoms.

 

            "Coal-fired power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the combustion of coal.

 

            "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

 

            "Electric utility" or "utility" means a public utility as defined in Section 3-105 and Section 16-102 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/3-105, 16-102].

 

            "High-level nuclear waste" means nuclear fuel that has been removed from a nuclear reactor.

 

            "Hydro power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the flow or falling of water.

 

            "Low-level nuclear waste" means radioactive waste not classified as high-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or byproduct materials as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act (42 USC 2021). This definition shall apply notwithstanding any declaration by the federal government or any state that any radioactive material is exempt from any regulatory control.

 

            "Natural gas-fired power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the combustion of natural gas.

 

            "Nitrogen oxides" are chemical compounds with each single nitrogen atom combined with one or more oxygen atoms.

 

            "Nuclear power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the fission of atoms.

 

            "Oil-fired power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the combustion of oil.

 

            "Other resources" means any known resource that derives its power primarily from sources or processes not described in this Section.

 

            "Solar power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the sun.

 

            "Sulfur dioxide" means the chemical compound with each single sulfur atom combined with two oxygen atoms.

 

            "Unknown resources purchased from other companies" means any resource that is neither owned nor operated by the utility or ARES and that derives its power from a source or process that cannot be identified by the utility or ARES, after making all efforts to the maximum extent practicable to identify the source or process that produces the power.  This maximum extent practical standard is beyond a good faith showing and requires an electric utility or ARES to be prepared to make a compelling showing that it is absolutely not practical to obtain and provide the information in question.  Such a compelling showing may be made by demonstrating that all reasonable steps to obtain and provide the information have been made.

 

            "Wind power" means any resource that derives its power primarily from the flow of wind.

 

Section 421.30  Disclosure Statements Provided to the Commission

 

a)         The following information shall be submitted to the Commission from every utility and ARES, to the maximum extent practicable, on at least a quarterly basis:

 

1)         A break-down, on a percentage basis, of the known sources of electricity supplied in Illinois.  This break-down shall provide percentages of biomass power, coal-fired power, hydro power, natural gas-fired power, nuclear power, oil-fired power, solar power, wind power, other resources and unknown resources purchased from other companies, respectively.

 

A)        The percentage used shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

 

B)        Any source of electricity in subsection (a)(1) that is not used shall be listed in the table and depicted as "0%".

 

C)        This table shall be as depicted in Exhibit A.

 

2)         A pie-chart, which graphically depicts the information in subsection (a)(1), shall also be provided.

 

A)        Any source of electricity in subsection (a)(1) that is not used shall not be depicted in the pie-chart.

 

B)        Each segment in the pie-chart shall be depicted in the following colors:  biomass power − light brown; coal-fired power − black; hydro power − blue; natural gas-fired power − grey; nuclear power − red; oil-fired power − dark brown; solar power − yellow; wind power − green; other resources − white; and unknown resources purchased from other companies − purple.

 

C)        This pie-chart shall be as depicted in Exhibit B.

 

3)         A table shall be provided that depicts the amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions and high-level and low-level nuclear waste attributable to the aggregate known sources of electricity identified in subsection (a)(1).

 

A)        The carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxide emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions shall be stated in pounds per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (lbs/1,000 kWh).

 

B)        The high-level nuclear waste shall be stated in pounds of high-level nuclear waste per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (lbs/1,000 kWh).

 

C)        The low-level nuclear waste shall be stated in cubic feet of low-level nuclear waste per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (ft³/1,000 kWh).

 

D)        Any high-level nuclear waste that is less than "0.0001" shall be depicted as "<0.0001".

 

E)        The table shall include a footnote to disclose the percentage of total electrical power supplied for which the utility or ARES does not know the amount of emissions in subsection (a)(3)(A) or nuclear waste in subsections (a)(3)(B) and (C).

 

F)         This table and footnote shall be as depicted in Exhibit C.

 

4)         Any other information the utility or ARES believes to be relevant to the information required may be provided.

 

5)         A utility or ARES submitting information shall identify itself on such information.

 

b)         Information timetable

 

1)         Information in subsection (a) for the 12 month period ending March 31 of each year shall be provided to the Commission on July 1 of that year; information for the 12 month period ending June 30 of each year shall be provided on October 1 of that year; information for the 12 month period ending September 30 of each year shall be provided on January 1 of the following year; and information for the 12 month period ending December 31 of each year shall be provided on April 1 of the following year.

 

2)         For disclosure during calendar year 1999, utilities and ARES shall provide information for the preceding 12 month period, to the extent such information is available.  Utilities and ARES shall explicitly state the period on which the disclosure is based.

 

c)         Filing requirements

 

1)         The information required to be filed by this Part shall be submitted to the Commission in both printed and electronic form.  The printed version shall be the same as that submitted in mailings to customers pursuant to Section 16-127(a) and (b) of the Act [220 ILCS 5/16-127(a) and (b)] and shall be the official version filed with the Commission's Chief Clerk.  The computerized version of the data and information shall be in a clearly legible 12 point font size in the format described in subsections (a)(1), (2), and (3) of this Section and provided electronically in PDF (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format) and delivered to the Commission's offices on CDs (Compact Discs) or DVDs (Digital Video Discs and Digital Versatile Discs).  If the computerized version is scanned from paper, it shall be saved in a PDF that includes both image and text to allow indexing.  The computerized version of the data and information shall be included in the Commission's World Wide Web site (www.icc.illinois.gov).

 

2)         Subsection (c)(1) notwithstanding, entities required to file information pursuant to this Part may do so entirely electronically without having to provide a CD or DVD upon notification by the Chief Clerk of the Commission on the Commission's website of the availability of electronic filing for submissions pursuant to this Part.

 

3)         The information filed with the Commission pursuant to this Section shall be signed by an officer, agent or attorney for the utility or ARES.  The contents of the filing shall be verified by the filing party before a notary public.

 

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9950, effective August 27, 2019)

 

Section 421.40  Customer Billing Disclosure Statements

 

a)         Every utility and ARES shall, on at least a quarterly basis, provide their customers the following information, in a clearly legible manner, to the maximum extent practicable:

 

1)         A break-down, on a percentage basis, of the known sources of electricity supplied in Illinois. This break-down shall provide percentages of biomass power, coal-fired power, hydro power, natural gas-fired power, nuclear power, oil-fired power, solar power, wind power, other resources and unknown resources purchased from other companies, respectively.

 

A)        The percentage used shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

 

B)        Any source of electricity in subsection (a)(1) that is not used shall be listed in the table and depicted as "0%".

 

C)        This table shall be as depicted in Exhibit A.

 

2)         A pie-chart that graphically depicts the information in subsection (a)(1).

 

A)        Any source of electricity in subsection (a)(1) that is not used shall not be depicted in the pie-chart.

 

B)        Each segment in the pie-chart shall be depicted in the following colors: biomass power – light brown; coal-fired power – black; hydro power – blue; natural gas-fired power – grey; nuclear power – red; oil-fired power – dark brown; solar power – yellow; wind power – green; other resources – white; and unknown resources purchased from other companies – purple.

 

C)        This pie-chart shall be as depicted in Exhibit B.

 

3)         A table that depicts the amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions and high-level and low-level nuclear waste attributable to the aggregate known sources of electricity identified in subsection (a)(1).

 

A)        The carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxide emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions shall be stated in pounds per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (lbs/1,000 kWh).

 

B)        The high-level nuclear waste shall be stated in pounds of high-level nuclear waste per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (lbs/1,000 kWh).

 

C)        The low-level nuclear waste shall be stated in cubic feet of low-level nuclear waste per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (ft³/1,000 kWh).

 

D)        Any high-level nuclear waste that is less than "0.0001" shall be depicted as "<0.0001".

 

E)        The table shall include a footnote to disclose the percentage of total electrical power supplied for which the utility or ARES does not know the amount of emissions in subsection (a)(3)(A) or nuclear waste in subsections (a)(3)(B) and (C).

 

F)         A note shall be placed below the table and footnote and read as follows: "Additional information on companies selling electrical power in Illinois may be found at the Illinois Commerce Commission's World Wide Web site (www.icc.state.il.us)".

 

G)        This table and footnote shall be as depicted in Exhibit C with the addition of the note in subsection (a)(3)(F).

 

4)         After May 31, 2017, every electric utility shall also include a pie-chart that graphically depicts the quantity of zero emission credits from zero emission facilities procured under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act [20 ILCS 3855] as a percentage of the actual load of retail customers within its service area. The pie-chart shall be in a format approved by the Commission.

 

b)         Any other information the utility or ARES believes to be relevant to the information required may be provided to the customer, but outside of the box surrounding the information required by subsection (a).

 

c)         A utility or ARES that has received the permission of the Commission to use postcard billing as of January 1, 1998 may disclose the required information to customers on a postcard sent at the same time as a customer's bill so long as that utility or ARES continues to use postcard billing.

 

d)         The information may be provided in a separate billing insert and, if so, shall be displayed with the following notation: "The disclosure of this information is required under Section 16-127 of the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 and the rules of the Illinois Commerce Commission, 83 Ill. Adm. Code 421."

 

e)         A utility or ARES mailing a separate billing insert shall identify itself on the insert.

 

f)         The separate billing inserts shall be clearly printed in a font no smaller than 12 point and shall be at least 6" x 9" in size.

 

g)         The information in subsection (a) shall be provided to customers to coincide with customer bill mailings beginning with the first billing cycle of April, July, October, and January.

 

1)         Information for the 12 month period ending March 31 of each year shall be included in July bills issued that year; information for the 12 month period ending June 30 of each year shall be included in October bills issued that year; information for the 12 month period ending September 30 of each year shall be included in bills issued in January of the following year; and information for the 12 month period ending December 31 of each year shall be included in bills issued in April of the following year.

 

2)         All the information required in subsection (a) shall be made available by the electric utilities or alternative retail electric suppliers either in an electronic medium, such as via a bill message or electronic mail, or through the U.S. Postal Service. If customers are directed to a website at which they can find the information required in subsection (a), the web address provided by the utility or ARES shall take the customer directly to the information required in subsection (a).

 

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9950, effective August 27, 2019)

Section 421.EXHIBIT A   Sources of Electricity Table

 

Sources of Electricity Supplied for the 12 months ending mm dd yy	Percentage of Total
Biomass power
Coal-fired power
Hydro power
Natural gas-fired power
Nuclear power
Oil-fired power
Solar power
Wind power
Other resources
Unknown resources purchased from other companies
TOTAL

 

 

Section 421.EXHIBIT B   Sources of Electricity Supplied Pie-Chart

 

 

Sources of Electricity Supplied for the 12 months ending mm dd yy

 

 

Section 421.EXHIBIT C   Emissions and Nuclear Waste Table

 

 

 

AVERAGE AMOUNTS OF EMISSIONS and AMOUNT OF NUCLEAR WASTE per 1000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) PRODUCED from KNOWN1 SOURCES for the 12 months ending mm dd yy
Carbon Dioxide	YY lbs
Nitrogen Oxides	YY lbs
Sulfur Dioxide	YY lbs
High-Level Nuclear Waste	YY lbs
Low-Level Nuclear waste	YY ft3

 

FOOTNOTE

 

¹    xx% of the total electricity supplied was purchased from other suppliers and the amounts of emissions and amount of nuclear waste attributable to producing this electricity is not known and is not included in this table.