Section 656.30  General Requirements

a)         The amount of increases billed under the QIP surcharge since the utility's most recent rate order for the rate zone shall not exceed an annual average 2.5% of the QIP base rate revenues, but shall not exceed 3.5% in any given year for the rate zone. The QIP surcharge shall not be applied to any add-on taxes, to any revenues attributable to the Purchased Water and Sewage Treatment Surcharges developed pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 655, or to any other revenues not recorded in a QIP base rate revenues account as described in Section 656.20.

b)         On the effective date of new base rates that provide for the recovery of the costs that had previously been recovered under the QIP surcharge rider, the NetQIP component of the QIP surcharge percentage for the applicable rate zone shall not include costs associated with qualifying infrastructure investment that were included in the rate base used to establish the utility's base rates. The utility may continue to charge or refund any reconciliation adjustment associated with the qualifying infrastructure investment that is included in the rate base used to establish the utility's base rates.

c)         The utility shall provide notice of the QIP surcharge rider and subsequent filings and billing as follows:

1)         The utility shall maintain and keep open for public inspection a copy of each filing of a QIP surcharge rider and subsequent information sheets and shall post public notice in each office of the utility in accordance with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 255.20(a).

2)         For the initial filing of a QIP surcharge rider, each utility, regardless of size, shall provide notice by newspaper publication in accordance with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 255.20(f)(1) and by mailing a notice of the filing to each of its customers.

3)         In connection with the initial billing of each change in a QIP surcharge percentage as specified in an information sheet (other than a change to a zero percentage), including information sheets resulting from the annual reconciliation and Commission-ordered adjustments, the utility shall provide an explanation of the QIP surcharge to be stated on, or included with, the initial billing of the new QIP surcharge percentage.

4)         Except as noted in this subsection (c) above, no other notice of the filing or billing of the QIP surcharge rider or an information sheet shall be required except as may be provided by law or by Order of the Commission.

d)         The QIP surcharge shall be presented as a separate line item on customer bills.

e)         The revenues resulting from each QIP surcharge rider shall be recorded in a separate revenue subaccount for each rate zone.

f)         QIP shall also include a reconciliation of the projected QIP plant included in the rate base of the utility's last rate case filing for the rate zone and the actual cost of the QIP plant incurred as of the end of the projected test year in the utility's last rate case filing for the rate zone.

(Source:  Amended at 40 Ill. Reg. 9467, effective July 1, 2016)