(65 ILCS 5/11-117-6) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-117-6)

Sec. 11-117-6. (a) Any municipality may incorporate in any grant to a public utility company reservation of the right on the part of the municipality to take over all or any part of the property, plant, or equipment used in the operation of that public utility company, at or before the expiration of the grant, upon such terms and conditions as may be provided in the grant. Any municipality also may provide in any such grant that if such a reserved right is not exercised by the municipality, and if the municipality grants the right to another person to operate a utility in the streets and parts of streets occupied by its grantee under the former grant, the new grantee shall purchase and take over the property located in those streets and parts of streets upon the terms which the municipality might have taken it over.

(b) Except as provided in Sections 11-117-1.1 and 11-117-7.1, any municipality that owns or operates a municipal electric utility shall have the exclusive right to provide electric service to all customers within its municipal limits and to customers at metered locations outside its municipal limits that it is serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996. However, an investor-owned public utility providing electric service to customers at metered locations within the municipal limits on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996 or to customers at metered locations that are annexed by the municipality after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996 may continue to provide service to those residential customers at such metered locations and shall continue to provide service to those nonresidential customers at such metered locations within the municipal limits on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996. In addition, an investor-owned public utility providing electric service to nonresidential customers at metered locations in areas annexed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996 shall continue to provide service to those nonresidential customers at such metered locations for a period of 2 years after the date of annexation. After the 2-year period, the investor-owned public utility may continue to provide service to those nonresidential customers. At any time during this 2-year period the nonresidential customer may apply for service from a municipal utility and the investor-owned public utility shall promptly and consistent with prudent utility practice facilitate such transfer to be effective as soon as practicable upon the expiration of the 2-year period.

(c) A municipality that owns or operates a municipal natural gas utility shall have the exclusive right to provide natural gas service to all customers at metered locations that it is serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996, whether those customers are within the municipal limits of the municipality or at metered locations outside the municipal limits. However, an investor-owned public utility providing natural gas service to customers at metered locations within the municipal limits on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996 or to customers at metered locations that are annexed by the municipality after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996 may continue to provide service to those customers.

(d) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of this Section, any municipality may enter into an agreement with or grant a franchise to any public utility defining the geographic areas in which each party, as between themselves, may provide retail utility services, and the agreement or franchise may provide for exclusive or non-exclusive service territories, or both, for the parties. An agreement entered into under this Section may cover geographic areas both within and outside the corporate limits of a municipality. Any agreement entered into under this subsection which provides for exclusive service territories shall be subject to approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission. The Illinois Commerce Commission's jurisdiction and authority over municipalities under this subsection shall be strictly limited to the approval of the agreement. Nothing in this subsection (d) shall be construed to give a municipality the authority to grant to a public utility the right to provide utility service in areas other than those for which the public utility holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce Commission.

(e) Any dispute between a municipality and a public utility regarding retail utility services to a customer and any dispute regarding enforcement or interpretation of any agreement entered into or franchise granted under this Section shall be brought in the circuit court of the County in which the municipality is located, and the circuit courts of this State shall have the jurisdiction and authority to determine the rights of the parties in those matters.

(f) The provisions of this Section are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

(Source: P.A. 89-523, eff. 7-19-96.)