(220 ILCS 5/16-108.7)

Sec. 16-108.7. Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Trust.

(a) Within 90 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the members of the Smart Grid Advisory Council established pursuant to Section 16-108.6 of this Act, or a majority of the members thereof, shall cause to be established an Illinois science and energy innovation trust or foundation for the purposes of providing financial and technical support and assistance to entities, public or private, within the State of Illinois including, but not limited to, units of State and local government, educational and research institutions, corporations, and charitable, educational, environmental and community organizations, for programs and projects that support, encourage or utilize innovative technologies or other methods of modernizing the State's electric grid that will benefit the public by promoting economic development in Illinois. Such activities shall be supported through grants, loans, contracts, or other programs designed to assist and further benefit technological advances in the area of electric grid modernization and operation. The trust or foundation shall also be eligible for receipt of other energy and environmental grant opportunities, from public or private sources. The trust or foundation shall not be a governmental entity.

(b) Funds received by the trust or foundation pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act shall be used solely for the purpose of providing consumer education regarding smart meters and related consumer-facing technologies and services and the peak time rebate program described in subsection (g) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Thirty percent of such funds received from each participating utility shall be used by the trust or foundation for purposes of providing such education to each participating utility's low-income retail customers, including low-income senior citizens.

The trust or foundation shall use all funds received pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act in a manner that reflects the unique needs and characteristics of each participating utility's service territory and in proportion to each participating utility's payment.

(c) Such trust or foundation shall be governed by a declaration of trust or articles of incorporation and bylaws which shall, at a minimum, provide the following:

(1) There shall initially be 9 trustees of the trust or foundation, which shall consist of the members of the Smart Grid Advisory Council established pursuant to Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Subsequently, the participating utilities shall appoint one trustee and the Clean Energy Trust shall appoint one non-voting trustee who shall provide expertise regarding early stage investment in Smart Grid projects.

(2) All trustees shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of the trust in the performance of their duties as trustees. All such reimbursements shall be paid out of the trust.

(3) Trustees shall be appointed within 60 days after the creation of the trust or foundation and shall serve for a term of 5 years commencing upon the date of their respective appointments, until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.

(4) A vacancy in the office of trustee shall be filled by the person holding the office responsible for appointing the trustee whose death or resignation creates the vacancy, and a trustee appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the term of the trustee whose resignation or death created the vacancy.

(5) The trust or foundation shall have an indefinite term and shall terminate at such time as no trust assets remain.

(6) The allocation and disbursement of funds for the various purposes for which the trust or foundation is established shall be determined by the trustees in accordance with the declaration of trust or the articles of incorporation and bylaws.

(7) The trust or foundation shall be authorized to employ an executive director and other employees, or contract management of the trust or foundation in its entirety to an outside organization found suitable by the trustees, to enter into leases, contracts and other obligations on behalf of the trust or foundation, and to incur expenses that the trustees deem necessary or appropriate for the fulfillment of the purposes for which the trust or foundation is established, provided, however, that salaries and administrative expenses incurred on behalf of the trust or foundation shall not exceed 3% of the trust's principal value, or $750,000, whichever is greater, in any given year. The trustees shall not be compensated by the trust or foundation.

(8) The trustees may create and appoint advisory boards or committees to assist them with the administration of the trust or foundation, and to advise and make recommendations to them regarding the contribution and disbursement of the trust or foundation funds.

(9) All funds dispersed by the trust or foundation for programs and projects to meet the objectives of the trust or foundation as enumerated in this Section shall be subject to a peer-review process as determined by the trustees. This process shall be designed to determine, in an objective and unbiased manner, those programs and projects that best fit the objectives of the trust or foundation. In each fiscal year the trustees shall determine, based solely on the information provided through the peer-review process, a budget for programs and projects for that fiscal year.

(10) The trustees shall administer a Smart Grid education fund from which it shall make grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations for the purpose of educating customers with regard to smart meters and related consumer-facing technologies and services. In making such grants the trust or foundation shall strongly encourage grantees to coordinate to the extent practicable and consider recommendations from the participating utilities regarding the development and implementation of customer education plans.

(11) One of the objectives of the trust or foundation is to remain self-funding. In order to meet this objective, the trustees may sign agreements with those entities receiving funding that provide for license fees, royalties, or other payments to the trust or foundation from such entities that receive support for their product development from the trust or foundation. Such payments, however, shall be contingent on the commercialization of such products, services, or technologies enabled by the funding provided by the trust or foundation.

(d) The trustees shall notify each participating utility as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act of the formation of the trust or foundation. Within 90 days after receipt of the notification, each participating utility that is not a combination utility as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act shall contribute $15,000,000 to the trust or foundation, and each participating utility that is a combination utility, as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act, shall contribute $7,500,000 to the trust or foundation established pursuant to this Section. Such contributions shall not be a recoverable expense.

(e) If Section 16-108.5 of this Act becomes inoperative with respect to one or more participating utilities as set forth in subsection (g) or (h) of that Section, then Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act shall become inoperative as to each affected utility and its service area on the same date as Section 16-108.5 becomes inoperative.

(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-646, eff. 12-30-11.)