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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 changing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 16-115 as follows:
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6 | (220 ILCS 5/16-115)
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7 | Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail
electric | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | suppliers.
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9 | (a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain
a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | certificate of service authority from the Commission in
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11 | accordance with this Section before serving any retail
customer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | or other user located in this State. An alternative
retail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | electric supplier may request, and the Commission may
grant, a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | certificate of service authority for the entire State
or for a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | specified geographic area of the State.
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16 | (b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a
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17 | certificate of service authority shall file with the
Commission | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | a verified application containing information
showing that the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | applicant meets the requirements of this
Section. The | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | alternative retail electric supplier shall
publish notice of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | its application in the official State
newspaper within 10 days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | following the date of its filing. No
later than 45 days after | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | the application is properly filed
with the Commission, and such |
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1 | notice is published, the
Commission shall issue its order | ||||||
2 | granting or denying the
application.
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3 | (c) An application for a certificate of service
authority | ||||||
4 | shall identify the area or areas in which the
applicant intends | ||||||
5 | to offer service and the types of services
it intends to offer. | ||||||
6 | Applicants that seek to serve
residential or small commercial | ||||||
7 | retail customers within a
geographic area that is smaller than | ||||||
8 | an electric utility's
service area shall submit evidence | ||||||
9 | demonstrating that the
designation of this smaller area does | ||||||
10 | not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant
that seeks to serve | ||||||
11 | residential or small
commercial retail customers may state in | ||||||
12 | its application for
certification any limitations that will be | ||||||
13 | imposed on the
number of customers or maximum load to be | ||||||
14 | served.
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15 | (d) The Commission shall grant the application for a
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16 | certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set
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17 | forth in this subsection
based on the verified
application and | ||||||
18 | such other information as the applicant may
submit:
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19 | (1) That the applicant possesses sufficient
technical, | ||||||
20 | financial and managerial resources and
abilities to | ||||||
21 | provide the service for which it seeks a
certificate of | ||||||
22 | service authority. In determining the
level of technical, | ||||||
23 | financial and managerial resources
and abilities which the | ||||||
24 | applicant must demonstrate, the
Commission shall consider | ||||||
25 | (i) the characteristics,
including the size and financial | ||||||
26 | sophistication, of the
customers that the applicant seeks |
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1 | to serve, and (ii)
whether the applicant seeks to provide | ||||||
2 | electric power and
energy using property, plant and | ||||||
3 | equipment which it owns,
controls or operates;
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4 | (2) That the applicant will comply with all
applicable | ||||||
5 | federal, State, regional and industry rules,
policies, | ||||||
6 | practices and procedures for the use,
operation, and | ||||||
7 | maintenance of the safety, integrity and
reliability, of | ||||||
8 | the interconnected electric transmission
system;
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9 | (3) That the applicant will only provide service to
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10 | retail customers in an electric utility's service area
that | ||||||
11 | are eligible to take delivery services under this
Act;
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12 | (4) That the applicant will comply with such
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13 | informational or reporting requirements as the Commission
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14 | may by rule establish and provide the information required | ||||||
15 | by Section 16-112.
Any data related to
contracts for the | ||||||
16 | purchase and sale of electric power and
energy shall be | ||||||
17 | made available for review by the Staff of
the Commission on | ||||||
18 | a confidential and proprietary basis
and only to the extent | ||||||
19 | and for the purposes which the
Commission determines are | ||||||
20 | reasonably necessary in order
to carry out the purposes of | ||||||
21 | this Act;
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22 | (5) That if the applicant, its corporate affiliates
or | ||||||
23 | the applicant's principal source of electricity (to
the | ||||||
24 | extent such source is known at the time of the
application) | ||||||
25 | owns or controls facilities, for public use,
for the | ||||||
26 | transmission or distribution of electricity to
end-users |
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1 | within a defined geographic area to which
electric power | ||||||
2 | and energy can be physically and
economically delivered by | ||||||
3 | the electric utility or
utilities in whose service area or | ||||||
4 | areas the proposed
service will be offered, the applicant, | ||||||
5 | its corporate
affiliates or principal source of | ||||||
6 | electricity, as the
case may be, provides delivery services | ||||||
7 | to the electric
utility or utilities in whose service area | ||||||
8 | or areas the
proposed service will be offered that are | ||||||
9 | reasonably
comparable to those offered by the electric | ||||||
10 | utility, and
provided further, that the applicant agrees to | ||||||
11 | certify
annually to the Commission that it is continuing to
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12 | provide such delivery services and that it has not
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13 | knowingly assisted any person or entity to avoid the
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14 | requirements of this Section. For purposes of this
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15 | subparagraph, "principal source of electricity" shall
mean | ||||||
16 | a single source that supplies at least 65% of the
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17 | applicant's electric power and energy, and the purchase of
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18 | transmission and distribution services pursuant to a
filed | ||||||
19 | tariff under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy
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20 | Regulatory Commission or a state public utility
commission | ||||||
21 | shall not constitute control of access to the
provider's | ||||||
22 | transmission and distribution facilities . The findings set | ||||||
23 | forth in this subparagraph shall not be required of an | ||||||
24 | applicant (i) whose principal business and source of | ||||||
25 | revenue are not the generation, transmission, | ||||||
26 | distribution, or sale of electricity, and (ii) if the |
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1 | applicant is making electricity sales due to historical | ||||||
2 | precedent or convenience, those sales shall only be made to | ||||||
3 | entities that are located on or adjacent to the premises of | ||||||
4 | the applicant and if the total monthly energy consumption | ||||||
5 | of those entities is less than 5% of the monthly energy | ||||||
6 | consumption of the applicant ;
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7 | (6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve
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8 | residential or small commercial retail customers, that
the | ||||||
9 | area to be served by the applicant and any
limitations it | ||||||
10 | proposes on the number of customers or
maximum amount of | ||||||
11 | load to be served meet the provisions
of Section 16-115A, | ||||||
12 | provided, that the Commission can
extend the time for | ||||||
13 | considering such a certificate
request by up to 90 days, | ||||||
14 | and can schedule hearings on
such a request;
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15 | (7) That the applicant meets the requirements of | ||||||
16 | subsection (a) of Section
16-128; and
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17 | (8) That the applicant will comply with all other
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18 | applicable laws and regulations.
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19 | (e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or | ||||||
20 | self-generation facility
and that seeks certification only to
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21 | provide electric power and energy from such facility to
retail | ||||||
22 | customers at separate locations which customers are
both (i) | ||||||
23 | owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate
affiliate of, such | ||||||
24 | applicant and
(ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be | ||||||
25 | granted a
certificate of service authority upon filing an | ||||||
26 | application
and notifying the Commission that it has entered |
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1 | into an
agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant | ||||||
2 | to
Section 16-118.
Provided, however, that if the retail | ||||||
3 | customer owning such cogeneration or
self-generation facility | ||||||
4 | would not be charged a transition charge due to the
exemption | ||||||
5 | provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the
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6 | certification, and the retail customers at separate locations | ||||||
7 | are taking
delivery services in conjunction with purchasing | ||||||
8 | power and energy from the
facility, the retail customer on | ||||||
9 | whose premises the facility is located shall
not thereafter be | ||||||
10 | required to pay transition charges on the power and energy
that | ||||||
11 | such retail customer takes from the facility.
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12 | (f) The Commission shall have the authority to
promulgate | ||||||
13 | rules and regulations to carry out the provisions
of this | ||||||
14 | Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission
shall adopt a | ||||||
15 | rule or rules applicable to the certification of
those | ||||||
16 | alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve
only | ||||||
17 | nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical
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18 | demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i)
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19 | expedited and streamlined procedures
for certification of such | ||||||
20 | alternative
retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific | ||||||
21 | criteria which,
if met by any such alternative retail electric | ||||||
22 | supplier, shall
constitute the demonstration of technical, | ||||||
23 | financial and
managerial resources and abilities to provide | ||||||
24 | service required
by subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such as | ||||||
25 | a requirement
to post a bond or letter of credit, from a | ||||||
26 | responsible surety
or financial institution, of sufficient |
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1 | size for the nature
and scope of the services to be provided; | ||||||
2 | demonstration of
adequate insurance for the scope and nature of | ||||||
3 | the services to
be provided; and experience in providing | ||||||
4 | similar services in
other jurisdictions.
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5 | (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)
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6 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
7 | becoming law.
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