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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 16-128 as follows:
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6 | (220 ILCS 5/16-128)
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7 | Sec. 16-128. Provisions related to utility employees
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8 | during the mandatory transition period .
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9 | (a) The General Assembly finds:
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10 | (1) The reliability and safety of the electric system | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | has depended on a
workforce of skilled and dedicated | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | employees, equipped with technical training
and | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | experience.
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14 | (2) The integrity and reliability of the system has | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | also depended on the
industry's commitment to invest in | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | regular inspection and maintenance, to
assure that it can | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | withstand the demands of heavy service requirements and
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18 | emergency situations.
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19 | (3) It is in the State's interest to protect the | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | interests of utility
employees who have dedicated | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | themselves to assuring reliable service to the
citizens of | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | this State, and who might otherwise be economically | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | displaced in a
restructured industry.
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1 | The General Assembly further finds that it is
necessary to | ||||||
2 | assure that employees of electric utilities and employees of | ||||||
3 | contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an | ||||||
4 | electric utility operating in the
deregulated industry have the | ||||||
5 | requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and
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6 | competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service
and | ||||||
7 | therefore that alternative retail electric suppliers , electric | ||||||
8 | utilities, and contractors or subcontractors performing work | ||||||
9 | on behalf of electric utilities shall be required to
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10 | demonstrate
the competence of their employees to work in the | ||||||
11 | industry.
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12 | The knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence | ||||||
13 | levels to be
demonstrated shall be consistent with those | ||||||
14 | generally required
of or by the electric utilities in this | ||||||
15 | State with respect to
their employees and employees of | ||||||
16 | contractors performing work on their behalf .
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17 | Adequate demonstration of requisite knowledge, skill , | ||||||
18 | training, experience, and
competence shall include such | ||||||
19 | factors as completion by the
employee of an accredited or | ||||||
20 | otherwise recognized
apprenticeship program for the particular | ||||||
21 | craft, trade or
skill, or specified years of employment with an | ||||||
22 | electric
utility performing a particular work function.
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23 | To implement this requirement, the Commission, in
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24 | determining that an applicant meets the standards for
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25 | certification as an alternative retail electric supplier,
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26 | shall require the applicant to demonstrate (i) that the
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1 | applicant is licensed to do business, and bonded, in the State
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2 | of Illinois; and (ii) that the employees of the applicant that
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3 | will be installing, operating, and maintaining generation,
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4 | transmission, or distribution facilities within this State, or
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5 | any entity with which the applicant has contracted to perform
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6 | those functions within this State, have the requisite | ||||||
7 | knowledge, skills, training, experience, and
competence to | ||||||
8 | perform those functions in a safe and
responsible manner in | ||||||
9 | order to provide safe and reliable
service, in accordance with | ||||||
10 | the criteria stated above.
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11 | (b) The General Assembly finds, based on experience in
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12 | other industries that have undergone similar transitions, that
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13 | the introduction of competition into the State's electric
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14 | utility industry may result in workforce reductions by
electric | ||||||
15 | utilities which may adversely affect persons who have
been | ||||||
16 | employed by this State's electric utilities in functions
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17 | important to the public convenience and welfare. The General
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18 | Assembly further finds that the impacts on employees and their
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19 | communities of any necessary reductions in the utility
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20 | workforce directly caused by this restructuring of the
electric | ||||||
21 | industry shall be mitigated to the extent
practicable through | ||||||
22 | such means as offers of voluntary
severance, retraining, early | ||||||
23 | retirement, outplacement and
related benefits. Therefore, | ||||||
24 | before any such reduction in the
workforce during the | ||||||
25 | transition period, an electric utility
shall present to its | ||||||
26 | employees or their representatives a
workforce reduction plan |
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1 | outlining the means by which the
electric utility intends to | ||||||
2 | mitigate the impact of such
workforce reduction on its | ||||||
3 | employees.
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4 | (c) In the event of a sale, purchase, or any other transfer
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5 | of ownership during the mandatory transition period of one or
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6 | more Illinois divisions or business units, and/or generating
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7 | stations or generating units, of an electric utility, the
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8 | electric utility's contract and/or agreements with the
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9 | acquiring entity or persons shall require that the entity or
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10 | persons hire a sufficient number of non-supervisory employees
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11 | to operate and maintain the station, division or unit by
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12 | initially making offers of employment to the non-supervisory
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13 | workforce of the electric utility's division, business unit,
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14 | generating station and/or generating unit at no less than the
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15 | wage rates, and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and
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16 | terms and conditions of employment that are in effect at the
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17 | time of transfer of ownership of said division, business unit,
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18 | generating station, and/or generating units; and said wage
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19 | rates and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms
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20 | and conditions of employment shall continue for at least 30
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21 | months from the time of said transfer of ownership unless the
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22 | parties mutually agree to different terms and conditions of
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23 | employment within that 30-month period. The utility shall
offer | ||||||
24 | a transition plan to those employees who are not offered
jobs | ||||||
25 | by the acquiring entity because that entity has a need
for | ||||||
26 | fewer workers. If there is litigation concerning the
sale, or |
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1 | other transfer of ownership of the electric utility's
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2 | divisions, business units, generating station, or
generating | ||||||
3 | units, the 30-month period will begin on the date
the acquiring | ||||||
4 | entity or persons take control or management
of the divisions, | ||||||
5 | business units, generating station or
generating units of the | ||||||
6 | electric utility.
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7 | (d) If a utility transfers ownership during the mandatory
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8 | transition period of one or more Illinois divisions, business
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9 | units, generating stations or generating units of an
electric | ||||||
10 | utility to a majority-owned subsidiary, that
subsidiary shall | ||||||
11 | continue to employ the utility's employees
who were employed by | ||||||
12 | the utility at such division, business
unit or generating | ||||||
13 | station at the time of the transfer under
the same terms and | ||||||
14 | conditions of employment as those employees
enjoyed at the time | ||||||
15 | of the transfer. If ownership of the
subsidiary is subsequently | ||||||
16 | sold or transferred to a third
party during the transition | ||||||
17 | period, the transition provisions
outlined in subsection (c) | ||||||
18 | shall apply.
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19 | (e) The plant transfer provisions set forth above shall not
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20 | apply to any generating station which was the subject of a
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21 | sales agreement entered into before January 1, 1997.
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22 | (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
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23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
24 | becoming law.
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