Consumer Protection Committee
Filed: 2/28/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1119
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1119 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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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 and depends on a
workforce of skilled and | ||||||
12 | dedicated employees, equipped with technical training
and | ||||||
13 | experience.
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14 | (2) The integrity and reliability of the system has
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15 | also requires
depended on the
industry's commitment to |
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1 | invest in regular inspection and maintenance, to
assure | ||||||
2 | that it can withstand the demands of heavy service | ||||||
3 | requirements and
emergency situations.
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4 | (3) It is in the State's interest to protect the | ||||||
5 | interests of utility
employees who have and continue to | ||||||
6 | dedicate
dedicated themselves to assuring reliable service | ||||||
7 | to the
citizens of this State, and who might otherwise be | ||||||
8 | economically displaced in a
restructured industry.
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9 | The General Assembly further finds that it is
necessary to | ||||||
10 | assure that employees of electric utilities and employees of | ||||||
11 | contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an | ||||||
12 | electric utility operating in the
deregulated industry have the | ||||||
13 | requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and
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14 | competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service
and | ||||||
15 | therefore that alternative retail electric suppliers shall be | ||||||
16 | required to
demonstrate
the competence of their employees to | ||||||
17 | work in the industry . | ||||||
18 | The General Assembly also finds that it is necessary to | ||||||
19 | assure that employees of alternative retail electric suppliers | ||||||
20 | and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work | ||||||
21 | on behalf of an alternative retail electric suppliers operating | ||||||
22 | in the deregulated industry have the requisite skills, | ||||||
23 | knowledge, training, experience, and competence to provide | ||||||
24 | reliable and safe electrical service. | ||||||
25 | To ensure that these findings and prerequisites for | ||||||
26 | reliable and safe electrical service continue to prevail, each |
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1 | alternative retail electric supplier, electric utility, | ||||||
2 | contractors, and subcontractor performing work on behalf of an | ||||||
3 | electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier must | ||||||
4 | demonstrate the competence of their respective employees to | ||||||
5 | work in the electric industry.
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6 | The knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence | ||||||
7 | levels to be
demonstrated shall be consistent with those | ||||||
8 | generally required
of or by the electric utilities in this | ||||||
9 | State as of January 1, 2007, with respect to
their employees | ||||||
10 | and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work | ||||||
11 | on their behalf . Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an | ||||||
12 | electric utility from establishing knowledge, skill, training, | ||||||
13 | experience, and competence levels greater than those required | ||||||
14 | as of January 1, 2007.
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15 | An adequate
Adequate demonstration of requisite knowledge, | ||||||
16 | skill , training, experience, and
competence shall include , at a | ||||||
17 | minimum,
such factors as completion or current participation | ||||||
18 | and ultimate completion by the
employee of an accredited or | ||||||
19 | otherwise recognized
apprenticeship program for the particular | ||||||
20 | craft, trade or
skill, or specified and several years of | ||||||
21 | employment with an electric
utility performing a particular | ||||||
22 | work function.
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23 | The Commission shall have an affirmative statutory | ||||||
24 | obligation to ensure that an electric utility is employing | ||||||
25 | employees, contractors, and subcontractors with employees who | ||||||
26 | meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section when |
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1 | installing, operating, and maintaining generation, | ||||||
2 | transmission, or distribution facilities and equipment within | ||||||
3 | this State.
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4 | To implement this requirement for alternative retail | ||||||
5 | electric suppliers , the Commission, in
determining that an | ||||||
6 | applicant meets the standards for
certification as an | ||||||
7 | alternative retail electric supplier,
shall require the | ||||||
8 | applicant to demonstrate (i) that the
applicant is licensed to | ||||||
9 | do business, and bonded, in the State
of Illinois; and (ii) | ||||||
10 | that the employees of the applicant that
will be installing, | ||||||
11 | operating, and maintaining generation,
transmission, or | ||||||
12 | distribution facilities within this State, or
any entity with | ||||||
13 | which the applicant has contracted to perform
those functions | ||||||
14 | within this State, have the requisite knowledge, skills, | ||||||
15 | training, experience, and
competence to perform those | ||||||
16 | functions in a safe and
responsible manner in order to provide | ||||||
17 | safe and reliable
service, in accordance with the criteria | ||||||
18 | stated above.
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19 | (b) The General Assembly finds, based on experience in
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20 | other industries that have undergone similar transitions, that
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21 | the introduction of competition into the State's electric
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22 | utility industry may result in workforce reductions by
electric | ||||||
23 | utilities which may adversely affect persons who have
been | ||||||
24 | employed by this State's electric utilities in functions
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25 | important to the public convenience and welfare. The General
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26 | Assembly further finds that the impacts on employees and their
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1 | communities of any necessary reductions in the utility
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2 | workforce directly caused by this restructuring of the
electric | ||||||
3 | industry shall be mitigated to the extent
practicable through | ||||||
4 | such means as offers of voluntary
severance, retraining, early | ||||||
5 | retirement, outplacement and
related benefits. Therefore, | ||||||
6 | before any such reduction in the
workforce during the | ||||||
7 | transition period, an electric utility
shall present to its | ||||||
8 | employees or their representatives a
workforce reduction plan | ||||||
9 | outlining the means by which the
electric utility intends to | ||||||
10 | mitigate the impact of such
workforce reduction on its | ||||||
11 | employees.
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12 | (c) In the event of a sale, purchase, or any other transfer
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13 | of ownership during the mandatory transition period of one or
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14 | more Illinois divisions or business units, and/or generating
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15 | stations or generating units, of an electric utility, the
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16 | electric utility's contract and/or agreements with the
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17 | acquiring entity or persons shall require that the entity or
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18 | persons hire a sufficient number of non-supervisory employees
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19 | to operate and maintain the station, division or unit by
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20 | initially making offers of employment to the non-supervisory
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21 | workforce of the electric utility's division, business unit,
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22 | generating station and/or generating unit at no less than the
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23 | wage rates, and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and
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24 | terms and conditions of employment that are in effect at the
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25 | time of transfer of ownership of said division, business unit,
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26 | generating station, and/or generating units; and said wage
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1 | rates and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms
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2 | and conditions of employment shall continue for at least 30
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3 | months from the time of said transfer of ownership unless the
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4 | parties mutually agree to different terms and conditions of
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5 | employment within that 30-month period. The utility shall
offer | ||||||
6 | a transition plan to those employees who are not offered
jobs | ||||||
7 | by the acquiring entity because that entity has a need
for | ||||||
8 | fewer workers. If there is litigation concerning the
sale, or | ||||||
9 | other transfer of ownership of the electric utility's
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10 | divisions, business units, generating station, or
generating | ||||||
11 | units, the 30-month period will begin on the date
the acquiring | ||||||
12 | entity or persons take control or management
of the divisions, | ||||||
13 | business units, generating station or
generating units of the | ||||||
14 | electric utility.
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15 | (d) If a utility transfers ownership during the mandatory
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16 | transition period of one or more Illinois divisions, business
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17 | units, generating stations or generating units of an
electric | ||||||
18 | utility to a majority-owned subsidiary, that
subsidiary shall | ||||||
19 | continue to employ the utility's employees
who were employed by | ||||||
20 | the utility at such division, business
unit or generating | ||||||
21 | station at the time of the transfer under
the same terms and | ||||||
22 | conditions of employment as those employees
enjoyed at the time | ||||||
23 | of the transfer. If ownership of the
subsidiary is subsequently | ||||||
24 | sold or transferred to a third
party during the transition | ||||||
25 | period, the transition provisions
outlined in subsection (c) | ||||||
26 | shall apply.
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1 | (e) The plant transfer provisions set forth above shall not
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2 | apply to any generating station which was the subject of a
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3 | sales agreement entered into before January 1, 1997.
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4 | (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
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5 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
6 | becoming law.".
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