SB1987ham003 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Arthur L. Turner

Filed: 5/31/2008

09500SB1987ham003 LRB095 14199 MJR 51853 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1987

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1987 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"ARTICLE 1

Section 1-5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by changing Sections 1-5, 1-10, 1-75, and 1-80 as follows:

(20 ILCS 3855/1-5)

Sec. 1-5. Legislative declarations and findings. The General Assembly finds and declares:

(1) The health, welfare, and prosperity of all Illinois citizens require the provision of adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of price stability.

(2) The transition to retail competition is not complete. Some customers, especially residential and small commercial customers, have failed to benefit from lower electricity costs from retail and wholesale competition.

(3) Escalating prices for electricity in Illinois pose a serious threat to the economic well-being, health, and safety of the residents of and the commerce and industry of the State.

(4) To protect against this threat to economic well-being, health, and safety it is necessary to improve the process of procuring electricity to serve Illinois residents, to promote investment in energy efficiency and demand-response measures, and to support development of clean coal technologies and renewable resources.

(5) Procuring a diverse electricity supply portfolio will ensure the lowest total cost over time for adequate, reliable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service.

(6) Including cost-effective renewable resources in that portfolio will reduce long-term direct and indirect costs to consumers by decreasing environmental impacts and by avoiding or delaying the need for new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

(7) Energy efficiency, demand-response measures, and renewable energy are resources currently underused in Illinois.

(8) The State should encourage the use of advanced clean coal technologies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions to advance environmental protection goals and to demonstrate the viability of coal and coal-derived fuels in a carbon-constrained economy.

The General Assembly therefore finds that it is necessary to create the Illinois Power Agency and that the goals and objectives of that Agency are to accomplish each of the following:

(A) Develop electricity procurement plans to ensure adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of price stability, for electric utilities that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois. The procurement plan shall be updated on an annual basis and shall include renewable energy resources sufficient to achieve the standards specified in this Act.

(B) Conduct competitive procurement processes to procure the supply resources identified in the procurement plan.

(C) Develop electric generation and co-generation facilities that use indigenous coal or renewable resources, or both, financed with bonds issued by the Illinois Finance Authority.

(D) Supply electricity from the Agency's facilities at cost to one or more of the following: municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives in Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(20 ILCS 3855/1-10)

Sec. 1-10. Definitions.

"Agency" means the Illinois Power Agency.

"Agency loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to which the Illinois Finance Authority agrees to loan the proceeds of revenue bonds issued with respect to a project to the Agency upon terms providing for loan repayment installments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal of, interest and premium, if any, on those revenue bonds, and providing for maintenance, insurance, and other matters in respect of the project.

"Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority.

"Clean coal SNG facility" means a facility that uses a gasification process to produce substitute natural gas, that sequesters at least 90% of the total carbon emissions that the facility would otherwise emit and that uses coal as a feedstock, with all such coal having a high bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million btu content.

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Costs incurred in connection with the development and construction of a facility" means:

(1) the cost of acquisition of all real property and improvements in connection therewith and equipment and other property, rights, and easements acquired that are deemed necessary for the operation and maintenance of the facility;

(2) financing costs with respect to bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the Agency;

(3) all origination, commitment, utilization, facility, placement, underwriting, syndication, credit enhancement, and rating agency fees;

(4) engineering, design, procurement, consulting, legal, accounting, title insurance, survey, appraisal, escrow, trustee, collateral agency, interest rate hedging, interest rate swap, capitalized interest and other financing costs, and other expenses for professional services; and

(5) the costs of plans, specifications, site study and investigation, installation, surveys, other Agency costs and estimates of costs, and other expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility of any project, together with such other expenses as may be necessary or incidental to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and construction of a specific project and placing that project in operation.

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Power Agency.

"Demand-response" means measures that decrease peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods.

"Energy efficiency" means measures that reduce the amount of electricity required to achieve a given end use.

"Electric utility" has the same definition as found in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.

"Facility" means an electric generating unit or a co-generating unit that produces electricity along with related equipment necessary to connect the facility to an electric transmission or distribution system.

"Governmental aggregator" means one or more units of local government that individually or collectively procure electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads located within its or their jurisdiction.

"Local government" means a unit of local government as defined in Article VII of Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

"Municipality" means a city, village, or incorporated town.

"Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, either domestic or foreign, company, association, limited liability company, joint stock company, or association and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.

"Project" means the planning, bidding, and construction of a facility.

"Public utility" has the same definition as found in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.

"Real property" means any interest in land together with all structures, fixtures, and improvements thereon, including lands under water and riparian rights, any easements, covenants, licenses, leases, rights-of-way, uses, and other interests, together with any liens, judgments, mortgages, or other claims or security interests related to real property.

"Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that represents the environmental attributes of a certain amount of energy produced from a renewable energy resource.

"Renewable energy resources" includes energy and its associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and panels, biodiesel, crops and untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, trees and tree trimmings, hydropower that does not involve new construction or significant expansion of hydropower dams, and other alternative sources of environmentally preferable energy. For purposes of this Act, landfill gas produced in the State is considered a renewable energy resource. "Renewable energy resources" does not include the incineration, burning, or heating of tires, garbage, general household, institutional, and commercial waste, industrial lunchroom or office waste, landscape waste other than trees and tree trimmings, railroad crossties, utility poles, and construction or demolition debris, other than untreated and unadulterated waste wood.

"Revenue bond" means any bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the Authority, the principal and interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income derived from any project or activity of the Agency.

"Sequester" means permanent storage of carbon dioxide by injecting it into a saline aquifer, a depleted gas reservoir, or an oil reservoir, directly or through an enhanced oil recovery process that may involve intermediate storage in a salt dome.

"Substitute natural gas" or "SNG" means a gas manufactured by gasification of hydrocarbon feedstock, which is substantially interchangeable in use and distribution with conventional natural gas.

"Total resource cost test" or "TRC test" means a standard that is met if, for an investment in energy efficiency or demand-response measures, the benefit-cost ratio is greater than one. The benefit-cost ratio is the ratio of the net present value of the total benefits of the program to the net present value of the total costs as calculated over the lifetime of the measures. A total resource cost test compares the sum of avoided electric utility costs, representing the benefits that accrue to the system and the participant in the delivery of those efficiency measures, to the sum of all incremental costs of end-use measures that are implemented due to the program (including both utility and participant contributions), plus costs to administer, deliver, and evaluate each demand-side program, to quantify the net savings obtained by substituting the demand-side program for supply resources. In calculating avoided costs of power and energy that an electric utility would otherwise have had to acquire, reasonable estimates shall be included of financial costs likely to be imposed by future regulations and legislation on emissions of greenhouse gases.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(20 ILCS 3855/1-75)

Sec. 1-75. Planning and Procurement Bureau. The Planning and Procurement Bureau has the following duties and responsibilities:

(a) The Planning and Procurement Bureau shall each year, beginning in 2008, develop procurement plans and conduct competitive procurement processes in accordance with the requirements of Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act for the eligible retail customers of electric utilities that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois. For the purposes of this Section, the term "eligible retail customers" has the same definition as found in Section 16-111.5(a) of the Public Utilities Act.

(1) The Agency shall each year, beginning in 2008, as needed, issue a request for qualifications for experts or expert consulting firms to develop the procurement plans in accordance with Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act. In order to qualify an expert or expert consulting firm must have:

(A) direct previous experience assembling large-scale power supply plans or portfolios for end-use customers;

(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, engineering, risk management, or a related area of study;

(C) 10 years of experience in the electricity sector, including managing supply risk;

(D) expertise in wholesale electricity market rules, including those established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and regional transmission organizations;

(E) expertise in credit protocols and familiarity with contract protocols;

(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the required functions and responsibilities; and

(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the affected electric utilities.

(2) The Agency shall each year, as needed, issue a request for qualifications for a procurement administrator to conduct the competitive procurement processes in accordance with Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act. In order to qualify an expert or expert consulting firm must have:

(A) direct previous experience administering a large-scale competitive procurement process;

(B) an advanced degree in economics, mathematics, engineering, or a related area of study;

(C) 10 years of experience in the electricity sector, including risk management experience;

(D) expertise in wholesale electricity market rules, including those established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and regional transmission organizations;

(E) expertise in credit and contract protocols;

(F) adequate resources to perform and fulfill the required functions and responsibilities; and

(G) the absence of a conflict of interest and inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the affected electric utilities.

(3) The Agency shall provide affected utilities and other interested parties with the lists of qualified experts or expert consulting firms identified through the request for qualifications processes that are under consideration to develop the procurement plans and to serve as the procurement administrator. The Agency shall also provide each qualified expert's or expert consulting firm's response to the request for qualifications. All information provided under this subparagraph shall also be provided to the Commission. The Agency may provide by rule for fees associated with supplying the information to utilities and other interested parties. These parties shall, within 5 business days, notify the Agency in writing if they object to any experts or expert consulting firms on the lists. Objections shall be based on:

(A) failure to satisfy qualification criteria;

(B) identification of a conflict of interest; or

(C) evidence of inappropriate bias for or against potential bidders or the affected utilities.

The Agency shall remove experts or expert consulting firms from the lists within 10 days if there is a reasonable basis for an objection and provide the updated lists to the affected utilities and other interested parties. If the Agency fails to remove an expert or expert consulting firm from a list, an objecting party may seek review by the Commission within 5 days thereafter by filing a petition, and the Commission shall render a ruling on the petition within 10 days. There is no right of appeal of the Commission's ruling.

(4) The Agency shall issue requests for proposals to the qualified experts or expert consulting firms to develop a procurement plan for the affected utilities and to serve as procurement administrator.

(5) The Agency shall select an expert or expert consulting firm to develop procurement plans based on the proposals submitted and shall award one-year contracts to those selected with an option for the Agency for a one-year renewal.

(6) The Agency shall select an expert or expert consulting firm, with approval of the Commission, to serve as procurement administrator based on the proposals submitted. If the Commission rejects, within 5 days, the Agency's selection, the Agency shall submit another recommendation within 3 days based on the proposals submitted. The Agency shall award a one-year contract to the expert or expert consulting firm so selected with Commission approval with an option for the Agency for a one-year renewal.

(b) The experts or expert consulting firms retained by the Agency shall, as appropriate, prepare procurement plans, and conduct a competitive procurement process as prescribed in Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act, to ensure adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of price stability, for eligible retail customers of electric utilities that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in the State of Illinois.

(c) Renewable portfolio standard.

(1) The procurement plans shall include cost-effective renewable energy resources. A minimum percentage of each utility's total supply to serve the load of eligible retail customers, as defined in Section 16-111.5(a) of the Public Utilities Act, procured for each of the following years shall be generated from cost-effective renewable energy resources: at least 2% by June 1, 2008; at least 4% by June 1, 2009; at least 5% by June 1, 2010; at least 6% by June 1, 2011; at least 7% by June 1, 2012; at least 8% by June 1, 2013; at least 9% by June 1, 2014; at least 10% by June 1, 2015; and increasing by at least 1.5% each year thereafter to at least 25% by June 1, 2025. To the extent that it is available, at least 75% of the renewable energy resources used to meet these standards shall come from wind generation. For purposes of this Section, "cost-effective" means that the costs of procuring renewable energy resources do not cause the limit stated in paragraph (2) of this subsection (c) to be exceeded and do not exceed benchmarks based on market prices for renewable resources in the region, which shall be developed by the procurement administrator, in consultation with the Commission staff, Agency staff, and the procurement monitor and shall be subject to Commission review and approval.

(2) For purposes of this subsection (c), the required procurement of cost-effective renewable energy resources for a particular year shall be measured as a percentage of the actual amount of electricity (megawatt-hours) supplied by the electric utility to eligible retail customers in the planning year ending immediately prior to the procurement. For purposes of this subsection (c), the amount per kilowatthour means the total amount paid for electric service expressed on a per kilowatthour basis. For purposes of this subsection (c), the total amount paid for electric service includes without limitation amounts paid for supply, transmission, distribution, surcharges, and add-on taxes.

Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection (c), the total of renewable energy resources procured pursuant to the procurement plan for any single year shall be reduced by an amount necessary to limit the annual estimated average net increase due to the costs of these resources included in the amounts paid by eligible retail customers in connection with electric service to:

(A) in 2008, no more than 0.5% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2007;

(B) in 2009, the greater of an additional 0.5% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2008 or 1% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2007;

(C) in 2010, the greater of an additional 0.5% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2009 or 1.5% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2007;

(D) in 2011, the greater of an additional 0.5% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2010 or 2% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2007; and

(E) thereafter, the amount of renewable energy resources procured pursuant to the procurement plan for any single year shall be reduced by an amount necessary to limit the estimated average net increase due to the cost of these resources included in the amounts paid by eligible retail customers in connection with electric service to no more than the greater of 2.015% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2007 or the incremental amount per kilowatthour paid for these resources in 2011.

No later than June 30, 2011, the Commission shall review the limitation on the amount of renewable energy resources procured pursuant to this subsection (c) and report to the General Assembly its findings as to whether that limitation unduly constrains the procurement of cost-effective renewable energy resources.

(3) Through June 1, 2011, renewable energy resources shall be counted for the purpose of meeting the renewable energy standards set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) only if they are generated from facilities located in the State, provided that cost-effective renewable energy resources are available from those facilities. If those cost-effective resources are not available in Illinois, they shall be procured in states that adjoin Illinois and may be counted towards compliance. If those cost-effective resources are not available in Illinois or in states that adjoin Illinois, they shall be purchased elsewhere and shall be counted towards compliance. After June 1, 2011, cost-effective renewable energy resources located in Illinois and in states that adjoin Illinois may be counted towards compliance with the standards set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c). If those cost-effective resources are not available in Illinois or in states that adjoin Illinois, they shall be purchased elsewhere and shall be counted towards compliance.

(4) The electric utility shall retire all renewable energy credits used to comply with the standard.

(d) The draft procurement plans are subject to public comment, as required by Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.

(e) The Agency shall submit the final procurement plan to the Commission. The Agency shall revise a procurement plan if the Commission determines that it does not meet the standards set forth in Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.

(f) The Agency shall assess fees to each affected utility to recover the costs incurred in preparation of the annual procurement plan for the utility.

(g) The Agency shall assess fees to each bidder to recover the costs incurred in connection with a competitive procurement process.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(20 ILCS 3855/1-80)

Sec. 1-80. Resource Development Bureau. The Resource Development Bureau has the following duties and responsibilities:

(a) At the Agency's discretion, conduct feasibility studies on the construction of any facility. Funding for a study shall come from either:

(i) fees assessed by the Agency on municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, unit or units of local government, or rural electric cooperatives requesting the feasibility study; or

(ii) an appropriation from the General Assembly.

(b) If the Agency undertakes the construction of a facility, moneys generated from the sale of revenue bonds by the Authority for the facility shall be used to reimburse the source of the money used for the facility's feasibility study.

(c) The Agency may develop, finance, construct, or operate electric generation and co-generation facilities that use indigenous coal or renewable resources, or both, financed with bonds issued by the Authority on behalf of the Agency. Any such facility that uses coal must be a clean coal facility and must be constructed in a location Preference shall be given to technologies that enable carbon capture and sites in locations where the geology is suitable for carbon sequestration. The Agency may also develop, finance, construct, or operate a carbon sequestration facility.

(1) The Agency may enter into contractual arrangements with private and public entities, including but not limited to municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, and rural electric cooperatives, to plan, site, construct, improve, rehabilitate, and operate those electric generation and co-generation facilities. No contract shall be entered into by the Agency that would jeopardize the tax-exempt status of any bond issued in connection with a project for which the Agency entered into the contract.

(2) The Agency shall hold at least one public hearing before entering into any such contractual arrangements. At least 30-days' notice of the hearing shall be given by publication once in each week during that period in 6 newspapers within the State, at least one of which has a circulation area that includes the location of the proposed facility.

(3) The first facility that the Agency develops, finances, or constructs shall be a facility that uses coal produced in Illinois. The Agency may, however, also develop, finance, or construct renewable energy facilities after work on the first facility has commenced.

(4) The Agency may not develop, finance, or construct a nuclear power plant.

(5) The Agency shall assess fees to applicants seeking to partner with the Agency on projects.

(d) Use of electricity generated by the Agency's facilities. The Agency may supply electricity produced by the Agency's facilities to municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives in Illinois. The electricity shall be supplied at cost.

(1) Contracts to supply power and energy from the Agency's facilities shall provide for the effectuation of the policies set forth in this Act.

(2) The contracts shall also provide that, notwithstanding any provision in the Public Utilities Act, entities supplied with power and energy from an Agency facility shall supply the power and energy to retail customers at the same price paid to purchase power and energy from the Agency.

(e) Electric utilities shall not be required to purchase electricity directly or indirectly from facilities developed or sponsored by the Agency.

(f) The Agency may sell excess capacity and excess energy into the wholesale electric market at prevailing market rates; provided, however, the Agency may not sell excess capacity or excess energy through the procurement process described in Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.

(g) The Agency shall not directly sell electric power and energy to retail customers. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit sales to municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

Section 1-10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Sections 9-220 and 16-115 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/9-220) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 9-220)

Sec. 9-220. Rate changes based on changes in fuel costs.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9-201, the Commission may authorize the increase or decrease of rates and charges based upon changes in the cost of fuel used in the generation or production of electric power, changes in the cost of purchased power, or changes in the cost of purchased gas through the application of fuel adjustment clauses or purchased gas adjustment clauses. The Commission may also authorize the increase or decrease of rates and charges based upon expenditures or revenues resulting from the purchase or sale of emission allowances created under the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, through such fuel adjustment clauses, as a cost of fuel. For the purposes of this paragraph, cost of fuel used in the generation or production of electric power shall include the amount of any fees paid by the utility for the implementation and operation of a process for the desulfurization of the flue gas when burning high sulfur coal at any location within the State of Illinois irrespective of the attainment status designation of such location; but shall not include transportation costs of coal (i) except to the extent that for contracts entered into on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, the cost of the coal, including transportation costs, constitutes the lowest cost for adequate and reliable fuel supply reasonably available to the public utility in comparison to the cost, including transportation costs, of other adequate and reliable sources of fuel supply reasonably available to the public utility, or (ii) except as otherwise provided in the next 3 sentences of this paragraph. Such costs of fuel shall, when requested by a utility or at the conclusion of the utility's next general electric rate proceeding, whichever shall first occur, include transportation costs of coal purchased under existing coal purchase contracts. For purposes of this paragraph "existing coal purchase contracts" means contracts for the purchase of coal in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, as such contracts may thereafter be amended, but only to the extent that any such amendment does not increase the aggregate quantity of coal to be purchased under such contract. Nothing herein shall authorize an electric utility to recover through its fuel adjustment clause any amounts of transportation costs of coal that were included in the revenue requirement used to set base rates in its most recent general rate proceeding. Cost shall be based upon uniformly applied accounting principles. Annually, the Commission shall initiate public hearings to determine whether the clauses reflect actual costs of fuel, gas, power, or coal transportation purchased to determine whether such purchases were prudent, and to reconcile any amounts collected with the actual costs of fuel, power, gas, or coal transportation prudently purchased. In each such proceeding, the burden of proof shall be upon the utility to establish the prudence of its cost of fuel, power, gas, or coal transportation purchases and costs. The Commission shall issue its final order in each such annual proceeding for an electric utility by December 31 of the year immediately following the year to which the proceeding pertains, provided, that the Commission shall issue its final order with respect to such annual proceeding for the years 1996 and earlier by December 31, 1998.

(b) A public utility providing electric service, other than a public utility described in subsections (e) or (f) of this Section, may at any time during the mandatory transition period file with the Commission proposed tariff sheets that eliminate the public utility's fuel adjustment clause and adjust the public utility's base rate tariffs by the amount necessary for the base fuel component of the base rates to recover the public utility's average fuel and power supply costs per kilowatt-hour for the 2 most recent years for which the Commission has issued final orders in annual proceedings pursuant to subsection (a), where the average fuel and power supply costs per kilowatt-hour shall be calculated as the sum of the public utility's prudent and allowable fuel and power supply costs as found by the Commission in the 2 proceedings divided by the public utility's actual jurisdictional kilowatt-hour sales for those 2 years. Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of this Section or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, the Commission shall review and shall by order approve, or approve as modified, the proposed tariff sheets within 60 days after the date of the public utility's filing. The Commission may modify the public utility's proposed tariff sheets only to the extent the Commission finds necessary to achieve conformance to the requirements of this subsection (b). During the 5 years following the date of the Commission's order, but in any event no earlier than January 1, 2007, a public utility whose fuel adjustment clause has been eliminated pursuant to this subsection shall not file proposed tariff sheets seeking, or otherwise petition the Commission for, reinstatement of a fuel adjustment clause.

(c) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of this Section or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, a public utility providing electric service, other than a public utility described in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, may at any time during the mandatory transition period file with the Commission proposed tariff sheets that establish the rate per kilowatt-hour to be applied pursuant to the public utility's fuel adjustment clause at the average value for such rate during the preceding 24 months, provided that such average rate results in a credit to customers' bills, without making any revisions to the public utility's base rate tariffs. The proposed tariff sheets shall establish the fuel adjustment rate for a specific time period of at least 3 years but not more than 5 years, provided that the terms and conditions for any reinstatement earlier than 5 years shall be set forth in the proposed tariff sheets and subject to modification or approval by the Commission. The Commission shall review and shall by order approve the proposed tariff sheets if it finds that the requirements of this subsection are met. The Commission shall not conduct the annual hearings specified in the last 3 sentences of subsection (a) of this Section for the utility for the period that the factor established pursuant to this subsection is in effect.

(d) A public utility providing electric service, or a public utility providing gas service may file with the Commission proposed tariff sheets that eliminate the public utility's fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause and adjust the public utility's base rate tariffs to provide for recovery of power supply costs or gas supply costs that would have been recovered through such clause; provided, that the provisions of this subsection (d) shall not be available to a public utility described in subsections (e) or (f) of this Section to eliminate its fuel adjustment clause. Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of this Section, or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, the Commission shall review and shall by order approve, or approve as modified in the Commission's order, the proposed tariff sheets within 240 days after the date of the public utility's filing. The Commission's order shall approve rates and charges that the Commission, based on information in the public utility's filing or on the record if a hearing is held by the Commission, finds will recover the reasonable, prudent and necessary jurisdictional power supply costs or gas supply costs incurred or to be incurred by the public utility during a 12 month period found by the Commission to be appropriate for these purposes, provided, that such period shall be either (i) a 12 month historical period occurring during the 15 months ending on the date of the public utility's filing, or (ii) a 12 month future period ending no later than 15 months following the date of the public utility's filing. The public utility shall include with its tariff filing information showing both (1) its actual jurisdictional power supply costs or gas supply costs for a 12 month historical period conforming to (i) above and (2) its projected jurisdictional power supply costs or gas supply costs for a future 12 month period conforming to (ii) above. If the Commission's order requires modifications in the tariff sheets filed by the public utility, the public utility shall have 7 days following the date of the order to notify the Commission whether the public utility will implement the modified tariffs or elect to continue its fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause in force as though no order had been entered. The Commission's order shall provide for any reconciliation of power supply costs or gas supply costs, as the case may be, and associated revenues through the date that the public utility's fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause is eliminated. During the 5 years following the date of the Commission's order, a public utility whose fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause has been eliminated pursuant to this subsection shall not file proposed tariff sheets seeking, or otherwise petition the Commission for, reinstatement or adoption of a fuel or purchased gas adjustment clause. Nothing in this subsection (d) shall be construed as limiting the Commission's authority to eliminate a public utility's fuel adjustment clause or purchased gas adjustment clause in accordance with any other applicable provisions of this Act.

(e) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of this Section, or in any rules promulgated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, a public utility providing electric service to more than 1,000,000 customers in this State may, within the first 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, file with the Commission proposed tariff sheets that eliminate, effective January 1, 1997, the public utility's fuel adjustment clause without adjusting its base rates, and such tariff sheets shall be effective upon filing. To the extent the application of the fuel adjustment clause had resulted in net charges to customers after January 1, 1997, the utility shall also file a tariff sheet that provides for a refund stated on a per kilowatt-hour basis of such charges over a period not to exceed 6 months; provided however, that such refund shall not include the proportional amounts of taxes paid under the Use Tax Act, Service Use Tax Act, Service Occupation Tax Act, and Retailers' Occupation Tax Act on fuel used in generation. The Commission shall issue an order within 45 days after the date of the public utility's filing approving or approving as modified such tariff sheet. If the fuel adjustment clause is eliminated pursuant to this subsection, the Commission shall not conduct the annual hearings specified in the last 3 sentences of subsection (a) of this Section for the utility for any period after December 31, 1996 and prior to any reinstatement of such clause. A public utility whose fuel adjustment clause has been eliminated pursuant to this subsection shall not file a proposed tariff sheet seeking, or otherwise petition the Commission for, reinstatement of the fuel adjustment clause prior to January 1, 2007.

(f) Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provisions in Section 9-201 of this Act, in subsection (a) of this Section, or in any rules or regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, a public utility providing electric service to more than 500,000 customers but fewer than 1,000,000 customers in this State may, within the first 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, file with the Commission proposed tariff sheets that eliminate, effective January 1, 1997, the public utility's fuel adjustment clause and adjust its base rates by the amount necessary for the base fuel component of the base rates to recover 91% of the public utility's average fuel and power supply costs for the 2 most recent years for which the Commission, as of January 1, 1997, has issued final orders in annual proceedings pursuant to subsection (a), where the average fuel and power supply costs per kilowatt-hour shall be calculated as the sum of the public utility's prudent and allowable fuel and power supply costs as found by the Commission in the 2 proceedings divided by the public utility's actual jurisdictional kilowatt-hour sales for those 2 years, provided, that such tariff sheets shall be effective upon filing. To the extent the application of the fuel adjustment clause had resulted in net charges to customers after January 1, 1997, the utility shall also file a tariff sheet that provides for a refund stated on a per kilowatt-hour basis of such charges over a period not to exceed 6 months. Provided however, that such refund shall not include the proportional amounts of taxes paid under the Use Tax Act, Service Use Tax Act, Service Occupation Tax Act, and Retailers' Occupation Tax Act on fuel used in generation. The Commission shall issue an order within 45 days after the date of the public utility's filing approving or approving as modified such tariff sheet. If the fuel adjustment clause is eliminated pursuant to this subsection, the Commission shall not conduct the annual hearings specified in the last 3 sentences of subsection (a) of this Section for the utility for any period after December 31, 1996 and prior to any reinstatement of such clause. A public utility whose fuel adjustment clause has been eliminated pursuant to this subsection shall not file a proposed tariff sheet seeking, or otherwise petition the Commission for, reinstatement of the fuel adjustment clause prior to January 1, 2007.

(g) The Commission shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Section.

(h) Any gas utility may enter into a contract for up to 20 years of supply with any company for the purchase of substitute natural gas (SNG) produced from coal through the gasification process if the company has commenced construction of a coal gasification facility by July 1, 2010. The cost for the SNG is reasonable and prudent and recoverable through the purchased gas adjustment clause for years one through 10 of the contract if: (i) the only coal used in the gasification process has high volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content; (ii) at the time the contract term commences, the price per million Btu does not exceed $7.95 in 2008 dollars, adjusted annually based on the change in the Annual Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Midwest Region as published in April by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (or a suitable Consumer Price Index calculation if this Consumer Price Index is not available) for the previous calendar year; provided that the price per million Btu shall not exceed $8.95 at any time during the contract; (iii) the utility's aggregate long-term supply contracts for the purchase of SNG does not exceed 25% of the annual system supply requirements of the utility at the time the contract is entered into and the quantity of SNG supplied to a utility by any one producer may not exceed 20 billion cubic feet per year; and (iv) the contract is entered into within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and terminates no more than 20 years after the commencement of the commercial production of synthetic natural gas at the facility. Contracts greater than 10 years shall provide that if, at any time during supply years 11 through 20 of the contract, the Commission determines that the cost for the synthetic natural gas purchased under the contract during supply years 11 through 20 is not reasonable and prudent, then the company shall reimburse the utility for the difference between the cost deemed reasonable and prudent by the Commission and the cost imposed under the contract. All such contracts, regardless of duration, shall require the owner of any facility supplying SNG under the contract to provide documentation to the Commission each year, starting in the facility's third year of commercial operation, accurately reporting the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions from the facility that have been captured and sequestered and reporting any quantities of carbon dioxide released from the site or sites at which carbon dioxide emissions were sequestered in prior years, based on continuous monitoring of those sites. If, in any year, the owner of the facility fails to demonstrate that the SNG facility captured and sequestered at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit or that sequestration of emissions from prior years has failed, resulting in the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the owner of the facility must offset excess emissions. Any such carbon dioxide offsets must be permanent, additional, verifiable, real, located within the State of Illinois, and legally and practicably enforceable. The costs of such offsets that are not recoverable shall not exceed $30 million in any given year. No costs of any such purchases of carbon offsets may be recovered from a utility or its customers. All carbon offsets purchased for this purpose must be permanently retired. In addition, 50% of the carbon dioxide emission credits associated with the required sequestration of carbon dioxide from the facility must be permanently retired. An SNG facility operating pursuant to this subsection (h) shall not forfeit its designation as a clean coal SNG facility if the facility fails to fully comply with the applicable carbon sequestration requirements in any given year, provided the requisite offsets are purchased. However, the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois, may specifically enforce the facility's sequestration requirements. Any gas utility may enter into a 20-year supply contract with any company for synthetic natural gas produced from coal through the gasification process if the company has commenced construction of a coal gasification facility by July 1, 2008. The cost for the synthetic natural gas is reasonable and prudent and recoverable through the purchased gas adjustment clause for years one through 10 of the contract if: (i) the only coal used in the gasification process has high volatile bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per million Btu content; (ii) at the time the contract term commences, the price per million Btu does not exceed $5 in 2004 dollars, adjusted annually based on the change in the Annual Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Midwest Region as published in April by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (or a suitable Consumer Price Index calculation if this Consumer Price Index is not available) for the previous calendar year; provided that the price per million Btu shall not exceed $5.50 at any time during the contract; (iii) the utility's aggregate long-term supply contracts for the purchase of synthetic natural gas produced from coal through the gasification process does not exceed 25% of the annual system supply requirements of the utility at the time the contract is entered into; and (iv) the contract is entered into within one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly and terminates 20 years after the commencement of the production of synthetic natural gas. The contract shall provide that if, at any time during years 11 through 20 of the contract, the Commission determines that the cost for the synthetic natural gas under the contract is not reasonable and prudent, then the company shall reimburse the utility for the difference between the cost deemed reasonable and prudent by the Commission and the cost imposed under the contract.

(i) If a gas utility or an affiliate of a gas utility has an ownership interest in any entity that produces or sells synthetic natural gas, Article VII of this Act shall apply.

(Source: P.A. 94-63, eff. 6-21-05.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115)

Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain a certificate of service authority from the Commission in accordance with this Section before serving any retail customer or other user located in this State. An alternative retail electric supplier may request, and the Commission may grant, a certificate of service authority for the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the State.

(b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a certificate of service authority shall file with the Commission a verified application containing information showing that the applicant meets the requirements of this Section. The alternative retail electric supplier shall publish notice of its application in the official State newspaper within 10 days following the date of its filing. No later than 45 days after the application is properly filed with the Commission, and such notice is published, the Commission shall issue its order granting or denying the application.

(c) An application for a certificate of service authority shall identify the area or areas in which the applicant intends to offer service and the types of services it intends to offer. Applicants that seek to serve residential or small commercial retail customers within a geographic area that is smaller than an electric utility's service area shall submit evidence demonstrating that the designation of this smaller area does not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant that seeks to serve residential or small commercial retail customers may state in its application for certification any limitations that will be imposed on the number of customers or maximum load to be served.

(d) The Commission shall grant the application for a certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set forth in this subsection based on the verified application and such other information as the applicant may submit:

(1) That the applicant possesses sufficient technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a certificate of service authority. In determining the level of technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the Commission shall consider (i) the characteristics, including the size and financial sophistication, of the customers that the applicant seeks to serve, and (ii) whether the applicant seeks to provide electric power and energy using property, plant and equipment which it owns, controls or operates;

(2) That the applicant will comply with all applicable federal, State, regional and industry rules, policies, practices and procedures for the use, operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity and reliability, of the interconnected electric transmission system;

(3) That the applicant will only provide service to retail customers in an electric utility's service area that are eligible to take delivery services under this Act;

(4) That the applicant will comply with such informational or reporting requirements as the Commission may by rule establish and provide the information required by Section 16-112. Any data related to contracts for the purchase and sale of electric power and energy shall be made available for review by the Staff of the Commission on a confidential and proprietary basis and only to the extent and for the purposes which the Commission determines are reasonably necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this Act;

(5) That the applicant will supply electricity generated by renewable energy resources, as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, to all of the applicant's Illinois customers in amounts at least equal to the percentages set forth in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. For purposes of this Section:

(i) The required procurement of electricity generated by renewable energy resources shall be measured as a percentage of the actual amount of electricity (megawatt-hours) supplied by the alternative retail electric supplier in the prior calendar year, as reported for that year to the Commission. This purchase obligation applies to all electricity sold pursuant to retail contracts executed, extended, or otherwise revised after the effective date of this amendatory Act, provided the alternative retail electric supplier submits all documentation needed by the Commission to determine the actual amount of electricity supplied under contracts that may be excluded under this limitation.

(ii) An alternative retail electric supplier need not actually deliver electricity purchased to comply with this Section to its customers, provided that if the alternative retail electric supplier claims credit for such purpose, subsequent purchasers shall not receive any emission credits or renewable energy credits in connection with the purchase of such electricity. Alternative retail electric suppliers shall maintain adequate records documenting the contractual disposition of all electricity purchased to comply with this Section and shall file an accounting in the report which must be filed with the Commission on April 1 of each year, starting in 2010, in accordance with subsection (e) of this Section.

(iii) The required procurement of electricity generated by renewable resources shall be limited to the amount of electricity that can be purchased at a price at or below the benchmarks approved by the Commission each year in accordance with item (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act

(Blank);

(6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve residential or small commercial retail customers, that the area to be served by the applicant and any limitations it proposes on the number of customers or maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions of Section 16-115A, provided, that the Commission can extend the time for considering such a certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on such a request;

(7) That the applicant meets the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128; and

(8) That the applicant will comply with all other applicable laws and regulations.

(d-5) The Commission shall revoke the certification of any alternative retail electric supplier that, on April 1, 2010 and each year thereafter, fails to demonstrate that the electricity provided to the alternative retail electricity supplier's Illinois customers during the previous year was generated by renewable energy resources in amounts at least equal to the percentages set forth in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, as limited by subsection (d)(5)(iii) of this Section. The Commission shall not accept an application for certification from an alternative retail electric supplier that has lost certification under this subsection (d-5), or any corporate affiliate thereof, for at least one year from the date of revocation.

(e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or self-generation facility and that seeks certification only to provide electric power and energy from such facility to retail customers at separate locations which customers are both (i) owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate affiliate of, such applicant and (ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be granted a certificate of service authority upon filing an application and notifying the Commission that it has entered into an agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant to Section 16-118. Provided, however, that if the retail customer owning such cogeneration or self-generation facility would not be charged a transition charge due to the exemption provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the certification, and the retail customers at separate locations are taking delivery services in conjunction with purchasing power and energy from the facility, the retail customer on whose premises the facility is located shall not thereafter be required to pay transition charges on the power and energy that such retail customer takes from the facility.

(f) The Commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission shall adopt a rule or rules applicable to the certification of those alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i) expedited and streamlined procedures for certification of such alternative retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific criteria which, if met by any such alternative retail electric supplier, shall constitute the demonstration of technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities to provide service required by subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such as a requirement to post a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety or financial institution, of sufficient size for the nature and scope of the services to be provided; demonstration of adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services to be provided; and experience in providing similar services in other jurisdictions.

(Source: P.A. 95-130, eff. 1-1-08.)

ARTICLE 5

Section 5-5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 2-203 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/2-203)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2009)

Sec. 2-203. Public Utility Fund base maintenance contribution. Each For each of the years 2003 through 2008, each electric utility as defined in Section 16-102 of this Act providing service to more than 12,500 customers in this State on January 1, 1995 shall contribute annually a pro rata share of a total amount of $5,500,000 based upon the number of kilowatt-hours delivered to retail customers within this State by each such electric utility in the 12 months preceding the year of contribution. On or before May 1 of each year, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall determine and notify the Illinois Department of Revenue of the pro rata share owed by each electric utility based upon information supplied annually to the Commission. On or before June 1 of each year, the Department of Revenue shall send written notification to each electric utility of the amount of pro rata share they owe. These contributions shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue no earlier that July 1 and no later than July 31 of each year the contribution is due on a return prescribed and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably require. The Department of Revenue shall place the funds remitted under this Section in the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury. The funds received pursuant to this Section shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. If an electric utility does not remit its pro rata share to the Department of Revenue, the Department of Revenue must inform the Illinois Commerce Commission of such failure. The Illinois Commerce Commission may then revoke the certification of that electric utility. This Section is repealed on January 1, 2014 2009.

(Source: P.A. 92-600, eff. 6-28-02.)

ARTICLE 10.

Section 10-5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 16-125 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/16-125)

Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability requirements.

(a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to all customers in this State and the effective implementation of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall, within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.

(b) These rules and regulations shall require each electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier owning, controlling, or operating transmission and distribution facilities and equipment subject to the Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures for restoring transmission and distribution services to customers after transmission or distribution outages on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to submit annually to the Commission.

(1) the number and duration of planned and unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts on customers;

(2) outages that were controllable and outages that were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or inactions of operating personnel or agents;

(3) customer service interruptions that were due solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying power or energy;

(4) a detailed report of the age, current condition, reliability and performance of the jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and distribution facilities, which shall include, without limitation, the following data:

(i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's outages and voltage variances reportable under the Commission's rules;

(ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for transmission construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's transmission investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;

(iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for distribution construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's distribution investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;

(iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering, among other areas identified in Commission rules, reliability, customer service, and understandability of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices; and

(v) the corresponding information, in the same format, for the previous 3 years, if available;

(5) a plan for future investment and reliability improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution facilities that will ensure continued reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition; and

(6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph (5) for the previous reporting period.

(c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits of avoiding the risks of service disruption.

(d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the Commission shall assess the annual report of each jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include specific identification of, and recommendations concerning, any potential reliability problems that it has identified as a result of its evaluation.

(e) In the event that more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, of an electric utility are subjected to a continuous power interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, or that results in the total loss of power transmission, the utility shall be responsible for compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4 hours or more for all actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages, suffered as a result of the power interruption. The utility shall also reimburse the affected municipality, county, or other unit of local government in which the power interruption has taken place for all emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the unit of local government as a result of the interruption. A waiver of the requirements of this subsection may be granted by the Commission in instances in which the utility can show that the power interruption was a result of any one or more of the following causes:

(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions.

(2) Customer tampering.

(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international unrest or animals.

(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.

Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.

(f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation that causes damage and affects more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the power surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show that the power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or more of the following causes:

(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions.

(2) Customer tampering.

(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international unrest or animals.

(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.

Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections (e) and (f) shall not count toward the either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers required therein.

(g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the repairs or maintenance.

(h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be limited to actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages, and litigation costs. A utility's request for a waiver of this Section shall be timely if filed no later than 30 days after the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking damages or expense reimbursement under this Section. No utility shall be liable under this Section while a request for waiver is pending. Damage awards may not be paid out of utility rate funds.

(i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies available to a customer or a class of customers.

(j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric utility to maintain service records detailing information on each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be required to be recorded or reported. The service record shall include, for each occurrence, the following information:

(1) The date.

(2) The time of occurrence.

(3) The duration of the incident.

(4) The number of customers affected.

(5) A description of the cause.

(6) The geographic area affected.

(7) The specific equipment involved in the fluctuation or interruption.

(8) A description of measures taken to restore service.

(9) A description of measures taken to remedy the cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.

(10) A description of measures taken to prevent future occurrence.

(11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to affected customers.

(12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was waived for affected customers.

Copies of the records containing this information shall be available for public inspection at the utility's offices, and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be available for public inspection. Copies of the records may be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction.

(k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility having 100,000 1,000,000 or more customers.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

ARTICLE 15

Section 15-5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 2-202 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)

Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.

(a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State that in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation of public utilities under this Act in the interests of the People of the State of Illinois and the public utilities as well, the public utilities subject to regulation under this Act and which enjoy the privilege of operating as public utilities in this State, shall bear the expense of administering this Act by means of a tax on such privilege measured by the annual gross revenue of such public utilities in the manner provided in this Section. For purposes of this Section, "expense of administering this Act" includes any costs incident to studies, whether made by the Commission or under contract entered into by the Commission, concerning environmental pollution problems caused or contributed to by public utilities and the means for eliminating or abating those problems. Such proceeds shall be deposited in the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.

(b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be paid out of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of the members of the Commission which shall be paid from the General Revenue Fund. Notwithstanding other provisions of this Act to the contrary, the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Commission incident to the administration of the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law may be paid from appropriations from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal year 1986.

(c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to the provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year beginning January 1, 1982, except that the Commission may, by rule, establish a different rate no greater than 0.1%. For purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity. "Gross revenue" shall not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers under the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.

(d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection (d), on or before January 10 of each year each public utility subject to the provisions of this Act shall file with the Commission an estimated annual gross revenue return containing an estimate of the amount of its gross revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said calendar year on the basis of that estimate. Public utilities may also file revised returns containing updated estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form the basis for quarterly payments due during the remainder of the calendar year. In addition, on or before March 31 of each year, each public utility shall file an amended return showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown by the company's books and records as of December 31 of the previous year. Forms and instructions for such estimated, revised, and amended returns shall be devised and supplied by the Commission.

(2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002, the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d) shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year for which the total tax the public utility owes under this Section is less than $10,000. For such public utilities with respect to such years, the public utility shall file with the Commission, on or before March 31 of the following year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a statement of the amount of tax due for that year on the basis of such a return. Forms and instructions for such returns and corrected returns shall be devised and supplied by the Commission.

(e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public utility as provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d) of this Section shall contain or be verified by a written declaration by an appropriate officer of the public utility that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The Commission may audit each such return submitted and may, under the provisions of Section 5-101 of this Act, take such measures as are necessary to ascertain the correctness of the returns submitted. The Commission has the power to direct the filing of a corrected return by any utility which has filed an incorrect return and to direct the filing of a return by any utility which has failed to submit a return. A taxpayer's signing a fraudulent return under this Section is perjury, as defined in Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961.

(f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of tax due under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on or before the tenth day of January, April, July, and October of the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under subsection (d) or subsection (e) of this Section, the amount of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility together with the amended or corrected return and the amount of any excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the public utility, be returned to the public utility in the form of a credit memorandum in the amount of such excess or be refunded to the public utility in accordance with the provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility need not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.

(2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of subsection (d) shall pay the amount of tax due under subsection (c) on or before March 31 next following the end of the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a result of the filing of a corrected return under subsection (e), the amount of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility at the time the corrected return is filed. Any excess tax payment by the public utility shall be returned to it after the filing of a claim for credit, in the form of a credit memorandum in the amount of the excess. However, if such deficiency or excess is less than $1, the public utility need not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.

(g) Each installment or required payment of the tax imposed by subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of the date that it is due. Failure to make a payment as required by this Section shall result in the imposition of a late payment penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both, as provided by this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be the greater of:

(1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the installment or required payment is unpaid or

(2) an amount equal to the difference between what should have been paid on the due date, based upon the most recently filed estimated, annual, or amended return, and what was actually paid, times 1%, for each month or portion of a month that the installment or required payment goes unpaid. This penalty may be assessed as soon as the installment or required payment becomes delinquent.

The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public utilities subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall be calculated after the filing of the amended return. It shall be imposed if the amount actually paid on any of the dates specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least one-fourth of the amount actually due for the year, and shall equal the greater of:

(1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the amount due is unpaid or

(2) an amount equal to the difference between what should have been paid, based on the amended return, and what was actually paid as of the date specified in subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the sum of 10% and the percentage most recently established by the Commission for interest to be paid on customer deposits under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70(e)(1), for each month or portion of a month that the amount due goes unpaid, except that no underestimation penalty shall be assessed if the amount actually paid on or before each of the dates specified in subsection (f) was based on an estimate of gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross revenues for the previous year. The Commission may enforce the collection of any delinquent installment or payment, or portion thereof by legal action or in any other manner by which the collection of debts due the State of Illinois may be enforced under the laws of this State. The executive director or his designee may excuse the payment of an assessed penalty or a portion of an assessed penalty if he determines that enforced collection of the penalty as assessed would be unjust.

(h) All sums collected by the Commission under the provisions of this Section shall be paid promptly after the receipt of the same, accompanied by a detailed statement thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.

(i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year the Commission shall:

(1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in the Public Utility Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the beginning of that biennium;

(2) determine the sum total of the following items: (A) all moneys expended or obligated against appropriations made from the Public Utility Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the credit memoranda then outstanding against the Public Utility Fund, if any; and

(3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum determined as provided in item (1) exceeds the amount determined as provided in item (2).

If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this subsection exceeds 50% of the previous fiscal year's appropriation level $5,000,000, the Commission shall then compute the proportionate amount, if any, which (x) the tax paid hereunder by each utility during the preceding biennium, and (y) the amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the preceding biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Sections 2-9 and 2-11 of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears to the difference between the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal year's appropriation level $5,000,000. The Commission shall cause the proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be transferred into the General Revenue Fund in the State Treasury, and notify each public utility that it may file during the 3 month period after the date of notification a claim for credit for the proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made hereunder by the public utility. If the proportionate amount is less than $10, no notification will be sent by the Commission, and no right to a claim exists as to that amount. Upon the filing of a claim for credit within the period provided, the Commission shall issue a credit memorandum in such amount to such public utility. Any claim for credit filed after the period provided for in this Section is void.

(j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f) and credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant to subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the date of issuance, against the payment of any amount due during that period under the tax imposed by subsection (c), or, subject to reasonable rule of the Commission including requirement of notification, may be assigned to any other public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any application of credit memoranda after the period provided for in this Section is void.

(k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of fees, taxes or other charges whenever he shall determine that the person or public utility will not be liable for payment of such fees, taxes or charges during the next 24 months and he determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum would be unjust.

(Source: P.A. 92-11, eff. 6-11-01; 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 92-526, eff. 1-1-03.)

Section 15-10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 18c-1503 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/18c-1503) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1503)

Sec. 18c-1503. Legislative Intent. It is the intent of the Legislature that the exercise of powers under Sections 18c-1501 and 18c-1502 of this Chapter shall not diminish revenues to the Commission, and that any surplus or deficit of revenues in the Transportation Regulatory Fund, together with any projected changes in the cost of administering and enforcing this Chapter, should be considered in establishing or adjusting fees and taxes in succeeding years. The Commission shall administer fees and taxes under this Chapter in such a manner as to insure that any surplus generated or accumulated in the Transportation Regulatory Fund does not exceed 50% of the previous fiscal year's appropriation the surplus accumulated in the Motor Vehicle Fund during fiscal year 1984, and shall adjust the level of such fees and taxes to insure compliance with this provision.

(Source: P.A. 84-796.)

ARTICLE 99

Section 99-97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99-99. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1, 2009.".