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1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing
5Section 13 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 20/13)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018)
8    Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
9    (a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
10hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
11Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
12to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
13foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
14pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
15collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized
16to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations,
17corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made
18in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax
19Act. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys
20from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for
21payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal
22electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf
23of their customers who are participants in the program

 

 

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1authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision
2of weatherization services and for administration of the
3Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The yearly
4expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the
5amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The
6yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income
7Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 10% of the amount
8collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except
9when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
10Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any
11unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be
12utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are
13reallocated.
14    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
15Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
16Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
17in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
18utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
19Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
20distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
21effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
22a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
23Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
24utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
25cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
26the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly

 

 

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1charge shall be as follows:
2        (1) $0.48 per month on each account for residential
3    electric service;
4        (2) $0.48 per month on each account for residential gas
5    service;
6        (3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
7    electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
8    demand during the previous calendar year;
9        (4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
10    gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
11    therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
12        (5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
13    electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
14    demand during the previous calendar year; and
15        (6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
16    gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
17    distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
18    The incremental change to such charges imposed by this
19amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be
20used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers
21and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000
22customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009.
23    In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and
24shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the
25Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs
26established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the

 

 

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1Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of
2implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this
3amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage
4Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs
5described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a
6utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the
7effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
8Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made
9no later than February 1, 2010.
10    (c) For purposes of this Section:
11        (1) "residential electric service" means electric
12    utility service for household purposes delivered to a
13    dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
14    residential rate, or electric utility service for
15    household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
16    which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
17    by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
18        (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
19    service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
20    2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
21    or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
22    to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
23    residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
24    each dwelling unit;
25        (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
26    utility service which is not residential electric service;

 

 

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1    and
2        (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
3    service which is not residential gas service.
4    (d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
5amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
6utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
7distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
8Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
9Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs,
10which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the
11first billing cycle following such filing.
12    (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
13gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
14utility service.
15    (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
16which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
17public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
18shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
19payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed
20and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such
21information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
22require; provided, however, that a utility offering an
23Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act
24shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and
25recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section
26that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy

 

 

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1Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th
2General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a
3public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may
4elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to
5amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and
6then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to
7apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts
8owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to
9payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.
10    (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
11Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
12remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
13Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each
14utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's
15customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department
16to establish an equitable and practical methodology for
17implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010
18program year.
19    (h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
20prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
21funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
22Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
23Act.
24    (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
25it deems necessary to implement this Section.
26    (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may

 

 

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1establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this
2Section.
3    (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
4customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
5or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
6electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
7impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
8electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
9the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
10gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
11of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose
12the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric
13or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
14may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
15Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
16program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
17    In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
18may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
19to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
20provided by this Section.
21    This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018 unless
22renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
23shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
24Section 8 in its deliberations.
25(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13.)