Full Text of SB2485 96th General Assembly
SB2485eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning utilities.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Sections 8-406, 8-509, and 8-510 and by adding Section 8-406.1 | 6 |
| as follows: | 7 |
| (220 ILCS 5/8-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406) | 8 |
| Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and | 9 |
| necessity. | 10 |
| (a) No public utility not owning any city or village
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| franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in | 12 |
| furnishing any
product or commodity within this State as of | 13 |
| July 1, 1921 and not
possessing a certificate of
public | 14 |
| convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce | 15 |
| Commission,
the State Public Utilities Commission or
the Public | 16 |
| Utilities Commission, at the time this amendatory Act of 1985 | 17 |
| goes
into effect, shall transact any business in this State | 18 |
| until it shall have
obtained a certificate from the Commission | 19 |
| that public convenience and
necessity require the transaction | 20 |
| of such business. | 21 |
| (b) No public utility shall begin the construction of any | 22 |
| new plant,
equipment, property or facility which is not in | 23 |
| substitution of any
existing plant, equipment, property or |
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| facility or any extension or
alteration thereof or in addition | 2 |
| thereto,
unless and until it shall have obtained from the
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| Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity | 4 |
| require such
construction. Whenever after a hearing the | 5 |
| Commission determines that any
new construction or the | 6 |
| transaction of any business by a public utility will
promote | 7 |
| the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have | 8 |
| the
power to issue certificates of public convenience and | 9 |
| necessity. The
Commission shall determine that proposed | 10 |
| construction will promote the
public convenience and necessity | 11 |
| only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the
proposed | 12 |
| construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and
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| efficient service to its customers and is the
least-cost means | 14 |
| of
satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the | 15 |
| proposed construction will promote the development of an | 16 |
| effectively competitive electricity market that operates | 17 |
| efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least | 18 |
| cost means of satisfying those objectives;
(2) that the utility | 19 |
| is capable of efficiently managing and
supervising the | 20 |
| construction process and has taken sufficient action to
ensure | 21 |
| adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof; | 22 |
| and (3)
that the utility is capable of financing the proposed | 23 |
| construction without
significant adverse financial | 24 |
| consequences for the utility or its
customers. | 25 |
| (c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 26 |
| 1987, no
construction shall commence on any new nuclear
power |
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| plant to be located within this State, and no certificate of | 2 |
| public
convenience and necessity or other authorization shall | 3 |
| be issued therefor
by the Commission, until the Director of the | 4 |
| Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency finds that the United | 5 |
| States Government, through its
authorized agency, has | 6 |
| identified and approved a demonstrable technology or
means for | 7 |
| the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such
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| construction has been specifically approved by a statute | 9 |
| enacted by the General
Assembly. | 10 |
| As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means | 11 |
| those aqueous
wastes resulting from the operation of the first | 12 |
| cycle of the solvent
extraction system or equivalent and the | 13 |
| concentrated wastes of the
subsequent extraction cycles or | 14 |
| equivalent in a facility for reprocessing
irradiated reactor | 15 |
| fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to
fuel | 16 |
| reprocessing. | 17 |
| (d) In making its determination, the Commission shall | 18 |
| attach primary
weight to the cost or cost savings to the | 19 |
| customers of the utility. The
Commission may consider any or | 20 |
| all factors which will or may affect such
cost or cost savings , | 21 |
| including the public utility's engineering judgment regarding | 22 |
| the materials used for construction . | 23 |
| (e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which | 24 |
| shall remain
in force not to exceed one year in cases of | 25 |
| emergency, to assure maintenance
of adequate service or to | 26 |
| serve particular customers, without notice or
hearing, pending |
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| the determination of an application for a certificate, and
may | 2 |
| by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section | 3 |
| temporary
acts or operations for which the issuance of a | 4 |
| certificate will not be
required in the public interest. | 5 |
| A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may | 6 |
| apply for and
obtain a certificate of public convenience and | 7 |
| necessity pursuant to this
Section with respect to any matter | 8 |
| as to which it has received the
authorization or order of the | 9 |
| Commission under the Electric Supplier Act,
and any such | 10 |
| authorization or order granted a public utility by the
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| Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be | 12 |
| deemed to
be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the | 13 |
| same force and effect
as, a certificate of public convenience | 14 |
| and necessity issued pursuant to this
Section. | 15 |
| No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a | 16 |
| party to or shall
be entitled to be heard or to otherwise | 17 |
| appear or participate in any
proceeding initiated under this | 18 |
| Section for authorization of power plant
construction and as to | 19 |
| matters as to which a remedy is available under The
Electric | 20 |
| Supplier Act. | 21 |
| (f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the | 22 |
| Commission, upon
its own motion or upon application by the | 23 |
| person or corporation affected.
Unless exercised within a | 24 |
| period of 2 years from the grant thereof
authority conferred by | 25 |
| a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by
the | 26 |
| Commission shall be null and void. |
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| No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be | 2 |
| construed as
granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege, | 3 |
| immunity or franchise. | 4 |
| (g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions | 5 |
| described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or | 6 |
| that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this | 7 |
| Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of | 8 |
| this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would | 9 |
| apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of this | 10 |
| Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an electric | 11 |
| line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For purposes | 12 |
| of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of the | 13 |
| following: | 14 |
| (1) replace or upgrade any existing high voltage | 15 |
| electric service line and related facilities, | 16 |
| notwithstanding its length; | 17 |
| (2) relocate any existing high voltage electric | 18 |
| service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its | 19 |
| length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a | 20 |
| roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or | 21 |
| (3) construct a high voltage electric service line and | 22 |
| related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a | 23 |
| single customer's premises or to provide a generator | 24 |
| interconnection to the public utility's transmission | 25 |
| system and that will pass under or over the premises owned | 26 |
| by the customer or generator to be served or under or over |
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| premises for which the customer or generator has secured | 2 |
| the necessary right-of-way. | 3 |
| (Source: P.A. 95-700, eff. 11-9-07.) | 4 |
| (220 ILCS 5/8-406.1 new) | 5 |
| Sec. 8-406.1. Certificate of public convenience and | 6 |
| necessity; expedited procedure. | 7 |
| (a) A public utility may apply for a certificate of public | 8 |
| convenience and necessity pursuant to this Section for the | 9 |
| construction of any new high voltage electric service line and | 10 |
| related facilities (Project). To facilitate the expedited | 11 |
| review process of an application filed pursuant to this | 12 |
| Section, an application shall include all of the following: | 13 |
| (1) Information in support of the application that | 14 |
| shall include the following: | 15 |
| (A) A detailed description of the Project, | 16 |
| including location maps and plot plans to scale showing | 17 |
| all major components. | 18 |
| (B) The following engineering data: | 19 |
| (i) a detailed Project description including: | 20 |
| (I) name and destination of the Project; | 21 |
| (II) design voltage rating (kV); | 22 |
| (III) operating voltage rating (kV); and | 23 |
| (IV) normal peak operating current rating; | 24 |
| (ii) a conductor, structures, and substations | 25 |
| description including: |
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| (I) conductor size and type; | 2 |
| (II) type of structures; | 3 |
| (III) height of typical structures; | 4 |
| (IV) an explanation why these structures | 5 |
| were selected; | 6 |
| (V) dimensional drawings of the typical | 7 |
| structures to be used in the Project; and | 8 |
| (VI) a list of the names of all new (and | 9 |
| existing if applicable) substations or | 10 |
| switching stations that will be associated | 11 |
| with the proposed new high voltage electric | 12 |
| service line; | 13 |
| (iii) the location of the site and | 14 |
| right-of-way including: | 15 |
| (I) miles of right-of-way; | 16 |
| (II) miles of circuit; | 17 |
| (III) width of the right-of-way; and | 18 |
| (IV) a brief description of the area | 19 |
| traversed by the proposed high voltage | 20 |
| electric service line, including a description | 21 |
| of the general land uses in the area and the | 22 |
| type of terrain crossed by the proposed line; | 23 |
| (iv) assumptions, bases, formulae, and methods | 24 |
| used in the development and preparation of the | 25 |
| diagrams and accompanying data, and a technical | 26 |
| description providing the following information: |
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| (I) number of circuits, with | 2 |
| identification as to whether the circuit is | 3 |
| overhead or underground; | 4 |
| (II) the operating voltage and frequency; | 5 |
| and | 6 |
| (III) conductor size and type and number | 7 |
| of conductors per phase; | 8 |
| (v) if the proposed interconnection is an | 9 |
| overhead line, the following additional | 10 |
| information also must be provided: | 11 |
| (I) the wind and ice loading design | 12 |
| parameters; | 13 |
| (II) a full description and drawing of a | 14 |
| typical supporting structure, including | 15 |
| strength specifications; | 16 |
| (III) structure spacing with typical | 17 |
| ruling and maximum spans; | 18 |
| (IV) conductor (phase) spacing; and | 19 |
| (V) the designed line-to-ground and | 20 |
| conductor-side clearances; | 21 |
| (vi) if an underground or underwater | 22 |
| interconnection is proposed, the following | 23 |
| additional information also must be provided: | 24 |
| (I) burial depth; | 25 |
| (II) type of cable and a description of any | 26 |
| required supporting equipment, such as |
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| insulation medium pressurizing or forced | 2 |
| cooling; | 3 |
| (III) cathodic protection scheme; and | 4 |
| (IV) type of dielectric fluid and | 5 |
| safeguards used to limit potential spills in | 6 |
| waterways; | 7 |
| (vii) technical diagrams that provide | 8 |
| clarification of any item under this item (1) | 9 |
| should be included; and | 10 |
| (viii) applicant shall provide and identify a | 11 |
| primary right-of-way and one or more alternate | 12 |
| rights-of-way for the Project as part of the | 13 |
| filing. To the extent applicable, for each | 14 |
| right-of-way, applicant shall provide the | 15 |
| information described in this subsection (a). Upon | 16 |
| a showing of good cause in its filing, an applicant | 17 |
| may be excused from providing and identifying | 18 |
| alternate rights-of-way. | 19 |
| (2) An application fee of $100,000, which shall be paid | 20 |
| into the Public Utility Fund at the time the Chief Clerk of | 21 |
| the Commission deems it complete and accepts the filing. | 22 |
| (3) Information showing that the utility has held a | 23 |
| minimum of 3 pre-filing public meetings to receive public | 24 |
| comment concerning the Project in each county where the | 25 |
| Project is to be located, no earlier than 6 months prior to | 26 |
| the filing of the application. Notice of the public meeting |
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| shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation | 2 |
| within the affected county once a week for 3 consecutive | 3 |
| weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior to the | 4 |
| first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2 contiguous | 5 |
| counties and where in one county the transmission line | 6 |
| mileage and number of landowners over whose property the | 7 |
| proposed route traverses is 1/5 or less of the transmission | 8 |
| line mileage and number of such landowners of the other | 9 |
| county, then the utility may combine the 3 pre-filing | 10 |
| meetings in the county with the greater transmission line | 11 |
| mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements | 12 |
| regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both | 13 |
| counties. Notice of the public meeting, including a | 14 |
| description of the Project, must be provided in writing to | 15 |
| the clerk of each county where the Project is to be | 16 |
| located. A representative of the Commission shall be | 17 |
| invited to each pre-filing public meeting. | 18 |
| (b) At the first status hearing the administrative law | 19 |
| judge shall set a schedule for discovery that shall take into | 20 |
| consideration the expedited nature of the proceeding. | 21 |
| (c) Nothing in this Section prohibits a utility from | 22 |
| requesting, or the Commission from approving, protection of | 23 |
| confidential or proprietary information under applicable law. | 24 |
| The public utility may seek confidential protection of any of | 25 |
| the information provided pursuant to this Section, subject to | 26 |
| Commission approval. |
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| (d) The public utility shall publish notice of its | 2 |
| application in the official State newspaper within 10 days | 3 |
| following the date of the application's filing. | 4 |
| (e) The public utility shall establish a dedicated website | 5 |
| for the Project 3 weeks prior to the first public meeting and | 6 |
| maintain the website until construction of the Project is | 7 |
| complete. The website address shall be included in all public | 8 |
| notices. | 9 |
| (f) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant a | 10 |
| certificate of public convenience and necessity filed in | 11 |
| accordance with the requirements of this Section if, based upon | 12 |
| the application filed with the Commission and the evidentiary | 13 |
| record, it finds the Project will promote the public | 14 |
| convenience and necessity and that all of the following | 15 |
| criteria are satisfied: | 16 |
| (1) That the Project is necessary to provide adequate, | 17 |
| reliable, and efficient service to the public utility's | 18 |
| customers and is the least-cost means of satisfying the | 19 |
| service needs of the public utility's customers or that the | 20 |
| Project will promote the development of an effectively | 21 |
| competitive electricity market that operates efficiently, | 22 |
| is equitable to all customers, and is the least-cost means | 23 |
| of satisfying those objectives. | 24 |
| (2) That the public utility is capable of efficiently | 25 |
| managing and supervising the construction process and has | 26 |
| taken sufficient action to ensure adequate and efficient |
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| construction and supervision of the construction. | 2 |
| (3) That the public utility is capable of financing the | 3 |
| proposed construction without significant adverse | 4 |
| financial consequences for the utility or its customers. | 5 |
| (g) The Commission shall issue its decision with findings | 6 |
| of fact and conclusions of law granting or denying the | 7 |
| application no later than 150 days after the application is | 8 |
| filed. The Commission may extend the 150-day deadline upon | 9 |
| notice by an additional 75 days if, on or before the 30th day | 10 |
| after the filing of the application, the Commission finds that | 11 |
| good cause exists to extend the 150-day period. | 12 |
| (h) In the event the Commission grants a public utility's | 13 |
| application for a certificate pursuant to this Section, the | 14 |
| public utility shall pay a one-time construction fee to each | 15 |
| county in which the Project is constructed within 30 days after | 16 |
| the completion of construction. The construction fee shall be | 17 |
| $20,000 per mile of high voltage electric service line | 18 |
| constructed in that county, or a proportionate fraction of that | 19 |
| fee. The fee shall be in lieu of any permitting fees that | 20 |
| otherwise would be imposed by a county. Counties receiving a | 21 |
| payment under this subsection (h) may distribute all or | 22 |
| portions of the fee to local taxing districts in that county. | 23 |
| (i) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, a | 24 |
| decision granting a certificate under this Section shall | 25 |
| include an order pursuant to Section 8-503 of this Act | 26 |
| authorizing or directing the construction of the high voltage |
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| electric service line and related facilities as approved by the | 2 |
| Commission, in the manner and within the time specified in said | 3 |
| order. | 4 |
| (220 ILCS 5/8-509) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-509) | 5 |
| Sec. 8-509. When necessary for the construction of any | 6 |
| alterations,
additions, extensions or improvements ordered or | 7 |
| authorized under Section 8-406.1,
8-503 , or 12-218 of this Act, | 8 |
| any public utility may enter upon, take or
damage private | 9 |
| property in the manner provided for by the law of eminent | 10 |
| domain. If a public utility seeks relief under this Section in | 11 |
| the same proceeding in which it seeks a certificate of public | 12 |
| convenience and necessity under Section 8-406.1 of this Act, | 13 |
| the Commission shall enter its order under this Section either | 14 |
| as part of the Section 8-406.1 order or at the same time it | 15 |
| enters the Section 8-406.1 order. If a public utility seeks | 16 |
| relief under this Section after the Commission enters its order | 17 |
| in the Section 8-406.1 proceeding, the Commission shall issue | 18 |
| its order under this Section within 45 days after the utility | 19 |
| files its petition under this Section. | 20 |
| This Section applies to the exercise of eminent domain | 21 |
| powers by
telephone companies or telecommunications carriers | 22 |
| only when the facilities
to be constructed are intended to be | 23 |
| used in whole or in part for providing
one or more intrastate | 24 |
| telecommunications services classified as
"noncompetitive" | 25 |
| under Section 13-502 in a tariff filed by the condemnor.
The |
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| exercise of eminent domain powers by telephone companies or
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| telecommunications carriers in all other cases shall be | 3 |
| governed solely by
"An Act relating to the powers, duties and | 4 |
| property of telephone
companies", approved May 16, 1903, as now | 5 |
| or hereafter amended. | 6 |
| (Source: P.A. 86-221.) | 7 |
| (220 ILCS 5/8-510) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-510) | 8 |
| Sec. 8-510. Land surveys and land use studies . For the | 9 |
| purpose of making land surveys and land use studies , any public | 10 |
| utility
that has been granted a certificate of public | 11 |
| convenience and necessity
by, or received an order under | 12 |
| Section 8-503 or 8-406.1 of this Act from, the
Commission may, | 13 |
| 30 days after providing written notice to the
owner thereof by | 14 |
| registered mail, enter upon the property of any owner who
has | 15 |
| refused permission for entrance upon that property, but subject | 16 |
| to
responsibility for all damages which may be inflicted | 17 |
| thereby. | 18 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 |
| becoming law. |
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