Full Text of SB2393 102nd General Assembly
SB2393 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB2393 Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Patrick J. Joyce SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| New Act | | 30 ILCS 105/5.935 new | | 220 ILCS 5/8-406 | from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406 | 220 ILCS 5/8-406.2 new | |
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Creates the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program Act. Directs the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to create a pilot program for the distribution of grants for the construction of new natural gas pipelines and infrastructure in Pembroke Township. Requires applicants for grants to demonstrate that the grants will result in the construction of a new natural gas pipeline to provide natural gas to the residents of the township. Provides that the Department shall report annually to the Governor and General Assembly beginning in 2022 regarding cost estimates for the Pilot Program, recommendations for improvement to the Pilot Program, and a recommendation as to whether the Pilot Program should be continued. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that a gas public utility may apply for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to increase its gas service territory and extend its gas distribution system to serve a designated hardship area. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity if, based upon the application filed with the Commission and the evidentiary record, the Commission finds that specified criteria are satisfied. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | 8 | | Opportunity. | 9 | | "Qualifying gas pipeline project" means the construction | 10 | | or installation of gas equipment used in connection with the | 11 | | distribution and delivery of natural gas in Pembroke Township.
| 12 | | Section 10. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot | 13 | | Program.
| 14 | | (a) The Department shall create the Pembroke Township | 15 | | Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program for a duration of 5 | 16 | | years. The Program shall provide that the Department shall | 17 | | distribute grants, subject to appropriation, from moneys in | 18 | | the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Fund for the | 19 | | construction of new natural gas pipelines and infrastructure | 20 | | in Pembroke Township.
| 21 | | (b) The Department shall adopt rules for the | 22 | | administration of the Program. At a minimum, the rules shall |
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| 1 | | require that the applicant for the grants demonstrate that the | 2 | | grants will result in the construction of a new natural gas | 3 | | pipeline to provide natural gas to the residents of Pembroke | 4 | | Township and that the applicant complies with all other | 5 | | requirements of the rules. | 6 | | (c) A grantee must maintain all records as required by | 7 | | rule. The records shall be subject to audit by the Department, | 8 | | by an auditor appointed by the Department, or by a State | 9 | | officer authorized to conduct audits.
| 10 | | (d) Eligible applicants under this Program may include a | 11 | | nonprofit or community action association that will help the | 12 | | residents of Pembroke with the convergence of natural gas | 13 | | services in the residents' homes. Notwithstanding any | 14 | | provision of law to the contrary, an entity regulated under | 15 | | the Public Utilities Act may serve as a grantee under this Act. | 16 | | Section 15. Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot | 17 | | Program Fund. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment | 18 | | Pilot Program Fund is created as a special fund in the State
| 19 | | treasury. Subject to appropriation, all moneys in the Fund | 20 | | shall be used by the
Department to fund grants for qualified | 21 | | utility infrastructure
projects. The Department may accept | 22 | | private and public funds,
including federal funds, for deposit | 23 | | into the Fund. Earnings
attributable to moneys in the Fund | 24 | | shall be deposited into the
Fund.
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| 1 | | Section 20. Data collection and reporting. The Department | 2 | | shall collect data regarding the successes and challenges of | 3 | | the Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment Pilot Program and | 4 | | shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General | 5 | | Assembly by March 1 of each year beginning in 2022 until the | 6 | | Pilot Program terminates. The report shall: (i) make a | 7 | | recommendation as to whether the Pilot Program should | 8 | | continue; (ii) provide cost estimates, including the average | 9 | | per person costs; and (iii) recommend ways in which the Pilot | 10 | | Program can be improved to better address the needs for | 11 | | natural gas distribution. | 12 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 13 | | Section 5.935 as follows: | 14 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.935 new) | 15 | | Sec. 5.935. The Pembroke Township Natural Gas Investment | 16 | | Pilot Program Fund. | 17 | | Section 95. The Public Utilities Act is amended by | 18 | | changing Sections 8-406 and by adding Section 8-406.2 as | 19 | | follows: | 20 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406) | 21 | | Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and | 22 | | necessity. |
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| 1 | | (a) No public utility not owning any city or village
| 2 | | franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in | 3 | | furnishing any
product or commodity within this State as of | 4 | | July 1, 1921 and not
possessing a certificate of
public | 5 | | convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce | 6 | | Commission,
the State Public Utilities Commission or
the | 7 | | Public Utilities Commission, at the time this amendatory Act | 8 | | of 1985 goes
into effect, shall transact any business in this | 9 | | State until it shall have
obtained a certificate from the | 10 | | Commission that public convenience and
necessity require the | 11 | | transaction of such business. A certificate of public | 12 | | convenience and necessity requiring the transaction of public | 13 | | utility business in any area of this State shall include | 14 | | authorization to the public utility receiving the certificate | 15 | | of public convenience and necessity to construct such plant, | 16 | | equipment, property, or facility as is provided for under the | 17 | | terms and conditions of its tariff and as is necessary to | 18 | | provide utility service and carry out the transaction of | 19 | | public utility business by the public utility in the | 20 | | designated area. | 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 | 24 | | facility or any extension or
alteration thereof or in addition | 25 | | thereto,
unless and until it shall have obtained from the
| 26 | | Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity |
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| 1 | | require such
construction. Whenever after a hearing the | 2 | | Commission determines that any
new construction or the | 3 | | transaction of any business by a public utility will
promote | 4 | | the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have | 5 | | the
power to issue certificates of public convenience and | 6 | | necessity. The
Commission shall determine that proposed | 7 | | construction will promote the
public convenience and necessity | 8 | | only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the
proposed | 9 | | construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and
| 10 | | efficient service to its customers and is the
least-cost means | 11 | | of
satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the | 12 | | proposed construction will promote the development of an | 13 | | effectively competitive electricity market that operates | 14 | | efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least | 15 | | cost means of satisfying those objectives;
(2) that the | 16 | | utility is capable of efficiently managing and
supervising the | 17 | | construction process and has taken sufficient action to
ensure | 18 | | adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof; | 19 | | and (3)
that the utility is capable of financing the proposed | 20 | | construction without
significant adverse financial | 21 | | consequences for the utility or its
customers. | 22 | | (c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 23 | | 1987, no
construction shall commence on any new nuclear
power | 24 | | plant to be located within this State, and no certificate of | 25 | | public
convenience and necessity or other authorization shall | 26 | | be issued therefor
by the Commission, until the Director of |
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| 1 | | the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency finds that the | 2 | | United States Government, through its
authorized agency, has | 3 | | identified and approved a demonstrable technology or
means for | 4 | | the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such
| 5 | | construction has been specifically approved by a statute | 6 | | enacted by the General
Assembly. | 7 | | As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means | 8 | | those aqueous
wastes resulting from the operation of the first | 9 | | cycle of the solvent
extraction system or equivalent and the | 10 | | concentrated wastes of the
subsequent extraction cycles or | 11 | | equivalent in a facility for reprocessing
irradiated reactor | 12 | | fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to
fuel | 13 | | reprocessing. | 14 | | (d) In making its determination under subsection (b) of | 15 | | this Section , the Commission shall attach primary
weight to | 16 | | the cost or cost savings to the customers of the utility. The
| 17 | | Commission may consider any or all factors which will or may | 18 | | affect such
cost or cost savings, including the public | 19 | | utility's engineering judgment regarding the materials used | 20 | | for construction. | 21 | | (e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which | 22 | | shall remain
in force not to exceed one year in cases of | 23 | | emergency, to assure maintenance
of adequate service or to | 24 | | serve particular customers, without notice or
hearing, pending | 25 | | the determination of an application for a certificate, and
may | 26 | | by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section |
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| 1 | | temporary
acts or operations for which the issuance of a | 2 | | certificate will not be
required in the public interest. | 3 | | A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may | 4 | | apply for and
obtain a certificate of public convenience and | 5 | | necessity pursuant to this
Section with respect to any matter | 6 | | as to which it has received the
authorization or order of the | 7 | | Commission under the Electric Supplier Act,
and any such | 8 | | authorization or order granted a public utility by the
| 9 | | Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be | 10 | | deemed to
be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the | 11 | | same force and effect
as, a certificate of public convenience | 12 | | and necessity issued pursuant to this
Section. | 13 | | No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a | 14 | | party to or shall
be entitled to be heard or to otherwise | 15 | | appear or participate in any
proceeding initiated under this | 16 | | Section for authorization of power plant
construction and as | 17 | | to matters as to which a remedy is available under The
Electric | 18 | | Supplier Act. | 19 | | (f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the | 20 | | Commission, upon
its own motion or upon application by the | 21 | | person or corporation affected.
Unless exercised within a | 22 | | period of 2 years from the grant thereof
authority conferred | 23 | | by a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by
the | 24 | | Commission shall be null and void. | 25 | | No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall | 26 | | be construed as
granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege, |
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| 1 | | immunity or franchise. | 2 | | (g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions | 3 | | described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or | 4 | | that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this | 5 | | Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of | 6 | | this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would | 7 | | apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of | 8 | | this Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an | 9 | | electric line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For | 10 | | purposes of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of | 11 | | the following: | 12 | | (1) replace or upgrade any existing high voltage | 13 | | electric service line and related facilities, | 14 | | notwithstanding its length; | 15 | | (2) relocate any existing high voltage electric | 16 | | service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its | 17 | | length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a | 18 | | roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or | 19 | | (3) construct a high voltage electric service line and | 20 | | related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a | 21 | | single customer's premises or to provide a generator | 22 | | interconnection to the public utility's transmission | 23 | | system and that will pass under or over the premises owned | 24 | | by the customer or generator to be served or under or over | 25 | | premises for which the customer or generator has secured | 26 | | the necessary right of way. |
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| 1 | | (h) A public utility seeking to construct a high-voltage | 2 | | electric service line and related facilities (Project) must | 3 | | show that the utility has held a minimum of 2 pre-filing public | 4 | | meetings to receive public comment concerning the Project in | 5 | | each county where the Project is to be located, no earlier than | 6 | | 6 months prior to filing an application for a certificate of | 7 | | public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Notice | 8 | | of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of | 9 | | general circulation within the affected county once a week for | 10 | | 3 consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior | 11 | | to the first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2 | 12 | | contiguous counties and where in one county the transmission | 13 | | line mileage and number of landowners over whose property the | 14 | | proposed route traverses is one-fifth or less of the | 15 | | transmission line mileage and number of such landowners of the | 16 | | other county, then the utility may combine the 2 pre-filing | 17 | | meetings in the county with the greater transmission line | 18 | | mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements | 19 | | regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both counties. | 20 | | Notice of the public meeting, including a description of the | 21 | | Project, must be provided in writing to the clerk of each | 22 | | county where the Project is to be located. A representative of | 23 | | the Commission shall be invited to each pre-filing public | 24 | | meeting. | 25 | | (i) For applications filed after the effective date of | 26 | | this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the |
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| 1 | | Commission shall by registered mail notify each owner of | 2 | | record of land, as identified in the records of the relevant | 3 | | county tax assessor, included in the right-of-way over which | 4 | | the utility seeks in its application to construct a | 5 | | high-voltage electric line of the time and place scheduled for | 6 | | the initial hearing on the public utility's application. The | 7 | | utility shall reimburse the Commission for the cost of the | 8 | | postage and supplies incurred for mailing the notice. | 9 | | (Source: P.A. 99-399, eff. 8-18-15.) | 10 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-406.2 new) | 11 | | Sec. 8-406.2. Certificate of public convenience and | 12 | | necessity; extension of utility service area and facilities to | 13 | | serve designated hardship areas. | 14 | | (a) This Section is intended to provide a mechanism by | 15 | | which a gas public utility may extend its service territory | 16 | | and gas distribution system to provide service to designated | 17 | | low-income areas whose residents do not have access to natural | 18 | | gas service and must purchase more costly alternatives to | 19 | | satisfy their energy needs. | 20 | | (b) In this Section: | 21 | | "Designated hardship area" means a defined geographic area | 22 | | described by the applicant gas utility that meets the | 23 | | following requirements: | 24 | | (1) the area is designated as a qualified census tract | 25 | | by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as |
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| 1 | | published in the most current Federal Register; if the | 2 | | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ceases to | 3 | | make this designation, then at least 25% of the households | 4 | | in the area are at or below the poverty level; and | 5 | | (2) the area is not currently served by a gas utility. | 6 | | "Hardship area facilities" means all gas distribution | 7 | | system facilities that are proposed to be constructed or | 8 | | extended and used to serve the designated hardship area, | 9 | | through and including retail gas meters. "Hardship area | 10 | | facilities" includes the capacity to address reasonably | 11 | | foreseeable growth in areas adjacent to or in the vicinity of | 12 | | the designated hardship area. | 13 | | (c) A gas public utility may apply for a certificate of | 14 | | public convenience and necessity pursuant to this Section to | 15 | | increase its gas service territory and extend its gas | 16 | | distribution system to serve a designated hardship area. An | 17 | | application under this Section shall include all of the | 18 | | following: | 19 | | (1) a description of the designated hardship area and | 20 | | its relationship to the existing gas distribution system | 21 | | of the applicant; | 22 | | (2) a showing that the designated hardship area meets | 23 | | the criteria for being a designated hardship area under | 24 | | subsection (b) of this Section; | 25 | | (3) a description of the hardship area facilities | 26 | | proposed to serve the designated hardship area; |
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| 1 | | (4) a projection of the costs to construct and deploy | 2 | | the hardship area facilities; | 3 | | (5) a statement indicating that the gas distribution | 4 | | utility has received written indications of interest from | 5 | | at least 50% of the customers within the boundaries of the | 6 | | designated hardship area demonstrating an interest shown | 7 | | in obtaining gas service; and | 8 | | (6) a showing that the estimated cost to construct and | 9 | | deploy the hardship area facilities is equal to or less | 10 | | than 250% of the amount allowed under the gas utilities' | 11 | | then current tariffs to provide standard service to extend | 12 | | main and services. | 13 | | (d) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant | 14 | | a certificate of public convenience and necessity under this | 15 | | Section if, based upon the application filed with the | 16 | | Commission and the evidentiary record, the Commission finds | 17 | | that all of the following criteria are satisfied: | 18 | | (1) the area to be served is a designated hardship | 19 | | area; | 20 | | (2) the proposed hardship area facilities will provide | 21 | | adequate, reliable, and efficient gas delivery service to | 22 | | the customers within the designated hardship area and are | 23 | | the least-cost means of providing such gas delivery | 24 | | service to these customers; | 25 | | (3) the public utility is capable of efficiently | 26 | | managing and supervising the construction of the hardship |
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| 1 | | area facilities and has taken sufficient action to ensure | 2 | | adequate and efficient construction and supervision of the | 3 | | construction; | 4 | | (4) the public utility is capable of financing the | 5 | | construction of the hardship area facilities without | 6 | | significant adverse financial consequences for the utility | 7 | | or its customers; and | 8 | | (5) the estimated cost to construct and deploy the | 9 | | hardship area facilities is equal to or less than 250% of | 10 | | the amount allowed under the gas utilities then current | 11 | | tariffs to provide standard service to extend main and | 12 | | services. | 13 | | (e) The Commission shall issue its decision with findings | 14 | | of fact and conclusions of law granting or denying the | 15 | | application no later than 120 days after the application is | 16 | | filed.
| 17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 18 | | becoming law.
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