Public Act 096-1385
 
HB6208 EnrolledLRB096 18255 MJR 36137 b

    AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
Section 16-115C as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/16-115C)
    Sec. 16-115C. Licensure of agents, brokers, and
consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail
electricity supply for third parties.
    (a) The purpose of this Section is to adopt licensing and
code of conduct rules in a competitive retail electricity
market to protect Illinois consumers from unfair or deceptive
acts or practices and to provide persons acting as agents,
brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of
retail electricity supply for third parties with notice of the
illegality of those acts or practices.
    (a-5) All third-party sales representatives engaged in the
marketing of retail electricity supply must, prior to the
customer signing a contract, disclose that they are not
employed by the electric utility operating in the applicable
service territory.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, "agents, brokers, and
consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail
electricity supply for third parties" means any person or
entity that attempts to procure on behalf of or sell retail
electric service to an electric customer in the State. "Agents,
brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of
retail electricity supply for third parties" does not include
the Illinois Power Agency or any of its employees, any entity
licensed as an alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to
83 Ill. Adm. Code 451 offering retail electric service on its
own behalf, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a single
alternative retail electric supplier on condition that
exclusivity is disclosed to any third party contracted in such
agent capacity, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a
retail electric supplier on condition that exclusivity is
disclosed to any third party contracted in such agent capacity,
any person or entity representing a municipal power agency, as
defined in Section 11-119.1-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code,
or any person or entity that is attempting to procure on behalf
of or sell retail electric service to a third party that has
aggregate billing demand of all of its affiliated electric
service accounts in Illinois of greater than 1,500 kW.
    (c) No person or entity shall act as an agent, broker, or
consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail
electricity supply for third parties unless that person or
entity is licensed by the Commission under this Section or is
offering services on their own behalf under 83 Ill. Adm. Code
451.
    (d) The Commission shall create requirements for licensure
as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement
or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties, which
shall include all of the following criteria:
        (1) Technical competence.
        (2) Managerial competence.
        (3) Financial responsibility, including the posting of
    an appropriate performance bond.
        (4) Annual reporting requirements.
    (e) Any person or entity required to be licensed under this
Section must:
        (1) disclose in plain language in writing to all
    persons it solicits (i) before July 1, 2011, the total
    anticipated remuneration to be paid to it by any third
    party over the period of the proposed underlying customer
    contract and (ii) on or after July 1, 2011, the total price
    per kilowatt-hour, and the total anticipated cost,
    inclusive of all fees or commissions received by the
    licensee, to be paid by the customer over the period of the
    proposed underlying customer contract;
        (2) disclose, if applicable, to all customers, prior to
    the customer signing a contract, the fact that they will be
    receiving compensation from the supplier;
        (3) (2) not hold itself out as independent or
    unaffiliated with any supplier, or both, or use words
    reasonably calculated to give that impression, unless the
    person offering service under this Section has no
    contractual relationship with any retail electricity
    supplier or its affiliates regarding retail electric
    service in Illinois;
        (4) (3) not utilize false, misleading, materially
    inaccurate, defamatory, or otherwise deceptive language or
    materials in the soliciting or providing of its services;
        (5) (4) maintain copies of all marketing materials
    disseminated to third parties for a period of not less than
    3 years;
        (6) (5) not present electricity pricing information in
    a manner that favors one supplier over another, unless a
    valid pricing comparison is made utilizing all relevant
    costs and terms; and
        (7) (6) comply with the requirements of Sections 2EE,
    2FF, 2GG, and 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
    Business Practices Act.
    (f) Any person or entity licensed under this Section shall
file with the Commission all of the following information no
later than March of each year:
        (1) A verified report detailing any and all contractual
    relationships that it has with certified electricity
    suppliers in the State regarding retail electric service in
    Illinois.
        (2) A verified report detailing the distribution of its
    customers with the various certified electricity suppliers
    in Illinois during the prior calendar year. A report under
    this Section shall not be required to contain
    customer-identifying information.
        A public redacted version of the verified report may be
    submitted to the Commission along with a proprietary
    version. The public redacted version may redact from the
    verified report the name or names of every certified
    electricity supplier contained in the report to protect
    against disclosure of competitively sensitive market share
    information. The information shall be afforded proprietary
    treatment for 2 years after the date of the filing of the
    verified report.
        (3) A copy of its verified financial statement.
        (3) (4) A verified statement of any changes to the
    original licensure qualifications and notice of continuing
    compliance with all requirements.
    (g) The Commission shall have jurisdiction over
disciplinary proceedings and complaints for violations of this
Section. The findings of a violation of this Section by the
Commission shall result in a progressive disciplinary scale.
For a first violation, the Commission may, in its discretion,
shall suspend the license of the person so disciplined for a
period of no less than one month. For a second violation within
a 5-year period, the Commission shall suspend the license for
the person so disciplined for a period of not less than 6
months. For a third or subsequent violation within a 5-year
period, the Commission shall suspend the license of the
disciplined person for a period of not less than 2 years.
    (h) This Section shall not apply to a retail customer that
operates or manages either directly or indirectly any
facilities, equipment, or property used or contemplated to be
used to distribute electric power or energy if that retail
customer is a political subdivision or public institution of
higher education of this State, or any corporation, company,
limited liability company, association, joint-stock company or
association, firm, partnership, or individual, or their
lessees, trusts, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever
that are owned or controlled by the political subdivision,
public institution of higher education, or operated by any of
its lessees or operating agents.
(Source: P.A. 95-679, eff. 10-11-07.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.