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