Public Act 095-0130
 		





HB0894 Enrolled
LRB095 05215 MJR 25290 b






    AN ACT concerning regulation.

 
    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 16-115 as follows:
 



    (220 ILCS 5/16-115)



    Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail
electric 
suppliers.

    (a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain
a 
certificate of service authority from the Commission in

accordance with this Section before serving any retail
customer 
or other user located in this State.  An alternative
retail 
electric supplier may request, and the Commission may
grant, a 
certificate of service authority for the entire State
or for a 
specified geographic area of the State.

    (b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a

certificate of service authority shall file with the
Commission 
a verified application containing information
showing that the 
applicant meets the requirements of this
Section.  The 
alternative retail electric supplier shall
publish notice of 
its application in the official State
newspaper within 10 days 
following the date of its filing.  No
later than 45 days after 
the application is properly filed
with the Commission, and such 
notice is published, the
Commission shall issue its order 
granting or denying the
application.

    (c) An application for a certificate of service
authority 
shall identify the area or areas in which the
applicant intends 
to offer service and the types of services
it intends to offer.  
Applicants that seek to serve
residential or small commercial 
retail customers within a
geographic area that is smaller than 
an electric utility's
service area shall submit evidence 
demonstrating that the
designation of this smaller area does 
not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant
that seeks to serve 
residential or small
commercial retail customers may state in 
its application for
certification any limitations that will be 
imposed on the
number of customers or maximum load to be 
served.

    (d) The Commission shall grant the application for a

certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set

forth in this subsection
based on the verified
application and 
such other information as the applicant may
submit:


        (1) That the applicant possesses sufficient
technical, 
    financial and managerial resources and
abilities to 
    provide the service for which it seeks a
certificate of 
    service authority.  In determining the
level of technical, 
    financial and managerial resources
and abilities which the 
    applicant must demonstrate, the
Commission shall consider 
    (i) the characteristics,
including the size and financial 
    sophistication, of the
customers that the applicant seeks 
    to serve, and (ii)
whether the applicant seeks to provide 
    electric power and
energy using property, plant and 
    equipment which it owns,
controls or operates;


        (2) That the applicant will comply with all
applicable 
    federal, State, regional and industry rules,
policies, 
    practices and procedures for the use,
operation, and 
    maintenance of the safety, integrity and
reliability, of 
    the interconnected electric transmission
system;


        (3) That the applicant will only provide service to

    retail customers in an electric utility's service area
that 
    are eligible to take delivery services under this
Act;


        (4) That the applicant will comply with such

    informational or reporting requirements as the Commission

    may by rule establish and provide the information required 
    by Section 16-112.
Any data related to
contracts for the 
    purchase and sale of electric power and
energy shall be 
    made available for review by the Staff of
the Commission on 
    a confidential and proprietary basis
and only to the extent 
    and for the purposes which the
Commission determines are 
    reasonably necessary in order
to carry out the purposes of 
    this Act;


        (5) (Blank)
That if the applicant, its corporate 
    affiliates
or the applicant's principal source of 
    electricity (to
the extent such source is known at the time 
    of the
application) owns or controls facilities, for public 
    use,
for the transmission or distribution of electricity to

    end-users within a defined geographic area to which

    electric power and energy can be physically and

    economically delivered by the electric utility or

    utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed

    service will be offered, the applicant, its corporate

    affiliates or principal source of electricity, as the
case 
    may be, provides delivery services to the electric
utility 
    or utilities in whose service area or areas the
proposed 
    service will be offered that are reasonably
comparable to 
    those offered by the electric utility, and
provided 
    further, that the applicant agrees to certify
annually to 
    the Commission that it is continuing to
provide such 
    delivery services and that it has not
knowingly assisted 
    any person or entity to avoid the
requirements of this 
    Section.  For purposes of this
subparagraph, "principal 
    source of electricity" shall
mean a single source that 
    supplies at least 65% of the
applicant's electric power and 
    energy, and the purchase of
transmission and distribution 
    services pursuant to a
filed tariff under the jurisdiction 
    of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission or a state 
    public utility
commission shall not constitute control of 
    access to the
provider's transmission and distribution 
    facilities;


        (6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve

    residential or small commercial retail customers, that
the 
    area to be served by the applicant and any
limitations it 
    proposes on the number of customers or
maximum amount of 
    load to be served meet the provisions
of Section 16-115A, 
    provided, that the Commission can
extend the time for 
    considering such a certificate
request by up to 90 days, 
    and can schedule hearings on
such a request;


        (7) That the applicant meets the requirements of 
    subsection (a) of Section
16-128; and


        (8) That the applicant will comply with all other

    applicable laws and regulations.

    (e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or 
self-generation facility
and that seeks certification only to

provide electric power and energy from such facility to
retail 
customers at separate locations which customers are
both (i) 
owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate
affiliate of, such 
applicant and
(ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be 
granted a
certificate of service authority upon filing an 
application
and notifying the Commission that it has entered 
into an
agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant 
to
Section 16-118.
Provided, however, that if the retail 
customer owning such cogeneration or
self-generation facility 
would not be charged a transition charge due to the
exemption 
provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the

certification, and the retail customers at separate locations 
are taking
delivery services in conjunction with purchasing 
power and energy from the
facility, the retail customer on 
whose premises the facility is located shall
not thereafter be 
required to pay transition charges on the power and energy
that 
such retail customer takes from the facility.

    (f) The Commission shall have the authority to
promulgate 
rules and regulations to carry out the provisions
of this 
Section.  On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission
shall adopt a 
rule or rules applicable to the certification of
those 
alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve
only 
nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical

demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i)

expedited and streamlined procedures
for certification of such 
alternative
retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific 
criteria which,
if met by any such alternative retail electric 
supplier, shall
constitute the demonstration of technical, 
financial and
managerial resources and abilities to provide 
service required
by subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such as 
a requirement
to post a bond or letter of credit, from a 
responsible surety
or financial institution, of sufficient 
size for the nature
and scope of the services to be provided; 
demonstration of
adequate insurance for the scope and nature of 
the services to
be provided; and experience in providing 
similar services in
other jurisdictions.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)