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91_SB1262
SRS91S0055SBch
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 16-125.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 16-125 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
8 Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
9 requirements.
10 (a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to
11 all customers in this State and the effective implementation
12 of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall,
13 within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt
14 rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the
15 reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and
16 facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.
17 (b) These rules and regulations shall require each
18 electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier
19 owning, controlling, or operating transmission and
20 distribution facilities and equipment subject to the
21 Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as
22 "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures
23 for restoring transmission and distribution services to
24 customers after transmission or distribution outages on a
25 nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer
26 has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric
27 utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power
28 and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a
29 minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
30 submit annually to the Commission.
31 (1) the number and duration of planned and
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1 unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts
2 on customers;
3 (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
4 were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
5 facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
6 inactions of operating personnel or agents;
7 (3) customer service interruptions that were due
8 solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative
9 retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying
10 power or energy;
11 (4) a detailed report of the age, current
12 condition, reliability and performance of the
13 jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and
14 distribution facilities, which shall include, without
15 limitation, the following data:
16 (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
17 outages and voltage variances reportable under the
18 Commission's rules;
19 (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
20 for transmission construction and maintenance, the
21 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
22 entity's transmission investment, and the average
23 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
24 transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage
25 of total depreciation lives;
26 (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
27 for distribution construction and maintenance, the
28 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
29 entity's distribution investment, and the average
30 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
31 distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage
32 of total depreciation lives;
33 (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
34 among other areas identified in Commission rules,
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1 reliability, customer service, and understandability
2 of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
3 and
4 (v) the corresponding information, in the same
5 format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
6 (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
7 improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
8 and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
9 reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
10 delivery reliability needed for fair and open
11 competition; and
12 (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
13 implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph
14 (5) for the previous reporting period.
15 (c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria
16 that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's
17 annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such
18 criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items
19 required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant
20 characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of
21 the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering
22 practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits
23 of avoiding the risks of service disruption.
24 (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the
25 Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the
26 following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the
27 Commission shall assess the annual report of each
28 jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability
29 performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include
30 specific identification of, and recommendations concerning,
31 any potential reliability problems that it has identified as
32 a result of its evaluation.
33 (e) In the event that more than 30,000 customers of a
34 jurisdictional entity an electric utility are subjected to a
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1 continuous power interruption of 4 hours or more that
2 results in the transmission of power at less than 50% of the
3 standard voltage, or that results in the total loss of power
4 transmission, the jurisdictional entity utility shall be
5 responsible for compensating customers affected by that
6 interruption for 4 hours or more for all actual damages,
7 which shall not include consequential damages, suffered as a
8 result of the power interruption. In addition, if the
9 Commission determines that the jurisdictional entity has
10 failed to meet reliability standards established under
11 subparagraphs (a) & (b), the Commission may order that the
12 jurisdictional entity not charge or collect the fixed service
13 charge on a customer's periodic bill for that billing period
14 and that the jurisdictional entity refund an amount equal to
15 10% of the affected customer's total bill for the billing
16 period during which the interruption occurred. The utility
17 shall also reimburse the affected municipality, county, or
18 other unit of local government in which the power
19 interruption has taken place for all emergency and
20 contingency expenses incurred by the unit of local
21 government as a result of the interruption. A waiver of the
22 requirements of this subsection may be granted by the
23 Commission in instances in which the utility can show that
24 the power interruption was a result of any one or more of
25 the following causes:
26 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
27 conditions.
28 (2) Customer tampering.
29 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
30 international unrest or animals.
31 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
32 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
33 or contractors.
34 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
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1 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
2 (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
3 that causes damage that and affects more than 30,000
4 customers, the electric utility shall pay to affected
5 customers the replacement value of all goods damaged as a
6 result of the power surge or other fluctuation unless the
7 utility can show that the power surge or other fluctuation
8 was due to one or more of the following causes:
9 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
10 conditions.
11 (2) Customer tampering.
12 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
13 international unrest or animals.
14 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
15 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
16 or contractors.
17 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
18 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers
19 with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the
20 Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections
21 (e) and (f) shall not count toward the 30,000 customers
22 required therein.
23 (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned
24 or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will
25 result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the
26 standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
27 defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
28 reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers
29 no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the
30 repairs or maintenance.
31 (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
32 sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
33 as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
34 awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be
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1 limited to actual damages, which shall not include
2 consequential damages, and litigation costs. Damage awards
3 may not be paid out of utility rate funds.
4 (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
5 diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
6 available to a customer or a class of customers.
7 (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
8 utility to maintain service records detailing information on
9 each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of
10 the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
11 (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more
12 customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be
13 required to be recorded or reported. The service record
14 shall include, for each occurrence, the following
15 information:
16 (1) The date.
17 (2) The time of occurrence.
18 (3) The duration of the incident.
19 (4) The number of customers affected.
20 (5) A description of the cause.
21 (6) The geographic area affected.
22 (7) The specific equipment involved in the
23 fluctuation or interruption.
24 (8) A description of measures taken to restore
25 service.
26 (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
27 cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.
28 (10) A description of measures taken to prevent
29 future occurrence.
30 (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
31 affected customers.
32 (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
33 waived for affected customers.
34 Copies of the records containing this information shall
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1 be available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
2 and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
3 exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
4 each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
5 available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
6 be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
7 reasonable cost of reproduction.
8 (k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of
9 this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility
10 having 1,000,000 or more customers.
11 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)