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91_SB1653
LRB9113005JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Sections 4-202, 4-203, 5-202, and 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 Sections 4-202, 4-203, 5-202, and 16-125 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/4-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 4-202)
8 Sec. 4-202. Action for injunction. Whenever the
9 Commission shall be of the opinion that any public utility is
10 failing or omitting or about to fail or omit, to do anything
11 required of it by law, or by any order, decision, rule,
12 regulation, direction or requirement of the Commission,
13 issued or made under authority of this Act, or is doing
14 anything or about to do anything or permitting anything or
15 about to permit anything to be done, contrary to or in
16 violation of law or any order, decision, rule, regulation,
17 direction or requirement of the Commission, issued or made
18 under authority of this Act, the Commission shall file an
19 action or proceeding in the circuit court in and for the
20 county in which the case or some part thereof arose, or in
21 which the person or corporation complained of, if any, has
22 its principal place of business, or in which the person
23 complained of, if any, resides, in the name of the People of
24 the State of Illinois, for the purpose of having the
25 violation or threatened violation stopped and prevented,
26 either by mandamus or injunction. The Commission may express
27 its opinion in a resolution based upon whatever facts and
28 evidence that has come to its attention and may issue the
29 resolution ex parte and without holding any administrative
30 hearing before bringing suit. The Commission shall file the
31 action or proceeding by complaint in the circuit court,
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1 alleging the violation or threatened violation complained of,
2 and praying for appropriate relief by way of mandamus or
3 injunction. It shall thereupon be the duty of the court to
4 specify a time, not exceeding 20 days after the service of
5 the copy of the complaint, within which the public utility
6 complained of must answer the complaint, and in the meantime
7 said public utility may be restrained. In case of default in
8 answer, or after answer, the court shall immediately inquire
9 into the facts and circumstances of the case. Such
10 corporation or persons as the court may deem necessary or
11 proper to be joined as parties, in order to make its
12 judgment, order effective, may be joined as parties. The
13 final judgment in any action or proceeding shall either
14 dismiss the action or proceeding or grant relief by mandamus
15 or injunction or be made permanent as prayed for in the
16 complaint, or in such modified or other form as will afford
17 appropriate relief. An appeal may be taken from such final
18 judgment as in other civil cases.
19 (Source: P.A. 84-617.)
20 (220 ILCS 5/4-203) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 4-203)
21 Sec. 4-203. Action to recover penalties.
22 (a) All civil penalties established under this Act shall
23 be assessed and collected by the Commission. Civil penalties
24 related to the late filing of reports, taxes, or other
25 matters are automatically due to be paid at the time the
26 report, tax, or other filing is filed late. If the civil
27 penalty in the aforementioned situations is discretionary,
28 the Commission may establish an automatic penalty schedule by
29 rule. In all other cases, discretionary civil penalties may
30 be imposed only after notice and opportunity to be heard. It
31 shall not be a defense to a civil penalty that the person has
32 come into compliance subsequent to the violation.
33 (b) If timely judicial review of a Commission order that
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1 retains an automatic civil penalty or imposes a discretionary
2 civil penalty is made, the reviewing court shall enter a
3 judgment on all amounts upon affirmance of the Commission
4 order. If timely judicial review is not taken and the civil
5 penalty remains unpaid for 60 days after service of the
6 order, the Commission in its discretion may either begin
7 revocation proceedings or bring suit to recover the
8 penalties. Unless stayed by a reviewing court, interest shall
9 accrue from 60 days after the date of service of the
10 Commission order. Except as otherwise provided in this Act,
11 (c) Actions to recover delinquent civil penalties under
12 this Act shall be brought in the name of the People of the
13 State of Illinois in the circuit court in and for the county
14 in which the cause, or some part thereof, arose, or in which
15 the corporation complained of, if any, has its principal
16 place of business, or in which the person, if any, complained
17 of, resides. The action shall be commenced and prosecuted to
18 final judgment by the Commission. In any such action, all
19 interest penalties incurred up to the time of final court
20 judgment commencing the same may be sued for and recovered in
21 that action. In all such actions, the procedure and rules of
22 evidence shall be the same as in ordinary civil actions,
23 except as otherwise herein provided. All fines and penalties
24 recovered by the State in any such action shall be paid into
25 the State treasury to the credit of the general fund. Any
26 such action may be compromised or discontinued on application
27 of the Commission upon such terms as the court shall approve
28 and order.
29 (d) Civil penalties related to the late filing of
30 reports, taxes, or other matters shall be paid into the State
31 Treasury to the credit of the Public Utility Fund. Except as
32 otherwise provided in this Act, all other fines and civil
33 penalties shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit
34 of the General Revenue Fund.
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1 (Source: P.A. 84-617.)
2 (220 ILCS 5/5-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 5-202)
3 Sec. 5-202. Violations; penalty. Any public utility, or
4 any corporation other than a public utility, or any person
5 which violates or fails to comply with any provisions of this
6 Act, or which fails to obey, observe or comply with any
7 order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, or requirement
8 or any part or provision thereof, of the Commission, made or
9 issued under authority of this Act, in a case in which a
10 penalty is not otherwise provided for in this Act, shall be
11 subject to a civil penalty imposed in the manner provided in
12 Section 4-203. A small public utility and a small
13 telecommunications carrier, as each is defined in subsection
14 (b) of Section 4-502 of this Act, and a telecommunications
15 carrier is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $500
16 nor more than $2,000 for each and every offense. All other
17 public utilities, corporations other than a public utility,
18 and persons are subject to a civil penalty of not less than
19 $10,000 nor more than $50,000 for each and every offense.
20 Every violation of the provisions of this Act or of any
21 order, decision, rule, regulation, direction or requirement
22 of the Commission, or any part or portion thereof by any
23 corporation or person, is a separate and distinct offense and
24 in case of a continuing violation each day's continuance
25 thereof shall be a separate and distinct offense.
26 In construing and enforcing the provisions of this Act
27 relating to penalties, the act, omission, or failure of any
28 officer, agent, or employee of any public utility,
29 corporation other than a public utility, or person acting
30 within the scope of his official duties or employment, shall
31 in every case be deemed to be the act, omission, or failure
32 of such public utility, corporation other than a public
33 utility, or person.
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1 If the party who has violated or failed to comply with
2 this Act or order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, or
3 requirement of the Commission or any part or provision
4 thereof, fails to seek review pursuant to Sections 10-113 and
5 10-201 of this Act within 30 days of service of the order,
6 the party shall, upon expiration of the 30 days, be subject
7 to the civil penalty provision of this Section.
8 No penalties shall accrue under this provision until 15
9 days after the mailing of a notice to such party or parties
10 that they are in violation of or have failed to comply with
11 the Act or order, decision, rule, regulation, direction, or
12 requirement of the Commission or any part or provision
13 thereof.
14 (Source: P.A. 87-164.)
15 (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
16 Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
17 requirements.
18 (a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to
19 all customers in this State and the effective implementation
20 of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall,
21 within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt
22 rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the
23 reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and
24 facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.
25 (b) These rules and regulations shall require each
26 electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier
27 owning, controlling, or operating transmission and
28 distribution facilities and equipment subject to the
29 Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as
30 "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures
31 for restoring transmission and distribution services to
32 customers after transmission or distribution outages on a
33 nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer
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1 has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric
2 utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power
3 and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a
4 minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
5 submit annually to the Commission.
6 (1) the number and duration of planned and
7 unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts
8 on customers;
9 (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
10 were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
11 facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
12 inactions of operating personnel or agents;
13 (3) customer service interruptions that were due
14 solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative
15 retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying
16 power or energy;
17 (4) a detailed report of the age, current
18 condition, reliability and performance of the
19 jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and
20 distribution facilities, which shall include, without
21 limitation, the following data:
22 (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
23 outages and voltage variances reportable under the
24 Commission's rules;
25 (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
26 for transmission construction and maintenance, the
27 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
28 entity's transmission investment, and the average
29 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
30 transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage
31 of total depreciation lives;
32 (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
33 for distribution construction and maintenance, the
34 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
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1 entity's distribution investment, and the average
2 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
3 distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage
4 of total depreciation lives;
5 (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
6 among other areas identified in Commission rules,
7 reliability, customer service, and understandability
8 of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
9 and
10 (v) the corresponding information, in the same
11 format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
12 (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
13 improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
14 and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
15 reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
16 delivery reliability needed for fair and open
17 competition; and
18 (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
19 implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph
20 (5) for the previous reporting period.
21 (c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria
22 that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's
23 annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such
24 criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items
25 required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant
26 characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of
27 the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering
28 practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits
29 of avoiding the risks of service disruption.
30 (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the
31 Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the
32 following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the
33 Commission shall assess the annual report of each
34 jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability
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1 performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include
2 specific identification of, and recommendations concerning,
3 any potential reliability problems that it has identified as
4 a result of its evaluation.
5 (e) In the event that more than 30,000 customers of an
6 electric utility are subjected to a continuous power
7 interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the
8 transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard
9 voltage, or that results in the total loss of power
10 transmission, the utility shall be responsible for
11 compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4
12 hours or more for all actual damages, which shall not
13 include consequential damages, suffered as a result of the
14 power interruption. The utility shall also reimburse the
15 affected municipality, county, or other unit of local
16 government in which the power interruption has taken place
17 for all emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the
18 unit of local government as a result of the interruption. A
19 waiver of the requirements of this subsection may be granted
20 by the Commission in instances in which the utility can show
21 that the power interruption was a result of any one or more
22 of the following causes:
23 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
24 conditions.
25 (2) Customer tampering.
26 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
27 international unrest or animals.
28 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
29 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
30 or contractors.
31 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
32 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
33 (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
34 that causes damage and affects more than 30,000 customers,
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1 the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the
2 replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the
3 power surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show
4 that the power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or
5 more of the following causes:
6 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
7 conditions.
8 (2) Customer tampering.
9 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
10 international unrest or animals.
11 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
12 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
13 or contractors.
14 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
15 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers
16 with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the
17 Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections
18 (e) and (f) shall not count toward the 30,000 customers
19 required therein.
20 (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned
21 or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will
22 result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the
23 standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
24 defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
25 reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers
26 no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the
27 repairs or maintenance.
28 (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
29 sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
30 as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
31 awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be
32 limited to actual damages, which shall not include
33 consequential damages, and litigation costs. Damage awards
34 and other amounts assessed against an electric utility under
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1 this Section may not be paid out of utility rate funds. If
2 the Commission receives a formal or informal complaint or
3 request for remedies or damages pursuant to this Section, or
4 if the Commission receives any request for a waiver under
5 subsection (e) or (f), or if the Commission or its staff
6 performs or undertakes any formal or informal investigation,
7 study, inquiry, hearing, or other activity that the
8 Commission, in its sole discretion, deems necessary (1) to
9 determine whether an interruption, fluctuation, or surge has
10 occurred which may give rise to damages under subsection (e)
11 or (f) or (2) to determine whether it should grant a waiver
12 under subsection (e) or (f), then the Commission may assess
13 the electric utility whose customers were subjected to the
14 interruption or affected by the power surge or fluctuation
15 for all of the Commission's costs of the investigation,
16 study, inquiry, or hearing and all of the Commission's costs
17 for the conduct of all formal or informal complaints or other
18 formal or informal proceedings under this Section including,
19 but not limited to, the prorated salaries of staff,
20 attorneys, hearing examiners, and support personnel,
21 including any travel and per diem, directly attributable to
22 the formal or informal complaint brought pursuant to this
23 Section or attributable to the formal or informal
24 investigation, study, inquiry, hearing, or other activity
25 performed or undertaken by the Commission or its staff. All
26 assessments made under this subsection for payment to the
27 Commission shall be paid into the Public Utility Fund within
28 60 days after receiving notice of the assessments from the
29 Commission. Interests at the statutory rate shall accrue
30 after the expiration of the 60 day period. The Commission is
31 authorized to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for
32 an order requiring payment. In addition, the Commission is
33 authorized to obtain outside resources including, but not
34 limited to, engineers and consultants for the purposes set
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1 forth in this subsection. The cost of theses outside
2 resources shall be borne by the electric utility whose
3 customers were subjected to the interruption or affected by
4 the power surge or fluctuation. The Commission shall review
5 the bill for reasonableness and assess the electric utility
6 for reasonable costs. The costs shall be paid by the
7 electric utility directly to the engineers, consultants, and
8 other providers of outside resources within 60 days after
9 receiving notice of the assessment from the Commission.
10 Interest at the statutory rate shall accrue after expiration
11 of the 60-day period. The Commission, engineers,
12 consultants, or other providers of outside resources may
13 apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order
14 requiring payment of the assessments.
15 (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
16 diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
17 available to a customer or a class of customers.
18 (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
19 utility to maintain service records detailing information on
20 each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of
21 the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
22 (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more
23 customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be
24 required to be recorded or reported. The service record
25 shall include, for each occurrence, the following
26 information:
27 (1) The date.
28 (2) The time of occurrence.
29 (3) The duration of the incident.
30 (4) The number of customers affected.
31 (5) A description of the cause.
32 (6) The geographic area affected.
33 (7) The specific equipment involved in the
34 fluctuation or interruption.
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1 (8) A description of measures taken to restore
2 service.
3 (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
4 cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.
5 (10) A description of measures taken to prevent
6 future occurrence.
7 (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
8 affected customers.
9 (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
10 waived for affected customers.
11 Copies of the records containing this information shall
12 be available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
13 and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
14 exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
15 each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
16 available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
17 be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
18 reasonable cost of reproduction.
19 (k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of
20 this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility
21 having 1,000,000 or more customers.
22 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.