SB2335eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2335 Engrossed LRB098 07039 JLS 37098 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 Sections 19-105 and 19-111 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/19-105)

Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this Section.

"Alternative gas supplier" means every person, cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company, association, joint stock company or association, firm, partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, that offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other value received to one or more customers, or that engages in the furnishing of gas to one or more customers, and shall include affiliated interests of a gas utility, resellers, aggregators and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas utilities (or any agent of the gas utility to the extent the gas utility provides tariffed services to customers through an agent); (ii) public utilities that are owned and operated by any political subdivision, public institution of higher education or municipal corporation of this State, or public utilities that are owned by a political subdivision, public institution of higher education, or municipal corporation and operated by any of its lessees or operating agents; (iii) natural gas cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for the purpose of administering, on a cooperative basis, the furnishing of natural gas for the benefit of their members who are consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel.

"Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license, permit, or right to furnish or sell gas or transportation services to customers within a service area.

"Non-tariffed service" means any service provided by an alternative gas supplier to a residential customer or a small commercial customer.

"Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate or gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit.

"Sales agent" means any employee, agent, independent contractor, consultant, or other person that is engaged by the alternative gas supplier to solicit customers to purchase, enroll in, or contract for alternative gas service on behalf of an alternative gas supplier.

"Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which a gas utility was lawfully entitled to provide gas to customers as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of any customer to which the gas utility was lawfully providing gas utility services on such effective date.

"Single billing" means the combined billing of the services provided by both a natural gas utility and an alternative gas supplier to any customer who has enrolled in a customer choice program.

"Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail customer of a natural gas utility who consumed 5,000 or fewer therms of natural gas during the previous year; provided that any alternative gas supplier may remove the customer from designation as a "small commercial customer" if the customer consumes more than 5,000 therms of natural gas in any calendar year after becoming a customer of the alternative gas supplier. In determining whether a customer has consumed 5,000 or fewer therms of natural gas during the previous year, usage by the same commercial customer shall be aggregated to include usage at the same premises even if measured by more than one meter, and to include usage at multiple premises. Nothing in this Section creates an affirmative obligation on a gas utility to monitor or inform customers or alternative gas suppliers as to a customer's status as a small commercial customer as that term is defined herein. Nothing in this Section relieves a gas utility from any obligation to provide information upon request to a customer, alternative gas supplier, the Commission, or others necessary to determine whether a customer meets the classification of small commercial customers as that term is defined herein.

"Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers by a gas utility as defined by its rates on file with the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article IX of this Act.

"Transportation services" means those services provided by the gas utility that are necessary in order for the storage, transmission and distribution systems to function so that customers located in the gas utility's service area can receive gas from suppliers other than the gas utility and shall include, without limitation, standard metering and billing services.

(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(220 ILCS 5/19-111)

Sec. 19-111. Material changes in business.

(a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve residential or small commercial customers and only to the extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to residential or small commercial customers.

(b) Alternative gas suppliers shall file with the Commission a notification of any material change to the information supplied in a certification application within 30 days of such material change.

(1) An alternative gas supplier shall file such notice under the docket number assigned to the alternative gas supplier's certification application, whichever is the most recent. The supplier shall also serve such notice upon the gas utility company serving customers in the service area where the alternative gas supplier is certified to provide service.

(2) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Commission may (i) suspend, rescind, or conditionally rescind an alternative gas supplier's certificate if it determines that the material change will adversely affect the alternative gas supplier's fitness or ability to provide the services for which it is certified or (ii) require the alternative gas supplier to provide reasonable financial assurances sufficient to protect their customers and gas utilities from default.

(c) Material changes to the information contained in or supplied with a certification application include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Any significant change in ownership (an ownership interest of 5% or more) of the applicant or alternative gas supplier.

(2) An affiliation with any gas utility or change of an affiliation with a gas utility in this State.

(3) Retirement or other long-term changes to the operational status of supply resources relied upon by the alternative gas supplier to provide alternative gas service. Changes in the volume of supply from any given supply resource replaced by a comparable supply resource do not need to be reported.

(4) Revocation, restriction, or termination of any interconnection or service agreement with a pipeline company or natural gas company relied upon by an alternative gas supplier to provide alternative retail natural gas service, but only if such revocation, restriction, or termination creates a situation in which the alternative gas supplier does not meet the tariffed capacity requirements of the relevant Illinois natural gas utility or utilities.

(5) If the alternative gas supplier has a long-term bond rating from Standard & Poor's or its successor, or Fitch Ratings or its successor, or Moody's Investor Service or its successor, and the alternative gas supplier's long-term bond rating falls below BBB as reported by Standard & Poor's or its successor or Fitch Ratings or its successor or below Baa3 as reported by Moody's Investors Service or its successor.

(6) The applicant or alternative gas supplier has or intends to file for reorganization, protection from creditors, or any other form of bankruptcy with any court.

(7) Any judgment, finding, or ruling by a court or regulatory agency that could affect an alternative gas supplier's fitness or ability to provide service in this State.

(8) Any change in the alternative gas supplier's name or logo, including without limitation any change in the alternative gas supplier's legal name, fictitious names, or assumed business names, except for logos and names the alternative gas supplier provided as part of its original certification process or that the alternative gas supplier previously provided to the Commission under this Section.

(d) An alternative gas supplier shall provide annually to the Commission a list of all non-tariffed services available to customers in a service area for publication on the Commission's website.

(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)