Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 3/15/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2335

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2335 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
5Sections 19-105 and 19-111 as follows:
 
6    (220 ILCS 5/19-105)
7    Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article,
8the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this
9Section.
10    "Alternative gas supplier" means every person,
11cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company,
12association, joint stock company or association, firm,
13partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees,
14trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, that
15offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other value
16received to one or more customers, or that engages in the

 

 

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1furnishing of gas to one or more customers, and shall include
2affiliated interests of a gas utility, resellers, aggregators
3and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas utilities (or any
4agent of the gas utility to the extent the gas utility provides
5tariffed services to customers through an agent); (ii) public
6utilities that are owned and operated by any political
7subdivision, public institution of higher education or
8municipal corporation of this State, or public utilities that
9are owned by a political subdivision, public institution of
10higher education, or municipal corporation and operated by any
11of its lessees or operating agents; (iii) natural gas
12cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for
13the purpose of administering, on a cooperative basis, the
14furnishing of natural gas for the benefit of their members who
15are consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership or
16operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at
17retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel and
18the selling of compressed natural gas at retail to the public
19for use only as a motor vehicle fuel.
20    "Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section
213-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license, permit, or
22right to furnish or sell gas or transportation services to
23customers within a service area.
24    "Non-tariffed service" means any service provided by an
25alternative gas supplier to a residential customer or a small
26commercial customer.

 

 

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1    "Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas
2utility service for household purposes distributed to a
3dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
4residential rate or gas utility service for household purposes
5distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
6residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each
7dwelling unit.
8    "Sales agent" means any employee, agent, independent
9contractor, consultant, or other person that is engaged by the
10alternative gas supplier to solicit customers to purchase,
11enroll in, or contract for alternative gas service on behalf of
12an alternative gas supplier.
13    "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which a
14gas utility was lawfully entitled to provide gas to customers
15as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd
16General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of any customer
17to which the gas utility was lawfully providing gas utility
18services on such effective date.
19    "Single billing" means the combined billing of the services
20provided by both a natural gas utility and an alternative gas
21supplier to any customer who has enrolled in a customer choice
22program.
23    "Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail
24customer of a natural gas utility who consumed 5,000 or fewer
25therms of natural gas during the previous year; provided that
26any alternative gas supplier may remove the customer from

 

 

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1designation as a "small commercial customer" if the customer
2consumes more than 5,000 therms of natural gas in any calendar
3year after becoming a customer of the alternative gas supplier.
4In determining whether a customer has consumed 5,000 or fewer
5therms of natural gas during the previous year, usage by the
6same commercial customer shall be aggregated to include usage
7at the same premises even if measured by more than one meter,
8and to include usage at multiple premises. Nothing in this
9Section creates an affirmative obligation on a gas utility to
10monitor or inform customers or alternative gas suppliers as to
11a customer's status as a small commercial customer as that term
12is defined herein. Nothing in this Section relieves a gas
13utility from any obligation to provide information upon request
14to a customer, alternative gas supplier, the Commission, or
15others necessary to determine whether a customer meets the
16classification of small commercial customers as that term is
17defined herein.
18    "Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers by
19a gas utility as defined by its rates on file with the
20Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article IX of this
21Act.
22    "Transportation services" means those services provided by
23the gas utility that are necessary in order for the storage,
24transmission and distribution systems to function so that
25customers located in the gas utility's service area can receive
26gas from suppliers other than the gas utility and shall

 

 

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1include, without limitation, standard metering and billing
2services.
3(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10;
496-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
 
5    (220 ILCS 5/19-111)
6    Sec. 19-111. Material changes in business.
7    (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to
8alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve
9residential or small commercial customers and only to the
10extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to
11residential or small commercial customers.
12    (b) Alternative gas suppliers shall file with the
13Commission a notification of any material change to the
14information supplied in a certification application within 30
15days of such material change.
16        (1) An alternative gas supplier shall file such notice
17    under the docket number assigned to the alternative gas
18    supplier's certification application, whichever is the
19    most recent. The supplier shall also serve such notice upon
20    the gas utility company serving customers in the service
21    area where the alternative gas supplier is certified to
22    provide service.
23        (2) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the
24    Commission may (i) suspend, rescind, or conditionally
25    rescind an alternative gas supplier's certificate if it

 

 

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1    determines that the material change will adversely affect
2    the alternative gas supplier's fitness or ability to
3    provide the services for which it is certified or (ii)
4    require the alternative gas supplier to provide reasonable
5    financial assurances sufficient to protect their customers
6    and gas utilities from default.
7    (c) Material changes to the information contained in or
8supplied with a certification application include, but are not
9limited to, the following:
10        (1) Any significant change in ownership (an ownership
11    interest of 5% or more) of the applicant or alternative gas
12    supplier.
13        (2) An affiliation with any gas utility or change of an
14    affiliation with a gas utility in this State.
15        (3) Retirement or other long-term changes to the
16    operational status of supply resources relied upon by the
17    alternative gas supplier to provide alternative gas
18    service. Changes in the volume of supply from any given
19    supply resource replaced by a comparable supply resource do
20    not need to be reported.
21        (4) Revocation, restriction, or termination of any
22    interconnection or service agreement with a pipeline
23    company or natural gas company relied upon by an
24    alternative gas supplier to provide alternative retail
25    natural gas service, but only if such revocation,
26    restriction, or termination creates a situation in which

 

 

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1    the alternative gas supplier does not meet the tariffed
2    capacity requirements of the relevant Illinois natural gas
3    utility or utilities.
4        (5) If the alternative gas supplier has a long-term
5    bond rating from Standard & Poor's or its successor, or
6    Fitch Ratings or its successor, or Moody's Investor Service
7    or its successor, and the alternative gas supplier's
8    long-term bond rating falls below BBB as reported by
9    Standard & Poor's or its successor or Fitch Ratings or its
10    successor or below Baa3 as reported by Moody's Investors
11    Service or its successor.
12        (6) The applicant or alternative gas supplier has or
13    intends to file for reorganization, protection from
14    creditors, or any other form of bankruptcy with any court.
15        (7) Any judgment, finding, or ruling by a court or
16    regulatory agency that could affect an alternative gas
17    supplier's fitness or ability to provide service in this
18    State.
19        (8) Any change in the alternative gas supplier's name
20    or logo, including without limitation any change in the
21    alternative gas supplier's legal name, fictitious names,
22    or assumed business names, except for logos and names the
23    alternative gas supplier provided as part of its original
24    certification process or that the alternative gas supplier
25    previously provided to the Commission under this Section.
26    (d) An alternative gas supplier shall provide annually to

 

 

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1the Commission a list of all non-tariffed services available to
2customers in a service area for publication on the Commission's
3website.
4(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)".