220 ILCS 5/16-115A

(220 ILCS 5/16-115A)

Sec. 16-115A. Obligations of alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) An alternative retail electric supplier shall:

(i) comply with the requirements imposed on public utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have application to the services being offered by the alternative retail electric supplier; and

(ii) continue to comply with the requirements for certification stated in subsection (d) of Section 16-115.

(b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain verifiable authorization from a customer, in a form or manner approved by the Commission consistent with Section 2EE of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, before the customer is switched from another supplier.

(c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area a customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one megawatt from having access to the services of the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii) charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service, notice period for terminating service and provisions governing early termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by Section 16-119.

(d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is certified to serve residential or small commercial retail customers shall not:

(1) deny service to a customer or group of customers nor establish any differences as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based upon race, gender or income.

(2) deny service to a customer or group of customers based on locality nor establish any unreasonable difference as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, or facilities as between localities.

(e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply with the following requirements with respect to the marketing, offering and provision of products or services to residential and small commercial retail customers:

(i) Any marketing materials which make statements concerning prices, terms and conditions of service shall contain information that adequately discloses the prices, terms and conditions of the products or services that the alternative retail electric supplier is offering or selling to the customer.

(ii) Before any customer is switched from another supplier, the alternative retail electric supplier shall give the customer written information that adequately discloses, in plain language, the prices, terms and conditions of the products and services being offered and sold to the customer.

(iii) An alternative retail electric supplier shall provide documentation to the Commission and to customers that substantiates any claims made by the alternative retail electric supplier regarding the technologies and fuel types used to generate the electricity offered or sold to customers.

(iv) The alternative retail electric supplier shall provide to the customer (1) itemized billing statements that describe the products and services provided to the customer and their prices, and (2) an additional statement, at least annually, that adequately discloses the average monthly prices, and the terms and conditions, of the products and services sold to the customer.

(f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit the overall size or availability of a service offering by specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time period during which the offering will be available, or other comparable limitation, but not including the geographic locations of customers within the area which the alternative retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and conditions of such service offering including the applicable limitations with the Commission prior to making the service offering available to customers.

(g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as preventing an alternative retail electric supplier, which is an affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an industry or trade organization or association, (ii) a membership organization or association that exists for a purpose other than the purchase of electricity, or (iii) another organization that meets criteria established in a rule adopted by the Commission, from offering through the organization or association services at prices, terms and conditions that are available solely to the members of the organization or association.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)