(220 ILCS 5/9-241) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 9-241)
Sec. 9-241.
No public utility shall, as to rates or other charges,
services, facilities or in other respect, make or grant any preference
or advantage to any corporation or person or subject any corporation or
person to any prejudice or disadvantage. No public utility shall
establish or maintain any unreasonable difference as to rates or other
charges, services, facilities, or in any other respect, either as
between localities or as between classes of service.
However, nothing in this Section shall be construed as limiting the
authority of the Commission to permit the establishment of economic
development rates as incentives to economic development either in
enterprise zones as designated by the State of Illinois or in other areas
of a utility's service area. Such rates should be available to existing
businesses which demonstrate an increase to existing load as well as new
businesses which create new load for a utility so as to create a more balanced
utilization of generating capacity. The Commission shall ensure that such
rates are established at a level which provides a net benefit to customers
within a public utility's service area.
Prior to October 1, 1989, no public utility providing electrical
or gas service shall consider the use of solar or other nonconventional
renewable sources of energy by a customer as a basis for establishing higher
rates or charges for any service or commodity sold to such customer; nor
shall a public utility subject any customer utilizing such energy source
or sources to any other prejudice or disadvantage on account of such use.
No public utility shall without the consent of the Commission, charge or
receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for a lesser commodity,
product, or service than for a greater commodity, product or service of
like character.
The Commission, in order to expedite the determination of rate
questions, or to avoid unnecessary and unreasonable expense, or to avoid
unjust or unreasonable discrimination between classes of customers, or,
whenever in the judgment of the Commission public interest so requires,
may, for rate making and accounting purposes, or either of them,
consider
one or more municipalities either with or without the adjacent or
intervening rural territory as a regional unit where the same public
utility serves such region under substantially similar conditions, and may
within such region prescribe uniform rates for consumers or patrons of the same
class.
Any public utility, with the consent and approval of the Commission, may
as a basis for the determination of the charges made by it classify its
service according to the amount used, the time when used, the purpose for
which used, and other relevant factors.
(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
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