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91_HB3433
LRB9111528JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 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 Section 16-125 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
8 Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
9 requirements.
10 (a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to
11 all customers in this State and the effective implementation
12 of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall,
13 within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt
14 rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the
15 reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and
16 facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.
17 (b) These rules and regulations shall require each
18 electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier
19 owning, controlling, or operating transmission and
20 distribution facilities and equipment subject to the
21 Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as
22 "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures
23 for restoring transmission and distribution services to
24 customers after transmission or distribution outages on a
25 nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer
26 has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric
27 utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power
28 and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a
29 minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to
30 submit annually to the Commission.
31 (1) the number and duration of planned and
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1 unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts
2 on customers;
3 (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
4 were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
5 facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
6 inactions of operating personnel or agents;
7 (3) customer service interruptions that were due
8 solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative
9 retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying
10 power or energy;
11 (4) a detailed report of the age, current
12 condition, reliability and performance of the
13 jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and
14 distribution facilities, which shall include, without
15 limitation, the following data:
16 (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
17 outages and voltage variances reportable under the
18 Commission's rules;
19 (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
20 for transmission construction and maintenance, the
21 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
22 entity's transmission investment, and the average
23 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
24 transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage
25 of total depreciation lives;
26 (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures
27 for distribution construction and maintenance, the
28 ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional
29 entity's distribution investment, and the average
30 remaining depreciation lives of the entity's
31 distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage
32 of total depreciation lives;
33 (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
34 among other areas identified in Commission rules,
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1 reliability, customer service, and understandability
2 of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
3 and
4 (v) the corresponding information, in the same
5 format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
6 (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
7 improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
8 and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
9 reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
10 delivery reliability needed for fair and open
11 competition; and
12 (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's
13 implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph
14 (5) for the previous reporting period.
15 (c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria
16 that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's
17 annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such
18 criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items
19 required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant
20 characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of
21 the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering
22 practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits
23 of avoiding the risks of service disruption.
24 (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the
25 Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the
26 following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the
27 Commission shall assess the annual report of each
28 jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability
29 performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include
30 specific identification of, and recommendations concerning,
31 any potential reliability problems that it has identified as
32 a result of its evaluation.
33 (e) In the event that more than 30,000 customers of an
34 electric utility are subjected to a continuous power
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1 interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the
2 transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard
3 voltage, or that results in the total loss of power
4 transmission, the utility shall be responsible for
5 compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4
6 hours or more for all actual damages, which shall not
7 include consequential damages, suffered as a result of the
8 power interruption. The utility shall also reimburse the
9 affected municipality, county, or other unit of local
10 government in which the power interruption has taken place
11 for all emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the
12 unit of local government as a result of the interruption. A
13 waiver of the requirements of this subsection may be granted
14 by the Commission in instances in which the utility can show
15 that the power interruption was a result of any one or more
16 of the following causes:
17 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
18 conditions.
19 (2) Customer tampering.
20 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
21 international unrest or animals.
22 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
23 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
24 or contractors.
25 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
26 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
27 (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation
28 that causes damage and affects more than 30,000 customers,
29 the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the
30 replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the
31 power surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show
32 that the power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or
33 more of the following causes:
34 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
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1 conditions.
2 (2) Customer tampering.
3 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
4 international unrest or animals.
5 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
6 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents,
7 or contractors.
8 Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
9 subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers
10 with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the
11 Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections
12 (e) and (f) shall not count toward the 30,000 customers
13 required therein.
14 (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned
15 or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will
16 result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the
17 standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
18 defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make
19 reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers
20 no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the
21 repairs or maintenance.
22 (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be
23 sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission
24 as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages
25 awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be
26 limited to actual damages, which shall not include
27 consequential damages, and litigation costs. Damage awards
28 may not be paid out of utility rate funds.
29 (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
30 diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
31 available to a customer or a class of customers.
32 (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
33 utility to maintain service records detailing information on
34 each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of
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1 the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation
2 (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more
3 customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be
4 required to be recorded or reported. The service record
5 shall include, for each occurrence, the following
6 information:
7 (1) The date.
8 (2) The time of occurrence.
9 (3) The duration of the incident.
10 (4) The number of customers affected.
11 (5) A description of the cause.
12 (6) The geographic area affected.
13 (7) The specific equipment involved in the
14 fluctuation or interruption.
15 (8) A description of measures taken to restore
16 service.
17 (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the
18 cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.
19 (10) A description of measures taken to prevent
20 future occurrence.
21 (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
22 affected customers.
23 (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was
24 waived for affected customers.
25 Copies of the records containing this information shall
26 be available for public inspection at the utility's offices,
27 and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
28 exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of
29 each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
30 available for public inspection. Copies of the records may
31 be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the
32 reasonable cost of reproduction.
33 (k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of
34 this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility
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1 having 1,000,000 or more customers.
2 (l) In the event that 500 or more customers of an
3 electric utility are subjected to a continuous power of
4 interruption of 2 hours or more that results in the
5 transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard
6 voltage or that results in the total loss of power
7 transmission, the utility shall be fined an amount determined
8 by multiplying $1 times the number of customers affected by
9 the power interruption times the number of hours of the power
10 interruption, provided that the fine shall be no less than
11 $25,000. In addition, the Commission may require as a
12 penalty disgorgement of profits or revenues realized.
13 Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the Commission
14 from imposing additional administrative penalties as the
15 Commission deems appropriate.
16 A waiver of this subsection may be granted by the
17 Commission in instances in which the utility can show that
18 the power interruption was a result of any one or more of the
19 following causes:
20 (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
21 conditions.
22 (2) Customer tampering.
23 (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or
24 international unrest or animals.
25 (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by
26 a party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or
27 contractors.
28 Any penalties imposed under this subsection may not be
29 recovered from ratepayers.
30 The requirements of this subsection shall apply only to
31 an electric utility having 500,000 or more customers.
32 (Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
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1 January 1, 2001.