Public Act 096-0176
 
HB0722 Enrolled LRB096 08034 MJR 18140 b

    AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
adding Section 1-92 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 3855/1-92 new)
    Sec. 1-92. Aggregation of electrical load by
municipalities and counties.
    (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality or county
board of a county may adopt an ordinance under which it may
aggregate in accordance with this Section residential and small
commercial retail electrical loads located, respectively,
within the municipality or the unincorporated areas of the
county and, for that purpose, may solicit bids and enter into
service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and
purchase of electricity and related services and equipment.
    The corporate authorities or county board may also exercise
such authority jointly with any other municipality or county.
Two or more municipalities or counties, or a combination of
both, may initiate a process jointly to authorize aggregation
by a majority vote of each particular municipality or county as
required by this Section.
    If the corporate authorities or the county board seek to
operate the aggregation program as an opt-out program for
residential and small commercial retail customers, then prior
to the adoption of an ordinance with respect to aggregation of
residential and small commercial retail electric loads, the
corporate authorities of a municipality or the county board of
a county shall submit a referendum to its residents to
determine whether or not the aggregation program shall operate
as an opt-out program for residential and small commercial
retail customers.
    In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the
general election law, notice of the referendum shall state
briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether
the corporate authorities or the county board shall adopt an
opt-out aggregation program for residential and small
commercial retail customers shall be submitted to the electors
of the municipality or county board at a regular election and
approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question.
The corporate authorities or county board must certify to the
proper election authority, which must submit the question at an
election in accordance with the Election Code.
    The election authority must submit the question in
substantially the following form:
        Shall the (municipality or county in which the question
    is being voted upon) have the authority to arrange for the
    supply of electricity for its residential and small
    commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such
    program?
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
    If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities or county
board may implement an opt-out aggregation program for
residential and small commercial retail customers.
    A referendum must pass in each particular municipality or
county that is engaged in the aggregation program. If the
referendum fails, then the corporate authorities or county
board shall operate the aggregation program as an opt-in
program for residential and small commercial retail customers.
    An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the
aggregation will occur only with the prior consent of each
person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric
load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,
however, authorizes the aggregation of electric loads that are
served or authorized to be served by an electric cooperative as
defined by and pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act or loads
served by a municipality that owns and operates its own
electric distribution system. No aggregation shall take effect
unless approved by a majority of the members of the corporate
authority or county board voting upon the ordinance.
    A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a
public utility or an alternative retail electric supplier.
    (b) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this
Section, the corporate authorities or the county board, with
assistance from the Illinois Power Agency, shall develop a plan
of operation and governance for the aggregation program so
authorized. Before adopting a plan under this Section, the
corporate authorities or county board shall hold at least 2
public hearings on the plan. Before the first hearing, the
corporate authorities or county board shall publish notice of
the hearings once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper
of general circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall
summarize the plan and state the date, time, and location of
each hearing. Any load aggregation plan established pursuant to
this Section shall:
        (1) provide for universal access to all applicable
    residential customers and equitable treatment of
    applicable residential customers;
        (2) describe demand management and energy efficiency
    services to be provided to each class of customers; and
        (3) meet any requirements established by law
    concerning aggregated service offered pursuant to this
    Section.
    (c) The process for soliciting bids for electricity and
other related services and awarding proposed agreements for the
purchase of electricity and other related services shall be
conducted in the following order:
        (1) The corporate authorities or county board may
    solicit bids for electricity and other related services.
        (2) Notwithstanding Section 16-122 of the Public
    Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and
    Deceptive Business Practices Act, an electric utility that
    provides residential and small commercial retail electric
    service in the aggregate area must, upon request of the
    corporate authorities or the county board in the aggregate
    area, submit to the requesting party, in an electronic
    format, those names and addresses of residential and small
    commercial retail customers in the aggregate area that are
    reflected in the electric utility's records at the time of
    the request. Any corporate authority or county board
    receiving customer information from an electric utility
    shall be subject to the limitations on the disclosure of
    the information described in Section 16-122 of the Public
    Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and
    Deceptive Business Practices Act, and an electric utility
    shall not be held liable for any claims arising out of the
    provision of information pursuant to this item (2).
    (d) If the corporate authorities or county board operate
under an opt-in program for residential and small commercial
retail customers, then the corporate authorities or county
board shall comply with all of the following:
        (1) Within 60 days after receiving the bids, the
    corporate authorities or county board shall allow
    residential and small commercial retail customers to
    commit to the terms and conditions of a bid that has been
    selected by the corporate authorities or county board.
        (2) If (A) the corporate authorities or county board
    award proposed agreements for the purchase of electricity
    and other related services and (B) an agreement is reached
    between the corporate authorities or county board for those
    services, then customers committed to the terms and
    conditions according to item (1) of this subsection (d)
    shall be committed to the agreement.
    (e) If the corporate authorities or county board operate as
an opt-out program for residential and small commercial retail
customers, then it shall be the duty of the aggregated entity
to fully inform residential and small commercial retail
customers in advance that they have the right to opt out of the
aggregation program. The disclosure shall prominently state
all charges to be made and shall include full disclosure of the
cost to obtain service pursuant to Section 16-103 of the Public
Utilities Act, how to access it, and the fact that it is
available to them without penalty, if they are currently
receiving service under that Section. The Illinois Power Agency
shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a list of all
supply options available to them in a format that allows
comparison of prices and products.
    The Illinois Power Agency shall provide assistance to
municipalities, counties, or associations working with
municipalities to help complete the plan and bidding process.
    This Section does not prohibit municipalities or counties
from entering into an intergovernmental agreement to aggregate
residential and small commercial retail electric loads.
 
    (220 ILCS 5/17-800 rep.)
    Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
repealing Section 17-800.