AUTHORITY: Implementing Sections 8-401 and 16-125 and authorized by Sections 10-101 and 16-125 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

SOURCE: Adopted by emergency rulemaking at 22 Ill. Reg. 11177, effective June 10, 1998, for a maximum of 150 days; adopted at 22 Ill. Reg. 20042, effective November 7, 1998; amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000; amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020; amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 5653, effective March 22, 2022.

SUBPART A: GENERAL

 

Section 411.10  Purpose

 

a)         The Commission's policies for reliability of facilities and service have been developed from the following basic principles incorporated in the Public Utilities Act.

 

1)         Reliability encompasses more than statistical data, and the simple absence or occurrence of outages alone may not reflect the true system reliability. The risks of future outages, as indicated by the age, condition, design, and performance of transmission and distribution facilities and by a jurisdictional entity's investment in the maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade of its facilities and equipment, are no less important than the past occurrence of outages in assessing system reliability.

 

2)         Potential service reliability improvements should be evaluated considering the costs and benefits of the improvements to the jurisdictional entity and to customers.

 

3)         Reliable electric service is essential to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the State of Illinois.

 

b)         Accordingly, this Part is adopted for the purposes stated herein and should be interpreted in a manner consistent with the policies stated herein and in a manner that accomplishes the specific objectives set out in this Part. Ends to be served by this Part are listed below.

 

1)         To define clearly the Commission's process of assessing electric service reliability.

 

2)         To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to all customers in this State.

 

3)         To assure the effective implementation of amendments to the Public Utilities Act relating to the reliable provision of transmission and distribution or delivery services in a competitive environment.

 

4)         To adopt, as required by law, rules and regulations for assessing, and assuring, the reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.

 

5)         To establish uniform measurements to assess transmission, distribution and delivery service and to establish reporting requirements that routinely and periodically inform the Commission about the reliability of transmission and distribution systems under its jurisdiction.

 

6)         To allow the Commission to monitor more effectively the reliability of the transmission and distribution systems over which power and energy from all electric suppliers will be transported to consumers in the State.

 

7)         To provide adequate information for the Commission to monitor aspects of reliability in addition to interruptions.

 

Section 411.20  Definitions

 

This Section defines terms as they are used in this Part.

 

            "Alternative retail electric supplier" has the same meaning as defined in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/16-102].

 

            "Controllable interruption" is an interruption caused or exacerbated in scope and duration by the condition of facilities, equipment, or premises owned or operated by a jurisdictional entity, or by the action or inaction of persons under a jurisdictional entity's control and that could have been prevented through the use of generally accepted engineering, construction, or maintenance practices.

 

            "Customer", for the purposes of this Part only, means a retail customer, as that term is defined in Section 16-102 of the Act, or a single entity that is using and has agreed to pay for electric power or energy, or electric transmission or distribution service, from a jurisdictional entity in a wholesale transaction. A single customer can have one or more points of service or meters at a given location. Customer, for the purpose of this Part, shall not include entities that are using electric power or energy unlawfully (e.g., through an illegal tap).

 

            "Distribution circuit" is a circuit owned and/or operated by a jurisdictional entity and designed to operate at a nominal voltage of 15,000 volts or less and to supply one or more distribution transformers.

 

            "Distribution circuit interruption" is an interruption originating at a point that is between the circuit interrupting device at the substation supplying the distribution circuit and the distribution transformer.

 

            "Electric service" means the availability of electric power and energy purchased by the customer at the point of connection between jurisdictional entity equipment and customer equipment, on those terms and conditions provided for in the jurisdictional entity's tariffs, in its terms and conditions of service, or in any contract between a jurisdictional entity and the customer.

 

            "Electric utility" or "Utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section 3-105 and Section 16-102 of the Act, that has a franchise, license, permit or right to furnish or sell electricity to retail customers within a service area.

 

            "Facilities" includes all lines, cables, equipment, plant, computer systems, customer service systems, apparatus, property, and any other items of similar kind that are used to provide or that affects the reliability of transmission, distribution or delivery services.

 

            "Independent system operator" shall have the meanings given in Article XVI of the Act [220 ILCS 5/Art. XVI].

 

            "Interruption" or "Outage", except as used in Sections 411.210 and 411.220, means the failure or operation of a single component, or the simultaneous failure or operation of physically and directly connected components of a jurisdictional entity's transmission or distribution system that results in electric service to one or more of its customers being lost or being provided at less than fifty percent of standard voltage for a period longer than one minute in duration and requiring human intervention by the jurisdictional entity to restore electric service.

 

            Service to a multi-phase point of service is interrupted if service to one or more phases is interrupted.

 

            The Commission does not intend this definition to require a jurisdictional entity to install and operate voltage sensing equipment specifically to identify interruptions involving provision of service at less that fifty percent of standard voltage.

 

            This definition specifically excludes occurrences of the loss of electric service when automatic switches, automatic line reclosing devices, or other automatic jurisdictional entity devices successfully restore electric service.

 

            The term "interruption" or "outage" shall not include the interruptions listed below.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity, pursuant to the provisions of an interruptible service tariff or contract and affecting only those customers taking electric service under such tariff or contract.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity for nonpayment of a bill and according to the provisions of Sections 8-201, 8-202, 8-203, 8-204, 8-205 and/or 8-206 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/8-201, 8-202, 8-203, 8-205, and 8-206] and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity due to tampering with service equipment.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity due to its being denied access to service equipment located on the affected customer's private property.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity due to hazardous conditions located on the affected customer's private property (such as a fire).

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity due to a request by the affected customer.

 

            Interruptions intentionally initiated by a jurisdictional entity due to a request by a law enforcement agency, fire department, other governmental agency responsible for public welfare, or any agency or authority responsible for bulk power system security (e.g., North American Electric Reliability Council, a regional reliability council, or an independent system operator).

 

            Interruptions caused by the failure of a customer's equipment; the operation of a customer's equipment in a manner inconsistent with statute, an approved tariff, rule, regulation, or an agreement between the customer and the jurisdictional entity; or the failure of a customer to take a required action that would have avoided the interruption, such as failing to notify the jurisdictional entity of an increase in load when required to do so by a tariff or contract.

 

            Interruptions caused by the actions or omissions of another jurisdictional entity or other supplier of electricity or electrical services shall not be deemed an "interruption" of the jurisdictional entity providing transmission and distribution services so long as that jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution facilities serving the customer remained operational.

 

            Scheduled interruptions initiated by a jurisdictional entity for repair, maintenance, or reinforcement shall not be considered an interruption for the purposes of the targets set forth in Section 411.140(b)(4) and calculating reliability indices.  For all other purposes under this Part, the term "interruption" shall include scheduled interruptions initiated by a jurisdictional entity for repair, maintenance, or reinforcement.  Scheduled interruptions are reportable under Section 411.120(b)(3)(C).

 

            As used in Sections 411.210 and 411.220, "Interruption" has the same meaning as when used in Section 16-125(e) of the Act.

 

            "Interruption duration" means a period of time measured in one-minute increments that starts when a jurisdictional entity is notified or becomes aware of an interruption and ends when a jurisdictional entity restores electric service.

 

            "Jurisdictional entity" means an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier owning, controlling, or operating transmission and distribution facilities and equipment subject to the Commission's jurisdiction.

 

            "Operating  area" is a geographic area defined by the jurisdictional entity that is a distinct area for administration, operation, or data collection with respect to the facilities serving, or the service provided within, the geographic area.

 

            "Power  fluctuation" or "Surge," except as used in Sections 411.200, 411.210, and 411.220, means departure of more than one minute in duration in the frequency or voltage of power supplied to the customer's point of service that is caused by the failure or operation of a single component, or simultaneous failure or operation of directly connected components, of a jurisdictional entity's transmission or distribution system, that exceeds the Commission's standards for frequency and voltage (or, where the customer and the jurisdictional entity have agreed on frequency and voltage standards, exceeds the variation allowed thereby), and that causes damage to customer goods. An interruption shall not be deemed a power fluctuation. A power fluctuation or surge shall not include voltage variations or frequency variations caused by:

 

            Unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions;

 

            Customer tampering;

 

            Unpreventable damage due to civil or international unrest or animals; and

 

            Damage to a jurisdictional entity's equipment or other actions by a party other than the jurisdictional entity, its employees, agents, or contractors.

 

            As used in Section 411.200, the term "Power Fluctuation", and as used in Sections 411.210 and 411.220, the term "Power Surge or other Fluctuation", have the same meanings as when those terms are used in Section 16-125(f) of the Act.

 

            "Reliability indices" are as listed below.

 

            "System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI)" is the average number of interruptions per customer during the year. It is calculated by dividing the total annual number of customer interruptions by the total number of customers served during the year.

 

SAIFI	=	Total Number of Customer Interruptions
		Total Number of Customers Served

 

            "Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI)" is the average interruption duration for those customers who experience interruptions during the year. It is calculated by dividing the annual sum of all customer interruption durations by the total number of customer interruptions.

 

CAIDI	=	Sum of all Customer Interruption Durations
		Total Number of Customer Interruptions

 

            "Customer Average Interruption Frequency Index (CAIFI)" is the average number of interruptions for those customers who experience interruptions during the year. It is calculated by dividing the total annual number of customer interruptions by the total number of customers affected by interruptions. In determining the total number of customers affected, each customer is counted only once regardless of the number of customer interruptions that the customer may have experienced during the year.

 

CAIFI	=	Total Number of Customer Interruptions
		Total Number of Customers Affected

 

            "Unpreventable damage" is damage interruptions or fluctuations that could not be reasonably foreseen and prevented through the use of generally accepted engineering, construction, and maintenance practices. For example, damage shall be deemed unpreventable when it is:

 

            Caused by a customer's failure to follow good engineering practices with respect to its own equipment; or

 

            When engineering, construction, operations, or maintenance practices or actions have been identified and proposed by the jurisdictional entity to prevent the interruption, fluctuation, or damage, but the jurisdictional entity has not been allowed or permitted by a governmental authority or property owner to implement such practices or actions.

 

            "Worst-performing circuits" are those distribution circuits that, for each reliability index, are among the one percent of all circuits in an operating area (or at least one circuit for each reliability index) with the highest achieved values (lowest performance levels) for the reliability index. For the purpose of identifying worst-performing circuits, only distribution circuit interruptions and customers affected by such interruptions shall be considered in calculating the reliability indices.

 

Section 411.30  Applicability of Subpart B

 

The provisions of Subpart B are applicable to all jurisdictional entities subject to this Part.

 

Section 411.40  Applicability of Subpart C

 

The provisions of Subpart C are applicable to all electric utilities that have 100,000 or more customers.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.50  Commission Design of Customer Survey

 

By December 10, 1998, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to design and approve a single customer survey that is applicable to each jurisdictional entity's compliance with the requirements of this Part.  Until the Commission designs and approves a customer survey, each jurisdictional entity, except for jurisdictional entities exempt under Section 411.110(b), shall comply with the requirements of this Part using a customer survey of its own selection or design.  At the conclusion of the Commission initiated proceeding, each jurisdictional entity shall replace, for purposes of the annual reliability reports, its customer survey with the customer survey designed and approved by the Commission.

SUBPART B: REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL JURISDICTIONAL ENTITIES

 

Section 411.100  Reliability Obligations

 

a)         Each jurisdictional entity shall provide services and facilities that, in accordance with the Act and other applicable statutes, provide an adequate, efficient and reasonable level of reliability giving appropriate consideration to the costs and benefits of changing or maintaining the level of reliability.

 

b)         Each jurisdictional entity shall plan, design, construct, operate and maintain its facilities, including equipment, apparatus, systems, and property, to prevent controllable interruptions of service and to meet the requirements of this Part, consistent with the requirements in subsection (a). If such interruptions occur, the jurisdictional entity shall reestablish service as soon as it can and in a time consistent with general safety and public welfare.

 

c)         Each jurisdictional entity shall adopt and implement procedures for restoration of transmission and distribution services to customers after an interruption on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to the identity of the provider of power and energy.

 

d)         Whenever a jurisdictional entity intends to interrupt electric service for the purpose of working on the system, the jurisdictional entity shall make reasonable efforts to notify those customers who may be affected by such interruption in advance of the construction, repair, or maintenance.

 

e)         Each jurisdictional entity shall design its system according to generally accepted engineering practices, including consideration of normally expected weather, animal activity and other conditions.

 

f)         Each jurisdictional entity shall adopt and maintain appropriate operating procedures and reliability related administrative procedures.

 

Section 411.110  Record-Keeping Requirements

 

a)         Required records. Except as provided in subsection (b) below, a jurisdictional entity shall maintain, for the most recent five-year period, the records listed below.

 

1)         Records sufficient to determine a history of electric service interruptions experienced by each customer at the customer's current location. The records shall be sufficient to determine the information listed below for each interruption.

 

A)        Starting date of the interruption.

 

B)        Starting time of the interruption.

 

C)        Interruption duration.

 

D)        Description of the cause of the interruption.

 

E)        Operating areas affected.

 

F)         Circuit number(s) of the distribution circuit(s) affected.

 

G)        Number of customers affected.

 

H)        Service account number of each customer affected.

 

I)         Address of each affected customer location.

 

J)         Name of each affected customer's electric energy supplier, if known.

 

2)         Records showing, for each distribution circuit, the total number of customers served by the circuit at the end of each year.

 

b)         Periods for which records are not required. A jurisdictional entity need not maintain records reflecting the information identified in  subsection (a) for any period prior to calendar year 1994. A jurisdictional entity that, as of January 1, 1994, did not have the technical capability to collect and record some or all of the information identified in subsection (a) need not maintain records reflecting such information for any period prior to January 1, 1999. A jurisdictional entity serving retail customers in Illinois as of December 16, 1997, and that was exempted from the requirements of the Commission's electric service reliability policy (83 Ill. Adm. Code 410, Subpart C) as of that date, need not maintain records reflecting such information for any period prior to January 1, 2002.

 

Section 411.120  Notice and Reporting Requirements

 

a)         Telephone or Facsimile Notice. A jurisdictional entity must provide notice by telephone or by facsimile transmission to the Consumer Services Division of the Commission when any single event (e.g., storm, tornado, equipment malfunction, etc.) causes interruptions for 10,000 or more of the jurisdictional entity's customers for three hours or more.  After these interruptions have continued for three hours, a jurisdictional entity must provide notice within one hour when the notice would be provided during normal business hours, or within the first hour of the next business day.  A jurisdictional entity shall provide updates every two hours during the normal business day until service is restored to all customers involved.  To the extent that data and information are known, the notice shall include the data and information listed in this subsection (a).

 

1)         An estimate of the number of customers the interruptions affect.

 

2)         Starting date of the interruptions.

 

3)         Starting time of the interruptions.

 

4)         Duration of the interruptions.

 

5)         Locations of the interruptions, described as precisely as possible in generally recognized and geographically oriented terms such as street address, subdivision, or community.

 

6)         Description of the cause of the interruptions.

 

7)         The date and time when the jurisdictional entity expects to restore electric service.

 

8)         The name and telephone number of a jurisdictional entity representative the Commission Staff can contact for more information about the interruptions.

 

9)         Customer call volume to the jurisdictional entity during the interruption as compared to normal call volume and the steps the jurisdictional entity is taking to address call volume.

 

b)         Annual Report. On or before June 1 of each year, each jurisdictional entity, except for jurisdictional entities exempt under Section 411.110(b), shall file with the Chief Clerk of the Commission an annual report for the previous calendar year submitted under oath and verified by an individual responsible for the jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution reliability.

 

1)         The data requirements incorporated in the annual report are not meant to replace timely reports on outages when they occur or are remedied as required by other provisions of this Part.

 

2)         Supporting data used for more than one purpose or calculation need be submitted only once in each annual report, if submitted with clear cross-references. Data should be consistent and differences reconciled to the extent possible.

 

3)         The annual report shall include the information listed in this subsection (b)(3).

 

A)        A plan for future investment and, where necessary, reliability improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution facilities that will ensure continued reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition, along with the estimated cost of implementing the plan and any changes to the plan from the previous annual report.

 

i)          The plan must cover all operating areas, including a description of the relevant characteristics of each operating area and the age and condition of the jurisdictional entity's equipment and facilities in each operating area.

 

ii)         The plan shall cover a period of no less than three years following the year in which the report was filed.

 

iii)        The plan shall identify all foreseeable reliability challenges and describe specific projects for addressing each.

 

iv)        The plan shall provide a timetable for achievement of the plan's goals.

 

v)         The plan shall report and address all unresolved reliability complaints about the jurisdictional entity's system received from other utilities, independent system operators, and alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

vi)        The plan shall report the specific actions, if any, the jurisdictional entity is taking to address the concerns raised in complaints received from other utilities, independent system operators, and alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

vii)       The plan must consider all interruption causes listed in subsection (b)(3)(D).

 

viii)      The plan must consider the effects on customers and the cost of reducing the number of interruptions reported as required by subsection (b)(3)(C).

 

B)        A report of the jurisdictional entity's implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(A) for the previous annual reporting period, including an identification of significant deviations from the first year of the previous plan and the reasons for the deviations.

 

C)        The number and duration of planned and unplanned interruptions for the annual reporting period and their impacts on customers.

 

D)        The number and causes of controllable interruptions for the annual reporting period.

 

E)        Customer service interruptions that were due solely to the actions or inactions of another utility, another jurisdictional entity, independent system operator, or alternative retail electric supplier for the annual reporting period.

 

F)         A comparison of interruption frequency and duration for customers buying electric energy from the jurisdictional entity versus customers buying electric energy from another utility or alternative retail electric supplier for the annual reporting period.  A jurisdictional entity may base this comparison on each customer's supplier as of December 31 of each year.  A jurisdictional entity need not include this information for customers whose electric energy supplier is not known to the jurisdictional entity.

 

G)        A report of the age, current condition, reliability and performance of the jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and distribution facilities, which shall include, without limitation, the data listed in this subsection (b)(3)(G).  In analyzing and reporting the age of the jurisdictional entity's plant and equipment, the jurisdictional entity may utilize book depreciation.  Statistical estimation and analysis may be used when actual ages and conditions of facilities are not readily available.  The use of these techniques shall be disclosed in the report.

 

i)          A qualitative characterization of the condition of the jurisdictional entity's system defining the criteria used in making the qualitative assessment, and explaining why they are appropriate.

 

ii)         A summary of the jurisdictional entity's interruptions and voltage variances reportable under this Part, including the reliability indices for the annual reporting period.

 

iii)        The jurisdictional entity's expenditures for transmission construction and maintenance for the annual reporting period expressed in constant 1998 dollars, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's transmission investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives.

 

iv)        The jurisdictional entity's expenditures for distribution construction and maintenance for the annual reporting period expressed in constant 1998 dollars, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's distribution investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives.

 

v)         The results of a customer satisfaction survey completed during the annual reporting period and covering reliability, customer service, and customer understanding of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices.

 

vi)        An overview pertaining to the number and substance of customers' reliability complaints for the annual reporting period and their distribution over the jurisdictional entity's operating areas.

 

H)        A table showing the achieved level of each of the three reliability indices of each operating area for the annual reporting period (provided, however, that for any reporting period commencing before April 1, 1998, a jurisdictional entity will not be required to report the CAIFI reliability index).

 

I)         A list showing the worst-performing circuits for each operating area for the annual reporting period with the understanding that the designation of circuits as "worst-performing circuits" shall not, in and of itself, indicate a violation of this Part.

 

J)         A statement of the operating and maintenance history of circuits designated as worst-performing circuits; a description of any action taken or planned to improve the performance of any such circuit (which shall include information concerning the cost of that action); and a schedule for completion of any such action.  (The jurisdictional entity may decide, based on cost considerations or other factors, that it should take no action to improve the performance of one or more circuits designated as worst-performing circuits. If the jurisdictional entity decides to take no action to improve the performance of one or more circuits designated as worst-performing circuits, the jurisdictional entity shall explain its decision in its annual report.)

 

K)        Commencing June 10, 2001, tables or graphical representations covering, for the last three years, all of the jurisdictional entity's customers, and showing, in ascending order, the total number of customers that experienced a set number of interruptions during the year (i.e., the number of customers, who experienced zero interruptions, the number of customers who experienced one interruption, etc.).

 

L)        Commencing June 10, 2001, for those customers who experienced interruptions in excess of the service reliability targets, a list of every customer, identified by a unique number assigned by the jurisdictional entity and not the customer's name or account number, the number of interruptions and interruption duration experienced in each of the three preceding years, and the number of consecutive years in which the customer has experienced interruptions in excess of the service reliability targets.

 

M)       The name, address and telephone number of a jurisdictional entity representative who can be contacted for additional information regarding the annual report.

 

c)         Customer Report. A jurisdictional entity shall, upon request made by a customer or the Consumer Services Division of the Commission, provide to the customer and/or the Consumer Services Division, within 30 days after the request, a report on all interruptions that the customer making the request, or subject to the Consumer Service Division's request, has experienced at the customer's current service location during the most recent five calendar years.  The report shall identify for each interruption the information specified in Section 411.110(a)(1)(A) through (D).  Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a jurisdictional entity is not required to report data pursuant to this Section that Section 411.110(b) does not require a jurisdictional entity to maintain, or that the jurisdictional entity was not required to retain at the time of the interruption. This subsection does not alter the provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200 and 280 that relate to informal and formal complaint procedures.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.130  Interruption Cause Categories

 

In adhering to the interruption record-keeping and reporting requirements set forth in this Part, each jurisdictional entity shall classify and report on the cause of each interruption using the cause categories and interruption code descriptions given in Table A of this Part.

 

Section 411.140  Reliability Review

 

a)         Beginning in the year 1999 and at least every three years thereafter, the Commission shall assess the annual report of each jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability performance. Within thirty days after receiving the Commission's final report on such assessment, the jurisdictional entity may prepare a response to such report. Both the Commission's final report and the jurisdictional entity's response shall be filed with the Chief Clerk of the Commission.

 

1)         The Commission recognizes that circumstances and events beyond a jurisdictional entity's control can affect reliability statistics and the interruptions experienced by customers. The Commission shall consider such circumstances and events when evaluating a jurisdictional entity's reliability performance.

 

2)         The Commission evaluation shall:

 

A)        Assess the jurisdictional entity's historical performance relative to established reliability targets.

 

B)        Identify trends in the jurisdictional entity's reliability performance.

 

C)        Evaluate the jurisdictional entity's plan to maintain or improve reliability.

 

D)        Include specific identification, assessment, and recommendations pertaining to any potential reliability problems and risks that the Commission has identified as a result of its evaluation.

 

E)        Include a review of the jurisdictional entity's implementation of its plan for the previous reporting period.

 

b)         Annual report assessment and reliability performance evaluation criteria.

 

1)         When assessing a jurisdictional entity's annual report, the Commission shall consider the information listed below.

 

A)        Information that this Part requires a jurisdictional entity to include in annual reports.

 

B)        The relevant characteristics of the area served, including but not limited to system configuration, population density, and geographical constraints.

 

C)        The age and condition of the system's equipment and facilities.

 

D)        Generally accepted engineering practices.

 

E)        The costs of potential actions.

 

F)         The benefits of avoiding the risks of service disruptions.

 

G)        The reliability effects of severe weather events and other events and circumstances that may be beyond the jurisdictional entity's control.

 

2)         Criteria for Commission assessment of a jurisdictional entity's annual report.

 

A)        The report must comply with the requirements of this Part.

 

B)        The report must contain a plan, as required by Section 411.120(b)(3)(A).

 

3)         When assessing a jurisdictional entity's reliability performance, the Commission shall consider the information listed below.

 

A)        Controllable interruptions.

 

B)        Statistical measures of interruptions.

 

C)        The number of interruptions experienced by individual customers.

 

D)        The cumulative hours of interruption experienced by individual customers.

 

E)        The jurisdictional entity's actions to prevent interruptions.

 

F)         The jurisdictional entity's responses to interruptions and to the customers affected by interruptions.

 

G)        The extent to which the jurisdictional entity has restored interruptions of service to customers on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen the jurisdictional entity or another provider of electric power and energy.

 

H)        The number and substance of informal inquiries, requests for assistance, and complaints directed by customers to the jurisdictional entity and to the Commission.

 

I)         The results of customer satisfaction surveys that include customer perceptions of service reliability.

 

J)         Generally accepted engineering practices.

 

K)        The costs of potential actions.

 

L)        The benefits of avoiding the risks of service disruptions.

 

M)       The reliability effects of severe weather events and other events and circumstances that may be beyond the jurisdictional entity's control.

 

N)        Previous Commission reports and the jurisdictional entity's responses to those reports.

 

O)        Information that this Part requires a jurisdictional entity to include in annual reports.

 

P)         The relevant characteristics of the area served, including but not limited to system configuration, population density, and geographical constraints.

 

Q)        The age and condition of the system's equipment and facilities.

 

4)         The jurisdictional entity shall strive to provide electric service to its customers that complies with the targets listed below.

 

A)        Customers whose immediate primary source of service operates at 69,000 volts or above should not have experienced:

 

i)          More than three  controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

ii)         More than nine  hours of total interruption duration due to controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

B)        Customers whose immediate primary source of service operates at more than 15,000 volts, but less than 69,000 volts, should not have experienced:

 

i)          More than four controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

ii)         More than twelve hours of total interruption duration due to controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

C)        Customers whose immediate primary source of service operates at 15,000 volts or below should not have experienced:

 

i)          More than six controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

ii)         More than eighteen hours of total interruption duration due to controllable interruptions in each of the last three consecutive years.

 

D)        Exceeding the service reliability targets is not, in and of itself, an indication of unreliable service, nor does it constitute a violation of the Act or any Commission order, rule, direction, or requirement. The Commission's assessment shall determine if the jurisdictional entity has a process in place to identify, analyze, and correct service reliability for customers who experience a number or duration of interruptions that exceeds the targets.

 

Section 411.150  Modification or Exemption

 

a)         Any jurisdictional entity may file an application requesting modification of or exemption from any Section of this Part as such Section applies to the jurisdictional entity filing the application. For good cause shown and upon a showing that such a waiver will not compromise the reliability obligations of the jurisdictional entity, the Commission may grant such a request for modification or exemption, except that the Commission may not grant any modification or exemption of specific requirements stated in Section 16-125 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/16-125]. A petition for exemption or modification shall be filed pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200 and shall set forth specific reasons and facts in support of the requested exemption or modification.

 

b)         In determining whether good cause has been shown, the Commission shall consider, among other things, the information listed below.

 

1)         The extent to which circumstances beyond the control of the jurisdictional entity have made compliance with the applicable Section extremely difficult.

 

2)         Whether the jurisdictional entity has made a good faith effort to comply with the applicable Section in a timely fashion.

 

3)         Whether other information, which the jurisdictional entity would provide if the waiver is granted, permits the Commission Staff to review the subject filing in a complete, timely and meaningful manner.

 

Section 411.160  Format and Disclosure of Reports

 

The reports required to be filed by this Part shall be submitted to the Commission and available to the public in both printed and electronic form. The printed version shall be the official version filed with the Commission's Chief Clerk.  Computerized data and information filed as part of a report that is stored by a jurisdictional entity on a personal computer shall be provided in Microsoft Office, or other format agreed to by Commission Staff, and delivered to the Commission's offices via electronic mail or portable storage media as agreed to by the Commission Staff.  Underlying data provided to the Commission shall be available to the public to the extent that it is not proprietary information. A jurisdictional entity shall report the required information on both a system-wide and operating areas basis.  A jurisdictional entity shall submit the required information in a consistent format each year that facilitates comparisons across time periods and that uses non-technical language.  A jurisdictional entity's reports shall be available to the public from the jurisdictional entity and from the Commission.  A jurisdictional entity shall keep copies of its reports at its public offices.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.170  Exclusions

 

The service reliability targets in this Part shall not apply to customers served under a Commission approved tariff or contract, or contract for competitive services as defined in Section 16-102 of the Act [220 ILCS 5/16-102], that specifies levels of service reliability different from the service reliability  targets in this Part.

 

Section 411.180  System Protection

 

a)         In the event that the equipment or facilities of a customer or other entity are being operated in a manner that is inconsistent with the jurisdictional entity's tariffs, terms and conditions of service, or any contract between the jurisdictional entity and the customer or other entity, and such operation poses, in the reasonable judgment of the jurisdictional entity, an imminent threat to the reliability of service to customers or to person or property, the jurisdictional entity shall have the right, but not the obligation, to immediately discontinue service to those points of service that supply power or energy to such equipment or facilities until such time as the threat can be eliminated and service restored. The jurisdictional entity shall give as much notice of such discontinuance of service as is reasonably possible to the affected customer. Temporary discontinuance of service pursuant to this Section shall be deemed to be in compliance with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.130(k).

 

b)         Notwithstanding anything in the rules of the Commission to the contrary, a jurisdictional entity may lawfully take such actions as are required by federal law or standards adopted under federal law, or by an organization authorized by federal authority, to protect the security of the bulk power system and/or to provide for the continuous supply of power to facilities regulated under federal law.

 

Section 411.190  Approval of Vegetation Management Programs

 

A jurisdictional entity may file with the Commission tariffs describing programs and practices for the control of vegetation designed to maintain or enhance service reliability.  Such tariffs, if passed to file or accepted after hearing, shall be deemed standards of the Commission with respect to vegetation management by such jurisdictional entity and shall pre-empt contrary ordinances, rules, and actions of units of local government.  A jurisdictional entity will provide notice to municipalities and counties directly affected thereby of the filing, under this Section, of a proposed tariff or supporting materials relating to the need for such a tariff.

SUBPART C: UTILITIES WITH 1,000,000 OR MORE CUSTOMERS

 

Section 411.200  Specific Record-Keeping Requirements

 

a)         Electric utilities with 100,000 or more customers must maintain service records detailing information on each interruption that affects 10 or more customers, or power fluctuations that affect 30,000 or more customers, or 0.8% of the utility's total customers, whichever is less.  The service record for each interruption shall be maintained for at least five years and shall include the following information:

 

1)         Starting date of the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

2)         Starting time of the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

3)         Interruption or power fluctuation duration.

 

4)         Number of customers affected by the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

5)         Description of the cause of the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

6)         Geographic area affected by the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

7)         Specific equipment involved in the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

8)         Description of measures taken to restore service or eliminate power fluctuation.

 

9)         Description of measures taken to remedy the cause of the interruption or power fluctuation.

 

10)         Description of measures taken to prevent a future interruption or power fluctuation.

 

11)         Amount of remuneration, if any, paid to affected customers.

 

12)         Statement of whether the fixed charge was waived for affected customers.

 

b)         An electric utility with 100,000 or more customers shall not modify its data collection or record-keeping procedures so as to collect or record less information about the reliability of its transmission and distribution facilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission or to collect information for fewer discrete areas than the utility collected in calendar year 1997 without first seeking the comments of the Commission Staff.  Any changes in data collection and record-keeping procedures made without agreement of the Staff shall not excuse a later failure to provide information required or requested under the Act or this Part.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.210  Specific Notice and Reporting Requirements

 

Each electric utility having 100,000 or more customers shall provide the following notice and reports:

 

a)         Make the information, which the utility must maintain in accordance with Section 411.200, available for public inspection at the utility's offices and provide copies of the information to the public upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction.

 

b)         File, with the Commission's Chief Clerk, an annual report on or before June 1 of each year that includes the following information:

 

1)         Each record that Section 411.200 requires the utility to maintain.

 

2)         The projected load and peak demand for each of the utility's operating areas for the following three years.

 

3)         The peak loading (as a percentage of rated normal and emergency capacity) on each transmission and distribution substation transformer operating during its peak loading period at or above 90 percent of normal rated capacity, except when that data would reveal information about loads of specific customers.

 

c)         Notify the Commission, within 72 hours, in the event that more than 30,000 customers, or 0.8% of the utility's total customers, whichever is less, are subjected to a power interruption that meets the conditions set forth in Section 16-125(e) of the Act or more than 30,000 customers, or 0.8% of the utility's total customers, whichever is less, are subjected to a power surge or other fluctuation that meets the conditions in Section 16-125(f) of the Act.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.220  Proceedings to Determine Responsibility Under 220 ILCS 5/16-125(e) & (f)

 

a)         In the event that more than 30,000 customers of a utility, or 0.8% of the utility's total customers, whichever is less, are subjected to a power interruption that meets the conditions set forth in Section 16-125(e) of the Act and the utility or the Commission believes that the interruption is due to one or more of the causes set forth in Section 16-125(e)(1) through (4) of the Act, then the utility may commence a proceeding before the Commission, or the Commission may commence on its own motion a proceeding, seeking a declaration that the subject interruption was due to one or more of those causes and that liability under Section 16-125(e) of the Act should be waived by the Commission.  Any such proceeding shall be commenced by the utility or the Commission no later than 30 days after the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking damages or expense reimbursement.  The Commission's decision in that proceeding shall be appealable by any party thereto, and except as reversed or modified on appeal, the determination of the cause of the interruption in this proceeding and the Commission's decision to grant or deny a waiver of liability in connection with the interruption shall be final and shall be binding on both the utility and claimants in actions before the Commission to recover damages under Section 16-125(e) of the Act.  This proceeding shall determine only the liability of the utility under Section 16-125(e) of the Act and shall not constitute a finding or determination, for the purpose of this or any other proceeding, that the utility was or was not negligent, did or did not breach a contract, or violated or did not violate any other legal duty or obligation.

 

b)         In the event that more than 30,000 customers of a utility, or 0.8% of the utility's total customers, whichever is less, are subjected to a power surge or other fluctuation that meets the conditions set forth in Section 16-125(f) of the Act, and the utility or the Commission believes that the power surge or other fluctuation is due to one or more of the causes set forth in Section 16-125(f)(1) through (4) of the Act, then the utility may commence a proceeding before the Commission, or the Commission may commence on its own motion a proceeding, seeking a determination from the Commission that the subject power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or more of those causes and that, therefore, no liability attaches under Section 16-125(f) of the Act. Any such proceeding shall be commenced by the utility or the Commission no later than 30 days after the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking damages or expense reimbursement.  The Commission's decision in the proceeding shall be appealable by any party to the proceeding and, except as reversed or modified on appeal, the determination of the cause of the power surge or other fluctuation in this proceeding shall be final and binding on both the utility and claimants in actions before the Commission to recover damages under Section 16-125(f) of the Act.  This proceeding shall determine only the liability of the utility under Section 16-125(f) of the Act and shall not constitute a finding or determination, for the purpose of this or any other proceeding, that the utility was or was not negligent, did or did not breach a contract, or violated or did not violate any other legal duty or obligation.

 

c)         Any customer affected by the subject interruption, power surge or other fluctuation, or a unit of local government in which the interruption, power surge or other fluctuation occurred, shall be entitled to intervene in a proceeding brought pursuant to this Section. Informal and formal complaints pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice (83 Ill. Adm. Code 200) brought by affected customers and units of local government shall be stayed pending disposition of this proceeding and appeals thereof, or consolidated with this proceeding for the purposes of liability.

 

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 4598, effective March 4, 2020)

 

Section 411.230  Proceedings to Determine Damages Under 220 ILCS 5/16-125(e) & (f)

 

a)         Utilities shall design and implement an administrative procedure for resolving and paying claims for actual damages and replacement value under Section 16-125(e) and (f) of the Act that will minimize the need for formal complaint proceedings before the Commission.  Utilities shall submit a description of this administrative procedure to the Commission for approval. The Commission shall provide all interested parties, specifically including customers of the utility and units of local government within the service area of the utility, with notice and the opportunity to comment on the utility's proposed administrative procedure.  A utility's administrative procedure shall become effective only after approval by the Commission. The Commission shall conclude this approval process within 90 days absent exigent circumstances. The process shall:

 

1)         Preserve, at the option of an affected customer, the availability of the Commission's informal and formal complaint procedures in the event that the customer chooses not to accept the administrative resolution;

 

2)         Define clearly and in plain language reasonable standards for verification of damages and the procedures that will be followed by the utility and shall notify the claimant of the right to seek a determination by the Commission of actual damages or replacement value payable by the jurisdictional entity in the event that the claimant chooses not to accept the administrative resolution offered by the utility;

 

3)         Be designed to resolve claims that are not stayed pursuant to Section 411.220 of this Part within ninety days after the claimant making a written claim and providing the required proof of damage in accordance with the administrative procedure developed pursuant to this Section, and the utility shall devote sufficient resources to the claims process such that a typical claim is resolved within that period.  In the event that a claimant furnishes insufficient information to make a determination, the utility shall promptly notify the claimant of that fact; and

 

4)         Provide that, until such time as  the Commission finds that a utility is entitled to a waiver of liability under Section 16-125(e) or (f) of the Act and this finding is not appealed or is upheld on appeal, the utility will stay all pending claims subject to the application for waiver and shall maintain in good order all such claims and supporting documentation as well as all claims with supporting documentation that have been denied based upon the utility's belief that it is entitled to a waiver.  In addition, upon a determination by the Commission that a utility is not entitled to a waiver of liability under Section and the utility will notify (at their last known address) customers whose administrative claims were either previously denied or stayed by the utility on the grounds that the utility believed it was entitled to a waiver of liability, and proceed to a determination of the claims on the merits.

 

b)         The determination of the utility's administrative complaint resolution process shall not constitute evidence in the Commission or any court of the liability or absence of liability of the utility, or of the amount of damage, if any, suffered by the customer.

 

c)         Damages under Section 16-125(e) of the Act shall include all actual damages and litigation costs but not consequential damages.  Damages under Section 16-125(f) of the Act shall include the replacement value of all goods damaged.

 

d)         A customer or a unit of local government whose claim for relief under Section 16-125(e) or (f) of the Act is not resolved through the administrative procedures described in this Section may then seek relief from the jurisdictional entity pursuant to the Commission's established complaint procedures (83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.170).

SUBPART D: ELECTRIC SERVICE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

 

Section 411.300  Purpose of Subpart D

 

This Subpart provides specific instructions to the electric service jurisdictional entities on how to administer the customer satisfaction survey mandated by the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 [220 ILCS 5/Art. XVI].  Each jurisdictional entity is required to submit to the Commission an annual report that includes the results of a customer satisfaction survey.  The customer satisfaction survey covers reliability of electric service, customer service, and customer understanding of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.301  Definitions Used in Subpart D

 

Absolute value – A nonnegative number equal in numerical value to a given real number.

 

Attempt – Using a phone, electronic mail or U.S. mail to contact residential or nonresidential customers.

 

Categorical questions – Questions with response options limited to prescribed categories.

 

Confidence interval – A range believed to contain the actual response of the entire population, based on a sample result.

 

Confidence level – The probability that a result, based on a sample, is likely to contain the actual response of the entire population.

 

Contact information − A residential or nonresidential customer's name, street address, phone number and/or email address.

 

Contingency table – A depiction of observed and expected frequencies in the sample data.

 

Correlation coefficient – An indicator of both the strength and the direction of a relationship between responses. The coefficient has two components:  a value and a sign.  Coefficient values range from 0 to 1 or 0 to -1 and indicate the strength of the relationship between two variables. As the value of the coefficient approaches 1, the relationship becomes stronger, with a value of 1 indicating a one-to-one correlation. As the value of the coefficient approaches 0, the relationship becomes weaker, with a value of 0 indicating no relationship. The coefficient can be either positive or negative.

 

Cross-tabulations – A widely used method for studying the relationship or association among and between variables. In cross-tabulation, the sample is divided into subgroups in order to examine how a variable of interest varies from subgroup to subgroup.

 

Descriptive statistics – Statistics that organize and summarize information without interpreting meaning. Descriptive statistics include, but are not limited to, the range of responses, the median response, the mean response, and the modal response.

 

Firmographics – The statistical data of a business.

 

Mean response – The sum of the numeric value of each response divided by the number of responses.

 

Median response – The numeric value of the response with 50% of responses above and 50% below it.

 

Modal response – The response that occurs most frequently.

 

Non-responses – The number of individuals in the sample who are not reached or refuse to respond to the entire survey or to a specific question.

 

Pearson Product Moment Correlation – The maximum likelihood estimator of population correlation, under normal conditions. If underlying requirements are met, it is most likely to detect co-variation or relationship between variables in the population.

 

Population – The total number, in each category, of residential and non-residential customers for the jurisdictional entity.

 

Range of responses – The distance between the highest score and the lowest score.

 

Rating questions – Questions with response options expressed as a numeric value on a scale of zero to ten.

 

Respondents – The number of residential or nonresidential customers who are reached and complete the survey.

 

Response rate – This is calculated by dividing the number of respondents by the number of prospective respondents contacted.

 

Sample size – The total number of randomly selected customers, including those who responded and those who did not.

 

Sampling frame – The size of the accessible population from which a sample is drawn.  For example, where jurisdictional entities draw the sample from their customer databases, the sampling frame is identical to the population.  Where jurisdictional entities use random digit dial, the sampling frame shall be valid customer telephone numbers.

 

Standard chi-square test – A statistical test used to determine if a relationship between variables exists by comparing expected and observed cell frequencies.  Specifically, a chi-square test examines the observed frequencies in a category and compares them to what would be expected by chance or would be expected if there were no relationship between variables.

 

Statistically significant – Differences at the .05 probability level and/or relationships with a statistically significant correlation of .5 or higher.

 

Yes/no questions – Questions with yes or no response options.

 

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 5653, effective March 22, 2022)

 

Section 411.305  Customer Survey Requirements

 

a)         The survey addresses the following topics:

 

1)         Residential and non-residential screening;

 

2)         Overall satisfaction;

 

3)         Reliability performance;

 

4)         Customer service performance;

 

5)         Understanding of services;

 

6)         Tree-trimming performance;

 

7)         Billing; and

 

8)         Demographics and firmographics.

 

b)         The research objectives for these surveys are to provide the Commission with basic knowledge about:

 

1)         Consumer understanding of electric delivery services and prices for residential, commercial and industrial consumers for each utility;

 

2)         Consumer satisfaction with electric delivery services and reliability; and

 

3)         Changes in understanding and satisfaction over time for residential and non-residential consumers and within subgroups.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.310  General Characteristics of the Customer Survey

 

a)         The customer survey shall start no earlier than September 1 and be completed by the end of the calendar year.  

 

b)         The survey can be conducted either over the phone, by electronic mail, U.S. mail or online or any combination of the preceding.

 

c)         For residential and nonresidential customers selected in the sample, the method used must be consistent with the contact information provided by the customer. For example, if a customer does not provide an e-mail address, then that customer shall not be surveyed via e-mail, and therefore must be surveyed via telephone, online, or U.S. Mail.

 

d)         The survey questions shall be identical for all jurisdictional entities.

 

e)         The survey shall be conducted for residential and non-residential customers. For the residential population, the survey respondent shall be the person in the household who is most familiar with the household's electric service. For non-residential customers, the survey respondent shall be the person who is most familiar with electric service in the organization.

 

f)         For each jurisdictional entity, the sample size shall be adequate to ensure that answers are reflective of the population at a specified statistical level of confidence and confidence interval as follows:

 

1)         For residential customers, sample size shall be sufficient to achieve a 95% confidence level with a confidence interval of ± 4.0%. This confidence level and confidence interval equates to 600 respondents for utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers. The sample size for utilities with fewer than 10,000 residential customers would be adjusted by a finite population correction factor calculated as (N-n)/(N-1), where N = population size and n = originally required sample size.

 

2)         For non-residential customers, sample size shall be sufficient to achieve a 95% confidence level with a confidence interval of ± 4.9%.  This level of confidence and confidence interval equates to 400 respondents for utilities with 10,000 or more non-residential customers and accordingly fewer (i.e., (N-n)/(N-1)) for smaller jurisdictional entities.

 

g)         Before eliminating a customer and randomly selecting a replacement, the jurisdictional entities shall:

 

1)         make a minimum of five attempts to contact each randomly selected customer to request that the customer complete the survey;

 

2)         for telephone surveys, attempt to reach the randomly selected customer at different times of day;

 

3)         for telephone surveys, call the customer back at the specified time if the customer answers the telephone but asks to respond to the survey at a different time; and

 

4)         for telephone surveys, call back at a time the target respondent is expected at home or office if the telephone is answered by anyone but the target respondent.

 

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 5653, effective March 22, 2022)

 

Section 411.315  Survey Implementation

 

a)         The jurisdictional entities shall comply with the following requirements in implementing the survey:

 

1)         Each jurisdictional entity shall identify the most effective sampling frame from which to draw the sample.  Whichever sampling frame option is chosen, a jurisdictional entity should continue with the chosen option for all subsequent tracking studies unless the independent reviewer finds cause to recommend an alternative sampling frame. Sampling frame options include:

 

A)        A jurisdictional entity's customer database. If the jurisdictional entity does not have the contact information for a randomly selected customer, it shall attempt to locate the contact information in other available utility databases or purchase the contact information from an outside data provider;

 

B)        Random digit dial for telephone surveys; and

 

C)        Purchased lists;

 

2)         An independent reviewer, such as a market research firm, shall review the sampling methodology and response rates each year to confirm that survey results adequately represent the entire population and are expected to be standard among jurisdictional entities.  If a jurisdictional entity's survey results do not adequately represent the entire population and/or are not expected to be standard among jurisdictional entities, the independent reviewer shall recommend specific remedies or an alternative sampling frame for the following year;

 

3)         Each jurisdictional entity shall provide the name of a contact person, if available from its database, to respond to the survey for any randomly selected industrial customer known to be an industrial customer at the time of selection;

 

4)         A jurisdictional entity shall not volunteer the name of any specific electricity provider during the course of the survey interview;

 

5)         A jurisdictional entity shall not offer incentives to encourage survey respondents to participate;

 

6)         Jurisdictional entities shall not add questions to the survey;

 

7)         In a single year, for telephone surveys, the same trained team of interviewers shall be used to ensure consistency in conducting the interviews;

 

8)         For telephone surveys, interviewers shall be trained to conduct the interviews effectively and efficiently to minimize any potential for interviewer bias;

 

9)         All jurisdictional entities that conduct the survey by telephone shall use, or cause to be used, a computer-assisted telephone interview software package that allows answers to be directly entered; and

 

10)        All jurisdictional entities that conduct the survey via internet shall allow answers to be directly entered by the respondent.

 

b)         Jurisdictional entities are encouraged to join together to hire a single research firm to execute the survey. If the jurisdictional entities elect to use a market research firm, the number of attempts promised by the firm, as well as the firm's past success at achieving a high response rate, shall be included in the selection criteria for the firm. Requests for proposals shall specify that the market research firm complies with the specifications of Sections 411.310 and 411.315 of this Part.

 

c)         Jurisdictional entities shall pre-test the survey instrument with a total of 30 randomly selected residential respondents and 30 randomly selected non-residential respondents for all the jurisdictional entities combined.  If any portion of the survey instrument is confusing to respondents, then the jurisdictional entities shall propose wording changes that preserve the meaning but provide clarity.  These proposed wording changes shall be subject to approval by the Commission.

 

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 5653, effective March 22, 2022)

 

Section 411.320  Format for Results of the Customer Satisfaction Survey

 

Each jurisdictional entity shall present the survey responses as part of the annual report to the Commission as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 411.120(b)(3)(G)(v).  The annual report shall include the following information regarding the results of the customer satisfaction survey, described in greater detail in Sections 411.325 through 411.360 of this Part:

 

a)         General information regarding the survey population, sampling frame, sample size and response rates;

 

b)         An executive summary;

 

c)         Summary descriptive information about survey responses for each question and for correlated questions, known as descriptive statistics, according to a standard format for all jurisdictional entities;

 

d)         Statistically significant contingency between demographic questions cross-tabulated with each of: rating questions, yes/no questions, and categorical questions;

 

e)         Statistically significant contingency between rating questions cross-tabulated  with each of: yes/no questions, demographic questions, and categorical questions; and

 

f)         Comparative responses for the current year and the preceding four years.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.323  Raw Data

 

Each jurisdictional entity shall make the raw data of survey responses available to the Commission for a period of five years after the submittal date of the annual report presenting the results of the survey. The Commission shall maintain the confidentiality of the raw data of survey responses.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.325  Survey Parameters

 

Each jurisdictional entity must provide the following general information about the survey parameters:

 

a)         Population;

 

b)         Sampling frame;

 

c)         Sample size; and

 

d)         Number of respondents and number of non-respondents.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.330  Categories of Responses for Survey Questions

 

a)         There are three categories of responses for the questions on the customer satisfaction survey:

 

1)         Rating questions;

 

2)         Yes/no questions; and

 

3)         Categorical questions.

 

b)         The survey instrument shall indicate whether the question is a rating question, a yes/no question, or a categorical question.

 

c)         The survey respondents shall not be given "N/A" (which shall be taken to mean "No Answer") or "Don't Know" as a response option. However, survey respondent shall be allowed to decline to answer a question by choosing “decline to answer” as a response option. If a customer declines to answer a question, the jurisdictional entities shall report the number of respondents who declined to answer each question.

 

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 5653, effective March 22, 2022)

 

Section 411.332  Descriptive Statistics

 

a)         The results of the customer satisfaction survey shall list, for each question, the number and percent of responses tabulated in each response category, including the total number of respondents and not including non-respondents.  Responses that are reported in percentages shall be carried out to one decimal point.

 

b)         The jurisdictional entities shall refer to Sections 411.335, 411.340, and 411.345 of this Part in presenting the results of the customer satisfaction survey as part of the annual report to the Commission.  Each entity shall provide information on a question-by-question basis, including every survey question, in conformance with the specifications listed in Sections 411.335, 411.340, and 411.345 of this Part.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.335  Rating Questions

 

a)         For the questions in the results of the customer satisfaction survey where there is a range of answers from 0-10, the descriptive statistics shall include the following information:

 

1)         The total number of responses and non-responses (N/As);

 

2)         The number and percentage of respondents that answered in each response category;

 

3)         The mean response;

 

4)         The median response;

 

5)         The modal response; and

 

6)         The range of responses.

 

b)         Jurisdictional entities shall also present cross-tabulations indicating statistically significant relationships between rating questions and categorical questions to show how respondents in different categories rated the questions, as follows:

 

1)         The number and percent of responses in each demographic category; and

 

2)         A ranking from highest to lowest of the mean, median, modal and range of responses for each demographic type.

 

c)         Statistically significant cross-tabulated statistics describing responses by income shall present the income as the income per household. Jurisdictional entities shall only report relationships with a statistically significant correlation of, and/or differences of, .5 or higher at the .05 probability level.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.340  Yes/No Questions

 

a)         For the questions in the results of the customer satisfaction survey where the response is "yes/no," the following descriptive statistics shall be included:

 

1)         The number and percent of responses and non-responses; and

 

2)         The number and percent of yes and no responses.

 

b)         Yes/no questions shall also be cross-tabulated with demographic questions to show how respondents in different categories answered the questions, including the number and percent of responses in each demographic category.

 

c)         Statistically significant cross-tabulated statistics describing responses by income shall present the income as the income per household. Jurisdictional entities shall only report relationships with a statistically significant correlation of, and/or differences of, .5 or higher at the .05 probability level.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.345  Categorical Questions

 

a)         For the categorical questions in the results of the customer satisfaction survey, the following descriptive statistics shall be included:

 

1)         The number and percent of responses and non-responses;

 

2)         The number and percent of responses in each category;

 

3)         The modal response; and

 

4)         A ranking of the responses from the most frequent to the least frequent.

 

b)         Non-demographic categorical questions shall also be cross-tabulated with demographic questions to show how respondents in different categories answered the questions, including the number and percent of responses in each demographic category.

 

c)         Statistically significant cross-tabulated statistics describing responses by income shall present the income as the income per household. Jurisdictional entities shall only report relationships with a statistically significant correlation of, and/or differences of, .5 or higher at the .05 probability level.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.350  Data Comparisons

 

a)         The jurisdictional entities shall cross-tabulate data for the following two groupings of survey results:

 

1)         Demographic Cross-Tabulations – Responses to demographic questions shall be cross-tabulated by each of: rating questions, yes/no questions, and categorical questions; and

 

2)         Rating Cross-Tabulations – Responses to rating questions shall be cross-tabulated by each of: yes/no questions, categorical questions and demographic questions;

 

b)         The statistic used to examine differences in the data shall be the chi-square;

 

c)         The jurisdictional entities shall present relationships, as determined based on the standard chi-square test, using a contingency table;

 

d)         All statistically significant differences between the observed and expected response at the .05 probability level shall be noted;

 

e)         The jurisdictional entities shall use correlation coefficients to indicate the direction and strength of the relationship between reported ratings of satisfaction and responses to each survey question;

 

f)         The jurisdictional entities shall present relationships, as determined based on the Pearson Product Moment Correlation, using a correlation table; and

 

g)         All relationships with a statistically significant correlation that has an absolute value of .5 or higher shall be noted and shall be explained in the executive summary.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.355  Tracking the Results of the Customer Satisfaction Survey

 

a)         The initial results of the customer satisfaction survey shall establish a baseline of responses and serve as a point of comparison for future responses.

 

b)         After the first year that each question is used, each jurisdictional entity shall provide a comparison of the current year responses to the historical responses. For years two, three and four, the jurisdictional entities shall show historical responses for two, three and four years, respectively.  For the fifth year and after, jurisdictional entities shall show comparative responses for the current year and the preceding four years (five years in total).

 

c)         If a question is deleted, then it shall not be necessary to present historical information in the annual report for the deleted question.

 

d)         If a question is modified, then the modified question shall establish a new baseline of responses and serve as a point of comparison for future responses.

 

e)         For modified questions, after the first year, each jurisdictional entity shall provide a comparison of the current year responses to the historical responses. For years two, three and four, the jurisdictional entities shall show historical responses for two, three and four years, respectively. For the fifth year and after, jurisdictional entities shall show comparative responses for the current year and the preceding four years (five years in total).

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)

 

Section 411.360  Executive Summary

 

Jurisdictional entities shall submit, in accordance with Section 411.160, an executive summary describing in narrative form the meaning of the statistical information derived from the survey results.  This executive summary shall be sufficient to communicate to the Commission customers' responses on all the survey questions, with emphasis on:

 

a)         Areas of particular satisfaction and dissatisfaction;

 

b)         Changes over time; and

 

c)         Statistically significant relationships between rating questions and other questions and demographic questions and other questions.

 

(Source:  Added at 24 Ill. Reg. 12914, effective September 1, 2000)




Section 411.TABLE A   Causes of Interruptions

 

Interruption Cause Categories	Interruption Code Description
Other Alternative Retail Electric Supplier or Other Utility	Loss of Supply Operating Event
Jurisdictional Entity/Contractor Personnel-Errors	Unclassified Error Switching Error Accident by Jurisdictional Entity Testing Error Dig-In by Jurisdictional Entity Accident by Jurisdictional Entity Contractor Dig-In by Jurisdictional Entity Contractor
Customer	Overload Customer Request Customer Equipment Non-payment of Bill Tampering with Service Access to Equipment Denied Interruptible Service Tariff or Contract
Public	Foreign Object Fire Vandalism Accident by Others Dig-In by Others Vehicles
Weather Related	Lightning Wind Ice Extreme Cold Extreme Heat Flooding
Animal Related	Wildlife Birds Snakes Squirrels Other
Tree Related	Tree Contact Primary Secondary Service Drop Limb Broken Primary Secondary Service Drop
Overhead Equipment Related	Contamination Malfunction Broken Fuse Link
Underground Equipment Related	Underground Failure Contamination Malfunction
Intentional	Scheduled Construction, Maintenance or Repair Emergency Repairs Protection of System Integrity
Transmission and Substation Equipment Related	Contamination Transmission System Outage Substation Equipment
Unknown	Unknown*
Other	Other

 

*          This category shall not be used if a reasonable and customary investigation should be expected to determine the proper cause of the interruption for which one of the other categories would be more appropriate.