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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Attorney General Lisa Madigan initiated Senate
3Bill 1531 to increase oversight of alternative retail electric
4and alternative gas suppliers and to guard against aggressive
5and misleading marketing and sales practices in the competitive
6energy supply market; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Currently in Illinois, there are nearly 55
8alternative retail electric suppliers that are authorized to
9sell electricity to residential customers; and
 
10    WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commerce Commission,
11alternative retail electric supplier customers in Illinois as a
12whole paid more than $198 million more for electricity than
13traditional utility customers from June 1, 2016 through May 31,
142017 and, statewide, residential, and small commercial
15customers enrolled with alternative retail electric suppliers
16have paid almost $400 million more in electricity costs in the
17last three years; and
 
18    WHEREAS, According to the Attorney General, nearly all
19customers that switch to alternative retail electric or
20alternative gas suppliers pay more for their energy bills than
21traditional utility customers, and residential customers do
22not have the ability to determine whether a company's

 

 

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1money-saving claims are true; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Allegations exist that certain alternative retail
3electric and alternative gas suppliers frequently target older
4citizens, low-income customers, and individuals for whom
5English is a second language and use bait and switch marketing
6tactics where they entice consumers with savings claims and low
7teaser rates and then end up charging consumers up to three
8times the traditional utility rate; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The goal of the legislation is to rein in bad
10actors in the competitive energy supply industry who use
11aggressive and misleading marketing practices to lure people
12into paying more than they need to for their electricity and to
13create transparency and equip consumers with meaningful
14information so that they can make educated decisions about
15energy supply service; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1531 intends to improve enforcement
17actions against alternative retail energy suppliers' unlawful
18and deceptive marketing practices by giving the Attorney
19General's Office additional legal tools under the Illinois
20Consumer Fraud Act; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1531 intends to increase transparency
22around rate pricing by requiring alternative retail electric

 

 

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1suppliers and alternative gas suppliers to include a
2"price-to-compare" utility supply rate on all marketing
3materials, during phone or door-to-door solicitations and on
4every customer's utility bill; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The legislation will require disclosure of price
6changes and will prevent suppliers from automatically renewing
7a customer's contract without the customer affirmatively
8opting-in to new terms; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Alternative retail electric and alternative gas
10suppliers will also be required to submit their rates to the
11Illinois Commerce Commission and the Attorney General's Office
12quarterly under this legislation; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The legislation intends to protect public energy
14assistance funds by ensuring that Low-Income Home Energy
15Assistance Program and the Percentage of Income Payment Plan
16funds do not go toward paying the higher prices for electric
17and gas supply that alternative retail electric or alternative
18gas suppliers charge; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1531 is supported by a coalition of
20consumer advocates including AARP, Illinois PIRG, Center for
21Changing Lives, Citizen Action, Citizens Utility Board,
22Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI), Heartland

 

 

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1Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, Housing Action
2Illinois, Pilsen Alliance, and the Environmental Law and Policy
3Center; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The legislation has also received support from the
5City of Chicago, the Spanish Community Center, the Inner-City
6Muslim Action Network, LUCHA, and Preservation of Affordable
7Housing (POAH); and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Illinois Competitive Energy Association, the
9Retail Energy Supply Association, and other competitive energy
10suppliers, who provide consumers with customized energy
11products and services in addition to electric supply service,
12support stronger enforcement measures to root out unscrupulous
13suppliers from the competitive energy market, additional rate
14disclosure requirements, and further consumer education and
15protection improvements; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Illinois Commerce Commission is a
17quasi-judicial body responsible for regulating several
18industries, as directed by the Illinois General Assembly,
19including licensing alternative retail electric and
20alternative gas suppliers, and regulating their marketing and
21sales practices; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The Illinois Commerce Commission's mission is to

 

 

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1promote the development of an effectively competitive
2electricity market that operates efficiently and is equitable
3to all consumers consistent with the Electric Service Customer
4Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997, the Retail Electric
5Competition Act of 2006, the Alternative Gas Supplier Law; the
6Public Utilities Act, and Commission Rules; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Illinois Commerce Commission provides
8analysis, policy development, public safety, and enforcement
9activities related to electric and natural gas companies;
10therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
13CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall
14study the provisions of and circumstances surrounding Senate
15Bill 1531 and any other pertinent pending or proposed
16legislation; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Commerce Commission shall
18conduct at least three public meetings in which comments and
19proposals can be presented that address the concerns and
20allegations regarding the alternative retail electric and
21alternative gas suppliers and competitive energy markets from
22the Attorney General's Office, the aforementioned coalition of
23consumer advocates, the Illinois Competitive Energy

 

 

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1Association, the Retail Energy Supply Association, other
2competitive energy suppliers, and any other interested party;
3and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Commerce Commission shall
5submit its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, either
6through changes in future legislation, or Commission Rules, or
7Commission Docketed Proceedings, in a report to the Illinois
8General Assembly on or before January 9, 2019; and be it
9further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the report filed with the General Assembly
11shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives
12and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic form only, in the
13manner that the Clerk and Secretary shall direct.