HB4471 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 37400 KTG 67522 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4471

Introduced 1/17/2024, by Rep. Carol Ammons

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

305 ILCS 20/13

Amends the Energy Assistance Act. Removes the January 1, 2025 repealer date for the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public aid.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing Section 13 as follows:

(305 ILCS 20/13)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)

Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.

(a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other sources. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for: (i) payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf of their customers who are participants in the program authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act; (ii) the provision of weatherization services, including, but not limited to, the installation of energy conservation measures, health and safety measures, healthy home measures, home improvement measures to alleviate the deferrals of certain projects, including, but not limited to, roofs and foundation repairs, and renewable energy retrofits; and (iii) administration of the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. All other deposits outside of the Energy Assistance Charge as set forth in subsection (b) are not subject to the percentage restrictions related to administrative and weatherization expenses provided in this subsection. The yearly expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section, except when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any unspent balance of the 10% weatherization allowance may be utilized for weatherization expenses in the year they are reallocated. The yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 13% of the amount collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any unspent balance of the 13% administrative allowance may be utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are reallocated. Of the 13% administrative allowance, no less than 8% shall be provided to Local Administrative Agencies for administrative expenses.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall, effective January 1, 2021, assess each of its customer accounts a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly charge shall be as follows:

(1) Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for residential electrical service;

(2) Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for residential gas service;

(3) Ten times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for non-residential electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak demand during the previous calendar year;

(4) Ten times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for non-residential gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000 therms of gas during the previous calendar year;

(5) Three hundred and seventy-five times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for non-residential electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak demand during the previous calendar year; and

(6) Three hundred and seventy-five times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for non-residential gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas distributed to it during the previous calendar year.

The Base Energy Assistance Charge shall be $0.48 per month for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2022 and shall increase by $0.16 per month for any calendar year, provided no less than 80% of the previous State fiscal year's available Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund funding was exhausted. The maximum Base Energy Assistance Charge shall not exceed $0.96 per month for any calendar year.

The incremental change to such charges imposed by Public Act 99-933 and this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly shall not (i) be used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000 customers in Illinois on January 1, 2021. The incremental change to such charges imposed by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly are intended to increase utilization of the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP or PIP Plan) and shall be applied such that PIP Plan enrollment is at least doubled, as compared to 2020 enrollment, by 2024.

In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made no later than February 1, 2010.

(c) For purposes of this Section:

(1) "residential electric service" means electric utility service for household purposes delivered to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate, or electric utility service for household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;

(2) "residential gas service" means gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate, or gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;

(3) "non-residential electric service" means electric utility service which is not residential electric service; and

(4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility service which is not residential gas service.

(d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs, which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the first billing cycle following such filing.

(e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public utility service.

(f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably require; provided, however, that a utility offering an Arrearage Reduction Program or Supplemental Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and recover the costs of such Programs as authorized by that Section that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy Assistance Charge authorized by Public Act 96-33. If a customer makes a partial payment, a public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.

If any payment provided for in this Section exceeds the distributor's liabilities under this Act, as shown on an original return, the Department may authorize the distributor to credit such excess payment against liability subsequently to be remitted to the Department under this Act, in accordance with reasonable rules adopted by the Department. If the Department subsequently determines that all or any part of the credit taken was not actually due to the distributor, the distributor's discount shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the discount as applied to the credit taken and that actually due, and that distributor shall be liable for penalties and interest on such difference.

(g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this Section. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department to establish an equitable and practical methodology for implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010 program year.

(h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this Act.

(i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.

In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge provided by this Section.

This Section is repealed on January 1, 2025 unless renewed by action of the General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-176, eff. 6-1-22; 102-671, eff. 11-30-21; 102-673, eff. 11-30-21; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.