HB4471 EnrolledLRB103 37400 KTG 67522 b

1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
5changing Section 13 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 20/13)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)
8    Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
9    (a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
10hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
11Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
12to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
13foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
14pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
15collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also
16authorized to receive voluntary donations from individuals,
17foundations, corporations, and other sources. Subject to
18appropriation, the Department shall use moneys from the
19Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for: (i)
20payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal
21electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf
22of their customers who are participants in the program
23authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act; (ii) the provision

 

 

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1of weatherization services, including, but not limited to, the
2installation of energy conservation measures, health and
3safety measures, healthy home measures, home improvement
4measures to alleviate the deferrals of certain projects,
5including, but not limited to, roofs and foundation repairs,
6and renewable energy retrofits; and (iii) administration of
7the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. All other
8deposits outside of the Energy Assistance Charge as set forth
9in subsection (b) are not subject to the percentage
10restrictions related to administrative and weatherization
11expenses provided in this subsection. The yearly expenditures
12for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the amount collected
13during the year pursuant to this Section, except when unspent
14funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund
15are reallocated from a previous year; any unspent balance of
16the 10% weatherization allowance may be utilized for
17weatherization expenses in the year they are reallocated. The
18yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income
19Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 13% of the amount
20collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except
21when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
22Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any
23unspent balance of the 13% administrative allowance may be
24utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are
25reallocated. Of the 13% administrative allowance, no less than
268% shall be provided to Local Administrative Agencies for

 

 

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1administrative expenses.
2    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of
3the Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
4Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
5in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
6utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public
7Utilities Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity
8or the distribution of natural gas within the State of
9Illinois shall, effective January 1, 2021, assess each of its
10customer accounts a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the
11Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering
12public utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric
13or gas cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains
14subject to the collection of the fee imposed by this Section.
15The monthly charge shall be as follows:
16        (1) Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each
17    account for residential electrical service;
18        (2) Base Energy Assistance Charge per month on each
19    account for residential gas service;
20        (3) Ten times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per
21    month on each account for non-residential electric service
22    which had less than 10 megawatts of peak demand during the
23    previous calendar year;
24        (4) Ten times the Base Energy Assistance Charge per
25    month on each account for non-residential gas service
26    which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000 therms of

 

 

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1    gas during the previous calendar year;
2        (5) Three hundred and seventy-five times the Base
3    Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for
4    non-residential electric service which had 10 megawatts or
5    greater of peak demand during the previous calendar year;
6    and
7        (6) Three hundred and seventy-five times the Base
8    Energy Assistance Charge per month on each account for
9    non-residential gas service which had 4,000,000 or more
10    therms of gas distributed to it during the previous
11    calendar year.
12    The Base Energy Assistance Charge shall be $0.48 per month
13for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2022 and shall
14increase by $0.16 per month for any calendar year, provided no
15less than 80% of the previous State fiscal year's available
16Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund funding was
17exhausted. The maximum Base Energy Assistance Charge shall not
18exceed $0.96 per month for any calendar year.
19    The incremental change to such charges imposed by Public
20Act 99-933 and this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
21Assembly shall not (i) be used for any purpose other than to
22directly assist customers and (ii) be applicable to utilities
23serving less than 100,000 customers in Illinois on January 1,
242021. The incremental change to such charges imposed by this
25amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly are intended to
26increase utilization of the Percentage of Income Payment Plan

 

 

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1(PIPP or PIP Plan) and shall be applied such that PIP Plan
2enrollment is at least doubled, as compared to 2020
3enrollment, by 2024.
4    In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed,
5and shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the
6Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs
7established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the
8Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of
9implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this
10amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage
11Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs
12described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a
13utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the
14effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
15Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be
16made no later than February 1, 2010.
17    (c) For purposes of this Section:
18        (1) "residential electric service" means electric
19    utility service for household purposes delivered to a
20    dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
21    residential rate, or electric utility service for
22    household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
23    which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
24    by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
25        (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
26    service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling

 

 

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1    of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential
2    rate, or gas utility service for household purposes
3    distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed
4    under a residential rate and is registered by a separate
5    meter for each dwelling unit;
6        (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
7    utility service which is not residential electric service;
8    and
9        (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
10    service which is not residential gas service.
11    (d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
12amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
13utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
14distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
15Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
16Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs,
17which shall become effective no later than the beginning of
18the first billing cycle following such filing.
19    (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
20gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
21utility service.
22    (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
23which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
24public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
25shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received
26as payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return

 

 

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1prescribed and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing
2such information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
3require; provided, however, that a utility offering an
4Arrearage Reduction Program or Supplemental Arrearage
5Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act shall be
6entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and recover
7the costs of such Programs as authorized by that Section that
8is no more than the incremental change in such Energy
9Assistance Charge authorized by Public Act 96-33. If a
10customer makes a partial payment, a public utility, municipal
11utility, or electric cooperative may elect either: (i) to
12apply such partial payments first to amounts owed to the
13utility or cooperative for its services and then to payment
14for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to apply such partial
15payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts owed to the
16utility or cooperative for its services and to payment for the
17Energy Assistance Charge.
18    If any payment provided for in this Section exceeds the
19distributor's liabilities under this Act, as shown on an
20original return, the Department may authorize the distributor
21to credit such excess payment against liability subsequently
22to be remitted to the Department under this Act, in accordance
23with reasonable rules adopted by the Department. If the
24Department subsequently determines that all or any part of the
25credit taken was not actually due to the distributor, the
26distributor's discount shall be reduced by an amount equal to

 

 

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1the difference between the discount as applied to the credit
2taken and that actually due, and that distributor shall be
3liable for penalties and interest on such difference.
4    (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
5Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
6remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
7Section. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department to
8establish an equitable and practical methodology for
9implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010
10program year.
11    (h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
12prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure
13of funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance
14Block Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of
15this Act.
16    (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
17it deems necessary to implement this Section.
18    (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
19may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement
20this Section.
21    (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply
22to customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and
23electric or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas
24utility or electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative
25decision to impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas
26utility or an electric cooperative makes an affirmative

 

 

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1decision to impose the charge provided by this Section, the
2municipal electric or gas utility or electric cooperative
3shall inform the Department of Revenue in writing of such
4decision when it begins to impose the charge. If a municipal
5electric or gas utility or electric or gas cooperative does
6not assess this charge, the Department may not use funds from
7the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to provide
8benefits to its customers under the program authorized by
9Section 4 of this Act.
10    In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
11may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
12to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
13provided by this Section.
14    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2025 unless renewed
15by action of the General Assembly.
16(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-176, eff. 6-1-22;
17102-671, eff. 11-30-21; 102-673, eff. 11-30-21; 102-699, eff.
184-19-22.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.