97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3121

 

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. Lou Lang

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
220 ILCS 5/16-125

    Amends the Public Utilities Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning reliability of transmission and distribution systems.


LRB097 09199 ASK 49334 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3121LRB097 09199 ASK 49334 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
5Section 16-125 as follows:
 
6    (220 ILCS 5/16-125)
7    Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability
8requirements.
9    (a) To assure the the reliable delivery of electricity to
10all customers in this State and the effective implementation of
11the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall, within
12180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt rules and
13regulations for assessing and assuring the reliability of the
14transmission and distribution systems and facilities that are
15under the Commission's jurisdiction.
16    (b) These rules and regulations shall require each electric
17utility or alternative retail electric supplier owning,
18controlling, or operating transmission and distribution
19facilities and equipment subject to the Commission's
20jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as "jurisdictional
21entities", to adopt and implement procedures for restoring
22transmission and distribution services to customers after
23transmission or distribution outages on a nondiscriminatory

 

 

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1basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen the
2electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or
3another entity as its provider of electric power and energy.
4These rules and regulations shall also, at a minimum,
5specifically require each jurisdictional entity to submit
6annually to the Commission.
7        (1) the number and duration of planned and unplanned
8    outages during the prior year and their impacts on
9    customers;
10        (2) outages that were controllable and outages that
11    were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of
12    facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or
13    inactions of operating personnel or agents;
14        (3) customer service interruptions that were due
15    solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative retail
16    electric supplier or a public utility in supplying power or
17    energy;
18        (4) a detailed report of the age, current condition,
19    reliability and performance of the jurisdictional entity's
20    existing transmission and distribution facilities, which
21    shall include, without limitation, the following data:
22            (i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's
23        outages and voltage variances reportable under the
24        Commission's rules;
25            (ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for
26        transmission construction and maintenance, the ratio

 

 

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1        of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's
2        transmission investment, and the average remaining
3        depreciation lives of the entity's transmission
4        facilities, expressed as a percentage of total
5        depreciation lives;
6            (iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for
7        distribution construction and maintenance, the ratio
8        of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's
9        distribution investment, and the average remaining
10        depreciation lives of the entity's distribution
11        facilities, expressed as a percentage of total
12        depreciation lives;
13            (iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering,
14        among other areas identified in Commission rules,
15        reliability, customer service, and understandability
16        of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices;
17        and
18            (v) the corresponding information, in the same
19        format, for the previous 3 years, if available;
20        (5) a plan for future investment and reliability
21    improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission
22    and distribution facilities that will ensure continued
23    reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the
24    delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition;
25    and
26        (6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's

 

 

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1    implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph
2    (5) for the previous reporting period.
3    (c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria that
4will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's annual
5report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such criteria
6must take into account, at a minimum: the items required to be
7reported in subsection (b); the relevant characteristics of the
8area served; the age and condition of the system's equipment
9and facilities; good engineering practices; the costs of
10potential actions; and the benefits of avoiding the risks of
11service disruption.
12    (d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the
13Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the
14following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the
15Commission shall assess the annual report of each
16jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability
17performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include
18specific identification of, and recommendations concerning,
19any potential reliability problems that it has identified as a
20result of its evaluation.
21    (e) In the event that more than either (i) 30,000 (or some
22other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total
23customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as
24provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less,
25of an electric utility are subjected to a continuous power
26interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the

 

 

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1transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage,
2or that results in the total loss of power transmission, the
3utility shall be responsible for compensating customers
4affected by that interruption for 4 hours or more for all
5actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages,
6suffered as a result of the power interruption. The utility
7shall also reimburse the affected municipality, county, or
8other unit of local government in which the power interruption
9has taken place for all emergency and contingency expenses
10incurred by the unit of local government as a result of the
11interruption. A waiver of the requirements of this subsection
12may be granted by the Commission in instances in which the
13utility can show that the power interruption was a result of
14any one or more of the following causes:
15        (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
16    conditions.
17        (2) Customer tampering.
18        (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international
19    unrest or animals.
20        (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a
21    party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or
22    contractors.
23Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
24subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.
25    (f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation that
26causes damage and affects more than either (i) 30,000 (or some

 

 

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1other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total
2customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as
3provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less,
4the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the
5replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the power
6surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show that the
7power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or more of the
8following causes:
9        (1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or
10    conditions.
11        (2) Customer tampering.
12        (3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international
13    unrest or animals.
14        (4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a
15    party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or
16    contractors.
17Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this
18subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers with
19respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the Commission
20pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections (e) and (f)
21shall not count toward the either (i) 30,000 (or some other
22number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers
23or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by
24statute) of the total customers required therein.
25    (g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned or
26routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will

 

 

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1result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the
2standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
3defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make reasonable
4efforts to notify potentially affected customers no less than
524 hours in advance of performance of the repairs or
6maintenance.
7    (h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be sought
8exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission as
9provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages awarded
10under this Section for a power interruption shall be limited to
11actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages,
12and litigation costs. A utility's request for a waiver of this
13Section shall be timely if filed no later than 30 days after
14the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking
15damages or expense reimbursement under this Section. No utility
16shall be liable under this Section while a request for waiver
17is pending. Damage awards may not be paid out of utility rate
18funds.
19    (i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way
20diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies
21available to a customer or a class of customers.
22    (j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric
23utility to maintain service records detailing information on
24each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of the
25standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as
26defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more customers.

 

 

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1Occurrences that are momentary shall not be required to be
2recorded or reported. The service record shall include, for
3each occurrence, the following information:
4        (1) The date.
5        (2) The time of occurrence.
6        (3) The duration of the incident.
7        (4) The number of customers affected.
8        (5) A description of the cause.
9        (6) The geographic area affected.
10        (7) The specific equipment involved in the fluctuation
11    or interruption.
12        (8) A description of measures taken to restore service.
13        (9) A description of measures taken to remedy the cause
14    of the power interruption or fluctuation.
15        (10) A description of measures taken to prevent future
16    occurrence.
17        (11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to
18    affected customers.
19        (12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was waived
20    for affected customers.
21    Copies of the records containing this information shall be
22available for public inspection at the utility's offices, and
23copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not
24exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of each
25record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be
26available for public inspection. Copies of the records may be

 

 

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1obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable
2cost of reproduction.
3    (k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of this
4Section shall apply only to an electric public utility having
5100,000 or more customers.
6(Source: P.A. 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09.)