97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3974

 

Introduced 1/11/2012, by Rep. Elaine Nekritz

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
220 ILCS 5/16-111.5

    Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that certain electric utilities in Illinois shall procure energy efficiency products (in addition to power and energy) for its eligible retail customers in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Act and the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that for non-eligible retail customers the utility shall procure any supply requirements, including energy efficiency products, in the applicable markets as needed to serve those customers. Provides that a proposed procurement plan shall include the proposed energy efficiency products for which contracts will be executed during the next year. Further provides that cost effective energy efficiency measures shall be procured whenever the cost is lower than procuring comparable capacity products, supply products, or both, provided that certain conditions are met by the energy efficiency products. Provides that the Illinois Power Agency's procurement plan shall identify energy efficiency products to be procured. Provides that an electric utility shall recover its costs incurred in procuring energy efficiency products. Makes other changes.


LRB097 16496 CEL 61664 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3974LRB097 16496 CEL 61664 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 16-111.5 as follows:
 
6    (220 ILCS 5/16-111.5)
7    Sec. 16-111.5. Provisions relating to procurement.
8    (a) An electric utility that on December 31, 2005 served at
9least 100,000 customers in Illinois shall procure power, energy
10efficiency products, and energy for its eligible retail
11customers in accordance with the applicable provisions set
12forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this
13Section. A small multi-jurisdictional electric utility that on
14December 31, 2005 served less than 100,000 customers in
15Illinois may elect to procure power and energy for all or a
16portion of its eligible Illinois retail customers in accordance
17with the applicable provisions set forth in this Section and
18Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. This Section
19shall not apply to a small multi-jurisdictional utility until
20such time as a small multi-jurisdictional utility requests the
21Illinois Power Agency to prepare a procurement plan for its
22eligible retail customers. "Eligible retail customers" for the
23purposes of this Section means those retail customers that

 

 

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1purchase power and energy from the electric utility under
2fixed-price bundled service tariffs, other than those retail
3customers whose service is declared or deemed competitive under
4Section 16-113 and those other customer groups specified in
5this Section, including self-generating customers, customers
6electing hourly pricing, or those customers who are otherwise
7ineligible for fixed-price bundled tariff service. Those
8customers that are excluded from the definition of "eligible
9retail customers" shall not be included in the procurement plan
10load requirements, and the utility shall procure any supply
11requirements, including capacity, ancillary services, energy
12efficiency products, and hourly priced energy, in the
13applicable markets as needed to serve those customers, provided
14that the utility may include in its procurement plan load
15requirements for the load that is associated with those retail
16customers whose service has been declared or deemed competitive
17pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act to the extent that those
18customers are purchasing power and energy during one of the
19transition periods identified in subsection (b) of Section
2016-113 of this Act.
21    (b) A procurement plan shall be prepared for each electric
22utility consistent with the applicable requirements of the
23Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section. For purposes of
24this Section, Illinois electric utilities that are affiliated
25by virtue of a common parent company are considered to be a
26single electric utility. Small multi-jurisdictional utilities

 

 

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1may request a procurement plan for a portion of or all of its
2Illinois load. Each procurement plan shall analyze the
3projected balance of supply and demand for eligible retail
4customers over a 5-year period with the first planning year
5beginning on June 1 of the year following the year in which the
6plan is filed. The plan shall specifically identify the
7wholesale products to be procured following plan approval, and
8shall follow all the requirements set forth in the Public
9Utilities Act and all applicable State and federal laws,
10statutes, rules, or regulations, as well as Commission orders.
11Nothing in this Section precludes consideration of contracts
12longer than 5 years and related forecast data. Unless specified
13otherwise in this Section, in the procurement plan or in the
14implementing tariff, any procurement occurring in accordance
15with this plan shall be competitively bid through a request for
16proposals process. Approval and implementation of the
17procurement plan shall be subject to review and approval by the
18Commission according to the provisions set forth in this
19Section. A procurement plan shall include each of the following
20components:
21        (1) Hourly load analysis. This analysis shall include:
22            (i) multi-year historical analysis of hourly
23        loads;
24            (ii) switching trends and competitive retail
25        market analysis;
26            (iii) known or projected changes to future loads;

 

 

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1        and
2            (iv) growth forecasts by customer class.
3        (2) Analysis of the impact of any demand side and
4    renewable energy initiatives. This analysis shall include:
5            (i) the impact of demand response programs and
6        energy efficiency programs, both current and
7        projected; for small multi-jurisdictional utilities,
8        the impact of demand response and energy efficiency
9        programs approved pursuant to Section 8-408 of this
10        Act, both current and projected; and
11            (ii) supply side needs that are projected to be
12        offset by purchases of renewable energy resources, if
13        any.
14        (3) A plan for meeting the expected load requirements
15    that will not be met through preexisting contracts. This
16    plan shall include:
17            (i) definitions of the different Illinois retail
18        customer classes for which supply is being purchased;
19            (ii) the proposed mix of demand-response products
20        for which contracts will be executed during the next
21        year. For small multi-jurisdictional electric
22        utilities that on December 31, 2005 served fewer than
23        100,000 customers in Illinois, these shall be defined
24        as demand-response products offered in an energy
25        efficiency plan approved pursuant to Section 8-408 of
26        this Act. The cost-effective demand-response measures

 

 

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1        shall be procured whenever the cost is lower than
2        procuring comparable capacity products, provided that
3        such products shall:
4                (A) be procured by a demand-response provider
5            from eligible retail customers;
6                (B) at least satisfy the demand-response
7            requirements of the regional transmission
8            organization market in which the utility's service
9            territory is located, including, but not limited
10            to, any applicable capacity or dispatch
11            requirements;
12                (C) provide for customers' participation in
13            the stream of benefits produced by the
14            demand-response products;
15                (D) provide for reimbursement by the
16            demand-response provider of the utility for any
17            costs incurred as a result of the failure of the
18            supplier of such products to perform its
19            obligations thereunder; and
20                (E) meet the same credit requirements as apply
21            to suppliers of capacity, in the applicable
22            regional transmission organization market;
23            (iii) the proposed energy efficiency products for
24        which contracts will be executed during the next year.
25        The cost effective energy efficiency measures shall be
26        procured whenever the cost is lower than procuring

 

 

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1        comparable capacity products, supply products, or
2        both, provided that the energy efficiency products
3        shall:
4                (A) be procured by a energy efficiency
5            provider from eligible retail customers;
6                (B) at least satisfy evaluation, measurement,
7            and verification standards established pursuant to
8            Section 8-103 of this Act;
9                (C) provide for reimbursement by the energy
10            efficiency provider of the utility for any costs
11            incurred as a result of the failure of the supplier
12            of such products to perform its obligations
13            thereunder; and
14                (D) meet the same credit requirements as apply
15            to suppliers of capacity, in the applicable
16            regional transmission organization market;
17            (iv) (iii) monthly forecasted system supply
18        requirements, including expected minimum, maximum, and
19        average values for the planning period;
20            (v) (iv) the proposed mix and selection of standard
21        wholesale products for which contracts will be
22        executed during the next year, separately or in
23        combination, to meet that portion of its load
24        requirements not met through pre-existing contracts,
25        including but not limited to monthly 5 x 16 peak period
26        block energy, monthly off-peak wrap energy, monthly 7 x

 

 

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1        24 energy, annual 5 x 16 energy, annual off-peak wrap
2        energy, annual 7 x 24 energy, monthly capacity, annual
3        capacity, peak load capacity obligations, capacity
4        purchase plan, energy efficiency products, and
5        ancillary services;
6            (vi) (v) proposed term structures for each
7        wholesale product type included in the proposed
8        procurement plan portfolio of products; and
9            (vii) (vi) an assessment of the price risk, load
10        uncertainty, and other factors that are associated
11        with the proposed procurement plan; this assessment,
12        to the extent possible, shall include an analysis of
13        the following factors: contract terms, time frames for
14        securing products or services, fuel costs, weather
15        patterns, transmission costs, market conditions, and
16        the governmental regulatory environment; the proposed
17        procurement plan shall also identify alternatives for
18        those portfolio measures that are identified as having
19        significant price risk.
20        (4) Proposed procedures for balancing loads. The
21    procurement plan shall include, for load requirements
22    included in the procurement plan, the process for (i)
23    hourly balancing of supply and demand and (ii) the criteria
24    for portfolio re-balancing in the event of significant
25    shifts in load.
26    (c) The procurement process set forth in Section 1-75 of

 

 

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1the Illinois Power Agency Act and subsection (e) of this
2Section shall be administered by a procurement administrator
3and monitored by a procurement monitor.
4        (1) The procurement administrator shall:
5            (i) design the final procurement process in
6        accordance with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power
7        Agency Act and subsection (e) of this Section following
8        Commission approval of the procurement plan;
9            (ii) develop benchmarks in accordance with
10        subsection (e)(3) to be used to evaluate bids; these
11        benchmarks shall be submitted to the Commission for
12        review and approval on a confidential basis prior to
13        the procurement event;
14            (iii) serve as the interface between the electric
15        utility and suppliers;
16            (iv) manage the bidder pre-qualification and
17        registration process;
18            (v) obtain the electric utilities' agreement to
19        the final form of all supply contracts and credit
20        collateral agreements;
21            (vi) administer the request for proposals process;
22            (vii) have the discretion to negotiate to
23        determine whether bidders are willing to lower the
24        price of bids that meet the benchmarks approved by the
25        Commission; any post-bid negotiations with bidders
26        shall be limited to price only and shall be completed

 

 

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1        within 24 hours after opening the sealed bids and shall
2        be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner; in
3        conducting the negotiations, there shall be no
4        disclosure of any information derived from proposals
5        submitted by competing bidders; if information is
6        disclosed to any bidder, it shall be provided to all
7        competing bidders;
8            (viii) maintain confidentiality of supplier and
9        bidding information in a manner consistent with all
10        applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs;
11            (ix) submit a confidential report to the
12        Commission recommending acceptance or rejection of
13        bids;
14            (x) notify the utility of contract counterparties
15        and contract specifics; and
16            (xi) administer related contingency procurement
17        events.
18        (2) The procurement monitor, who shall be retained by
19    the Commission, shall:
20            (i) monitor interactions among the procurement
21        administrator, suppliers, and utility;
22            (ii) monitor and report to the Commission on the
23        progress of the procurement process;
24            (iii) provide an independent confidential report
25        to the Commission regarding the results of the
26        procurement event;

 

 

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1            (iv) assess compliance with the procurement plans
2        approved by the Commission for each utility that on
3        December 31, 2005 provided electric service to a least
4        100,000 customers in Illinois and for each small
5        multi-jurisdictional utility that on December 31, 2005
6        served less than 100,000 customers in Illinois;
7            (v) preserve the confidentiality of supplier and
8        bidding information in a manner consistent with all
9        applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs;
10            (vi) provide expert advice to the Commission and
11        consult with the procurement administrator regarding
12        issues related to procurement process design, rules,
13        protocols, and policy-related matters; and
14            (vii) consult with the procurement administrator
15        regarding the development and use of benchmark
16        criteria, standard form contracts, credit policies,
17        and bid documents.
18    (d) Except as provided in subsection (j), the planning
19process shall be conducted as follows:
20        (1) Beginning in 2008, each Illinois utility procuring
21    power pursuant to this Section shall annually provide a
22    range of load forecasts to the Illinois Power Agency by
23    July 15 of each year, or such other date as may be required
24    by the Commission or Agency. The load forecasts shall cover
25    the 5-year procurement planning period for the next
26    procurement plan and shall include hourly data

 

 

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1    representing a high-load, low-load and expected-load
2    scenario for the load of the eligible retail customers. The
3    utility shall provide supporting data and assumptions for
4    each of the scenarios.
5        (2) Beginning in 2008, the Illinois Power Agency shall
6    prepare a procurement plan by August 15th of each year, or
7    such other date as may be required by the Commission. The
8    procurement plan shall identify the portfolio of
9    demand-response, energy efficiency products, and power and
10    energy products to be procured. Cost-effective
11    demand-response measures and cost-effective energy
12    efficiency measures shall be procured as set forth in item
13    (iii) and (iv) of subsection (b) of this Section. Copies of
14    the procurement plan shall be posted and made publicly
15    available on the Agency's and Commission's websites, and
16    copies shall also be provided to each affected electric
17    utility. An affected utility shall have 30 days following
18    the date of posting to provide comment to the Agency on the
19    procurement plan. Other interested entities also may
20    comment on the procurement plan. All comments submitted to
21    the Agency shall be specific, supported by data or other
22    detailed analyses, and, if objecting to all or a portion of
23    the procurement plan, accompanied by specific alternative
24    wording or proposals. All comments shall be posted on the
25    Agency's and Commission's websites. During this 30-day
26    comment period, the Agency shall hold at least one public

 

 

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1    hearing within each utility's service area for the purpose
2    of receiving public comment on the procurement plan. Within
3    14 days following the end of the 30-day review period, the
4    Agency shall revise the procurement plan as necessary based
5    on the comments received and file the procurement plan with
6    the Commission and post the procurement plan on the
7    websites.
8        (3) Within 5 days after the filing of the procurement
9    plan, any person objecting to the procurement plan shall
10    file an objection with the Commission. Within 10 days after
11    the filing, the Commission shall determine whether a
12    hearing is necessary. The Commission shall enter its order
13    confirming or modifying the procurement plan within 90 days
14    after the filing of the procurement plan by the Illinois
15    Power Agency.
16        (4) The Commission shall approve the procurement plan,
17    including expressly the forecast used in the procurement
18    plan, if the Commission determines that it will ensure
19    adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and
20    environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest
21    total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of
22    price stability.
23    (e) The procurement process shall include each of the
24following components:
25        (1) Solicitation, pre-qualification, and registration
26    of bidders. The procurement administrator shall

 

 

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1    disseminate information to potential bidders to promote a
2    procurement event, notify potential bidders that the
3    procurement administrator may enter into a post-bid price
4    negotiation with bidders that meet the applicable
5    benchmarks, provide supply requirements, and otherwise
6    explain the competitive procurement process. In addition
7    to such other publication as the procurement administrator
8    determines is appropriate, this information shall be
9    posted on the Illinois Power Agency's and the Commission's
10    websites. The procurement administrator shall also
11    administer the prequalification process, including
12    evaluation of credit worthiness, compliance with
13    procurement rules, and agreement to the standard form
14    contract developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this
15    subsection (e). The procurement administrator shall then
16    identify and register bidders to participate in the
17    procurement event.
18        (2) Standard contract forms and credit terms and
19    instruments. The procurement administrator, in
20    consultation with the utilities, the Commission, and other
21    interested parties and subject to Commission oversight,
22    shall develop and provide standard contract forms for the
23    supplier contracts that meet generally accepted industry
24    practices. Standard credit terms and instruments that meet
25    generally accepted industry practices shall be similarly
26    developed. The procurement administrator shall make

 

 

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1    available to the Commission all written comments it
2    receives on the contract forms, credit terms, or
3    instruments. If the procurement administrator cannot reach
4    agreement with the applicable electric utility as to the
5    contract terms and conditions, the procurement
6    administrator must notify the Commission of any disputed
7    terms and the Commission shall resolve the dispute. The
8    terms of the contracts shall not be subject to negotiation
9    by winning bidders, and the bidders must agree to the terms
10    of the contract in advance so that winning bids are
11    selected solely on the basis of price.
12        (3) Establishment of a market-based price benchmark.
13    As part of the development of the procurement process, the
14    procurement administrator, in consultation with the
15    Commission staff, Agency staff, and the procurement
16    monitor, shall establish benchmarks for evaluating the
17    final prices in the contracts for each of the products that
18    will be procured through the procurement process. The
19    benchmarks shall be based on price data for similar
20    products for the same delivery period and same delivery
21    hub, or other delivery hubs after adjusting for that
22    difference. The price benchmarks may also be adjusted to
23    take into account differences between the information
24    reflected in the underlying data sources and the specific
25    products and procurement process being used to procure
26    power for the Illinois utilities. The benchmarks shall be

 

 

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1    confidential but shall be provided to, and will be subject
2    to Commission review and approval, prior to a procurement
3    event.
4        (4) Request for proposals competitive procurement
5    process. The procurement administrator shall design and
6    issue a request for proposals to supply electricity in
7    accordance with each utility's procurement plan, as
8    approved by the Commission. The request for proposals shall
9    set forth a procedure for sealed, binding commitment
10    bidding with pay-as-bid settlement, and provision for
11    selection of bids on the basis of price.
12        (5) A plan for implementing contingencies in the event
13    of supplier default or failure of the procurement process
14    to fully meet the expected load requirement due to
15    insufficient supplier participation, Commission rejection
16    of results, or any other cause.
17            (i) Event of supplier default: In the event of
18        supplier default, the utility shall review the
19        contract of the defaulting supplier to determine if the
20        amount of supply is 200 megawatts or greater, and if
21        there are more than 60 days remaining of the contract
22        term. If both of these conditions are met, and the
23        default results in termination of the contract, the
24        utility shall immediately notify the Illinois Power
25        Agency that a request for proposals must be issued to
26        procure replacement power or energy efficiency

 

 

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1        products, and the procurement administrator shall run
2        an additional procurement event. If the contracted
3        supply of the defaulting supplier is less than 200
4        megawatts or there are less than 60 days remaining of
5        the contract term, the utility shall procure energy
6        efficiency products or power and energy from the
7        applicable regional transmission organization market,
8        including ancillary services, capacity, energy
9        efficiency products, and day-ahead or real time
10        energy, or both, for the duration of the contract term
11        to replace the contracted supply; provided, however,
12        that if a needed product is not available through the
13        regional transmission organization market it shall be
14        purchased from the wholesale market.
15            (ii) Failure of the procurement process to fully
16        meet the expected load requirement: If the procurement
17        process fails to fully meet the expected load
18        requirement due to insufficient supplier participation
19        or due to a Commission rejection of the procurement
20        results, the procurement administrator, the
21        procurement monitor, and the Commission staff shall
22        meet within 10 days to analyze potential causes of low
23        supplier interest or causes for the Commission
24        decision. If changes are identified that would likely
25        result in increased supplier participation, or that
26        would address concerns causing the Commission to

 

 

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1        reject the results of the prior procurement event, the
2        procurement administrator may implement those changes
3        and rerun the request for proposals process according
4        to a schedule determined by those parties and
5        consistent with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power
6        Agency Act and this subsection. In any event, a new
7        request for proposals process shall be implemented by
8        the procurement administrator within 90 days after the
9        determination that the procurement process has failed
10        to fully meet the expected load requirement.
11            (iii) In all cases where there is insufficient
12        supply provided under contracts awarded through the
13        procurement process to fully meet the electric
14        utility's load requirement, the utility shall meet the
15        load requirement by procuring power and energy from the
16        applicable regional transmission organization market,
17        including ancillary services, capacity, and day-ahead
18        or real time energy or both; provided, however, that if
19        a needed product is not available through the regional
20        transmission organization market it shall be purchased
21        from the wholesale market.
22        (6) The procurement process described in this
23    subsection is exempt from the requirements of the Illinois
24    Procurement Code, pursuant to Section 20-10 of that Code.
25    (f) Within 2 business days after opening the sealed bids,
26the procurement administrator shall submit a confidential

 

 

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1report to the Commission. The report shall contain the results
2of the bidding for each of the products along with the
3procurement administrator's recommendation for the acceptance
4and rejection of bids based on the price benchmark criteria and
5other factors observed in the process. The procurement monitor
6also shall submit a confidential report to the Commission
7within 2 business days after opening the sealed bids. The
8report shall contain the procurement monitor's assessment of
9bidder behavior in the process as well as an assessment of the
10procurement administrator's compliance with the procurement
11process and rules. The Commission shall review the confidential
12reports submitted by the procurement administrator and
13procurement monitor, and shall accept or reject the
14recommendations of the procurement administrator within 2
15business days after receipt of the reports.
16    (g) Within 3 business days after the Commission decision
17approving the results of a procurement event, the utility shall
18enter into binding contractual arrangements with the winning
19suppliers using the standard form contracts; except that the
20utility shall not be required either directly or indirectly to
21execute the contracts if a tariff that is consistent with
22subsection (l) of this Section has not been approved and placed
23into effect for that utility.
24    (h) The names of the successful bidders and the load
25weighted average of the winning bid prices for each contract
26type and for each contract term shall be made available to the

 

 

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1public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement
2event. The Commission, the procurement monitor, the
3procurement administrator, the Illinois Power Agency, and all
4participants in the procurement process shall maintain the
5confidentiality of all other supplier and bidding information
6in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, rules,
7regulations, and tariffs. Confidential information, including
8the confidential reports submitted by the procurement
9administrator and procurement monitor pursuant to subsection
10(f) of this Section, shall not be made publicly available and
11shall not be discoverable by any party in any proceeding,
12absent a compelling demonstration of need, nor shall those
13reports be admissible in any proceeding other than one for law
14enforcement purposes.
15    (i) Within 2 business days after a Commission decision
16approving the results of a procurement event or such other date
17as may be required by the Commission from time to time, the
18utility shall file for informational purposes with the
19Commission its actual or estimated retail supply charges, as
20applicable, by customer supply group reflecting the costs
21associated with the procurement and computed in accordance with
22the tariffs filed pursuant to subsection (l) of this Section
23and approved by the Commission.
24    (j) Within 60 days following the effective date of this
25amendatory Act, each electric utility that on December 31, 2005
26provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in

 

 

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1Illinois shall prepare and file with the Commission an initial
2procurement plan, which shall conform in all material respects
3to the requirements of the procurement plan set forth in
4subsection (b); provided, however, that the Illinois Power
5Agency Act shall not apply to the initial procurement plan
6prepared pursuant to this subsection. The initial procurement
7plan shall identify the portfolio of power and energy products
8to be procured and delivered for the period June 2008 through
9May 2009, and shall identify the proposed procurement
10administrator, who shall have the same experience and expertise
11as is required of a procurement administrator hired pursuant to
12Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Copies of the
13procurement plan shall be posted and made publicly available on
14the Commission's website. The initial procurement plan may
15include contracts for renewable resources that extend beyond
16May 2009.
17        (i) Within 14 days following filing of the initial
18    procurement plan, any person may file a detailed objection
19    with the Commission contesting the procurement plan
20    submitted by the electric utility. All objections to the
21    electric utility's plan shall be specific, supported by
22    data or other detailed analyses. The electric utility may
23    file a response to any objections to its procurement plan
24    within 7 days after the date objections are due to be
25    filed. Within 7 days after the date the utility's response
26    is due, the Commission shall determine whether a hearing is

 

 

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1    necessary. If it determines that a hearing is necessary, it
2    shall require the hearing to be completed and issue an
3    order on the procurement plan within 60 days after the
4    filing of the procurement plan by the electric utility.
5        (ii) The order shall approve or modify the procurement
6    plan, approve an independent procurement administrator,
7    and approve or modify the electric utility's tariffs that
8    are proposed with the initial procurement plan. The
9    Commission shall approve the procurement plan if the
10    Commission determines that it will ensure adequate,
11    reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally
12    sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over
13    time, taking into account any benefits of price stability.
14    (k) In order to promote price stability for residential and
15small commercial customers during the transition to
16competition in Illinois, and notwithstanding any other
17provision of this Act, each electric utility subject to this
18Section shall enter into one or more multi-year financial swap
19contracts that become effective on the effective date of this
20amendatory Act. These contracts may be executed with generators
21and power marketers, including affiliated interests of the
22electric utility. These contracts shall be for a term of no
23more than 5 years and shall, for each respective utility or for
24any Illinois electric utilities that are affiliated by virtue
25of a common parent company and that are thereby considered a
26single electric utility for purposes of this subsection (k),

 

 

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1not exceed in the aggregate 3,000 megawatts for any hour of the
2year. The contracts shall be financial contracts and not energy
3sales contracts. The contracts shall be executed as
4transactions under a negotiated master agreement based on the
5form of master agreement for financial swap contracts sponsored
6by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.
7and shall be considered pre-existing contracts in the
8utilities' procurement plans for residential and small
9commercial customers. Costs incurred pursuant to a contract
10authorized by this subsection (k) shall be deemed prudently
11incurred and reasonable in amount and the electric utility
12shall be entitled to full cost recovery pursuant to the tariffs
13filed with the Commission.
14    (k-5) In order to promote price stability for residential
15and small commercial customers during the infrastructure
16investment program described in subsection (b) of Section
1716-108.5 of this Act, and notwithstanding any other provision
18of this Act or the Illinois Power Agency Act, for each electric
19utility that serves more than one million retail customers in
20Illinois, the Illinois Power Agency shall conduct a procurement
21event within 120 days after October 26, 2011 (the effective
22date of Public Act 97-616) this amendatory Act of the 97th
23General Assembly and may procure contracts for energy and
24renewable energy credits for the period June 1, 2013 through
25December 31, 2017 that satisfy the requirements of this
26subsection (k-5), including the benchmarks described in this

 

 

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1subsection. These contracts shall be entered into as the result
2of a competitive procurement event, and, to the extent that any
3provisions of this Section or the Illinois Power Agency Act do
4not conflict with this subsection (k-5), such provisions shall
5apply to the procurement event. The energy contracts shall be
6for 24 hour by 7 day supply over a term that runs from the first
7delivery year through December 31, 2017. For a utility that
8serves over 2 million customers, the energy contracts shall be
9multi-year with pricing escalating at 2.5% per annum. The
10energy contracts may be designed as financial swaps or may
11require physical delivery.
12    Within 30 days of October 26, 2011 (the effective date of
13Public Act 97-616) this amendatory Act of the 97th General
14Assembly, each such utility shall submit to the Agency updated
15load forecasts for the period June 1, 2013 through December 31,
162017. The megawatt volume of the contracts shall be based on
17the updated load forecasts of the minimum monthly on-peak or
18off-peak average load requirements shown in the forecasts,
19taking into account any existing energy contracts in effect as
20well as the expected migration of the utility's customers to
21alternative retail electric suppliers. The renewable energy
22credit volume shall be based on the number of credits that
23would satisfy the requirements of subsection (c) of Section
241-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, subject to the rate
25impact caps and other provisions of subsection (c) of Section
261-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The evaluation of

 

 

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1contract bids in the competitive procurement events for energy
2and for renewable energy credits shall incorporate price
3benchmarks set collaboratively by the Agency, the procurement
4administrator, the staff of the Commission, and the procurement
5monitor. If the contracts are swap contracts, then they shall
6be executed as transactions under a negotiated master agreement
7based on the form of master agreement for financial swap
8contracts sponsored by the International Swaps and Derivatives
9Association, Inc. Costs incurred pursuant to a contract
10authorized by this subsection (k-5) shall be deemed prudently
11incurred and reasonable in amount and the electric utility
12shall be entitled to full cost recovery pursuant to the tariffs
13filed with the Commission.
14    The cost of administering the procurement event described
15in this subsection (k-5) shall be paid by the winning supplier
16or suppliers to the procurement administrator through a
17supplier fee. In the event that there is no winning supplier
18for a particular utility, such utility will pay the procurement
19administrator for the costs associated with the procurement
20event, and those costs shall not be a recoverable expense.
21Nothing in this subsection (k-5) is intended to alter the
22recovery of costs for any other procurement event.
23    (l) An electric utility shall recover its costs incurred
24under this Section, including, but not limited to, the costs of
25procuring power, energy efficiency products, and energy
26demand-response resources under this Section. The utility

 

 

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1shall file with the initial procurement plan its proposed
2tariffs through which its costs of procuring power that are
3incurred pursuant to a Commission-approved procurement plan
4and those other costs identified in this subsection (l), will
5be recovered. The tariffs shall include a formula rate or
6charge designed to pass through both the costs incurred by the
7utility in procuring a supply of electric power and energy for
8the applicable customer classes with no mark-up or return on
9the price paid by the utility for that supply, plus any just
10and reasonable costs that the utility incurs in arranging and
11providing for the supply of electric power and energy. The
12formula rate or charge shall also contain provisions that
13ensure that its application does not result in over or under
14recovery due to changes in customer usage and demand patterns,
15and that provide for the correction, on at least an annual
16basis, of any accounting errors that may occur. A utility shall
17recover through the tariff all reasonable costs incurred to
18implement or comply with any procurement plan that is developed
19and put into effect pursuant to Section 1-75 of the Illinois
20Power Agency Act and this Section, including any fees assessed
21by the Illinois Power Agency, costs associated with load
22balancing, and contingency plan costs. The electric utility
23shall also recover its full costs of procuring electric supply
24for which it contracted before the effective date of this
25Section in conjunction with the provision of full requirements
26service under fixed-price bundled service tariffs subsequent

 

 

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1to December 31, 2006. All such costs shall be deemed to have
2been prudently incurred. The pass-through tariffs that are
3filed and approved pursuant to this Section shall not be
4subject to review under, or in any way limited by, Section
516-111(i) of this Act.
6    (m) The Commission has the authority to adopt rules to
7carry out the provisions of this Section. For the public
8interest, safety, and welfare, the Commission also has
9authority to adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this
10Section on an emergency basis immediately following the
11effective date of this amendatory Act.
12    (n) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any
13affiliated electric utilities that submit a single procurement
14plan covering their combined needs may procure for those
15combined needs in conjunction with that plan, and may enter
16jointly into power supply contracts, purchases, and other
17procurement arrangements, and allocate capacity, energy
18efficiency products, and energy and cost responsibility
19therefor among themselves in proportion to their requirements.
20    (o) On or before June 1 of each year, the Commission shall
21hold an informal hearing for the purpose of receiving comments
22on the prior year's procurement process and any recommendations
23for change.
24    (p) An electric utility subject to this Section may propose
25to invest, lease, own, or operate an electric generation
26facility as part of its procurement plan, provided the utility

 

 

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1demonstrates that such facility is the least-cost option to
2provide electric service to eligible retail customers. If the
3facility is shown to be the least-cost option and is included
4in a procurement plan prepared in accordance with Section 1-75
5of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section, then the
6electric utility shall make a filing pursuant to Section 8-406
7of this Act, and may request of the Commission any statutory
8relief required thereunder. If the Commission grants all of the
9necessary approvals for the proposed facility, such supply
10shall thereafter be considered as a pre-existing contract under
11subsection (b) of this Section. The Commission shall in any
12order approving a proposal under this subsection specify how
13the utility will recover the prudently incurred costs of
14investing in, leasing, owning, or operating such generation
15facility through just and reasonable rates charged to eligible
16retail customers. Cost recovery for facilities included in the
17utility's procurement plan pursuant to this subsection shall
18not be subject to review under or in any way limited by the
19provisions of Section 16-111(i) of this Act. Nothing in this
20Section is intended to prohibit a utility from filing for a
21fuel adjustment clause as is otherwise permitted under Section
229-220 of this Act.
23(Source: P.A. 97-325, eff. 8-12-11; 97-616, eff. 10-26-11;
24revised 11-10-11.)