Full Text of HB4656 99th General Assembly
HB4656 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB4656 Introduced , by Rep. Michelle Mussman SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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220 ILCS 5/8-207 | from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-207 |
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Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that a disconnected natural gas customer who remedies the reason for the disconnection and is not required by the utility to provide information as a new applicant for service shall be reconnected within 3 calendar days. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 8-207 as follows:
| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-207) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-207)
| 7 | | Sec. 8-207.
Any former residential customer whose gas or | 8 | | electric
service was used to provide or control the primary | 9 | | source of space heating
in the dwelling and whose service is | 10 | | disconnected for nonpayment of a bill or
a deposit from | 11 | | December 1 of the prior winter's heating season through April
1 | 12 | | of the current heating season shall be eligible for | 13 | | reconnection and a
deferred payment arrangement under the | 14 | | provisions of this Section, subject
to the following | 15 | | limitations:
| 16 | | A utility shall not be required to reconnect service to, | 17 | | and enter
into a deferred payment arrangement with, a former | 18 | | customer under the
provisions of this Section (1) except | 19 | | between November 1 and April 1 of the
current heating season | 20 | | for former customers who do not have applications
pending for | 21 | | the program described in Section 6 of the Energy Assistance | 22 | | Act, and except between October 1 and April 1 of the current | 23 | | heating
season for all former customers who do have |
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| 1 | | applications pending for the
program described in Section 6 of | 2 | | the Energy Assistance Act and who
provide proof of application | 3 | | to the utility, (2) in 2 consecutive years,
(3) unless that | 4 | | former customer has paid at least 33 1/3% of the amount
billed | 5 | | for utility service rendered by that utility subsequent to | 6 | | December
1 of the prior year, or (4) in any instance where the | 7 | | utility can show
there has been tampering with the utility's | 8 | | wires, pipes, meters (including
locking devices), or other | 9 | | service equipment and further shows that the
former customer | 10 | | enjoyed the benefit of utility service obtained in the
| 11 | | aforesaid manner.
| 12 | | The terms and conditions of any deferred payment | 13 | | arrangements established
by the utility and a former customer | 14 | | shall take into consideration the
following factors, based upon | 15 | | information available from current utility
records or provided | 16 | | by the former customer:
| 17 | | (1) the amount past due;
| 18 | | (2) the former customer's ability to pay;
| 19 | | (3) the former customer's payment history;
| 20 | | (4) the reasons for the accumulation of the past due | 21 | | amounts; and
| 22 | | (5) any other relevant factors relating to the former | 23 | | customer's
circumstances.
| 24 | | After the former customer's eligibility has been | 25 | | established in accordance
with the first paragraph of this | 26 | | Section and, upon the establishment of
a deferred payment |
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| 1 | | agreement, the former customer shall pay 1/3 of the amount
past | 2 | | due (including reconnecting charge, if any) and 1/3 of any | 3 | | deposit
required by the utility.
| 4 | | Upon the payment of 1/3 of the amount past due and 1/3 of | 5 | | any deposit
required by the utility, the former customer's | 6 | | service shall be reconnected
as soon as possible. The company | 7 | | and the former customer shall agree to a
payment schedule for | 8 | | the remaining balances which will reasonably allow the
former | 9 | | customer to make the payments on the remainder of the deposit | 10 | | and
the past due balance while paying current bills during the | 11 | | winter heating
season. However, the utility is not obliged to | 12 | | make payment arrangements
extending beyond the following | 13 | | November. The utility shall allow the
former customer a minimum | 14 | | of 4 months in which to retire the past due
balance and 3 | 15 | | months in which to pay the remainder of the deposit. The
former | 16 | | customer shall also be informed that payment on the amounts | 17 | | past due
and the deposit, if any, plus the current bills must | 18 | | be paid by the due
date or the customer may face termination of | 19 | | service pursuant to this
Section and Section 8-206.
| 20 | | The Commission shall develop rules to govern the | 21 | | reconnection of a former
customer who demonstrates a financial | 22 | | inability to meet the requirement of
1/3 of the amount past due | 23 | | and 1/3 of any deposit requested by the utility.
The | 24 | | Commission's rules shall establish a means by which the former
| 25 | | customer's utility service may be reconnected through the | 26 | | payment of a
reasonable amount and upon entering into a |
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| 1 | | deferred payment agreement.
| 2 | | Any payment agreement made shall be in writing, with a copy | 3 | | provided to
the former customer. The renegotiation and | 4 | | reinstatement of a customer
and the establishment of a budget | 5 | | payment plan shall be pursuant to rules
established by the | 6 | | Commission.
| 7 | | A disconnected natural gas customer who remedies the reason | 8 | | for the disconnection and is not required by the utility to | 9 | | provide information as a new applicant for service shall be | 10 | | reconnected within 3 calendar days. | 11 | | Not later than September 15 of each year, every gas and | 12 | | electric utility
shall conduct a survey of all former | 13 | | residential customers whose gas or
electric service was used to | 14 | | provide or control the primary source of space
heating in the | 15 | | dwelling and whose gas or electric service was terminated for
| 16 | | nonpayment of a bill or deposit from December 1 of the previous | 17 | | year to
September 15 of that year and where service at that | 18 | | premises has not been
restored. Not later than October 1 of | 19 | | each year the utility shall notify
each of these former | 20 | | customers that the gas or electric service will be
restored by | 21 | | the company for the coming heating season if the former
| 22 | | customer contacts the utility and makes arrangements with the | 23 | | utility
for reconnection of service under the conditions set | 24 | | forth in
this Section. A utility shall notify the former | 25 | | customer or an adult
member of the household by personal visit, | 26 | | telephone contact or mailing of
a letter by first class mail to |
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| 1 | | the last known address of that former
customer. The utility | 2 | | shall keep records which would indicate the date,
form and the | 3 | | results of such contact.
| 4 | | Each gas and electric utility which has former customers | 5 | | affected by this
Section shall file reports with the Commission | 6 | | providing such information
as the Commission may deem | 7 | | appropriate. The Commission shall notify each
gas and electric | 8 | | utility prior to August 1 of each year concerning the
| 9 | | information which is to be included in the report for that | 10 | | year.
| 11 | | In no event shall any actions taken by a utility in | 12 | | compliance with this
Section be deemed to abrogate or in any | 13 | | way interfere with the utility's
rights to pursue the normal | 14 | | collection processes otherwise available to it.
| 15 | | The Commission shall promulgate rules to implement this | 16 | | Section.
| 17 | | (Source: P.A. 92-690, eff. 7-18-02.)
| 18 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 19 | | becoming law.
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