SB3766 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 19347 CEL 64596 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3766

Introduced 2/10/2012, by Sen. Don Harmon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

220 ILCS 5/16-120

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that beginning in 2012, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall require the Office of Retail Market Development to prepare a report regarding the development of competitive natural gas markets and the value of municipal aggregation in the natural gas market with a comparison of the development of the municipal aggregation of electricity customers. Provides that the Commission may request and utilities and alternative gas retail suppliers shall provide the data as requested by the Commission. Provides that the report shall be completed by April 1, 2013 and shall be filed with the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services of the General Assembly and the Governor and shall be publicly available. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public utilities.

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

Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 16-120 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/16-120)

Sec. 16-120. Development of competitive market; Commission study and reports; investigation.

(a) On or before December 31, 1999 and once every 3 years thereafter, the Commission shall monitor and analyze patterns of entry and exit, applications for entry and exit, and any barriers to entry or participation that may exist, for services provided under this Article; shall analyze any impediments to the establishment of a fully competitive energy and power market in Illinois; and shall include its findings together with appropriate recommendations for legislative action in a report to the General Assembly.

(b) Beginning in 2001, and ending in 2006, the Commission shall prepare an annual report regarding the development of electricity markets in Illinois which shall be filed by April 1 of each year with the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services of the General Assembly and the Governor and which shall be publicly available. Such report shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) the aggregate annual peak demand of retail customers in the State of Illinois in the preceding calendar year;

(2) the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold to retail customers in the State of Illinois by each electric utility within its own service territory, each electric utility outside its service territory, and alternative retail electric suppliers in the preceding calendar year;

(3) the percentage of the total kilowatt-hours delivered and sold to retail customers in the State of Illinois in the preceding calendar year by each electric utility within its service territory, each electric utility outside its service territory, and each alternative retail electric supplier; and

(4) any other information the Commission considers significant in assessing the development of Illinois electricity markets, which may include, to the extent available, information similar to that described in items 1, 2 and 3 with respect to cogeneration, self-generation and other sources of electric power and energy provided to customers that do not take delivery services or bundled electric utility services.

The Commission may also include such other information as it deems to be necessary or beneficial in describing or explaining the results of its Report. The Report required by this Section shall be adopted by a vote of the full Commission prior to filing. Proprietary or confidential information shall not be disclosed publicly. Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the Commission from taking actions that would otherwise be allowed under this Act.

(c) The Commission shall prepare a report on the value of municipal aggregation of electricity customers. The report shall be filed with the General Assembly and the Governor no later than January 15, 2003 and shall be publicly available. The report shall, at a minimum, include:

(1) a description and analysis of actual and potential forms of aggregation of electricity customers in Illinois and in the other states, including aggregation through municipal, affinity, and other organizations and through aggregation of consumer purchases of electricity from renewable energy sources;

(2) estimates of the potential benefits of municipal aggregation to Illinois electricity customers in at least 5 specific municipal examples comparing their costs under bundled rates and unbundled rates, including real-time prices;

(3) a description of the barriers to municipal and other forms of aggregation in Illinois, including legal, economic, informational, and other barriers; and

(4) options for legislative action to foster municipal and other forms of aggregation of electricity customers.

Beginning in 2012, the Commission shall require the Office of Retail Market Development to prepare a report regarding the development of competitive natural gas markets and the value of municipal aggregation in the natural gas market with a comparison of the development of the municipal aggregation of electricity customers. The Commission may request and utilities and alternative gas retail suppliers shall provide the data as requested by the Commission. The report shall be completed by April 1, 2013 and shall be filed with the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services of the General Assembly and the Governor and shall be publicly available.

In preparing the report, the Commission shall consult with persons involved in aggregation or the study of aggregation of electricity customers in Illinois, including municipalities, utilities, aggregators, and non-profit organizations. The provisions of Section 16-122 notwithstanding, the Commission may request and utilities shall provide such aggregated load data as may be necessary to perform the analyses required by this subsection; provided, however, proprietary or confidential information shall not be disclosed publicly.

(Source: P.A. 92-585, eff. 6-26-02.)

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