220 ILCS 5/ Public Utilities Act.

(220 ILCS 5/15-601)

Sec. 15-601. Safety regulation. Each common carrier by pipeline shall construct, maintain, and operate all of its pipelines, related facilities, and equipment in this State in a manner that poses no undue risk to its employees, customers, or the public. The obligation of the carrier shall include the construction, maintenance, and operation of safety devices or structures, the revision of practices effecting safety, and other acts necessary to ensure the safety of its employees, customers, and the public. The Commission may, by reference to federal safety regulations or otherwise, adopt reasonable regulations governing the construction, maintenance, and operations of pipelines, related facilities, and equipment to ensure the safety of pipeline employees, customers, and the public.

(Source: P.A. 89-42, eff. 1-1-96.)

(220 ILCS 5/15-701)

Sec. 15-701. Grandfather provision. All certificates of public convenience and necessity for common carrier by pipeline, tariffs and schedules, and findings, orders, decisions, rules, and regulations, issued under the repealed provisions of the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law, and not subject to judicial review as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995, shall continue in full force and effect as if adopted, issued, established, or recognized under the Public Utilities Act.

(Source: P.A. 89-42, eff. 1-1-96.)

(220 ILCS 5/Art. XVI heading) ARTICLE XVI. ELECTRIC SERVICE CUSTOMER CHOICE AND RATE RELIEF LAW OF 1997

(220 ILCS 5/16-101)

Sec. 16-101. Short title and applicability.

(a) This Article may be cited as the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 and shall apply to electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers as defined in this Article. Except to the extent modified or supplemented by the provisions of this Article, or where the context clearly renders such provisions inapplicable, the other Articles of the Public Utilities Act pertaining to public utilities, public utility rates and services and the regulation thereof, are fully and equally applicable to the tariffed services electric utilities provide.

(b) The provisions of subsections (a) through (h) of Section 16-111 of this Act shall not be applicable to any electric utility which elects to file biennial rate proceedings before the Commission in the years 1998, 2000 and 2002. An electric utility electing this option shall do so by filing a notice of such election with the Commission within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or its right to make such election shall be irrevocably waived. An electric utility electing the option specified in this paragraph shall file its rate proceeding with the Commission no later than August 1 of the years 1998, 2000, and 2002. The electric utility's filing shall comply with all requirements of 83 Illinois Administrative Code Parts 255 and 285 as though the electric utility were filing for an increase in its rates, without regard to whether such filing would produce an increase, a decrease or no change in the electric utility's rates and the Commission shall review the electric utility's filing and shall issue its order in accordance with the provisions of Section 9-201 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-101A)

Sec. 16-101A. Legislative findings.

(a) The citizens and businesses of the State of Illinois have been well-served by a comprehensive electrical utility system which has provided safe, reliable, and affordable service. The electrical utility system in the State of Illinois has historically been subject to State and federal regulation, aimed at assuring the citizens and businesses of the State of safe, reliable, and affordable service, while at the same time assuring the utility system of a return on its investment.

(b) Competitive forces are affecting the market for electricity as a result of recent federal regulatory and statutory changes and the activities of other states. Competition in the electric services market may create opportunities for new products and services for customers and lower costs for users of electricity. Long-standing regulatory relationships need to be altered to accommodate the competition that could fundamentally alter the structure of the electric services market.

(c) With the advent of increasing competition in this industry, the State has a continued interest in assuring that the safety, reliability, and affordability of electrical power is not sacrificed to competitive pressures, and to that end, intends to implement safeguards to assure that the industry continues to operate the electrical system in a manner that will serve the public's interest. Under the existing regulatory framework, the industry has been encouraged to undertake certain investments in its physical plant and personnel to enhance its efficient operation, the cost of which it has been permitted to pass on to consumers. The State has an interest in providing the existing utilities a reasonable opportunity to obtain a return on certain investments on which they depended in undertaking those commitments in the first instance while, at the same time, not permitting new entrants into the industry to take unreasonable advantage of the investments made by the formerly regulated industry.

(d) A competitive wholesale and retail market must benefit all Illinois citizens. The Illinois Commerce Commission should act to promote the development of an effectively competitive electricity market that operates efficiently and is equitable to all consumers. Consumer protections must be in place to ensure that all customers continue to receive safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally safe electric service.

(e) All consumers must benefit in an equitable and timely fashion from the lower costs for electricity that result from retail and wholesale competition and receive sufficient information to make informed choices among suppliers and services. The use of renewable resources and energy efficiency resources should be encouraged in competitive markets.

(f) The efficiency of electric markets depends both upon the competitiveness of supply and upon the price-responsiveness of the demand for service. Therefore, to ensure the lowest total cost of service and to enhance the reliability of service, all classes of the electricity customers of electric utilities should have access to and be able to voluntarily use real-time pricing and other price-response and demand-response mechanisms.

(g) Including cost-effective renewable resources and demand-response resources in a diverse electricity supply portfolio will reduce long-term direct and indirect costs to consumers by decreasing environmental impacts and by avoiding or delaying the need for new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. It serves the public interest to allow electric utilities to recover costs for reasonably and prudently incurred expenses for electricity generated by renewable resources and demand-response resources.

(h) Including electricity generated by clean coal facilities, as defined under Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, in a diverse electricity procurement portfolio will reduce the need to purchase, directly or indirectly, carbon dioxide emission credits and will decrease environmental impacts. It serves the public interest to allow electric utilities to recover costs for reasonably and prudently incurred expenses for sourcing electricity generated by clean coal facilities.

(Source: P.A. 94-977, eff. 6-30-06; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07; 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-102)

Sec. 16-102. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this Section.

"Alternative retail electric supplier" means every person, cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company, association, joint stock company or association, firm, partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, that offers electric power or energy for sale, lease or in exchange for other value received to one or more retail customers, or that engages in the delivery or furnishing of electric power or energy to such retail customers, and shall include, without limitation, resellers, aggregators and power marketers, but shall not include (i) electric utilities (or any agent of the electric utility to the extent the electric utility provides tariffed services to retail customers through that agent), (ii) any electric cooperative or municipal system as defined in Section 17-100 to the extent that the electric cooperative or municipal system is serving retail customers within any area in which it is or would be entitled to provide service under the law in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, (iii) a public utility that is owned and operated by any public institution of higher education of this State, or a public utility that is owned by such public institution of higher education and operated by any of its lessees or operating agents, within any area in which it is or would be entitled to provide service under the law in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, (iv) a retail customer to the extent that customer obtains its electric power and energy from that customer's own cogeneration or self-generation facilities, (v) an entity that owns, operates, sells, or arranges for the installation of a customer's own cogeneration or self-generation facilities, but only to the extent the entity is engaged in owning, selling or arranging for the installation of such facility, or operating the facility on behalf of such customer, provided however that any such third party owner or operator of a facility built after January 1, 1999, complies with the labor provisions of Section 16-128(a) as though such third party were an alternative retail electric supplier, or (vi) an industrial or manufacturing customer that owns its own distribution facilities, to the extent that the customer provides service from that distribution system to a third-party contractor located on the customer's premises that is integrally and predominantly engaged in the customer's industrial or manufacturing process; provided, that if the industrial or manufacturing customer has elected delivery services, the customer shall pay transition charges applicable to the electric power and energy consumed by the third-party contractor unless such charges are otherwise paid by the third party contractor, which shall be calculated based on the usage of, and the base rates or the contract rates applicable to, the third-party contractor in accordance with Section 16-102.

An entity that furnishes the service of charging electric vehicles does not and shall not be deemed to sell electricity and is not and shall not be deemed an alternative retail electric supplier, and is not subject to regulation as such under this Act notwithstanding the basis on which the service is provided or billed. If, however, the entity is otherwise deemed an alternative retail electric supplier under this Act, or is otherwise subject to regulation under this Act, then that entity is not exempt from and remains subject to the otherwise applicable provisions of this Act. The installation, maintenance, and repair of an electric vehicle charging station shall comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 and Section 16-128A of this Act.

For purposes of this Section, the term "electric vehicles" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 10 of the Electric Vehicle Act.

"Base rates" means the rates for those tariffed services that the electric utility is required to offer pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 16-103 and that were identified in a rate order for collection of the electric utility's base rate revenue requirement, excluding (i) separate automatic rate adjustment riders then in effect, (ii) special or negotiated contract rates, (iii) delivery services tariffs filed pursuant to Section 16-108, (iv) real-time pricing, or (v) tariffs that were in effect prior to October 1, 1996 and that based charges for services on an index or average of other utilities' charges, but including (vi) any subsequent redesign of such rates for tariffed services that is authorized by the Commission after notice and hearing.

"Competitive service" includes (i) any service that has been declared to be competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act, (ii) contract service, and (iii) services, other than tariffed services, that are related to, but not necessary for, the provision of electric power and energy or delivery services.

"Contract service" means (1) services, including the provision of electric power and energy or other services, that are provided by mutual agreement between an electric utility and a retail customer that is located in the electric utility's service area, provided that, delivery services shall not be a contract service until such services are declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113; and also means (2) the provision of electric power and energy by an electric utility to retail customers outside the electric utility's service area pursuant to Section 16-116. Provided, however, contract service does not include electric utility services provided pursuant to (i) contracts that retail customers are required to execute as a condition of receiving tariffed services, or (ii) special or negotiated rate contracts for electric utility services that were entered into between an electric utility and a retail customer prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and filed with the Commission.

"Delivery services" means those services provided by the electric utility that are necessary in order for the transmission and distribution systems to function so that retail customers located in the electric utility's service area can receive electric power and energy from suppliers other than the electric utility, and shall include, without limitation, standard metering and billing services.

"Electric utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license, permit or right to furnish or sell electricity to retail customers within a service area.

"Mandatory transition period" means the period from the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 through January 1, 2007.

"Municipal system" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 17-100.

"Real-time pricing" means tariffed retail charges for delivered electric power and energy that vary hour-to-hour and are determined from wholesale market prices using a methodology approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Retail customer" means a single entity using electric power or energy at a single premises and that (A) either (i) is receiving or is eligible to receive tariffed services from an electric utility, or (ii) that is served by a municipal system or electric cooperative within any area in which the municipal system or electric cooperative is or would be entitled to provide service under the law in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or (B) an entity which on the effective date of this Act was receiving electric service from a public utility and (i) was engaged in the practice of resale and redistribution of such electricity within a building prior to January 2, 1957, or (ii) was providing lighting services to tenants in a multi-occupancy building, but only to the extent such resale, redistribution or lighting service is authorized by the electric utility's tariffs that were on file with the Commission on the effective date of this Act.

"Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which an electric utility was lawfully entitled to provide electric power and energy to retail customers as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, and includes (ii) the location of any retail customer to which the electric utility was lawfully providing electric utility services on such effective date.

"Small commercial retail customer" means those nonresidential retail customers of an electric utility consuming 15,000 kilowatt-hours or less of electricity annually in its service area.

"Tariffed service" means services provided to retail customers by an electric utility as defined by its rates on file with the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article IX of this Act, but shall not include competitive services.

"Transition charge" means a charge expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour that is calculated for a customer or class of customers as follows for each year in which an electric utility is entitled to recover transition charges as provided in Section 16-108:

(1) the amount of revenue that an electric utility would receive from the retail customer or customers if it were serving such customers' electric power and energy requirements as a tariffed service based on (A) all of the customers' actual usage during the 3 years ending 90 days prior to the date on which such customers were first eligible for delivery services pursuant to Section 16-104, and (B) on (i) the base rates in effect on October 1, 1996 (adjusted for the reductions required by subsection (b) of Section 16-111, for any reduction resulting from a rate decrease under Section 16-101(b), for any restatement of base rates made in conjunction with an elimination of the fuel adjustment clause pursuant to subsection (b), (d), or (f) of Section 9-220 and for any removal of decommissioning costs from base rates pursuant to Section 16-114) and any separate automatic rate adjustment riders (other than a decommissioning rate as defined in Section 16-114) under which the customers were receiving or, had they been customers, would have received electric power and energy from the electric utility during the year immediately preceding the date on which such customers were first eligible for delivery service pursuant to Section 16-104, or (ii) to the extent applicable, any contract rates, including contracts or rates for consolidated or aggregated billing, under which such customers were receiving electric power and energy from the electric utility during such year;

(2) less the amount of revenue, other than revenue from transition charges and decommissioning rates, that the electric utility would receive from such retail customers for delivery services provided by the electric utility, assuming such customers were taking delivery services for all of their usage, based on the delivery services tariffs in effect during the year for which the transition charge is being calculated and on the usage identified in paragraph (1);

(3) less the market value for the electric power and energy that the electric utility would have used to supply all of such customers' electric power and energy requirements, as a tariffed service, based on the usage identified in paragraph (1), with such market value determined in accordance with Section 16-112 of this Act;

(4) less the following amount which represents the amount to be attributed to new revenue sources and cost reductions by the electric utility through the end of the period for which transition costs are recovered pursuant to Section 16-108, referred to in this Article XVI as a "mitigation factor":

(A) for nonresidential retail customers, an amount equal to the greater of (i) 0.5 cents per kilowatt-hour during the period October 1, 1999 through December 31, 2004, 0.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in calendar year 2005, and 0.9 cents per kilowatt-hour in calendar year 2006, multiplied in each year by the usage identified in paragraph (1), or (ii) an amount equal to the following percentages of the amount produced by applying the applicable base rates (adjusted as described in subparagraph (1)(B)) or contract rate to the usage identified in paragraph (1): 8% for the period October 1, 1999 through December 31, 2002, 10% in calendar years 2003 and 2004, 11% in calendar year 2005 and 12% in calendar year 2006; and

(B) for residential retail customers, an amount equal to the following percentages of the amount produced by applying the base rates in effect on October 1, 1996 (adjusted as described in subparagraph (1)(B)) to the usage identified in paragraph (1): (i) 6% from May 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002, (ii) 7% in calendar years 2003 and 2004, (iii) 8% in calendar year 2005, and (iv) 10% in calendar year 2006;

(5) divided by the usage of such customers identified in paragraph (1),

provided that the transition charge shall never be less than zero.

"Unbundled service" means a component or constituent part of a tariffed service which the electric utility subsequently offers separately to its customers.

(Source: P.A. 97-1128, eff. 8-28-12.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-103)

Sec. 16-103. Service obligations of electric utilities.

(a) An electric utility shall continue offering to retail customers each tariffed service that it offered as a distinct and identifiable service on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 until the service is (i) declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113, or (ii) abandoned pursuant to Section 8-508. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting an electric utility's right to propose, or the Commission's power to approve, allow or order modifications in the rates, terms and conditions for such services pursuant to Article IX or Section 16-111 of this Act.

(b) An electric utility shall also offer, as tariffed services, delivery services in accordance with this Article, the power purchase options described in Section 16-110 and real-time pricing as provided in Section 16-107.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, each electric utility shall continue offering to all residential customers and to all small commercial retail customers in its service area, as a tariffed service, bundled electric power and energy delivered to the customer's premises consistent with the bundled utility service provided by the electric utility on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. Upon declaration of the provision of electric power and energy as competitive, the electric utility shall continue to offer to such customers, as a tariffed service, bundled service options at rates which reflect recovery of all cost components for providing the service. For those components of the service which have been declared competitive, cost shall be the market based prices. Market based prices as referred to herein shall mean, for electric power and energy, either (i) those prices for electric power and energy determined as provided in Section 16-112, or (ii) the electric utility's cost of obtaining the electric power and energy at wholesale through a competitive bidding or other arms-length acquisition process.

(d) Any residential or small commercial retail customer which elects delivery services is entitled to return to the electric utility's bundled utility tariffed service offering provided in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section upon payment of a reasonable administrative fee which shall be set forth in the tariff. Notwithstanding any other obligation of an electric utility in this Section: (1) if the residential or small commercial customer has not elected delivery services within 2 billing cycles after returning to the electric utility's bundled utility tariffed service offering, then the electric utility shall be entitled, but not required, to impose the condition that such customer may not elect delivery services for up to 12 months after the date on which the customer returned to bundled utility tariffed service and (2) the electric utility shall be entitled, but not required, to impose the condition that a customer who has left delivery service for the electric utility's bundled service not be permitted to return to the same alternative retail electric supplier within up to 2 billing cycles after the customer returned to bundled utility tariffed service other than in situations, including, but not limited to, where the return was in error, inadvertent, or the result of any other unintended operational consequence.

(e) The Commission shall not require an electric utility to offer any tariffed service other than the services required by this Section, and shall not require an electric utility to offer any competitive service.

(Source: P.A. 99-250, eff. 8-3-15.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-103.1)

Sec. 16-103.1. Tariffed service to Unit Owners' Associations. An electric utility that serves at least 2,000,000 customers must provide tariffed service to Unit Owners' Associations, as defined by Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act, for condominium properties that are not restricted to nonresidential use at rates that do not exceed on average the rates offered to residential customers on an annual basis. Within 10 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act, the electric utility shall provide the tariffed service to Unit Owners' Associations required by this Section and shall reinstate any residential all-electric discount applicable to any Unit Owners' Association that received such a discount on December 31, 2006. For purposes of this Section, "residential customers" means those retail customers of an electric utility that receive (i) electric utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units that is billed under a residential rate or (ii) electric utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling unit or units that is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-103.2)

Sec. 16-103.2. Market Settlement Service.

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an electric utility shall be permitted, at its election, to provide Market Settlement Service, which, for purposes of this Section, shall mean a tariffed, unbundled electric power and energy supply service applicable to all of the electric utility's retail customers having maximum demands exceeding 400 kilowatts, as measured in accordance with the electric utility's retail tariffs, that do not otherwise purchase all of their electric power and energy supply service from the electric utility. Market Settlement Service shall apply to the difference between (i) the actual quantities of electric power and energy supply provided to any such retail customer during a given period and (ii) the quantities of such supply that were deemed to have been provided to such retail customer for the purposes of the applicable regional transmission organization's final wholesale market settlements during that same period. An electric utility providing Market Settlement Service may also, at its election, include in Market Settlement Service electric capacity, transmission services, or other services that are also provided by or through a regional transmission organization to retail customers who receive tariffed electric power and energy supply service with hourly pricing provisions at quantities assigned to such retail customer pursuant to the electric utility's Market Settlement Service tariff. Charges (if the actual quantities provided were greater) or credits (if the actual quantities provided were less) shall be calculated based on the same unit rate or rates set forth in the electric utility's tariff or tariffs for electric power and energy supply service with hourly pricing provisions applicable to its retail customers having maximum demands exceeding 400 kilowatts, provided, however, that any reconciliation provision set forth in such tariff or tariffs, including any charges or credits resulting therefrom, shall not apply to Market Settlement Service.

An electric utility providing Market Settlement Service shall be permitted to recover all of its reasonable and prudently incurred administrative and operational costs of providing this service from all of its retail customers through its delivery services charges. An electric utility providing Market Settlement Service shall be permitted to recover its reasonable and prudent initial implementation and start-up costs from retail consumers having maximum demands exceeding 400 kilowatts through its delivery service charges.

(b) Market Settlement Service shall be provided pursuant to a tariff of the electric utility on file with the Commission. The electric utility's Market Settlement Service tariff shall include provisions for the determination of the quantities subject to Market Settlement Service for any retail customer that receives only a portion of its electric power and energy requirements from an alternative retail electric supplier or electric utility operating outside of its service territory. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, the electric utility may elect to (i) exclude from Market Settlement Service any portion of the difference described in subsection (a) of this Section attributable to a delayed initial retail electric service bill for a given period and (ii) provide Market Settlement Service limited to an entire retail billing period or periods, without proration, notwithstanding that the applicable regional transmission organization's final wholesale market settlements may have occurred on a date within a retail billing period.

(c) An electric utility that has a tariff in effect pursuant to this Section shall not be subject to, or allowed to pursue, any other claims, adjustments, settlements, or offsets related to the cost of any difference in the actual quantities of electric energy, capacity, transmission services, or other services included in Market Settlement Service, provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection (c) shall not, consistent with the provisions of this Act, (i) preclude any subsequent and separate adjustments made to the same retail customer's electric service account pursuant to a tariff authorized by this Section because of other differences, whether for the same or a different meter or for the same or different period or (ii) reduce or impair in any way an electric utility's authority to charge a retail customer for unmetered electric service related to the retail customer's unlawful tampering with or interference with electric service, including, but not limited to, any other charges allowed by law or the electric utility's tariffs.

(d) A tariff authorized by this Section may be established outside of either (i) a filing seeking a general change in rates under Article IX of this Act or (ii) a filing authorized under Section 16-108.5 of this Act. The Commission shall review and, by order, approve, or approve as modified, the proposed tariff within 180 days after the date on which it is filed. In the event the Commission approves such a tariff with modifications, the electric utility shall not be obligated to place the modified tariff into effect. In such event, the electric utility must, within 14 days after any Commission order, withdraw its proposed tariff and its election to provide Market Settlement Service. If a Market Settlement Service tariff does become effective, such tariff shall remain in effect thereafter at the discretion of the electric utility.

(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Act to the contrary, an electric utility providing Market Settlement Service shall not be liable to any retail customer, alternative retail electric supplier, or electric utility operating outside of its service territory for any adjustment in the quantity of any transmission or retail electric supply service for which the applicable regional transmission organization under its tariffs, agreements, and market and business rules will no longer make a corresponding adjustment to the wholesale market settlements.

(Source: P.A. 98-554, eff. 1-1-14.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-104)

Sec. 16-104. Delivery services transition plan. An electric utility shall provide delivery services to retail customers in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

(a) Each electric utility shall offer delivery services to retail customers located in its service area in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) On or before October 1, 1999, the electric utility shall offer delivery services (i) to any non-residential retail customer whose average monthly maximum electrical demand on the electric utility's system during the 6 months with the customer's highest monthly maximum demands in the 12 months ending June 30, 1999 equals or exceeds 4 megawatts; (ii) to any non-governmental, non-residential, commercial retail customers under common ownership doing business at 10 or more separate locations within the electric utility's service area, if the aggregate coincident average monthly maximum electrical demand of all such locations during the 6 months with the customer's highest monthly maximum electrical demands during the 12 months ending June 30, 1999 equals or exceeds 9.5 megawatts, provided, however, that an electric utility's obligation to offer delivery services under this clause (ii) shall not exceed 3.5% of the maximum electric demand on the electric utility's system in the 12 months ending June 30, 1999; and (iii) to non-residential retail customers whose annual electric energy use comprises 33% of the kilowatt-hour sales, excluding the kilowatt-hour sales to customers described in clauses (i) and (ii), to each non-residential retail customer class of the electric utility.

(2) On or before October 1, 2000, the electric utility shall offer delivery services to the eligible governmental customers described in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 16-125A if the aggregate coincident average monthly maximum electrical demand of such customers during the 6 months with the customers' highest monthly maximum electrical demands during the 12 months ending June 30, 2000 equals or exceeds 9.5 megawatts.

(2.5) On or before June 1, 2000, an electric utility serving more than 1,000,000 customers in this State shall offer delivery services to retail customers whose annual electric energy use comprises 33% of the kilowatt hour sales to that group of retail customers that are classified under Division D, Groups 20 through 39 of the Standard Industrial Classifications set forth in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget, excluding the kilowatt-hour sales to those customers that are eligible for delivery services pursuant to clause (1)(i), and shall offer delivery services to its remaining retail customers classified under Division D, Groups 20 through 39 on or before October 1, 2000.

(3) On or before December 31, 2000, the electric utility shall offer delivery services to all remaining nonresidential retail customers in its service area.

(4) On or before May 1, 2002, the electric utility shall offer delivery services to all residential retail customers in its service area.

The loads and kilowatt-hour sales used for purposes of this subsection shall be those for the 12 months ending June 30, 1999 for nonresidential retail customers. The electric utility shall identify those customers to be offered delivery service pursuant to clause (1)(iii) and paragraph (2.5) of subsection (a) of this Section and Section 16-111(e)(B)(iii) pursuant to a lottery or other random nondiscriminatory selection process set forth in the electric utility's delivery services implementation plan pursuant to Section 16-105, which process may include a registration process giving each nonresidential customer the opportunity to register for eligibility for delivery services under this Section, with a lottery of registered customers to be conducted if the annual electric energy use of all registered customers exceeds the limit set forth in clause (1)(iii) or clause (2.5) or Section 16-111(e)(B)(iii), as applicable; provided that the provision of this amendatory Act of 1999 as it relates to the registration and lottery process under clause (1)(iii) is not intended to nor does it make any change in the meaning of this Section, but is intended to remove possible ambiguities, thereby confirming the existing meaning of this Section prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1999. Provided, that non-residential retail customers under common ownership at separate locations within the electric utility's service area may elect, prior to the date the electric utility conducts the lottery or other random selection process for purposes of clause (1)(iii), to designate themselves as a common ownership group, to be excluded from such lottery and to instead participate in a separate lottery for such common ownership group pursuant to which delivery services will be offered to non-residential retail customers comprising 33% of the total kilowatt-hour sales to the common ownership group on or before October 1, 1999. For purposes of this subsection (a), an electric utility may define "common ownership" to exclude sites which are not part of the same business, provided, that auxiliary establishments as defined in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget shall not be excluded.

(b) The electric utility shall allow the aggregation of loads that are eligible for delivery services so long as such aggregation meets the criteria for delivery of electric power and energy applicable to the electric utility established by the regional reliability council to which the electric utility belongs, by an independent system operating organization to which the electric utility belongs, or by another organization responsible for overseeing the integrity and reliability of the transmission system, as such criteria are in effect from time to time. The Commission may adopt rules and regulations governing the criteria for aggregation of the loads utilizing delivery services, but its failure to do so shall not preclude any eligible customer from electing delivery services. The electric utility shall allow such aggregation for any voluntary grouping of customers, including without limitation those having a common agent with contractual authority to purchase electric power and energy and delivery services on behalf of all customers in the grouping.

(c) An electric utility shall allow a retail customer that generates power for its own use to include the electrical demand obtained from the customer's cogeneration or self-generation facilities that is coincident with the retail customer's maximum monthly electrical demand on the electric utility's system in any determination of the customer's maximum monthly electrical demand for purposes of determining when such retail customer shall be offered delivery services pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) The Commission shall establish charges, terms and conditions for delivery services in accordance with Section 16-108.

(e) Subject to the terms and conditions which the electric utility is entitled to impose in accordance with Section 16-108, a retail customer that is eligible to elect delivery services pursuant to subsection (a) may place all or a portion of its electric power and energy requirements on delivery services.

(f) An electric utility may require a retail customer who elects to (i) use an alternative retail electric supplier or another electric utility for some but not all of its electric power or energy requirements, and (ii) use the electric utility for any portion of its remaining electric power and energy requirements, to place the portion of the customer's electric power or energy requirement that is to be served by the electric utility on a tariff containing charges that are set to recover the lowest reasonably available cost to the electric utility of acquiring electric power and energy on the wholesale electric market to serve such remaining portion of the customer's electric power and energy requirement, reasonable compensation for arranging for and providing such electric power or energy, and the electric utility's other costs of providing service to such remaining electric power and energy requirement.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105)

Sec. 16-105. Delivery services implementation plan. To ensure the safe and orderly implementation of delivery services, each electric utility shall submit to the Commission no later than March 1, 1999, a delivery services implementation plan for non-residential customers and no later than August 1, 2001, a delivery services implementation plan for residential customers. The delivery services implementation plan shall detail the process and procedures by which each electric utility will offer delivery services to each customer class and shall be designed to insure an orderly transition and the maintenance of reliable service. The Commission shall enter an order approving, or approving as modified, the delivery services implementation plan of each electric utility no later than 60 days prior to the date on which the electric utility must commence offering such services.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105.5)

Sec. 16-105.5. Rate case filing and revenue-neutral rate design.

(a) An electric utility that files a general rate case pursuant to Section 9-201 of this Act or a Multi-Year Rate Plan pursuant to Section 16-108.18 of this Act may omit the rate design component of such filing and subsequently separately file this component with the Commission, subject to the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Section.

(b) If the electric utility makes the election described in this Section, then the filing shall be consistent with the rate design and cost allocation across customer classes approved in the Commission's most recent order regarding the electric utility's request for a general adjustment to its rates entered under Section 9-201, subsection (e) of Section 16-108.5, or Section 16-108.18 of this Act, as applicable.

(c) If the electric utility makes the election described in this Section, then the following provisions apply to the separate filing of the revenue-neutral rate design component:

(1) No later than one year after the tariffs implementing the general rate case filing or Multi-year Rate Plan filing, as described in subsection (b) of this Section, are placed into effect, the electric utility shall make a filing with the Commission that proposes changes to the tariffs to incorporate the findings of any final rate design orders of the Commission applicable to the electric utility and entered subsequent to the Commission's approval of the tariffs. If no such orders have been entered, then the electric utility must submit its separate revenue-neutral rate design filing no later than 3 years after the date on which the Commission's most recent final rate design order was entered for the electric utility. The electric utility's separate revenue-neutral rate design filing may either propose revenue-neutral tariff changes or refile the existing tariffs without change, which shall present the Commission with an opportunity to suspend the tariffs and consider revenue-neutral tariff changes related to rate design. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving, or approving with modification, the proposed changes to the tariffs within 240 days after the electric utility's filing. Any changes ordered by the Commission shall become effective at the commencement of the first January monthly billing period that begins no earlier than 30 days after the Commission issues its order adopting such changes.

(2) Following Commission approval under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), the electric utility shall make a filing with the Commission during each subsequent 3-year period that either proposes revenue-neutral tariff changes or refiles the existing tariffs without change, which shall present the Commission with an opportunity to suspend the tariffs and consider revenue-neutral tariff changes related to rate design. The requirements of this paragraph (2) shall terminate at the time that the electric utility files a general rate case or Multi-Year Rate Plan that includes the rate design component.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105.6)

Sec. 16-105.6. Amortization of charges or credits.

(a) It is in the public interest to mitigate the customer bill impacts of large expenses incurred by electric utilities by directing that expenses exceeding the applicable threshold specified in this Section be amortized over the prescribed period. Such amortization will levelize customer bill impacts and, in many instances, better align the period of cost recovery with the period over which customers receive the benefit of the expenditure. Accordingly, an electric utility that files a general rate increase under Section 9-201 of this Act or a Multi-Year Rate Plan under Section 16-108.18 of this Act shall amortize, over a 5-year period, each charge or credit that exceeds the applicable amount identified in subsection (b) of this Section and that relates to (1) a workforce reduction program's severance costs; (2) changes in accounting rules; (3) changes in law; (4) compliance with any Commission-initiated audit; and (5) a single storm or weather system, or other similar expense.

Any unamortized balance shall be reflected in rate base.

In this Section, "changes in law" includes any enactment, repeal, or amendment in a law, ordinance, rule, regulation, interpretation, permit, license, consent, or order, including those relating to taxes, accounting, or environmental matters, or in the interpretation or application thereof by any governmental authority occurring after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.

Nothing in this Section is intended to prohibit the Commission from reviewing the prudence and reasonableness of the costs amortized pursuant to this Section.

(b) An electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State shall amortize the full amount of each charge or credit described in subsection (a) of this Section that exceeds $10,000,000 in the applicable calendar year, and an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 customers in the State shall amortize the full amount of each such charge or credit that exceeds $3,700,000 in the applicable calendar year.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105.7)

Sec. 16-105.7. Revenue balancing adjustments.

(a) It is in the public interest to decouple electric utility sales and revenues, to mitigate the impact on utilities of energy savings goals, to mitigate a utility's disincentive to promote energy efficiency, and to recognize changes in sales attributable to weather, electric vehicles and other electrification, adoption of distributed energy resources, and other volatile or uncontrollable factors without adversely affecting utility customers.

(b) For the purposes of this Section, "reconciliation period" means a period beginning with the January monthly billing period and extending through the December monthly billing period of the same calendar year.

(c) As set forth in subsection (d) of this Section, the Commission shall approve a tariff by which distribution revenues shall be compared annually to the revenue requirement or requirements approved by the Commission on which the rates giving rise to those revenues were based to prevent undercollections or overcollections. An electric utility shall submit an annual revenue balancing reconciliation report to the Commission reflecting the difference between the actual delivery service revenue and multi-year rate case revenue requirement for the applicable reconciliation and identifying the charges or credits to be applied thereafter. Such reconciliation and calculation of associated charges or credits shall be conducted on a customer class basis. The annual revenue balancing reconciliation report shall be filed with the Commission no later than March 20 of the year following a reconciliation period. The Commission may initiate a review of the revenue balancing reconciliation report each year to determine if any subsequent adjustment is necessary to align actual delivery service revenue and rate case revenue requirement. If the Commission elects to initiate such review, the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving, or approving as modified, such revenue balancing reconciliation report no later than 120 days after the utility files its report with the Commission. If the Commission does not initiate such a review, the revenue balancing reconciliation report and the identified charges or credits shall be deemed accepted and approved 120 days after the utility files the report and shall not be subject to review in any other proceeding. Any balancing adjustment shall take effect during the following January monthly billing period.

(d) Each electric utility shall file a tariff in compliance with the provisions of this Section within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The Commission shall approve the tariff if it finds that it is consistent with the provisions of the Section. If the Commission does not so find, it shall approve the tariff with modification to conform it to the requirements of this Section or otherwise reject the tariff and explain how the utility can modify the tariff and refile to comply with the requirements of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105.10)

Sec. 16-105.10. Independent baseline assessment.

(a) Prior to the filing of the initial Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan described in Section 16-105.17 of this Act, the General Assembly finds that an independent audit of the current state of the grid, and of the expenditures made since 2012, will need to be made.

Specifically, the General Assembly finds:

(1) Pursuant to the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act and subsequent clarifying legislation, electric utilities in this State that serve over 300,000 retail customers have made substantial investments in the grid and advanced metering infrastructure.

(2) Before a Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan is filed under Section 16-105.17, it is necessary to understand the benefits of these investments to the grid and to customers and to evaluate the current condition of the distribution grid.

(3) It is also necessary for electric utilities, the Commission, and stakeholders to have an independently verified set of data to establish the baseline for future distribution grid spending.

(4) The Commission has authority to order and implement the requirements of this Section under Section 8-102 of this Act.

(b) Terms used in this Section have the meanings given to those terms in Sections 16-102, 16-107.6, and 16-108 of this Act.

(c) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission shall issue an order initiating an audit of each electric utility serving over 300,000 retail customers in the State, which shall examine the following:

(1) An assessment of the distribution grid, as described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Section. The Commission shall have the authority to require additional items which it deems necessary.

(2) An analysis of the utility's capital projects placed into service in the preceding 9 years, including, but not limited to, assessing the value of deploying advanced metering infrastructure to modernize and optimize the grid and deliver value to customers.

(3) An analysis of the utility's initiatives to optimize the reliability and resiliency of the grid, other than through capital spending.

(4) Creation of a data baseline to inform the beginning of the multi-year integrated grid planning process described in Section 16-105.17 of this Act.

(5) Identification of any deficiencies in data which may impact the planning process.

(d) It is contemplated that the auditor will utilize materials filed with the Commission by the utilities with respect to their expenditures in the preceding 9 years; however, the auditor may also, with Commission approval, assess other information deemed necessary to make its report.

(e) The results of the audit described in this Section shall be reflected in a report delivered to the Commission, describing the information specified in this Section. Such report is to be delivered no later than 180 days after the Commission enters its order pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section. It is understood that any public report may not contain items that are confidential or proprietary.

(f) The costs of an electric utility's audit described in this Section shall not exceed $500,000 and shall be paid for by the electric utility that is the subject of the audit. Such costs shall be a recoverable expense.

(g) The Commission shall have the authority to retain the services of an auditor to assist with the distribution planning process, as well as in docketed proceedings. Such expenses for these activities shall also be borne by the Commission.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-105.17)

Sec. 16-105.17. Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan.

(a) The General Assembly finds that ensuring alignment of regulated utility operations, expenditures, and investments with public benefit goals, including safety, reliability, resiliency, affordability, equity, emissions reductions, and expansion of clean distributed energy resources, is critical to maximizing the benefits of the interconnected utility grid and cost-effective utility expenditures on the grid. It is the policy of the State to promote inclusive, comprehensive, transparent, cost-effective distribution system planning and disclosures processes that minimize long-term costs for Illinois customers and support the achievement of State renewable energy development and other clean energy, public health, and environmental policy goals. Utility distribution system expenditures, programs, investments, and policies must be evaluated in coordination with these goals. In particular, the General Assembly finds that:

(1) Investment in infrastructure to support and enable existing and new distributed energy resources creates significant economic development, environmental, and public health benefits in the State.

(2) Illinois' electricity distribution system must cost-effectively integrate renewable energy resources, including utility-scale renewable energy resources, community renewable generation, and distributed renewable energy resources, support beneficial electrification, including electric vehicle use and adoption, promote opportunities for third-party investment in nontraditional, grid-related technologies and resources such as batteries, solar photovoltaic panels, and smart thermostats, reduce energy usage generally and especially during times of greatest reliance on fossil fuels, and enhance customer engagement opportunities.

(3) Inclusive distribution system planning is an essential tool for the Commission, public utilities, and stakeholders to effectively coordinate environmental, consumer, reliability, and equity goals at fair and reasonable costs, and for ensuring transparent utility accountability for meeting those goals.

(4) Any planning process should advance Illinois energy policy goals while ensuring utility investments are cost-effective. Such a process should maximize the sharing of information, minimize overlap with existing filing requirements to ensure robust stakeholder participation, and recognize the responsibility of the utility to manage the grid in a safe, reliable manner.

(5) The General Assembly is concerned that, in the absence of a transparent, meaningful distribution system planning process, utility investments may not always serve customers' best interests, appropriately promote the expansion of clean distributed energy resources, and advance equity and environmental justice.

(6) The General Assembly is also encouraged by the opportunities presented by nontraditional solutions to utility, customer, and grid needs that may be more efficient and cost-effective, and less environmentally harmful than traditional solutions. Nontraditional solutions include distributed energy resources owned or implemented by customers and independent third parties, controllable load, beneficial electrification, or rate design that encourages efficient energy use.

(7) The General Assembly finds that Illinois utilities' current processes for planning their distribution system should be made more accessible and transparent to individuals and communities, and that more inclusive and accessible distribution system planning processes would be in the interests of all Illinois residents.

(8) The General Assembly finds it would be beneficial to require utilities to demonstrate how their spending promotes identified State clean energy goals, such as integrating renewable energy, empowering customers to make informed choices, supporting electric vehicles, beneficial electrification, and energy storage, achieving equity goals, enhancing resilience, and maintaining reliability.

The General Assembly therefore directs the utilities to implement distribution system planning as described in this Section in order to accelerate progress on Illinois clean energy and environmental goals and hold electric utilities publicly accountable for their performance.

(b) Unless otherwise specified, the terms used in this Section shall have the same meanings as defined in Sections 16-102 and 16-107.6. As used in this Section:

"Demand response" means measures that decrease peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods.

"Distributed energy resources" or "DER" means a wide range of technologies that are connected to the grid, including those that are located on the customer side of the customer's electric meter and can provide value to the distribution system, including, but not limited to, distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, and demand response technologies.

"Environmental justice communities" means the definition of that term based on existing methodologies and findings, used and as may be updated by the Illinois Power Agency and its Program Administrator in the Illinois Solar for All Program.

(c) This Section applies to electric utilities serving more than 500,000 retail customers in the State.

(d) The Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan ("the Plan") shall be designed to:

(1) ensure coordination of the State's renewable energy goals, climate and environmental goals with the utility's distribution system investments, and programs and policies over a 5-year planning horizon to maximize the benefits of each while ensuring utility expenditures are cost-effective;

(2) optimize utilization of electricity grid assets and resources to minimize total system costs;

(3) support efforts to bring the benefits of grid modernization and clean energy, including, but not limited to, deployment of distributed energy resources, to all retail customers, and support efforts to bring at least 40% of the benefits of those benefits to Equity Investment Eligible Communities. Nothing in this paragraph is meant to require a specific amount of spending in a particular geographic area;

(4) enable greater customer engagement, empowerment, and options for energy services;

(5) reduce grid congestion, minimize the time and expense associated with interconnection, and increase the capacity of the distribution grid to host increasing levels of distributed energy resources, to facilitate availability and development of distributed energy resources, particularly in locations that enhance consumer and environmental benefits;

(6) ensure opportunities for robust public participation through open, transparent planning processes.

(7) provide for the analysis of the cost-effectiveness of proposed system investments, which takes into account environmental costs and benefits;

(8) to the maximum extent practicable, achieve or support the achievement of Illinois environmental goals, including those described in Section 9.10 of the Environmental Protection Act and Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and emissions reductions required to improve the health, safety, and prosperity of all Illinois residents;

(9) support existing Illinois policy goals promoting the long-term growth of energy efficiency, demand response, and investments in renewable energy resources;

(10) provide sufficient public information to the Commission, stakeholders, and market participants in order to enable nonemitting customer-owned or third-party distributed energy resources, acting individually or in aggregate, to seamlessly and easily connect to the grid, provide grid benefits, support grid services, and achieve environmental outcomes, without necessarily requiring utility ownership or controlling interest over those resources, and enable those resources to act as alternatives to utility capital investments; and

(11) provide delivery services at rates that are affordable to all customers, including low-income customers.

(e) Plan Development Stakeholder Process.

(1) To promote the transparency of utility distributions system planned investments and the planning process for those investments, the Commission shall convene a workshop process, over a period of no less than 5 months, for each such utility for the purpose of establishing an open, inclusive, and cooperative forum regarding such investments. The workshops shall be facilitated by an independent, third-party facilitator selected by the Commission. Data and projections provided through the workshop process shall be designed to provide participants with information about the electric utility's (i) historic distribution system investments for at least the 5 years prior to the year in which the workshop is held and (ii) planned investments for the 5-year period following the year in which the workshop is held. The workshop process shall recognize that estimates for later years will be less reliable and indicative of future conduct than estimates for earlier years and that the electric utility is subject to financial and system planning processes. No later than January 1, 2022, the facilitator shall initiate a series of workshops for each electric utility subject to this Section. The series of workshops shall include no fewer than 6 workshops and shall conclude no later than June 1, 2022.

(2) The workshops shall be designed to achieve the following objectives:

(A) review utilities' planned capital investments and supporting data;

(B) review how utilities plan to invest in their distribution system in order to meet the system's projected needs;

(C) review system and locational data on reliability, resiliency, DER, and service quality provided by the utilities;

(D) solicit and consider input from diverse stakeholders, including representatives from environmental justice communities, geographically diverse communities, low-income representatives, consumer representatives, environmental representatives, organized labor representatives, third-party technology providers, and utilities;

(E) consider proposals from utilities and stakeholders on programs and policies necessary to achieve the objectives in subsection (d) of this Section;

(F) consider proposals applicable to each component of the utilities' Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan filings under paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Section;

(G) educate and equip interested stakeholders so that they can effectively and efficiently provide feedback and input to the electric utility; and

(H) review planned capital investment to ensure that delivery services are provided at rates that are affordable to all customers, including low-income customers.

(3) To the extent any of the information in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of paragraph (2) of this subsection is designated as confidential and proprietary under the Commission's rules, the proponent of the designation shall have the burden of making the requisite showing under the Commission's rules. For data that is determined to be confidential or that includes personally identifiable information, the Commission may develop procedures and processes to enable data sharing with parties and stakeholders while ensuring the confidentiality of the information.

(4) Workshops should be organized and facilitated in a manner that encourages representation from diverse stakeholders, ensuring equitable opportunities for participation, without requiring formal intervention or representation by an attorney. Workshops should be held during both day and evening hours, in a variety of locations within each electric utility's service territory, and should allow remote participation.

(5) It is a goal of the State that this workshop process will provide a forum for interested stakeholders to effectively and efficiently provide feedback and input to the electric utility. It is also a goal of the State that stakeholder participation in this process will prepare stakeholders to more capably participate in Multi-Year Rate Plan proceedings conducted pursuant to Section 16-108.18 of this Act, if they so elect. As part of the workshop process, the electric utility shall submit to the Commission the electric utility's capital investments proposal, and supporting data described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (2) of this subsection (e) before the start of workshops to allow interested stakeholders to reasonably review data before attending workshops. The Commission shall make public the utility capital investments proposal by posting it on the Commission's website and set the location and time of any workshop to be held as part of the workshop process, and establish a data request process, consistent with the Commission's rules, that affords workshop participants opportunities to submit data requests to the utility, and receive responses in accordance with the utility's obligations under the law, prior to the workshop, regarding the information described in this paragraph (5). Upon the written request of a workshop participant, the utility shall also present at a given workshop at least one appropriate company representative who can address the specific written questions or written categories of questions identified in advance by the workshop participant regarding issues related to the utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan. To facilitate public feedback, the administrator facilitating the workshops shall, throughout the workshop process, develop questions for stakeholder input on topics being considered. This may include, but is not limited to: design of the workshop process, locational data and information provided by utilities, alignment of plans, programs, investments and objectives, and other topics as deemed appropriate by the Commission facilitation staff. Stakeholder feedback shall not be limited to these questions. The information provided as part of the workshop process pursuant to this subsection (e) is intended to be informational and to provide a preliminary view of costs and investments, which may change. Accordingly, the information provided pursuant to this subsection (e) shall not be binding on the utility and shall not be the sole basis for a finding in any Commission proceeding of imprudence, unreasonableness, or lack of use or usefulness of any individual or aggregate level of utility plant or other investment or expenditure addressed; however, information contained in the plan may be used in a proceeding before the Commission, with weight of such evidence to be determined by the Commission.

(6) Workshops shall not be considered settlement negotiations, compromise negotiations, or offers to compromise for the purposes of Illinois Rule of Evidence 408. All materials shared as a part of the workshop process, and that are not determined to be confidential as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (e), shall be made publicly available on a website made available by the Commission.

(7) On conclusion of the workshops, the Commission shall open a comment period that allows interested and diverse stakeholders to submit comments and recommendations regarding the utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan filing. Based on the workshop process and stakeholder comments and recommendations offered verbally or in writing during the workshops and in writing during the comment period following the workshops, the independent third-party facilitator shall prepare a report, to be submitted to the Commission no later than July 1, 2022, describing the stakeholders, discussions, proposals, and areas of consensus and disagreement from the workshop process, and making recommendations to the Commission regarding the utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan. Interested stakeholders shall have an opportunity to provide comment on the independent third-party facilitator report.

(8) Based on discussions in the workshops, the independent third-party facilitator report, and stakeholder comments and recommendations made during and following the workshop process, the Commission shall issue initiating orders no later than August 1, 2022, requiring the electric utilities subject to this Section to file the first Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan no later than January 20, 2023. The initiating orders shall specify the requirements applicable to the utilities' Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plans, which shall supplement and not replace those requirements described in subsection (f) of this Section.

(f) Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan.

(1) Pursuant to this subsection (f) and the initiating orders of the Commission, each electric utility subject to this Section shall, no later than January 20, 2023, submit its first Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan. No later than January 20, 2026, and every 4 years thereafter, the utility shall submit its subsequent Plan. Each Plan shall:

(A) incorporate requirements established by the Commission in its initiating order; and

(B) propose distribution system investment programs, policies, and plans designed to optimize achievement of the objectives set forth in subsection (d) of this Section and achieve the metrics approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 16-108.18 of this Act.

To the extent practicable and reasonable, all programs, policies, and initiatives proposed by the utility in its plan should be informed by stakeholder input received during the workshop process pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section. Where specific stakeholder input has not been incorporated in proposed programs, policies, and plans, the electric utility shall provide an explanation as to why that input was not incorporated.

(2) In order to ensure electric utilities' ability to meet the goals and objectives set forth in this Section, the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plans must include, at minimum, the following information:

(A) A description of the utility's distribution system planning process, including:

(i) the overview of the process, including frequency and duration of the process, roles, and responsibilities of utility personnel and departments involved;

(ii) a summary of the meetings with stakeholders conducted prior to filing of the plan with the Commission.

(iii) the description of any coordination of the processes with any other planning process internal or external to the utility, including those required by a regional transmission operator.

(B) A detailed description of the current operating conditions for the distribution system separately presented for each of the utility's operating areas, where possible, including a detailed description, with supporting data, of system conditions, including baseline data regarding the utility's distribution system from the utility's annual report to the Commission, total distribution system substation capacity in kVa, total miles of primary overhead distribution wire, and total miles of primary underground distribution cable, distributed energy resource deployment by type, size, customer class, and geographic dispersion as to those DERs that have completed the interconnection process, the most current distribution line loss study, current and expected System Average Interruption Frequency Index and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index data for the system, identification of the system model software currently used and planned software deployments, and other data needs as requested by the Commission or as determined through Commission rules. The description shall also include the utility's most recent system load and peak demand forecast for at least the next 5 years, and up to 10 years if available, a discussion of how the forecast was prepared and how distributed energy resources and energy efficiency were factored into the forecast, and identification of the forecasting software currently used and planned software deployments.

(C) Financial Data.

(i) For each of the preceding 5 years, the utility's distribution system investments by the investment categories tracked by the utility, including, but not limited to, new business, facility relocation, capacity expansion, system performance, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, the total amount of investments associated with the integration of DERs, the total amount of charges to DER developers and retail customers for interconnection of DERs to the distribution system, and a list of each major investment category the utility used to maintain its routine standing operational activities and the associated plant in service amount for each category in which the plant in service amount is at least $2,000,000;

(ii) For each of the preceding 5 years, data on and a discussion of the utility's distribution system operation and maintenance expenses;

(iii) A 5-year long-range forecast of distribution system capital investments and operational and maintenance expenses, including a discussion of any projections for expenses for the categories listed in subparagraph (i) of this item (C).

(D) System data on DERs on the utility's distribution system, including the total number and nameplate capacity of DERs that completed interconnection in the prior year, current DER deployment by type, size, and geographic dispersion, to the extent that granular geographic information does not disclose personally identifiable information, and other data as requested by the Commission or determined by Commission rules.

(E) Hosting Capacity and Interconnection Requirements.

(i) The utility shall make available on its website the hosting capacity analysis results that shall include mapping and GIS capability, as well as any other requirements requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules. The plan shall identify where the hosting capacity analysis results shall be made publicly available. This shall also include an assessment of the impact of utility investments over the next 5 years on hosting capacity and a narrative discussion of how the hosting capacity analysis advances customer-sited distributed energy resources, including electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and photovoltaic resources, and how the identification of interconnection points on the distribution system will support the continued development of distributed energy resources.

(ii) Discussion of the utility's interconnection requirements and how they comply with the Commission's applicable regulations.

(F) Identification and discussion of the scenarios considered in the development of the utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, including DER scenarios, and discussion of base-case and alternative scenarios, how the scenarios were developed and selected, and how the scenarios include a reasonable mix of DERs scenarios, types, and geographic dispersion. Scenarios shall at least consider the 5-year forecast horizon of the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, but may also consider longer-term scenarios where data is available. The plan shall also include requirements requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules.

(G) An evaluation of the short-term and long-run benefits and costs of distributed energy resources located on the distribution system, including, but not limited to, the locational, temporal, and performance-based benefits and costs of distributed energy resources. The utility shall use the results of this evaluation to inform its analysis of Solution Sourcing Opportunities, including nonwires alternatives, under subparagraph (K) of paragraph (2) subsection (f) of this Section. The Commission may use the data produced through this evaluation to, among other use-cases, inform the Commission's investigation and establishment of tariffs and compensation for distributed energy resources interconnecting to the utility's distribution system, including rebates provided by the electric utility pursuant to Section 16-107.6 of this Act.

(H) Long-term Distribution System Investment Plan.

(i) The utility's planned distribution capital investments for the period covered by the planning process required by this Section, by the investment categories used by the utility, and with discussion of any individual planned projects with a planned total investment gross amount of $3,000,000 or more and of the alternatives considered by the utility to such individual projects including any non-traditional alternatives and DER alternatives, and supporting data. This shall provide sufficiently detailed explanations of how the planned investments shall support the goals in subsection (d) of this Section.

(ii) Discussion of how the utility's capital investments plan is consistent with Commission orders regarding the procurement of renewable resources as discussed in Section 16-111.5 of this Act, energy efficiency plans as discussed in Section 8-103B, distributed generation rebates as discussed in Section 16-107.6, and any other Commission order affecting the goals described in subsection (d) of this Section.

(iii) A plan for achieving the applicable metrics that were approved by the Commission for the utility pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.18 of this Act.

(iv) A narrative discussion of the utility's vision for the distribution system over the next 5 years.

(v) Any additional information requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules.

(I) A detailed description of historic distribution system operations and maintenance expenditures for the preceding 5 years and of planned or projected operations and maintenance expenditures for the period covered by the planning process required by this Section, as well as the data, reasoning and explanation supporting planned or projected expenditures. Any additional information requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules.

(J) A detailed plan for achieving the applicable metrics that were approved by the Commission for the utility pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.18 of this Act, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) A description of, exclusive of low-income rate relief programs and other income-qualified programs, how the utility is supporting efforts to bring 40% of benefits from programs, policies, and initiatives proposed in their Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan to ratepayers in low-income and environmental justice communities. This shall also include any information requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules. Nothing in this subparagraph is meant to require a specific amount of spending in a particular geographic area.

(ii) A detailed analysis of current and projected flexible resources, including resource type, size (in MW and MWh), location and environmental impact, as well as anticipated needs that can be met using flexible resources, to meet the goals described in subsection (d) of this Section, to meet the applicable metrics that were approved by the Commission for the utility pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.18 of this Act, and any other Commission order affecting the goals described in subsection (d) of this Section.

(iii) Any additional information requested by the Commission or determined through Commission rules.

(K) Identification of potential cost-effective solutions from nontraditional and third-party owned investments that could meet anticipated grid needs, including, but not limited to, distributed energy resources procurements, tariffs or contracts, programmatic solutions, rate design options, technologies or programs that facilitate load flexibility, nonwires alternatives, and other solutions that are intended to meet the objectives described at subsection (d). It is the policy of this State that cost-effective third-party or customer-owned distributed energy resources create robust competition and customer choice and shall be considered as appropriate. The Commission shall establish rules determining data or methods for Solution Sourcing Opportunities.

(L) A detailed description of the utility's interoperability plan, which must describe the manner in which the electric utility's current and planned distribution system investments will work together and exchange information and data, the extent to which the utility is implementing open standards and interfaces with third-party distributed energy resource owners and aggregators, and the utility's plan for interoperability testing and certification.

(3) To the extent any information in utilities' Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plans is designated as confidential and proprietary under the Commission's rules, the proponent of the designation shall have the burden of making the requisite showing under the Commission's rules. For data that is determined to be confidential or that includes personally identifiable information, the Commission may develop procedures and processes to enable data sharing with parties and stakeholders while ensuring the confidentiality of the information. All confidential information exchanged, submitted, or shared by a utility pursuant to this Section shall be protected from intentional and accidental dissemination. The Commission shall have authority to supervise, protect, and restrict access to all confidential, commercially sensitive, or system security related information and data, and shall be authorized to take all necessary steps to protect that information from unauthorized disclosure. This paragraph shall not be interpreted to require a utility to make publicly available any information or data that could compromise the physical or cyber security of a utility's distribution system. Any party that accidentally disseminates confidential information obtained pursuant to a proceeding initiated in accordance with this Section, or is the victim of a cyber-security breach, must notify the affected utility, the Illinois Attorney General, and the Commission staff with 24 hours of knowledge of such dissemination or breach. Any party that fails to provide required notification of such a breach shall be subject to remedies available to the Commission and the Illinois Attorney General.

(4) It is the policy of this State that holistic consideration of all related investments, planning processes, tariffs, rate design options, programs, and other utility policies and plans shall be required. To that end, the Commission shall consider, comprehensively, the impact of all related plans, tariffs, programs, and policies on the Plan and on each other, including:

(A) time-of-use pricing program pursuant to Section 16-107.7 of this Act, hourly pricing program pursuant to Section 16-107 of this Act, and any other time-variant or dynamic pricing program;

(B) distributed generation rebate pursuant to Section 16-107.6 of this Act;

(C) net electricity metering, pursuant to Section 16-107.5 of this Act;

(D) energy efficiency programs pursuant to Section 8-103B of this Act;

(E) beneficial electrification programs pursuant to Section 16-107.8 of this Act;

(F) Equitable Energy Upgrade Program pursuant to Section 16-111.10 of this Act;

(G) renewable energy programs and procurements set forth in the Illinois Power Agency Act, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the long-term renewable resources procurement plan developed pursuant to Section 1-20 of that Act; and

(H) other plans, programs, and policies that are relevant to distribution grid investments, costs, planning, and other categories as requested by the Commission.

The Plan shall comprehensively detail the relationship between these plans, tariffs, and programs and to the electric utility's achievement of the objectives in subsection (d). The Plan shall be designed to coordinate each of these plans, programs, and tariffs with the electric utility's long-term distribution system investment planning in order to maximize the benefits of each.

(5) The initiating order for the initial Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, as well as each electric utility's subsequent Integrated Grid Plans under subsection (g), shall begin a contested proceeding as described in subsection (d) of Section 10-101.1 of this Act.

(A) In evaluating a utility's Plan, the Commission shall consider, at minimum, whether the Plan:

(1) meets the objectives of this Section;

(2) includes the components in paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Section;

(3) considers and incorporates, where practicable, input from interested stakeholders, including parties and people who offer public comment without legal representation;

(4) considers nontraditional, including third-party owned, investment alternatives that can meet grid needs and provide additional benefits (including consumer, economic, and environmental benefits) beyond comparable, traditional utility-planned capital investments;

(5) equitably benefits environmental justice communities; and

(6) maximizes consumer, environmental, economic, and community benefits over a 10-year horizon.

(B) The Commission, after notice and hearing, shall modify each electric utility's Plan as necessary to comply with the objectives of this Section. The Commission may approve, or modify and approve, a Plan only if it finds that the Plan is reasonable, complies with the objectives and requirements of this Section, and reasonably incorporates input from parties. The Commission may reject each electric utility's Plan if it finds that the Plan does not comply with the objectives and requirements of this Section. If the Commission enters an order rejecting a Plan, the utility must refile a Plan within 3 months after that order, and until the Commission approves a Plan, the utility's existing Plan will remain in effect.

(C) For the initial Integrated Grid Plan filings, the Commission shall enter an order approving, modifying, or rejecting the Plan no later than December 15, 2023. For subsequent Integrated Grid Plan filings, the Commission shall enter an order approving, modifying, or rejecting the Plan no later than December 15 of the year in which it was filed.

(D) Each electric utility shall file its proposed Initial Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan no later than January 20, 2023. Prior to that date and following the initiating order, the Commission shall initiate a case management conference and shall take any appropriate steps to begin meaningful consideration of issues, including enabling interested parties to begin conducting discovery.

(6) As part of its order approving a utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, including any modifications required, the Commission may create a subsequent implementation plan docket, or multiple implementation plan dockets, if the Commission determines that multiple dockets would be preferable, to consider a utility's detailed plan or plans, as directed in the Commission's order.

(g) No later than January 20, 2026 and every 4 years thereafter, each electric utility subject to this Section shall file a new Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan for the subsequent 4 delivery years after the completion of the then-effective Plan. Each Plan shall meet the requirements described in subsection (f) of this Section, and shall be preceded by a workshop process which meets the same requirements described in subsection (e). If appropriate, the Commission may require additional implementation dockets to follow Subsequent Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan filings.

(h) During the period leading to approval of the first Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, each electric utility will necessarily continue to invest in its distribution grid. Those investments will be subject to a determination of prudence and reasonableness consistent with Commission practice and law. Any failure of such investments to conform to the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan ultimately approved shall not imply imprudence or unreasonableness.

(i) The Commission shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Section under the emergency rulemaking provisions set forth in Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and such emergency rules may be effective no later than 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-106)

Sec. 16-106. Billing experiments. During the mandatory transition period, an electric utility may at its discretion conduct one or more experiments for the provision or billing of services on a consolidated or aggregated basis, for the provision of real-time pricing, or other billing or pricing experiments, and may include experimental programs offered to groups of retail customers possessing common attributes as defined by the electric utility, such as the members of an organization that was established to serve a well-defined industry group, companies having multiple sites, or closely located or affiliated buildings, provided that such groups exist for a purpose other than obtaining energy services and have been in existence for at least 10 years. The offering of such a program by an electric utility to retail customers participating in the program, and the participation by those customers in the program, shall not create any right in any other retail customer or group of customers to participate in the same or a similar program. The Commission shall allow such experiments to go into effect upon the filing by the electric utility of a statement describing the program. Nothing contained in this Section shall be deemed to prohibit the electric utility from offering, or the Commission from approving, experimental rates, tariffs and services in addition to those allowed under this Section. The Commission shall review and report annually the progress, participation and effects of such experiments to the General Assembly. Based upon its review, recommendations for modification of such experiments may be made by the Commission to the Illinois General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-107)

Sec. 16-107. Real-time pricing.

(a) Each electric utility shall file, on or before May 1, 1998, a tariff or tariffs which allow nonresidential retail customers in the electric utility's service area to elect real-time pricing beginning October 1, 1998.

(b) Each electric utility shall file, on or before May 1, 2000, a tariff or tariffs which allow residential retail customers in the electric utility's service area to elect real-time pricing beginning October 1, 2000.

(b-5) Each electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs allowing residential retail customers in the electric utility's service area to elect real-time pricing beginning January 2, 2007. The Commission may, after notice and hearing, approve the tariff or tariffs. A tariff or tariffs approved pursuant to this subsection (b-5) shall, at a minimum, describe (i) the methodology for determining the market price of energy to be reflected in the real-time rate and (ii) the manner in which customers who elect real-time pricing will be provided with ready access to hourly market prices, including, but not limited to, day-ahead hourly energy prices. A customer who elects real-time pricing under a tariff approved under this subsection (b-5) and thereafter terminates the election shall not return to taking service under the tariff for a period of 12 months following the date on which the customer terminated real-time pricing. However, this limitation shall cease to apply on such date that the provision of electric power and energy is declared competitive under Section 16-113 of this Act for the customer group or groups to which this subsection (b-5) applies.

A proceeding under this subsection (b-5) may not exceed 120 days in length.

(b-10) Each electric utility providing real-time pricing pursuant to subsection (b-5) shall install a meter capable of recording hourly interval energy use at the service location of each customer that elects real-time pricing pursuant to this subsection.

(b-15) If the Commission issues an order pursuant to subsection (b-5), the affected electric utility shall contract with an entity not affiliated with the electric utility to serve as a program administrator to develop and implement a program to provide consumer outreach, enrollment, and education concerning real-time pricing and to establish and administer an information system and technical and other customer assistance that is necessary to enable customers to manage electricity use. The program administrator: (i) shall be selected and compensated by the electric utility, subject to Commission approval; (ii) shall have demonstrated technical and managerial competence in the development and administration of demand management programs; and (iii) may develop and implement risk management, energy efficiency, and other services related to energy use management for which the program administrator shall be compensated by participants in the program receiving such services. The electric utility shall provide the program administrator with all information and assistance necessary to perform the program administrator's duties, including, but not limited to, customer, account, and energy use data. The electric utility shall permit the program administrator to include inserts in residential customer bills 2 times per year to assist with customer outreach and enrollment.

The program administrator shall submit an annual report to the electric utility no later than April 1 of each year describing the operation and results of the program, including information concerning the number and types of customers using real-time pricing, changes in customers' energy use patterns, an assessment of the value of the program to both participants and non-participants, and recommendations concerning modification of the program and the tariff or tariffs filed under subsection (b-5). This report shall be filed by the electric utility with the Commission within 30 days of receipt and shall be available to the public on the Commission's web site.

(b-20) The Commission shall monitor the performance of programs established pursuant to subsection (b-15) and shall order the termination or modification of a program if it determines that the program is not, after a reasonable period of time for development not to exceed 4 years, resulting in net benefits to the residential customers of the electric utility.

(b-25) An electric utility shall be entitled to recover reasonable costs incurred in complying with this Section, provided that recovery of the costs is fairly apportioned among its residential customers as provided in this subsection (b-25). The electric utility may apportion costs on the residential customers who elect real-time pricing, but may also impose some of the costs of real-time pricing on customers who do not elect real-time pricing.

(c) The electric utility's tariff or tariffs filed pursuant to this Section shall be subject to Article IX.

(d) This Section does not apply to any electric utility providing service to 100,000 or fewer customers.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-107.5)

Sec. 16-107.5. Net electricity metering.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that a program to provide net electricity metering, as defined in this Section, for eligible customers can encourage private investment in renewable energy resources, stimulate economic growth, enhance the continued diversification of Illinois' energy resource mix, and protect the Illinois environment. Further, to achieve the goals of this Act that robust options for customer-site distributed generation continue to thrive in Illinois, the General Assembly finds that a predictable transition must be ensured for customers between full net metering at the retail electricity rate to the distribution generation rebate described in Section 16-107.6.

(b) As used in this Section, (i) "community renewable generation project" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (ii) "eligible customer" means a retail customer that owns, hosts, or operates, including any third-party owned systems, a solar, wind, or other eligible renewable electrical generating facility that is located on the customer's premises or customer's side of the billing meter and is intended primarily to offset the customer's own current or future electrical requirements; (iii) "electricity provider" means an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier; (iv) "eligible renewable electrical generating facility" means a generator, which may include the co-location of an energy storage system, that is interconnected under rules adopted by the Commission and is powered by solar electric energy, wind, dedicated crops grown for electricity generation, agricultural residues, untreated and unadulterated wood waste, livestock manure, anaerobic digestion of livestock or food processing waste, fuel cells or microturbines powered by renewable fuels, or hydroelectric energy; (v) "net electricity metering" (or "net metering") means the measurement, during the billing period applicable to an eligible customer, of the net amount of electricity supplied by an electricity provider to the customer or provided to the electricity provider by the customer or subscriber; (vi) "subscriber" shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (vii) "subscription" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (viii) "energy storage system" means commercially available technology that is capable of absorbing energy and storing it for a period of time for use at a later time, including, but not limited to, electrochemical, thermal, and electromechanical technologies, and may be interconnected behind the customer's meter or interconnected behind its own meter; and (ix) "future electrical requirements" means modeled electrical requirements upon occupation of a new or vacant property, and other reasonable expectations of future electrical use, as well as, for occupied properties, a reasonable approximation of the annual load of 2 electric vehicles and, for non-electric heating customers, a reasonable approximation of the incremental electric load associated with fuel switching. The approximations shall be applied to the appropriate net metering tariff and do not need to be unique to each individual eligible customer. The utility shall submit these approximations to the Commission for review, modification, and approval.

(c) A net metering facility shall be equipped with metering equipment that can measure the flow of electricity in both directions at the same rate.

(1) For eligible customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis and electric supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing, this shall typically be accomplished through use of a single, bi-directional meter. If the eligible customer's existing electric revenue meter does not meet this requirement, the electricity provider shall arrange for the local electric utility or a meter service provider to install and maintain a new revenue meter at the electricity provider's expense, which may be the smart meter described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act.

(2) For eligible customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a kilowatt demand basis and electric supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing, this shall typically be accomplished through use of a dual channel meter capable of measuring the flow of electricity both into and out of the customer's facility at the same rate and ratio. If such customer's existing electric revenue meter does not meet this requirement, then the electricity provider shall arrange for the local electric utility or a meter service provider to install and maintain a new revenue meter at the electricity provider's expense, which may be the smart meter described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act.

(3) For all other eligible customers, until such time as the local electric utility installs a smart meter, as described by subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act, the electricity provider may arrange for the local electric utility or a meter service provider to install and maintain metering equipment capable of measuring the flow of electricity both into and out of the customer's facility at the same rate and ratio, typically through the use of a dual channel meter. If the eligible customer's existing electric revenue meter does not meet this requirement, then the costs of installing such equipment shall be paid for by the customer.

(d) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or provided by eligible customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis and electric supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing in the following manner:

(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, the electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer as provided in subsection (e-5) of this Section.

(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that billing period, the electricity provider supplying that customer shall apply a 1:1 kilowatt-hour credit to a subsequent bill for service to the customer for the net electricity supplied to the electricity provider. The electricity provider shall continue to carry over any excess kilowatt-hour credits earned and apply those credits to subsequent billing periods to offset any customer-generator consumption in those billing periods until all credits are used or until the end of the annualized period.

(3) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service is supplied by means of net metering, or in the event that the retail customer terminates service with the electricity provider prior to the end of the year or the annualized period, any remaining credits in the customer's account shall expire.

(d-5) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or provided by eligible customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a kilowatt-hour basis and electric supply service is provided based on hourly pricing or time-of-use rates in the following manner:

(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during any hourly period or time-of-use period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, the electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned to or be eligible for if the customer was not a net metering customer.

(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during any hourly period or time-of-use period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that hourly period or time-of-use period, the energy provider shall apply a credit for the net kilowatt-hours produced in such period. The credit shall consist of an energy credit and a delivery service credit. The energy credit shall be valued at the same price per kilowatt-hour as the electric service provider would charge for kilowatt-hour energy sales during that same hourly period or time-of-use period. The delivery credit shall be equal to the net kilowatt-hours produced in such hourly period or time-of-use period times a credit that reflects all kilowatt-hour based charges in the customer's electric service rate, excluding energy charges.

(e) An electricity provider shall measure and charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act as of July 1, 2011 and whose electric delivery service is provided and measured on a kilowatt demand basis and electric supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing in the following manner:

(1) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, then the electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer as provided in subsection (e-5) of this Section. The customer shall remain responsible for all taxes, fees, and utility delivery charges that would otherwise be applicable to the net amount of electricity used by the customer.

(2) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that billing period, then the electricity provider supplying that customer shall apply a 1:1 kilowatt-hour credit that reflects the kilowatt-hour based charges in the customer's electric service rate to a subsequent bill for service to the customer for the net electricity supplied to the electricity provider. The electricity provider shall continue to carry over any excess kilowatt-hour credits earned and apply those credits to subsequent billing periods to offset any customer-generator consumption in those billing periods until all credits are used or until the end of the annualized period.

(3) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service is supplied by means of net metering, or in the event that the retail customer terminates service with the electricity provider prior to the end of the year or the annualized period, any remaining credits in the customer's account shall expire.

(e-5) An electricity provider shall provide electric service to eligible customers who utilize net metering at non-discriminatory rates that are identical, with respect to rate structure, retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the rates that the customer would be charged if not a net metering customer. An electricity provider shall not charge net metering customers any fee or charge or require additional equipment, insurance, or any other requirements not specifically authorized by interconnection standards authorized by the Commission, unless the fee, charge, or other requirement would apply to other similarly situated customers who are not net metering customers. The customer will remain responsible for all taxes, fees, and utility delivery charges that would otherwise be applicable to the net amount of electricity used by the customer. Subsections (c) through (e) of this Section shall not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between an electricity provider and an eligible customer that sets forth different prices, terms, and conditions for the provision of net metering service, including, but not limited to, the provision of the appropriate metering equipment for non-residential customers.

(f) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (c) through (e-5) of this Section, an electricity provider must require dual-channel metering for customers operating eligible renewable electrical generating facilities to whom the provisions of neither subsection (d), (d-5), nor (e) of this Section apply. In such cases, electricity charges and credits shall be determined as follows:

(1) The electricity provider shall assess and the customer remains responsible for all taxes, fees, and utility delivery charges that would otherwise be applicable to the gross amount of kilowatt-hours supplied to the eligible customer by the electricity provider.

(2) Each month that service is supplied by means of dual-channel metering, the electricity provider shall compensate the eligible customer for any excess kilowatt-hour credits at the electricity provider's avoided cost of electricity supply over the monthly period or as otherwise specified by the terms of a power-purchase agreement negotiated between the customer and electricity provider.

(3) For all eligible net metering customers taking service from an electricity provider under contracts or tariffs employing hourly or time-of-use rates, any monthly consumption of electricity shall be calculated according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned to or be eligible for if the customer was not a net metering customer. When those same customer-generators are net generators during any discrete hourly or time-of-use period, the net kilowatt-hours produced shall be valued at the same price per kilowatt-hour as the electric service provider would charge for retail kilowatt-hour sales during that same time-of-use period.

(g) For purposes of federal and State laws providing renewable energy credits or greenhouse gas credits, the eligible customer shall be treated as owning and having title to the renewable energy attributes, renewable energy credits, and greenhouse gas emission credits related to any electricity produced by the qualified generating unit. The electricity provider may not condition participation in a net metering program on the signing over of a customer's renewable energy credits; provided, however, this subsection (g) shall not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between an electricity provider and an eligible customer that sets forth the ownership or title of the credits.

(h) Within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Commission shall establish standards for net metering and, if the Commission has not already acted on its own initiative, standards for the interconnection of eligible renewable generating equipment to the utility system. The interconnection standards shall address any procedural barriers, delays, and administrative costs associated with the interconnection of customer-generation while ensuring the safety and reliability of the units and the electric utility system. The Commission shall consider the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 1547 and the issues of (i) reasonable and fair fees and costs, (ii) clear timelines for major milestones in the interconnection process, (iii) nondiscriminatory terms of agreement, and (iv) any best practices for interconnection of distributed generation.

(h-5) Within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission shall:

(1) establish an Interconnection Working Group. The working group shall include representatives from electric utilities, developers of renewable electric generating facilities, other industries that regularly apply for interconnection with the electric utilities, representatives of distributed generation customers, the Commission Staff, and such other stakeholders with a substantial interest in the topics addressed by the Interconnection Working Group. The Interconnection Working Group shall address at least the following issues:

(A) cost and best available technology for interconnection and metering, including the standardization and publication of standard costs;

(B) transparency, accuracy and use of the distribution interconnection queue and hosting capacity maps;

(C) distribution system upgrade cost avoidance through use of advanced inverter functions;

(D) predictability of the queue management process and enforcement of timelines;

(E) benefits and challenges associated with group studies and cost sharing;

(F) minimum requirements for application to the interconnection process and throughout the interconnection process to avoid queue clogging behavior;

(G) process and customer service for interconnecting customers adopting distributed energy resources, including energy storage;

(H) options for metering distributed energy resources, including energy storage;

(I) interconnection of new technologies, including smart inverters and energy storage;

(J) collect, share, and examine data on Level 1 interconnection costs, including cost and type of upgrades required for interconnection, and use this data to inform the final standardized cost of Level 1 interconnection; and

(K) such other technical, policy, and tariff issues related to and affecting interconnection performance and customer service as determined by the Interconnection Working Group.

The Commission may create subcommittees of the Interconnection Working Group to focus on specific issues of importance, as appropriate. The Interconnection Working Group shall report to the Commission on recommended improvements to interconnection rules and tariffs and policies as determined by the Interconnection Working Group at least every 6 months. Such reports shall include consensus recommendations of the Interconnection Working Group and, if applicable, additional recommendations for which consensus was not reached. The Commission shall use the report from the Interconnection Working Group to determine whether processes should be commenced to formally codify or implement the recommendations;

(2) create or contract for an Ombudsman to resolve interconnection disputes through non-binding arbitration. The Ombudsman may be paid in full or in part through fees levied on the initiators of the dispute; and

(3) determine a single standardized cost for Level 1 interconnections, which shall not exceed $200.

(i) All electricity providers shall begin to offer net metering no later than April 1, 2008.

(j) An electricity provider shall provide net metering to eligible customers according to subsections (d), (d-5), and (e). Eligible renewable electrical generating facilities for which eligible customers registered for net metering before January 1, 2025 shall continue to receive net metering services according to subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this Section for the lifetime of the system, regardless of whether those retail customers change electricity providers or whether the retail customer benefiting from the system changes. On and after January 1, 2025, any eligible customer that applies for net metering and previously would have qualified under subsections (d), (d-5), or (e) shall only be eligible for net metering as described in subsection (n).

(k) Each electricity provider shall maintain records and report annually to the Commission the total number of net metering customers served by the provider, as well as the type, capacity, and energy sources of the generating systems used by the net metering customers. Nothing in this Section shall limit the ability of an electricity provider to request the redaction of information deemed by the Commission to be confidential business information.

(l)(1) Notwithstanding the definition of "eligible customer" in item (ii) of subsection (b) of this Section, each electricity provider shall allow net metering as set forth in this subsection (l) and for the following projects, provided that only electric utilities serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall provide net metering for projects that are eligible for subparagraph (C) of this paragraph (1) and have energized after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly:

(A) properties owned or leased by multiple customers that contribute to the operation of an eligible renewable electrical generating facility through an ownership or leasehold interest of at least 200 watts in such facility, such as a community-owned wind project, a community-owned biomass project, a community-owned solar project, or a community methane digester processing livestock waste from multiple sources, provided that the facility is also located within the utility's service territory;

(B) individual units, apartments, or properties located in a single building that are owned or leased by multiple customers and collectively served by a common eligible renewable electrical generating facility, such as an office or apartment building, a shopping center or strip mall served by photovoltaic panels on the roof; and

(C) subscriptions to community renewable generation projects, including community renewable generation projects on the customer's side of the billing meter of a host facility and partially used for the customer's own load.

In addition, the nameplate capacity of the eligible renewable electric generating facility that serves the demand of the properties, units, or apartments identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (l) shall not exceed 5,000 kilowatts in nameplate capacity in total. Any eligible renewable electrical generating facility or community renewable generation project that is powered by photovoltaic electric energy and installed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly must be installed by a qualified person in compliance with the requirements of Section 16-128A of the Public Utilities Act and any rules or regulations adopted thereunder.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an electricity provider shall provide credits for the electricity produced by the projects described in paragraph (1) of this subsection (l). The electricity provider shall provide credits that include at least energy supply, capacity, transmission, and, if applicable, the purchased energy adjustment on the subscriber's monthly bill equal to the subscriber's share of the production of electricity from the project, as determined by paragraph (3) of this subsection (l). For customers with transmission or capacity charges not charged on a kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity provider shall prepare a reasonable approximation of the kilowatt-hour equivalent value and provide that value as a monetary credit. The electricity provider shall submit these approximation methodologies to the Commission for review, modification, and approval. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on payment plans or participating in budget billing programs shall have credits applied on a monthly basis.

(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary and regardless of whether a subscriber to an eligible community renewable generation project receives power and energy service from the electric utility or an alternative retail electric supplier, for projects eligible under paragraph (C) of subparagraph (1) of this subsection (l), electric utilities serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall provide the monetary credits to a subscriber's subsequent bill for the electricity produced by community renewable generation projects. The electric utility shall provide monetary credits to a subscriber's subsequent bill at the utility's total price to compare equal to the subscriber's share of the production of electricity from the project, as determined by paragraph (5) of this subsection (l). For the purposes of this subsection, "total price to compare" means the rate or rates published by the Illinois Commerce Commission for energy supply for eligible customers receiving supply service from the electric utility, and shall include energy, capacity, transmission, and the purchased energy adjustment. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on payment plans or participating in budget billing programs shall have credits applied on a monthly basis. Any applicable credit or reduction in load obligation from the production of the community renewable generating projects receiving a credit under this subsection shall be credited to the electric utility to offset the cost of providing the credit. To the extent that the credit or load obligation reduction does not completely offset the cost of providing the credit to subscribers of community renewable generation projects as described in this subsection, the electric utility may recover the remaining costs through its Multi-Year Rate Plan. All electric utilities serving 200,000 or fewer customers as of January 1, 2021 shall only provide the monetary credits to a subscriber's subsequent bill for the electricity produced by community renewable generation projects if the subscriber receives power and energy service from the electric utility. Alternative retail electric suppliers providing power and energy service to a subscriber located within the service territory of an electric utility not subject to Sections 16-108.18 and 16-118 shall provide the monetary credits to the subscriber's subsequent bill for the electricity produced by community renewable generation projects.

(4) If requested by the owner or operator of a community renewable generating project, an electric utility serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall enter into a net crediting agreement with the owner or operator to include a subscriber's subscription fee on the subscriber's monthly electric bill and provide the subscriber with a net credit equivalent to the total bill credit value for that generation period minus the subscription fee, provided the subscription fee is structured as a fixed percentage of bill credit value. The net crediting agreement shall set forth payment terms from the electric utility to the owner or operator of the community renewable generating project, and the electric utility may charge a net crediting fee to the owner or operator of a community renewable generating project that may not exceed 2% of the bill credit value. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an electric utility serving 200,000 customers or fewer as of January 1, 2021 shall not be obligated to enter into a net crediting agreement with the owner or operator of a community renewable generating project.

(5) For the purposes of facilitating net metering, the owner or operator of the eligible renewable electrical generating facility or community renewable generation project shall be responsible for determining the amount of the credit that each customer or subscriber participating in a project under this subsection (l) is to receive in the following manner:

(A) The owner or operator shall, on a monthly basis, provide to the electric utility the kilowatthours of generation attributable to each of the utility's retail customers and subscribers participating in projects under this subsection (l) in accordance with the customer's or subscriber's share of the eligible renewable electric generating facility's or community renewable generation project's output of power and energy for such month. The owner or operator shall electronically transmit such calculations and associated documentation to the electric utility, in a format or method set forth in the applicable tariff, on a monthly basis so that the electric utility can reflect the monetary credits on customers' and subscribers' electric utility bills. The electric utility shall be permitted to revise its tariffs to implement the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The owner or operator shall separately provide the electric utility with the documentation detailing the calculations supporting the credit in the manner set forth in the applicable tariff.

(B) For those participating customers and subscribers who receive their energy supply from an alternative retail electric supplier, the electric utility shall remit to the applicable alternative retail electric supplier the information provided under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (3) for such customers and subscribers in a manner set forth in such alternative retail electric supplier's net metering program, or as otherwise agreed between the utility and the alternative retail electric supplier. The alternative retail electric supplier shall then submit to the utility the amount of the charges for power and energy to be applied to such customers and subscribers, including the amount of the credit associated with net metering.

(C) A participating customer or subscriber may provide authorization as required by applicable law that directs the electric utility to submit information to the owner or operator of the eligible renewable electrical generating facility or community renewable generation project to which the customer or subscriber has an ownership or leasehold interest or a subscription. Such information shall be limited to the components of the net metering credit calculated under this subsection (l), including the bill credit rate, total kilowatthours, and total monetary credit value applied to the customer's or subscriber's bill for the monthly billing period.

(l-5) Within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric utility subject to this Section shall file a tariff or tariffs to implement the provisions of subsection (l) of this Section, which shall, consistent with the provisions of subsection (l), describe the terms and conditions under which owners or operators of qualifying properties, units, or apartments may participate in net metering. The Commission shall approve, or approve with modification, the tariff within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.

(m) Nothing in this Section shall affect the right of an electricity provider to continue to provide, or the right of a retail customer to continue to receive service pursuant to a contract for electric service between the electricity provider and the retail customer in accordance with the prices, terms, and conditions provided for in that contract. Either the electricity provider or the customer may require compliance with the prices, terms, and conditions of the contract.

(n) On and after January 1, 2025, the net metering services described in subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this Section shall no longer be offered, except as to those eligible renewable electrical generating facilities for which retail customers are receiving net metering service under these subsections at the time the net metering services under those subsections are no longer offered; those systems shall continue to receive net metering services described in subsections (d), (d-5), and (e) of this Section for the lifetime of the system, regardless of if those retail customers change electricity providers or whether the retail customer benefiting from the system changes. The electric utility serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 is responsible for ensuring the billing credits continue without lapse for the lifetime of systems, as required in subsection (o). Those retail customers that begin taking net metering service after the date that net metering services are no longer offered under such subsections shall be subject to the provisions set forth in the following paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection (n):

(1) An electricity provider shall charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or provided by eligible customers whose electric supply service is not provided based on hourly pricing in the following manner:

(A) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during the monthly billing period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, then the electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net kilowatt-hour based electricity charges reflected in the customer's electric service rate supplied to and used by the customer as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection (n).

(B) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during the monthly billing period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that billing period, then the electricity provider supplying that customer shall apply a 1:1 kilowatt-hour energy or monetary credit kilowatt-hour supply charges to the customer's subsequent bill. The customer shall choose between 1:1 kilowatt-hour or monetary credit at the time of application. For the purposes of this subsection, "kilowatt-hour supply charges" means the kilowatt-hour equivalent values for energy, capacity, transmission, and the purchased energy adjustment, if applicable. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on payment plans or participating in budget billing programs shall have credits applied on a monthly basis. The electricity provider shall continue to carry over any excess kilowatt-hour or monetary energy credits earned and apply those credits to subsequent billing periods. For customers with transmission or capacity charges not charged on a kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity provider shall prepare a reasonable approximation of the kilowatt-hour equivalent value and provide that value as a monetary credit. The electricity provider shall submit these approximation methodologies to the Commission for review, modification, and approval.

(C) (Blank).

(2) An electricity provider shall charge or credit for the net electricity supplied to eligible customers or provided by eligible customers whose electric supply service is provided based on hourly pricing in the following manner:

(A) If the amount of electricity used by the customer during any hourly period exceeds the amount of electricity produced by the customer, then the electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection (n).

(B) If the amount of electricity produced by a customer during any hourly period exceeds the amount of electricity used by the customer during that hourly period, the energy provider shall calculate an energy credit for the net kilowatt-hours produced in such period, and shall apply that credit as a monetary credit to the customer's subsequent bill. The value of the energy credit shall be calculated using the same price per kilowatt-hour as the electric service provider would charge for kilowatt-hour energy sales during that same hourly period and shall also include values for capacity and transmission. For customers with transmission or capacity charges not charged on a kilowatt-hour basis, the electricity provider shall prepare a reasonable approximation of the kilowatt-hour equivalent value and provide that value as a monetary credit. The electricity provider shall submit these approximation methodologies to the Commission for review, modification, and approval. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, customers on payment plans or participating in budget billing programs shall have credits applied on a monthly basis.

(3) An electricity provider shall provide electric service to eligible customers who utilize net metering at non-discriminatory rates that are identical, with respect to rate structure, retail rate components, and any monthly charges, to the rates that the customer would be charged if not a net metering customer. An electricity provider shall charge the customer for the net electricity supplied to and used by the customer according to the terms of the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned or be eligible for if the customer was not a net metering customer. An electricity provider shall not charge net metering customers any fee or charge or require additional equipment, insurance, or any other requirements not specifically authorized by interconnection standards authorized by the Commission, unless the fee, charge, or other requirement would apply to other similarly situated customers who are not net metering customers. The customer remains responsible for the gross amount of delivery services charges, supply-related charges that are kilowatt based, and all taxes and fees related to such charges. The customer also remains responsible for all taxes and fees that would otherwise be applicable to the net amount of electricity used by the customer. Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (n) shall not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between an electricity provider and an eligible customer that sets forth different prices, terms, and conditions for the provision of net metering service, including, but not limited to, the provision of the appropriate metering equipment for non-residential customers. Nothing in this paragraph (3) shall be interpreted to mandate that a utility that is only required to provide delivery services to a given customer must also sell electricity to such customer.

(o) Within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric utility subject to this Section shall file a tariff, which shall, consistent with the provisions of this Section, propose the terms and conditions under which a customer may participate in net metering. The tariff for electric utilities serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall also provide a streamlined and transparent bill crediting system for net metering to be managed by the electric utilities. The terms and conditions shall include, but are not limited to, that an electric utility shall manage and maintain billing of net metering credits and charges regardless of if the eligible customer takes net metering under an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier. The electric utility serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall process and approve all net metering applications, even if an eligible customer is served by an alternative retail electric supplier; and the utility shall forward application approval to the appropriate alternative retail electric supplier. Eligibility for net metering shall remain with the owner of the utility billing address such that, if an eligible renewable electrical generating facility changes ownership, the net metering eligibility transfers to the new owner. The electric utility serving more than 200,000 customers as of January 1, 2021 shall manage net metering billing for eligible customers to ensure full crediting occurs on electricity bills, including, but not limited to, ensuring net metering crediting begins upon commercial operation date, net metering billing transfers immediately if an eligible customer switches from an electric utility to alternative retail electric supplier or vice versa, and net metering billing transfers between ownership of a valid billing address. All transfers referenced in the preceding sentence shall include transfer of all banked credits. All electric utilities serving 200,000 or fewer customers as of January 1, 2021 shall manage net metering billing for eligible customers receiving power and energy service from the electric utility to ensure full crediting occurs on electricity bills, ensuring net metering crediting begins upon commercial operation date, net metering billing transfers immediately if an eligible customer switches from an electric utility to alternative retail electric supplier or vice versa, and net metering billing transfers between ownership of a valid billing address. Alternative retail electric suppliers providing power and energy service to eligible customers located within the service territory of an electric utility serving 200,000 or fewer customers as of January 1, 2021 shall manage net metering billing for eligible customers to ensure full crediting occurs on electricity bills, including, but not limited to, ensuring net metering crediting begins upon commercial operation date, net metering billing transfers immediately if an eligible customer switches from an electric utility to alternative retail electric supplier or vice versa, and net metering billing transfers between ownership of a valid billing address.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-107.6)

Sec. 16-107.6. Distributed generation rebate.

(a) In this Section:

"Additive services" means the services that distributed energy resources provide to the energy system and society that are not (1) already included in the base rebates for system-wide grid services; or (2) otherwise already compensated. Additive services may reflect, but shall not be limited to, any geographic, time-based, performance-based, and other benefits of distributed energy resources, as well as the present and future technological capabilities of distributed energy resources and present and future grid needs.

"Distributed energy resource" means a wide range of technologies that are located on the customer side of the customer's electric meter, including, but not limited to, distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, and demand response technologies.

"Energy storage system" means commercially available technology that is capable of absorbing energy and storing it for a period of time for use at a later time, including, but not limited to, electrochemical, thermal, and electromechanical technologies, and may be interconnected behind the customer's meter or interconnected behind its own meter.

"Smart inverter" means a device that converts direct current into alternating current and meets the IEEE 1547-2018 equipment standards. Until devices that meet the IEEE 1547-2018 standard are available, devices that meet the UL 1741 SA standard are acceptable.

"Subscriber" has the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

"Subscription" has the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

"System-wide grid services" means the benefits that a distributed energy resource provides to the distribution grid for a period of no less than 25 years. System-wide grid services do not vary by location, time, or the performance characteristics of the distributed energy resource. System-wide grid services include, but are not limited to, avoided or deferred distribution capacity costs, resilience and reliability benefits, avoided or deferred distribution operation and maintenance costs, distribution voltage and power quality benefits, and line loss reductions.

"Threshold date" means December 31, 2024 or the date on which the utility's tariff or tariffs setting the new compensation values established under subsection (e) take effect, whichever is later.

(b) An electric utility that serves more than 200,000 customers in the State shall file a petition with the Commission requesting approval of the utility's tariff to provide a rebate to the owner or operator of distributed generation, including third-party owned systems, that meets the following criteria:

(1) has a nameplate generating capacity no greater than 5,000 kilowatts and is primarily used to offset a customer's electricity load;

(2) is located on the customer's side of the billing meter and for the customer's own use;

(3) is interconnected to electric distribution facilities owned by the electric utility under rules adopted by the Commission by means of the inverter or smart inverter required by this Section, as applicable.

For purposes of this Section, "distributed generation" shall satisfy the definition of distributed renewable energy generation device set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act to the extent such definition is consistent with the requirements of this Section.

In addition, any new photovoltaic distributed generation that is installed after June 1, 2017 (the effective date of Public Act 99-906) must be installed by a qualified person, as defined by subsection (i) of Section 1-56 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

The tariff shall include a base rebate that compensates distributed generation for the system-wide grid services associated with distributed generation and, after the proceeding described in subsection (e) of this Section, an additional payment or payments for the additive services. The tariff shall provide that the smart inverter associated with the distributed generation shall provide autonomous response to grid conditions through its default settings as approved by the Commission. Default settings may not be changed after the execution of the interconnection agreement except by mutual agreement between the utility and the owner or operator of the distributed generation. Nothing in this Section shall negate or supersede Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers equipment standards or other similar standards or requirements. The tariff shall not limit the ability of the smart inverter or other distributed energy resource to provide wholesale market products such as regulation, demand response, or other services, or limit the ability of the owner of the smart inverter or the other distributed energy resource to receive compensation for providing those wholesale market products or services.

(b-5) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric public utility with 3,000,000 or more retail customers shall file a tariff with the Commission that further compensates any retail customer that installs or has installed photovoltaic facilities paired with energy storage facilities on or adjacent to its premises for the benefits the facilities provide to the distribution grid. The tariff shall provide that, in addition to the other rebates identified in this Section, the electric utility shall rebate to such retail customer (i) the previously incurred and future costs of installing interconnection facilities and related infrastructure to enable full participation in the PJM Interconnection, LLC or its successor organization frequency regulation market; and (ii) all wholesale demand charges incurred after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The Commission shall approve, or approve with modification, the tariff within 120 days after the utility's filing.

(c) The proposed tariff authorized by subsection (b) of this Section shall include the following participation terms for rebates to be applied under this Section for distributed generation that satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this Section:

(1) The owner or operator of distributed generation that services customers not eligible for net metering under subsection (d), (d-5), or (e) of Section 16-107.5 of this Act may apply for a rebate as provided for in this Section. Until the threshold date, the value of the rebate shall be $250 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity, measured as nominal DC power output, of that customer's distributed generation. To the extent the distributed generation also has an associated energy storage, then the energy storage system shall be separately compensated with a base rebate of $250 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity. Any distributed generation device that is compensated for storage in this subsection (1) before the threshold date shall participate in one or more programs determined through the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Planning process that are designed to meet peak reduction and flexibility. After the threshold date, the value of the base rebate and additional compensation for any additive services shall be as determined by the Commission in the proceeding described in subsection (e) of this Section, provided that the value of the base rebate for system-wide grid services shall not be lower than $250 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity of distributed generation or community renewable generation project.

(2) The owner or operator of distributed generation that, before the threshold date, would have been eligible for net metering under subsection (d), (d-5), or (e) of Section 16-107.5 of this Act and that has not previously received a distributed generation rebate, may apply for a rebate as provided for in this Section. Until the threshold date, the value of the base rebate shall be $300 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity, measured as nominal DC power output, of the distributed generation. The owner or operator of distributed generation that, before the threshold date, is eligible for net metering under subsection (d), (d-5), or (e) of Section 16-107.5 of this Act may apply for a base rebate for an energy storage device that uses the same smart inverter as the distributed generation, regardless of whether the distributed generation applies for a rebate for the distributed generation device. The energy storage system shall be separately compensated at a base payment of $300 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity. Any distributed generation device that is compensated for storage in this subsection (2) before the threshold date shall participate in a peak time rebate program, hourly pricing program, or time-of-use rate program offered by the applicable electric utility. After the threshold date, the value of the base rebate and additional compensation for any additive services shall be as determined by the Commission in the proceeding described in subsection (e) of this Section, provided that, prior to December 31, 2029, the value of the base rebate for system-wide services shall not be lower than $300 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity of distributed generation, after which it shall not be lower than $250 per kilowatt of nameplate capacity.

(3) Upon approval of a rebate application submitted under this subsection (c), the retail customer shall no longer be entitled to receive any delivery service credits for the excess electricity generated by its facility and shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (n) of Section 16-107.5 of this Act unless the owner or operator receives a rebate only for an energy storage device and not for the distributed generation device.

(4) To be eligible for a rebate described in this subsection (c), the owner or operator of the distributed generation must have a smart inverter installed and in operation on the distributed generation.

(d) The Commission shall review the proposed tariff authorized by subsection (b) of this Section and may make changes to the tariff that are consistent with this Section and with the Commission's authority under Article IX of this Act, subject to notice and hearing. Following notice and hearing, the Commission shall issue an order approving, or approving with modification, such tariff no later than 240 days after the utility files its tariff. Upon the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, an electric utility shall file a petition with the Commission to amend and update any existing tariffs to comply with subsections (b) and (c).

(e) By no later than June 30, 2023, the Commission shall open an independent, statewide investigation into the value of, and compensation for, distributed energy resources. The Commission shall conduct the investigation, but may arrange for experts or consultants independent of the utilities and selected by the Commission to assist with the investigation. The cost of the investigation shall be shared by the utilities filing tariffs under subsection (b) of this Section but may be recovered as an expense through normal ratemaking procedures.

(1) The Commission shall ensure that the investigation includes, at minimum, diverse sets of stakeholders; a review of best practices in calculating the value of distributed energy resource benefits; a review of the full value of the distributed energy resources and the manner in which each component of that value is or is not otherwise compensated; and assessments of how the value of distributed energy resources may evolve based on the present and future technological capabilities of distributed energy resources and based on present and future grid needs.

(2) The Commission's final order concluding this investigation shall establish an annual process and formula for the compensation of distributed generation and energy storage systems, and an initial set of inputs for that formula. The Commission's final order concluding this investigation shall establish base rebates that compensate distributed generation, community renewable generation projects and energy storage systems for the system-wide grid services that they provide. Those base rebate values shall be consistent across the state, and shall not vary by customer, customer class, customer location, or any other variable. With respect to rebates for distributed generation or community renewable generation projects, that rebate shall not be lower than $250 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity of the distributed generation or community renewable generation project. The Commission's final order concluding this proceeding shall also direct the utilities to update the formula, on an annual basis, with inputs derived from their integrated grid plans developed pursuant to Section 16-105.17. The base rebate shall be updated annually based on the annual updates to the formula inputs, but, with respect to rebates for distributed generation or community renewable generation projects, shall be no lower than $250 per kilowatt of nameplate generating capacity of the distributed generation or community renewable generation project.

(3) The Commission shall also determine, as a part of its investigation under this subsection, whether distributed energy resources can provide any additive services. Those additive services may include services that are provided through utility-controlled responses to grid conditions. If the Commission determines that distributed energy resources can provide additive grid services, the Commission shall determine the terms and conditions for the operation and compensation of those services. That compensation shall be above and beyond the base rebate that the distributed energy generation, community renewable generation project and energy storage system receives. Compensation for additive services may vary by location, time, performance characteristics, technology types, or other variables.

(4) The Commission shall ensure that compensation for distributed energy resources, including base rebates and any payments for additive services, shall reflect all reasonably known and measurable values of the distributed generation over its full expected useful life. Compensation for additive services shall reflect, but shall not be limited to, any geographic, time-based, performance-based, and other benefits of distributed generation, as well as the present and future technological capabilities of distributed energy resources and present and future grid needs.

(5) The Commission shall consider the electric utility's integrated grid plan developed pursuant to Section 16-105.17 of this Act to help identify the value of distributed energy resources for the purpose of calculating the compensation described in this subsection.

(6) The Commission shall determine additional compensation for distributed energy resources that creates savings and value on the distribution system by being co-located or in close proximity to electric vehicle charging infrastructure in use by medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, primarily serving environmental justice communities, as outlined in the utility integrated grid planning process under Section 16-105.17 of this Act.

No later than 60 days after the Commission enters its final order under this subsection (e), each utility shall file its updated tariff or tariffs in compliance with the order, including new tariffs for the recovery of costs incurred under this subsection (e) that shall provide for volumetric-based cost recovery, and the Commission shall approve, or approve with modification, the tariff or tariffs within 240 days after the utility's filing.

(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the contrary, the owner or operator of a community renewable generation project as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act shall also be eligible to apply for the rebate described in this Section. The owner or operator of the community renewable generation project may apply for a rebate only if the owner or operator, or previous owner or operator, of the community renewable generation project has not already submitted an application, and, regardless of whether the subscriber is a residential or non-residential customer, may be allowed the amount identified in paragraph (1) of subsection (c) applicable on the date that the application is submitted.

(g) The owner of the distributed generation or community renewable generation project may apply for the rebate or rebates approved under this Section at the time of execution of an interconnection agreement with the distribution utility and shall receive the value available at that time of execution of the interconnection agreement, provided the project reaches mechanical completion within 24 months after execution of the interconnection agreement. If the project has not reached mechanical completion within 24 months after execution, the owner may reapply for the rebate or rebates approved under this Section available at the time of application and shall receive the value available at the time of application. The utility shall issue the rebate no later than 60 days after the project is energized. In the event the application is incomplete or the utility is otherwise unable to calculate the payment based on the information provided by the owner, the utility shall issue the payment no later than 60 days after the application is complete or all requested information is received.

(h) An electric utility shall recover from its retail customers all of the costs of the rebates made under a tariff or tariffs approved under subsection (d) of this Section, including, but not limited to, the value of the rebates and all costs incurred by the utility to comply with and implement subsections (b) and (c) of this Section, but not including costs incurred by the utility to comply with and implement subsection (e) of this Section, consistent with the following provisions:

(1) The utility shall defer the full amount of its costs as a regulatory asset. The total costs deferred as a regulatory asset shall be amortized over a 15-year period. The unamortized balance shall be recognized as of December 31 for a given year. The utility shall also earn a return on the total of the unamortized balance of the regulatory assets, less any deferred taxes related to the unamortized balance, at an annual rate equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital that includes, based on a year-end capital structure, the utility's actual cost of debt for the applicable calendar year and a cost of equity, which shall be calculated as the sum of (i) the average for the applicable calendar year of the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication; and (ii) 580 basis points, including a revenue conversion factor calculated to recover or refund all additional income taxes that may be payable or receivable as a result of that return.

When an electric utility creates a regulatory asset under the provisions of this paragraph (1) of subsection (h), the costs are recovered over a period during which customers also receive a benefit, which is in the public interest. Accordingly, it is the intent of the General Assembly that an electric utility that elects to create a regulatory asset under the provisions of this paragraph (1) shall recover all of the associated costs, including, but not limited to, its cost of capital as set forth in this paragraph (1). After the Commission has approved the prudence and reasonableness of the costs that comprise the regulatory asset, the electric utility shall be permitted to recover all such costs, and the value and recoverability through rates of the associated regulatory asset shall not be limited, altered, impaired, or reduced. To enable the financing of the incremental capital expenditures, including regulatory assets, for electric utilities that serve less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 retail customers in the State, the utility's actual year-end capital structure that includes a common equity ratio, excluding goodwill, of up to and including 50% of the total capital structure shall be deemed reasonable and used to set rates.

(2) The utility, at its election, may recover all of the costs as part of a filing for a general increase in rates under Article IX of this Act, as part of an annual filing to update a performance-based formula rate under subsection (d) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act, or through an automatic adjustment clause tariff, provided that nothing in this paragraph (2) permits the double recovery of such costs from customers. If the utility elects to recover the costs it incurs under subsections (b) and (c) through an automatic adjustment clause tariff, the utility may file its proposed tariff together with the tariff it files under subsection (b) of this Section or at a later time. The proposed tariff shall provide for an annual reconciliation, less any deferred taxes related to the reconciliation, with interest at an annual rate of return equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital as calculated under paragraph (1) of this subsection (h), including a revenue conversion factor calculated to recover or refund all additional income taxes that may be payable or receivable as a result of that return, of the revenue requirement reflected in rates for each calendar year, beginning with the calendar year in which the utility files its automatic adjustment clause tariff under this subsection (h), with what the revenue requirement would have been had the actual cost information for the applicable calendar year been available at the filing date. The Commission shall review the proposed tariff and may make changes to the tariff that are consistent with this Section and with the Commission's authority under Article IX of this Act, subject to notice and hearing. Following notice and hearing, the Commission shall issue an order approving, or approving with modification, such tariff no later than 240 days after the utility files its tariff.

(i) An electric utility shall recover from its retail customers, on a volumetric basis, all of the costs of the rebates made under a tariff or tariffs placed into effect under subsection (e) of this Section, including, but not limited to, the value of the rebates and all costs incurred by the utility to comply with and implement subsection (e) of this Section, consistent with the following provisions:

(1) The utility may defer a portion of its costs as a regulatory asset. The Commission shall determine the portion that may be appropriately deferred as a regulatory asset. Factors that the Commission shall consider in determining the portion of costs that shall be deferred as a regulatory asset include, but are not limited to: (i) whether and the extent to which a cost effectively deferred or avoided other distribution system operating costs or capital expenditures; (ii) the extent to which a cost provides environmental benefits; (iii) the extent to which a cost improves system reliability or resilience; (iv) the electric utility's distribution system plan developed pursuant to Section 16-105.17 of this Act; (v) the extent to which a cost advances equity principles; and (vi) such other factors as the Commission deems appropriate. The remainder of costs shall be deemed an operating expense and shall be recoverable if found prudent and reasonable by the Commission.

The total costs deferred as a regulatory asset shall be amortized over a 15-year period. The unamortized balance shall be recognized as of December 31 for a given year. The utility shall also earn a return on the total of the unamortized balance of the regulatory assets, less any deferred taxes related to the unamortized balance, at an annual rate equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital that includes, based on a year-end capital structure, the utility's actual cost of debt for the applicable calendar year and a cost of equity, which shall be calculated as the sum of: (I) the average for the applicable calendar year of the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication; and (II) 580 basis points, including a revenue conversion factor calculated to recover or refund all additional income taxes that may be payable or receivable as a result of that return.

(2) The utility may recover all of the costs through an automatic adjustment clause tariff, on a volumetric basis. The utility may file its proposed cost-recovery tariff together with the tariff it files under subsection (e) of this Section or at a later time. The proposed tariff shall provide for an annual reconciliation, less any deferred taxes related to the reconciliation, with interest at an annual rate of return equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital as calculated under paragraph (1) of this subsection (i), including a revenue conversion factor calculated to recover or refund all additional income taxes that may be payable or receivable as a result of that return, of the revenue requirement reflected in rates for each calendar year, beginning with the calendar year in which the utility files its automatic adjustment clause tariff under this subsection (i), with what the revenue requirement would have been had the actual cost information for the applicable calendar year been available at the filing date. The Commission shall review the proposed tariff and may make changes to the tariff that are consistent with this Section and with the Commission's authority under Article IX of this Act, subject to notice and hearing. Following notice and hearing, the Commission shall issue an order approving, or approving with modification, such tariff no later than 240 days after the utility files its tariff.

(j) No later than 90 days after the Commission enters an order, or order on rehearing, whichever is later, approving an electric utility's proposed tariff under this Section, the electric utility shall provide notice of the availability of rebates under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-107.7)

Sec. 16-107.7. Power price mitigation rebate.

(a) Illinois electric utility customers have been impacted by unanticipated changes to electric power and capacity prices during a period of economic hardship associated with recent global events, including increasing gas prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent power and capacity procurement events affect the market prices paid by customers. Accordingly, as many customers have experienced increased electric utility bill impacts due to the increase in electric power and capacity prices, it is the policy of the State to assist qualifying customers through a power price mitigation rebate for the June 2023 through October 2024 electric utility billing cycle. As used in this Section, "small commercial customer" means those nonresidential retail customers of an electric utility consuming 15,000 kilowatt-hours or less of electricity annually in its service area whose service has not yet been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113.

(b) Any electric utility serving adversely impacted residential and small commercial customers shall notify the Commission by April 15, 2023 of the same and provide the results of the calculations set forth in this subsection. As used in this Section, "electric utility serving adversely impacted residential and small commercial customers" means any electric utility that can demonstrate that the utility default power supply rate procured from the Illinois Power Agency and available to its residential and small commercial customers has experienced, or will experience, a more than 90% year-over-year total supply charge increase, as calculated by comparing the total supply charge effective on June 1, 2021, as reported by the electric utility to the Commission pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 16-111.5, and the total supply charge effective on June 1, 2022, as reported to the Commission pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 16-111.5. The total supply charge effective on June 1, 2021, and June 1, 2022, respectively, as reported pursuant to subsection (i) of Section 16-111.5, shall be used to calculate an electric utility's qualification under this Section and no other adjustments shall be made for purposes of the calculation, including, but not limited to, any transmission costs, purchased electricity adjustments, or any other credits. Any small multijurisdictional electric utility that relies upon company-owned generation resources, including fossil fueled generation, to supply the majority of its eligible State retail customers' energy and capacity needs shall be ineligible to file a notice or receive funding for rebate credits pursuant to this Section. The Commission shall have 5 days from the date of receipt of the utility's notice to review the calculations and notify the electric utility as to whether it qualifies as an electric utility serving adversely impacted residential and small commercial customers under this Section.

(c) Any electric utility that provides notice to the Commission of qualification under subsection (b) shall concurrently file a tariff with the Commission that provides for a monthly rebate credit to be given to all residential and small commercial customers, beginning as soon as is practicable following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The tariff shall provide that the total funds appropriated by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall be divided equally and issued to all of its active residential and small commercial customers, including customers that take supply service from alternative retail suppliers or real-time pricing tariffs. The tariff shall further provide that the monthly rebate credit will be reflected on, and applied to, customer bills beginning at the start of a monthly billing period and continue through the October 2023 billing period in a manner compliant with subsections (d) and (e). The tariff shall also provide that the utility may apply the monthly rebate credit to up to 5 monthly billing periods ending in October 2023, and the utility may aggregate monthly rebate credits. To the extent a rebate credit is greater than a customer's bill in a given month, the excess rebate credit amount shall apply to the next billing period, even if the billing period is after October 2023, until the customer's rebate credit has been fully applied.

(d) The Commission shall have 5 days from the date an electric utility files the tariff pursuant to subsection (c) to review the tariff for compliance with this Section, and, subject to appropriation to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for purposes of the power price mitigation, the tariff shall go into effect no later than 7 days from the original tariff filing date or one day from the date of any compliance filing, whichever is later. Upon the tariff becoming effective, the Commission shall notify the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity of any electric utility serving adversely impacted residential and small commercial customers with an approved tariff that is eligible to receive funds to be used to pay for the monthly rebate credits issued pursuant to this Section.

(e) Each electric utility providing a monthly rebate credit to its customers pursuant to subsection (c) shall include at least the following statement as part of a bill insert or bill message provided with any bill reflecting a monthly rebate credit to customers: "Your bill has been reduced this month by the Power Price Mitigation Rebate Act passed by the Illinois General Assembly." The amount of the monthly rebate credit being applied for the billing period shall also be reflected on the customer's bill with the description "State Funded Power Price Mitigation Credit". The electric utility's obligation to reflect the information required by this subsection shall not extend past the October 2023 billing period.

(f) An electric utility with a tariff approved pursuant to subsection (c) shall be entitled to recover the reasonable and prudent expenses incurred to comply with this Section and shall have an obligation to provide monthly rebate credits to customers only to the extent there are funds available to the utility to provide the monthly rebate credits, as funded by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and subject to appropriation to the Department. Within 180 days from the date on which all allocated funds have been transferred to and applied by the electric utility, the electric utility shall notify the Commission and provide an accounting for all funds applied as a monthly rebate credit to its residential and small commercial customers. The electric utility shall take reasonable steps to apply all allocated funds it receives as monthly rebate credits. If any funds remain after the October 2023 billing period that have not been applied to residential or small commercial customers, the electric utility shall return such unapplied amounts to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity by March 30, 2024. If the electric utility provides rebate credits to customers that exceed the available funds, the electric utility shall account for such amounts and the utility shall recover those amounts not to exceed 2% of the total available funds made available for the rebate credits as part of its next base rates increase pursuant to Article XVI or Article IX.

(g) This Section, except for this subsection and subsection (f), is inoperative on and after January 1, 2025.

(h) This Section may be referred to as the Power Price Mitigation Rebate Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-1123, eff. 1-27-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108)

Sec. 16-108. Recovery of costs associated with the provision of delivery and other services.

(a) An electric utility shall file a delivery services tariff with the Commission at least 210 days prior to the date that it is required to begin offering such services pursuant to this Act. An electric utility shall provide the components of delivery services that are subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the same prices, terms and conditions set forth in its applicable tariff as approved or allowed into effect by that Commission. The Commission shall otherwise have the authority pursuant to Article IX to review, approve, and modify the prices, terms and conditions of those components of delivery services not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, including the authority to determine the extent to which such delivery services should be offered on an unbundled basis. In making any such determination the Commission shall consider, at a minimum, the effect of additional unbundling on (i) the objective of just and reasonable rates, (ii) electric utility employees, and (iii) the development of competitive markets for electric energy services in Illinois.

(b) The Commission shall enter an order approving, or approving as modified, the delivery services tariff no later than 30 days prior to the date on which the electric utility must commence offering such services. The Commission may subsequently modify such tariff pursuant to this Act.

(c) The electric utility's tariffs shall define the classes of its customers for purposes of delivery services charges. Delivery services shall be priced and made available to all retail customers electing delivery services in each such class on a nondiscriminatory basis regardless of whether the retail customer chooses the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or another entity as its supplier of electric power and energy. Charges for delivery services shall be cost based, and shall allow the electric utility to recover the costs of providing delivery services through its charges to its delivery service customers that use the facilities and services associated with such costs. Such costs shall include the costs of owning, operating and maintaining transmission and distribution facilities. The Commission shall also be authorized to consider whether, and if so to what extent, the following costs are appropriately included in the electric utility's delivery services rates: (i) the costs of that portion of generation facilities used for the production and absorption of reactive power in order that retail customers located in the electric utility's service area can receive electric power and energy from suppliers other than the electric utility, and (ii) the costs associated with the use and redispatch of generation facilities to mitigate constraints on the transmission or distribution system in order that retail customers located in the electric utility's service area can receive electric power and energy from suppliers other than the electric utility. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as directing the Commission to allocate any of the costs described in (i) or (ii) that are found to be appropriately included in the electric utility's delivery services rates to any particular customer group or geographic area in setting delivery services rates.

(d) The Commission shall establish charges, terms and conditions for delivery services that are just and reasonable and shall take into account customer impacts when establishing such charges. In establishing charges, terms and conditions for delivery services, the Commission shall take into account voltage level differences. A retail customer shall have the option to request to purchase electric service at any delivery service voltage reasonably and technically feasible from the electric facilities serving that customer's premises provided that there are no significant adverse impacts upon system reliability or system efficiency. A retail customer shall also have the option to request to purchase electric service at any point of delivery that is reasonably and technically feasible provided that there are no significant adverse impacts on system reliability or efficiency. Such requests shall not be unreasonably denied.

(e) Electric utilities shall recover the costs of installing, operating or maintaining facilities for the particular benefit of one or more delivery services customers, including without limitation any costs incurred in complying with a customer's request to be served at a different voltage level, directly from the retail customer or customers for whose benefit the costs were incurred, to the extent such costs are not recovered through the charges referred to in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section.

(f) An electric utility shall be entitled but not required to implement transition charges in conjunction with the offering of delivery services pursuant to Section 16-104. If an electric utility implements transition charges, it shall implement such charges for all delivery services customers and for all customers described in subsection (h), but shall not implement transition charges for power and energy that a retail customer takes from cogeneration or self-generation facilities located on that retail customer's premises, if such facilities meet the following criteria:

(i) the cogeneration or self-generation facilities serve a single retail customer and are located on that retail customer's premises (for purposes of this subparagraph and subparagraph (ii), an industrial or manufacturing retail customer and a third party contractor that is served by such industrial or manufacturing customer through such retail customer's own electrical distribution facilities under the circumstances described in subsection (vi) of the definition of "alternative retail electric supplier" set forth in Section 16-102, shall be considered a single retail customer);

(ii) the cogeneration or self-generation facilities either (A) are sized pursuant to generally accepted engineering standards for the retail customer's electrical load at that premises (taking into account standby or other reliability considerations related to that retail customer's operations at that site) or (B) if the facility is a cogeneration facility located on the retail customer's premises, the retail customer is the thermal host for that facility and the facility has been designed to meet that retail customer's thermal energy requirements resulting in electrical output beyond that retail customer's electrical demand at that premises, comply with the operating and efficiency standards applicable to "qualifying facilities" specified in title 18 Code of Federal Regulations Section 292.205 as in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1999;

(iii) the retail customer on whose premises the facilities are located either has an exclusive right to receive, and corresponding obligation to pay for, all of the electrical capacity of the facility, or in the case of a cogeneration facility that has been designed to meet the retail customer's thermal energy requirements at that premises, an identified amount of the electrical capacity of the facility, over a minimum 5-year period; and

(iv) if the cogeneration facility is sized for the retail customer's thermal load at that premises but exceeds the electrical load, any sales of excess power or energy are made only at wholesale, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and are not for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this subsection (f).

If a generation facility located at a retail customer's premises does not meet the above criteria, an electric utility implementing transition charges shall implement a transition charge until December 31, 2006 for any power and energy taken by such retail customer from such facility as if such power and energy had been delivered by the electric utility. Provided, however, that an industrial retail customer that is taking power from a generation facility that does not meet the above criteria but that is located on such customer's premises will not be subject to a transition charge for the power and energy taken by such retail customer from such generation facility if the facility does not serve any other retail customer and either was installed on behalf of the customer and for its own use prior to January 1, 1997, or is both predominantly fueled by byproducts of such customer's manufacturing process at such premises and sells or offers an average of 300 megawatts or more of electricity produced from such generation facility into the wholesale market. Such charges shall be calculated as provided in Section 16-102, and shall be collected on each kilowatt-hour delivered under a delivery services tariff to a retail customer from the date the customer first takes delivery services until December 31, 2006 except as provided in subsection (h) of this Section. Provided, however, that an electric utility, other than an electric utility providing service to at least 1,000,000 customers in this State on January 1, 1999, shall be entitled to petition for entry of an order by the Commission authorizing the electric utility to implement transition charges for an additional period ending no later than December 31, 2008. The electric utility shall file its petition with supporting evidence no earlier than 16 months, and no later than 12 months, prior to December 31, 2006. The Commission shall hold a hearing on the electric utility's petition and shall enter its order no later than 8 months after the petition is filed. The Commission shall determine whether and to what extent the electric utility shall be authorized to implement transition charges for an additional period. The Commission may authorize the electric utility to implement transition charges for some or all of the additional period, and shall determine the mitigation factors to be used in implementing such transition charges; provided, that the Commission shall not authorize mitigation factors less than 110% of those in effect during the 12 months ended December 31, 2006. In making its determination, the Commission shall consider the following factors: the necessity to implement transition charges for an additional period in order to maintain the financial integrity of the electric utility; the prudence of the electric utility's actions in reducing its costs since the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997; the ability of the electric utility to provide safe, adequate and reliable service to retail customers in its service area; and the impact on competition of allowing the electric utility to implement transition charges for the additional period.

(g) The electric utility shall file tariffs that establish the transition charges to be paid by each class of customers to the electric utility in conjunction with the provision of delivery services. The electric utility's tariffs shall define the classes of its customers for purposes of calculating transition charges. The electric utility's tariffs shall provide for the calculation of transition charges on a customer-specific basis for any retail customer whose average monthly maximum electrical demand on the electric utility's system during the 6 months with the customer's highest monthly maximum electrical demands equals or exceeds 3.0 megawatts for electric utilities having more than 1,000,000 customers, and for other electric utilities for any customer that has an average monthly maximum electrical demand on the electric utility's system of one megawatt or more, and (A) for which there exists data on the customer's usage during the 3 years preceding the date that the customer became eligible to take delivery services, or (B) for which there does not exist data on the customer's usage during the 3 years preceding the date that the customer became eligible to take delivery services, if in the electric utility's reasonable judgment there exists comparable usage information or a sufficient basis to develop such information, and further provided that the electric utility can require customers for which an individual calculation is made to sign contracts that set forth the transition charges to be paid by the customer to the electric utility pursuant to the tariff.

(h) An electric utility shall also be entitled to file tariffs that allow it to collect transition charges from retail customers in the electric utility's service area that do not take delivery services but that take electric power or energy from an alternative retail electric supplier or from an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located. Such charges shall be calculated, in accordance with the definition of transition charges in Section 16-102, for the period of time that the customer would be obligated to pay transition charges if it were taking delivery services, except that no deduction for delivery services revenues shall be made in such calculation, and usage data from the customer's class shall be used where historical usage data is not available for the individual customer. The customer shall be obligated to pay such charges on a lump sum basis on or before the date on which the customer commences to take service from the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility, provided, that the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located shall offer the customer the option of signing a contract pursuant to which the customer pays such charges ratably over the period in which the charges would otherwise have applied.

(i) An electric utility shall be entitled to add to the bills of delivery services customers charges pursuant to Sections 9-221, 9-222 (except as provided in Section 9-222.1), and Section 16-114 of this Act, Section 5-5 of the Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Law, Section 6-5 of the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Coal Resources Development Law of 1997, and Section 13 of the Energy Assistance Act.

(i-5) An electric utility required to impose the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge provided for in subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act shall add such charge to the bills of its delivery services customers pursuant to the terms of a tariff conforming to the requirements of subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this subsection (i-5) and filed with and approved by the Commission. The electric utility shall file its proposed tariff with the Commission on or before July 1, 2022 to be effective, after review and approval or modification by the Commission, beginning January 1, 2023. On or before December 1, 2022, the Commission shall review the electric utility's proposed tariff, including by conducting a docketed proceeding if deemed necessary by the Commission, and shall approve the proposed tariff or direct the electric utility to make modifications the Commission finds necessary for the tariff to conform to the requirements of subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this subsection (i-5). The electric utility's tariff shall provide for imposition of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge on a per-kilowatthour basis to all kilowatthours delivered by the electric utility to its delivery services customers. The tariff shall provide for the calculation of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge to be in effect for the year beginning January 1, 2023 and each year beginning January 1 thereafter, sufficient to collect the electric utility's estimated payment obligations for the delivery year beginning the following June 1 under contracts for purchase of renewable energy credits entered into pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and the obligations of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or any successor department or agency, which for purposes of this subsection (i-5) shall be referred to as the Department, to make grant payments during such delivery year from the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Fund pursuant to grant contracts entered into pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and using the electric utility's kilowatthour deliveries to its delivery services customers during the delivery year ended May 31 of the preceding calendar year. On or before November 1 of each year beginning November 1, 2022, the Department shall notify the electric utilities of the amount of the Department's estimated obligations for grant payments during the delivery year beginning the following June 1 pursuant to grant contracts entered into pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; and each electric utility shall incorporate in the calculation of its Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge the fractional portion of the Department's estimated obligations equal to the electric utility's kilowatthour deliveries to its delivery services customers in the delivery year ended the preceding May 31 divided by the aggregate deliveries of both electric utilities to delivery services customers in such delivery year. The electric utility shall remit on a monthly basis to the State Treasurer, for deposit in the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Fund provided for in subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, the electric utility's collections of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge estimated to be needed by the Department for grant payments pursuant to grant contracts entered into pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The initial charge under the electric utility's tariff shall be effective for kilowatthours delivered beginning January 1, 2023, and thereafter shall be revised to be effective January 1, 2024 and each January 1 thereafter, based on the payment obligations for the delivery year beginning the following June 1. The tariff shall provide for the electric utility to make an annual filing with the Commission on or before November 15 of each year, beginning in 2023, setting forth the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge to be in effect for the year beginning the following January 1. The electric utility's tariff shall also provide that the electric utility shall make a filing with the Commission on or before August 1 of each year beginning in 2024 setting forth a reconciliation, for the delivery year ended the preceding May 31, of the electric utility's collections of the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge against actual payments for renewable energy credits pursuant to contracts entered into, and the actual grant payments by the Department pursuant to grant contracts entered into, pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The tariff shall provide that any excess or shortfall of collections to payments shall be deducted from or added to, on a per-kilowatthour basis, the Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative Charge, over the 6-month period beginning October 1 of that calendar year.

(j) If a retail customer that obtains electric power and energy from cogeneration or self-generation facilities installed for its own use on or before January 1, 1997, subsequently takes service from an alternative retail electric supplier or an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located for any portion of the customer's electric power and energy requirements formerly obtained from those facilities (including that amount purchased from the utility in lieu of such generation and not as standby power purchases, under a cogeneration displacement tariff in effect as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997), the transition charges otherwise applicable pursuant to subsections (f), (g), or (h) of this Section shall not be applicable in any year to that portion of the customer's electric power and energy requirements formerly obtained from those facilities, provided, that for purposes of this subsection (j), such portion shall not exceed the average number of kilowatt-hours per year obtained from the cogeneration or self-generation facilities during the 3 years prior to the date on which the customer became eligible for delivery services, except as provided in subsection (f) of Section 16-110.

(k) The electric utility shall be entitled to recover through tariffed charges all of the costs associated with the purchase of zero emission credits from zero emission facilities to meet the requirements of subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and all of the costs associated with the purchase of carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources to meet the requirements of subsection (d-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Such costs shall include the costs of procuring the zero emission credits and carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources, as well as the reasonable costs that the utility incurs as part of the procurement processes and to implement and comply with plans and processes approved by the Commission under subsections (d-5) and (d-10). The costs shall be allocated across all retail customers through a single, uniform cents per kilowatt-hour charge applicable to all retail customers, which shall appear as a separate line item on each customer's bill. Beginning June 1, 2017, the electric utility shall be entitled to recover through tariffed charges all of the costs associated with the purchase of renewable energy resources to meet the renewable energy resource standards of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, under procurement plans as approved in accordance with that Section and Section 16-111.5 of this Act. Such costs shall include the costs of procuring the renewable energy resources, as well as the reasonable costs that the utility incurs as part of the procurement processes and to implement and comply with plans and processes approved by the Commission under such Sections. The costs associated with the purchase of renewable energy resources shall be allocated across all retail customers in proportion to the amount of renewable energy resources the utility procures for such customers through a single, uniform cents per kilowatt-hour charge applicable to such retail customers, which shall appear as a separate line item on each such customer's bill. The credits, costs, and penalties associated with the self-direct renewable portfolio standard compliance program described in subparagraph (R) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act shall be allocated to approved eligible self-direct customers by the utility in a cents per kilowatt-hour credit, cost, or penalty, which shall appear as a separate line item on each such customer's bill.

Notwithstanding whether the Commission has approved the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan as of June 1, 2017, an electric utility shall place new tariffed charges into effect beginning with the June 2017 monthly billing period, to the extent practicable, to begin recovering the costs of procuring renewable energy resources, as those charges are calculated under the limitations described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Notwithstanding the date on which the utility places such new tariffed charges into effect, the utility shall be permitted to collect the charges under such tariff as if the tariff had been in effect beginning with the first day of the June 2017 monthly billing period. For the delivery years commencing June 1, 2017, June 1, 2018, June 1, 2019, and each delivery year thereafter, the electric utility shall deposit into a separate interest bearing account of a financial institution the monies collected under the tariffed charges. Money collected from customers for the procurement of renewable energy resources in a given delivery year may be spent by the utility for the procurement of renewable resources over any of the following 5 delivery years, after which unspent money shall be credited back to retail customers. The electric utility shall spend all money collected in earlier delivery years that has not yet been returned to customers, first, before spending money collected in later delivery years. Any interest earned shall be credited back to retail customers under the reconciliation proceeding provided for in this subsection (k), provided that the electric utility shall first be reimbursed from the interest for the administrative costs that it incurs to administer and manage the account. Any taxes due on the funds in the account, or interest earned on it, will be paid from the account or, if insufficient monies are available in the account, from the monies collected under the tariffed charges to recover the costs of procuring renewable energy resources. Monies deposited in the account shall be subject to the review, reconciliation, and true-up process described in this subsection (k) that is applicable to the funds collected and costs incurred for the procurement of renewable energy resources.

The electric utility shall be entitled to recover all of the costs identified in this subsection (k) through automatic adjustment clause tariffs applicable to all of the utility's retail customers that allow the electric utility to adjust its tariffed charges consistent with this subsection (k). The determination as to whether any excess funds were collected during a given delivery year for the purchase of renewable energy resources, and the crediting of any excess funds back to retail customers, shall not be made until after the close of the delivery year, which will ensure that the maximum amount of funds is available to implement the approved long-term renewable resources procurement plan during a given delivery year. The amount of excess funds eligible to be credited back to retail customers shall be reduced by an amount equal to the payment obligations required by any contracts entered into by an electric utility under contracts described in subsection (b) of Section 1-56 and subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, even if such payments have not yet been made and regardless of the delivery year in which those payment obligations were incurred. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, including in tariffs authorized by this subsection (k) in effect before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, all unspent funds as of May 31, 2021, excluding any funds credited to customers during any utility billing cycle that commences prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, shall remain in the utility account and shall on a first in, first out basis be used toward utility payment obligations under contracts described in subsection (b) of Section 1-56 and subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The electric utility's collections under such automatic adjustment clause tariffs to recover the costs of renewable energy resources, zero emission credits from zero emission facilities, and carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources shall be subject to separate annual review, reconciliation, and true-up against actual costs by the Commission under a procedure that shall be specified in the electric utility's automatic adjustment clause tariffs and that shall be approved by the Commission in connection with its approval of such tariffs. The procedure shall provide that any difference between the electric utility's collections for zero emission credits and carbon mitigation credits under the automatic adjustment charges for an annual period and the electric utility's actual costs of zero emission credits from zero emission facilities and carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources for that same annual period shall be refunded to or collected from, as applicable, the electric utility's retail customers in subsequent periods.

Nothing in this subsection (k) is intended to affect, limit, or change the right of the electric utility to recover the costs associated with the procurement of renewable energy resources for periods commencing before, on, or after June 1, 2017, as otherwise provided in the Illinois Power Agency Act.

The funding available under this subsection (k), if any, for the programs described under subsection (b) of Section 1-56 of the Illinois Power Agency Act shall not reduce the amount of funding for the programs described in subparagraph (O) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. If funding is available under this subsection (k) for programs described under subsection (b) of Section 1-56 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, then the long-term renewable resources plan shall provide for the Agency to procure contracts in an amount that does not exceed the funding, and the contracts approved by the Commission shall be executed by the applicable utility or utilities.

(l) A utility that has terminated any contract executed under subsection (d-5) or (d-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act shall be entitled to recover any remaining balance associated with the purchase of zero emission credits prior to such termination, and such utility shall also apply a credit to its retail customer bills in the event of any over-collection.

(m)(1) An electric utility that recovers its costs of procuring zero emission credits from zero emission facilities through a cents-per-kilowatthour charge under subsection (k) of this Section shall be subject to the requirements of this subsection (m). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, such electric utility shall, beginning on April 30, 2018, and each April 30 thereafter until April 30, 2026, calculate whether any reduction must be applied to such cents-per-kilowatthour charge that is paid by retail customers of the electric utility that have opted out of subsections (a) through (j) of Section 8-103B of this Act under subsection (l) of Section 8-103B. Such charge shall be reduced for such customers for the next delivery year commencing on June 1 based on the amount necessary, if any, to limit the annual estimated average net increase for the prior calendar year due to the future energy investment costs to no more than 1.3% of 5.98 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is the average amount paid per kilowatthour for electric service during the year ending December 31, 2015 by Illinois industrial retail customers, as reported to the Edison Electric Institute.

The calculations required by this subsection (m) shall be made only once for each year, and no subsequent rate impact determinations shall be made.

(2) For purposes of this Section, "future energy investment costs" shall be calculated by subtracting the cents-per-kilowatthour charge identified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (2) from the sum of the cents-per-kilowatthour charges identified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (2):

(A) The cents-per-kilowatthour charge identified in the electric utility's tariff placed into effect under Section 8-103 of the Public Utilities Act that, on December 1, 2016, was applicable to those retail customers that have opted out of subsections (a) through (j) of Section 8-103B of this Act under subsection (l) of Section 8-103B.

(B) The sum of the following cents-per-kilowatthour charges applicable to those retail customers that have opted out of subsections (a) through (j) of Section 8-103B of this Act under subsection (l) of Section 8-103B, provided that if one or more of the following charges has been in effect and applied to such customers for more than one calendar year, then each charge shall be equal to the average of the charges applied over a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation required by this subsection (m):

(i) the cents-per-kilowatthour charge to recover the costs incurred by the utility under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, adjusted for any reductions required under this subsection (m); and

(ii) the cents-per-kilowatthour charge to recover the costs incurred by the utility under Section 16-107.6 of the Public Utilities Act.

If no charge was applied for a given calendar year under item (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph (B), then the value of the charge for that year shall be zero.

(3) If a reduction is required by the calculation performed under this subsection (m), then the amount of the reduction shall be multiplied by the number of years reflected in the averages calculated under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of this subsection (m). Such reduction shall be applied to the cents-per-kilowatthour charge that is applicable to those retail customers that have opted out of subsections (a) through (j) of Section 8-103B of this Act under subsection (l) of Section 8-103B beginning with the next delivery year commencing after the date of the calculation required by this subsection (m).

(4) The electric utility shall file a notice with the Commission on May 1 of 2018 and each May 1 thereafter until May 1, 2026 containing the reduction, if any, which must be applied for the delivery year which begins in the year of the filing. The notice shall contain the calculations made pursuant to this Section. By October 1 of each year beginning in 2018, each electric utility shall notify the Commission if it appears, based on an estimate of the calculation required in this subsection (m), that a reduction will be required in the next year.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.5)

Sec. 16-108.5. Infrastructure investment and modernization; regulatory reform.

(a) (Blank).

(b) For purposes of this Section, "participating utility" means an electric utility or a combination utility serving more than 1,000,000 customers in Illinois that voluntarily elects and commits to undertake (i) the infrastructure investment program consisting of the commitments and obligations described in this subsection (b) and (ii) the customer assistance program consisting of the commitments and obligations described in subsection (b-10) of this Section, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act and without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency other than as set forth in this Section, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required. "Combination utility" means a utility that, as of January 1, 2011, provided electric service to at least one million retail customers in Illinois and gas service to at least 500,000 retail customers in Illinois. A participating utility shall recover the expenditures made under the infrastructure investment program through the ratemaking process, including, but not limited to, the performance-based formula rate and process set forth in this Section.

During the infrastructure investment program's peak program year, a participating utility other than a combination utility shall create 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Illinois, and a participating utility that is a combination utility shall create 450 full-time equivalent jobs in Illinois related to the provision of electric service. These jobs shall include direct jobs, contractor positions, and induced jobs, but shall not include any portion of a job commitment, not specifically contingent on an amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly becoming law, between a participating utility and a labor union that existed on December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646) and that has not yet been fulfilled. A portion of the full-time equivalent jobs created by each participating utility shall include incremental personnel hired subsequent to December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646). For purposes of this Section, "peak program year" means the consecutive 12-month period with the highest number of full-time equivalent jobs that occurs between the beginning of investment year 2 and the end of investment year 4.

A participating utility shall meet one of the following commitments, as applicable:

(1) Beginning no later than 180 days after a participating utility other than a combination utility files a performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, or, beginning no later than January 1, 2012 if such utility files such performance-based formula rate tariff within 14 days of October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616), the participating utility shall, except as provided in subsection (b-5):

(A) over a 5-year period, invest an estimated $1,300,000,000 in electric system upgrades, modernization projects, and training facilities, including, but not limited to:

(i) distribution infrastructure improvements totaling an estimated $1,000,000,000, including underground residential distribution cable injection and replacement and mainline cable system refurbishment and replacement projects;

(ii) training facility construction or upgrade projects totaling an estimated $10,000,000, provided that, at a minimum, one such facility shall be located in a municipality having a population of more than 2 million residents and one such facility shall be located in a municipality having a population of more than 150,000 residents but fewer than 170,000 residents; any such new facility located in a municipality having a population of more than 2 million residents must be designed for the purpose of obtaining, and the owner of the facility shall apply for, certification under the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Efficiency Design Green Building Rating System;

(iii) wood pole inspection, treatment, and replacement programs;

(iv) an estimated $200,000,000 for reducing the susceptibility of certain circuits to storm-related damage, including, but not limited to, high winds, thunderstorms, and ice storms; improvements may include, but are not limited to, overhead to underground conversion and other engineered outcomes for circuits; the participating utility shall prioritize the selection of circuits based on each circuit's historical susceptibility to storm-related damage and the ability to provide the greatest customer benefit upon completion of the improvements; to be eligible for improvement, the participating utility's ability to maintain proper tree clearances surrounding the overhead circuit must not have been impeded by third parties; and

(B) over a 10-year period, invest an estimated $1,300,000,000 to upgrade and modernize its transmission and distribution infrastructure and in Smart Grid electric system upgrades, including, but not limited to:

(i) additional smart meters;

(ii) distribution automation;

(iii) associated cyber secure data communication network; and

(iv) substation micro-processor relay upgrades.

(2) Beginning no later than 180 days after a participating utility that is a combination utility files a performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, or, beginning no later than January 1, 2012 if such utility files such performance-based formula rate tariff within 14 days of October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616), the participating utility shall, except as provided in subsection (b-5):

(A) over a 10-year period, invest an estimated $265,000,000 in electric system upgrades, modernization projects, and training facilities, including, but not limited to:

(i) distribution infrastructure improvements totaling an estimated $245,000,000, which may include bulk supply substations, transformers, reconductoring, and rebuilding overhead distribution and sub-transmission lines, underground residential distribution cable injection and replacement and mainline cable system refurbishment and replacement projects;

(ii) training facility construction or upgrade projects totaling an estimated $1,000,000; any such new facility must be designed for the purpose of obtaining, and the owner of the facility shall apply for, certification under the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Efficiency Design Green Building Rating System; and

(iii) wood pole inspection, treatment, and replacement programs; and

(B) over a 10-year period, invest an estimated $360,000,000 to upgrade and modernize its transmission and distribution infrastructure and in Smart Grid electric system upgrades, including, but not limited to:

(i) additional smart meters;

(ii) distribution automation;

(iii) associated cyber secure data communication network; and

(iv) substation micro-processor relay upgrades.

For purposes of this Section, "Smart Grid electric system upgrades" shall have the meaning set forth in subsection (a) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act.

The investments in the infrastructure investment program described in this subsection (b) shall be incremental to the participating utility's annual capital investment program, as defined by, for purposes of this subsection (b), the participating utility's average capital spend for calendar years 2008, 2009, and 2010 as reported in the applicable Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Form 1; provided that where one or more utilities have merged, the average capital spend shall be determined using the aggregate of the merged utilities' capital spend reported in FERC Form 1 for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010. A participating utility may add reasonable construction ramp-up and ramp-down time to the investment periods specified in this subsection (b). For each such investment period, the ramp-up and ramp-down time shall not exceed a total of 6 months.

Within 60 days after filing a tariff under subsection (c) of this Section, a participating utility shall submit to the Commission its plan, including scope, schedule, and staffing, for satisfying its infrastructure investment program commitments pursuant to this subsection (b). The submitted plan shall include a schedule and staffing plan for the next calendar year. The plan shall also include a plan for the creation, operation, and administration of a Smart Grid test bed as described in subsection (c) of Section 16-108.8. The plan need not allocate the work equally over the respective periods, but should allocate material increments throughout such periods commensurate with the work to be undertaken. No later than April 1 of each subsequent year, the utility shall submit to the Commission a report that includes any updates to the plan, a schedule for the next calendar year, the expenditures made for the prior calendar year and cumulatively, and the number of full-time equivalent jobs created for the prior calendar year and cumulatively. If the utility is materially deficient in satisfying a schedule or staffing plan, then the report must also include a corrective action plan to address the deficiency. The fact that the plan, implementation of the plan, or a schedule changes shall not imply the imprudence or unreasonableness of the infrastructure investment program, plan, or schedule. Further, no later than 45 days following the last day of the first, second, and third quarters of each year of the plan, a participating utility shall submit to the Commission a verified quarterly report for the prior quarter that includes (i) the total number of full-time equivalent jobs created during the prior quarter, (ii) the total number of employees as of the last day of the prior quarter, (iii) the total number of full-time equivalent hours in each job classification or job title, (iv) the total number of incremental employees and contractors in support of the investments undertaken pursuant to this subsection (b) for the prior quarter, and (v) any other information that the Commission may require by rule.

With respect to the participating utility's peak job commitment, if, after considering the utility's corrective action plan and compliance thereunder, the Commission enters an order finding, after notice and hearing, that a participating utility did not satisfy its peak job commitment described in this subsection (b) for reasons that are reasonably within its control, then the Commission shall also determine, after consideration of the evidence, including, but not limited to, evidence submitted by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the utility, the deficiency in the number of full-time equivalent jobs during the peak program year due to such failure. The Commission shall notify the Department of any proceeding that is initiated pursuant to this paragraph. For each full-time equivalent job deficiency during the peak program year that the Commission finds as set forth in this paragraph, the participating utility shall, within 30 days after the entry of the Commission's order, pay $6,000 to a fund for training grants administered under Section 605-800 of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law, which shall not be a recoverable expense.

With respect to the participating utility's investment amount commitments, if, after considering the utility's corrective action plan and compliance thereunder, the Commission enters an order finding, after notice and hearing, that a participating utility is not satisfying its investment amount commitments described in this subsection (b), then the utility shall no longer be eligible to annually update the performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section. In such event, the then current rates shall remain in effect until such time as new rates are set pursuant to Article IX of this Act, subject to retroactive adjustment, with interest, to reconcile rates charged with actual costs.

If the Commission finds that a participating utility is no longer eligible to update the performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section, or the performance-based formula rate is otherwise terminated, then the participating utility's voluntary commitments and obligations under this subsection (b) shall immediately terminate, except for the utility's obligation to pay an amount already owed to the fund for training grants pursuant to a Commission order.

In meeting the obligations of this subsection (b), to the extent feasible and consistent with State and federal law, the investments under the infrastructure investment program should provide employment opportunities for all segments of the population and workforce, including minority-owned and female-owned business enterprises, and shall not, consistent with State and federal law, discriminate based on race or socioeconomic status.

(b-5) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Commission from investigating the prudence and reasonableness of the expenditures made under the infrastructure investment program during the annual review required by subsection (d) of this Section and shall, as part of such investigation, determine whether the utility's actual costs under the program are prudent and reasonable. The fact that a participating utility invests more than the minimum amounts specified in subsection (b) of this Section or its plan shall not imply imprudence or unreasonableness.

If the participating utility finds that it is implementing its plan for satisfying the infrastructure investment program commitments described in subsection (b) of this Section at a cost below the estimated amounts specified in subsection (b) of this Section, then the utility may file a petition with the Commission requesting that it be permitted to satisfy its commitments by spending less than the estimated amounts specified in subsection (b) of this Section. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving, or approving as modified, or denying each such petition within 150 days after the filing of the petition.

In no event, absent General Assembly approval, shall the capital investment costs incurred by a participating utility other than a combination utility in satisfying its infrastructure investment program commitments described in subsection (b) of this Section exceed $3,000,000,000 or, for a participating utility that is a combination utility, $720,000,000. If the participating utility's updated cost estimates for satisfying its infrastructure investment program commitments described in subsection (b) of this Section exceed the limitation imposed by this subsection (b-5), then it shall submit a report to the Commission that identifies the increased costs and explains the reason or reasons for the increased costs no later than the year in which the utility estimates it will exceed the limitation. The Commission shall review the report and shall, within 90 days after the participating utility files the report, report to the General Assembly its findings regarding the participating utility's report. If the General Assembly does not amend the limitation imposed by this subsection (b-5), then the utility may modify its plan so as not to exceed the limitation imposed by this subsection (b-5) and may propose corresponding changes to the metrics established pursuant to subparagraphs (5) through (8) of subsection (f) of this Section, and the Commission may modify the metrics and incremental savings goals established pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section accordingly.

(b-10) All participating utilities shall make contributions for an energy low-income and support program in accordance with this subsection. Beginning no later than 180 days after a participating utility files a performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, or beginning no later than January 1, 2012 if such utility files such performance-based formula rate tariff within 14 days of December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646), and without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency other than as set forth in this Section, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required, a participating utility other than a combination utility shall pay $10,000,000 per year for 5 years and a participating utility that is a combination utility shall pay $1,000,000 per year for 10 years to the energy low-income and support program, which is intended to fund customer assistance programs with the primary purpose being avoidance of imminent disconnection. Such programs may include:

(1) a residential hardship program that may partner with community-based organizations, including senior citizen organizations, and provides grants to low-income residential customers, including low-income senior citizens, who demonstrate a hardship;

(2) a program that provides grants and other bill payment concessions to veterans with disabilities who demonstrate a hardship and members of the armed services or reserve forces of the United States or members of the Illinois National Guard who are on active duty pursuant to an executive order of the President of the United States, an act of the Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor and who demonstrate a hardship;

(3) a budget assistance program that provides tools and education to low-income senior citizens to assist them with obtaining information regarding energy usage and effective means of managing energy costs;

(4) a non-residential special hardship program that provides grants to non-residential customers such as small businesses and non-profit organizations that demonstrate a hardship, including those providing services to senior citizen and low-income customers; and

(5) a performance-based assistance program that provides grants to encourage residential customers to make on-time payments by matching a portion of the customer's payments or providing credits towards arrearages.

The payments made by a participating utility pursuant to this subsection (b-10) shall not be a recoverable expense. A participating utility may elect to fund either new or existing customer assistance programs, including, but not limited to, those that are administered by the utility.

Programs that use funds that are provided by a participating utility to reduce utility bills may be implemented through tariffs that are filed with and reviewed by the Commission. If a utility elects to file tariffs with the Commission to implement all or a portion of the programs, those tariffs shall, regardless of the date actually filed, be deemed accepted and approved, and shall become effective on December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646). The participating utilities whose customers benefit from the funds that are disbursed as contemplated in this Section shall file annual reports documenting the disbursement of those funds with the Commission. The Commission has the authority to audit disbursement of the funds to ensure they were disbursed consistently with this Section.

If the Commission finds that a participating utility is no longer eligible to update the performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section, or the performance-based formula rate is otherwise terminated, then the participating utility's voluntary commitments and obligations under this subsection (b-10) shall immediately terminate.

(c) A participating utility may elect to recover its delivery services costs through a performance-based formula rate approved by the Commission, which shall specify the cost components that form the basis of the rate charged to customers with sufficient specificity to operate in a standardized manner and be updated annually with transparent information that reflects the utility's actual costs to be recovered during the applicable rate year, which is the period beginning with the first billing day of January and extending through the last billing day of the following December. In the event the utility recovers a portion of its costs through automatic adjustment clause tariffs on October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616), the utility may elect to continue to recover these costs through such tariffs, but then these costs shall not be recovered through the performance-based formula rate. In the event the participating utility, prior to December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646), filed electric delivery services tariffs with the Commission pursuant to Section 9-201 of this Act that are related to the recovery of its electric delivery services costs that are still pending on December 30, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-646), the participating utility shall, at the time it files its performance-based formula rate tariff with the Commission, also file a notice of withdrawal with the Commission to withdraw the electric delivery services tariffs previously filed pursuant to Section 9-201 of this Act. Upon receipt of such notice, the Commission shall dismiss with prejudice any docket that had been initiated to investigate the electric delivery services tariffs filed pursuant to Section 9-201 of this Act, and such tariffs and the record related thereto shall not be the subject of any further hearing, investigation, or proceeding of any kind related to rates for electric delivery services.

The performance-based formula rate shall be implemented through a tariff filed with the Commission consistent with the provisions of this subsection (c) that shall be applicable to all delivery services customers. The Commission shall initiate and conduct an investigation of the tariff in a manner consistent with the provisions of this subsection (c) and the provisions of Article IX of this Act to the extent they do not conflict with this subsection (c). Except in the case where the Commission finds, after notice and hearing, that a participating utility is not satisfying its investment amount commitments under subsection (b) of this Section, the performance-based formula rate shall remain in effect at the discretion of the utility. The performance-based formula rate approved by the Commission shall do the following:

(1) Provide for the recovery of the utility's actual costs of delivery services that are prudently incurred and reasonable in amount consistent with Commission practice and law. The sole fact that a cost differs from that incurred in a prior calendar year or that an investment is different from that made in a prior calendar year shall not imply the imprudence or unreasonableness of that cost or investment.

(2) Reflect the utility's actual year-end capital structure for the applicable calendar year, excluding goodwill, subject to a determination of prudence and reasonableness consistent with Commission practice and law. To enable the financing of the incremental capital expenditures, including regulatory assets, for electric utilities that serve less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 retail customers in the State, a participating electric utility's actual year-end capital structure that includes a common equity ratio, excluding goodwill, of up to and including 50% of the total capital structure shall be deemed reasonable and used to set rates.

(3) Include a cost of equity, which shall be calculated as the sum of the following:

(A) the average for the applicable calendar year of the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication; and

(B) 580 basis points.

At such time as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ceases to include the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication, the monthly average yields of the U.S. Treasury bonds then having the longest duration published by the Board of Governors in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication shall instead be used for purposes of this paragraph (3).

(4) Permit and set forth protocols, subject to a determination of prudence and reasonableness consistent with Commission practice and law, for the following:

(A) recovery of incentive compensation expense that is based on the achievement of operational metrics, including metrics related to budget controls, outage duration and frequency, safety, customer service, efficiency and productivity, and environmental compliance. Incentive compensation expense that is based on net income or an affiliate's earnings per share shall not be recoverable under the performance-based formula rate;

(B) recovery of pension and other post-employment benefits expense, provided that such costs are supported by an actuarial study;

(C) recovery of severance costs, provided that if the amount is over $3,700,000 for a participating utility that is a combination utility or $10,000,000 for a participating utility that serves more than 3 million retail customers, then the full amount shall be amortized consistent with subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (4);

(D) investment return at a rate equal to the utility's weighted average cost of long-term debt, on the pension assets as, and in the amount, reported in Account 186 (or in such other Account or Accounts as such asset may subsequently be recorded) of the utility's most recently filed FERC Form 1, net of deferred tax benefits;

(E) recovery of the expenses related to the Commission proceeding under this subsection (c) to approve this performance-based formula rate and initial rates or to subsequent proceedings related to the formula, provided that the recovery shall be amortized over a 3-year period; recovery of expenses related to the annual Commission proceedings under subsection (d) of this Section to review the inputs to the performance-based formula rate shall be expensed and recovered through the performance-based formula rate;

(F) amortization over a 5-year period of the full amount of each charge or credit that exceeds $3,700,000 for a participating utility that is a combination utility or $10,000,000 for a participating utility that serves more than 3 million retail customers in the applicable calendar year and that relates to a workforce reduction program's severance costs, changes in accounting rules, changes in law, compliance with any Commission-initiated audit, or a single storm or other similar expense, provided that any unamortized balance shall be reflected in the rate base. For purposes of this subparagraph (F), changes in law includes any enactment, repeal, or amendment in a law, ordinance, rule, regulation, interpretation, permit, license, consent, or order, including those relating to taxes, accounting, or to environmental matters, or in the interpretation or application thereof by any governmental authority occurring after October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616);

(G) recovery of existing regulatory assets over the periods previously authorized by the Commission;

(H) historical weather normalized billing determinants; and

(I) allocation methods for common costs.

(5) Provide that if the participating utility's earned rate of return on common equity related to the provision of delivery services for the prior rate year (calculated using costs and capital structure approved by the Commission as provided in subparagraph (2) of this subsection (c), consistent with this Section, in accordance with Commission rules and orders, including, but not limited to, adjustments for goodwill, and after any Commission-ordered disallowances and taxes) is more than 50 basis points higher than the rate of return on common equity calculated pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (c) (after adjusting for any penalties to the rate of return on common equity applied pursuant to the performance metrics provision of subsection (f) of this Section), then the participating utility shall apply a credit through the performance-based formula rate that reflects an amount equal to the value of that portion of the earned rate of return on common equity that is more than 50 basis points higher than the rate of return on common equity calculated pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (c) (after adjusting for any penalties to the rate of return on common equity applied pursuant to the performance metrics provision of subsection (f) of this Section) for the prior rate year, adjusted for taxes. If the participating utility's earned rate of return on common equity related to the provision of delivery services for the prior rate year (calculated using costs and capital structure approved by the Commission as provided in subparagraph (2) of this subsection (c), consistent with this Section, in accordance with Commission rules and orders, including, but not limited to, adjustments for goodwill, and after any Commission-ordered disallowances and taxes) is more than 50 basis points less than the return on common equity calculated pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (c) (after adjusting for any penalties to the rate of return on common equity applied pursuant to the performance metrics provision of subsection (f) of this Section), then the participating utility shall apply a charge through the performance-based formula rate that reflects an amount equal to the value of that portion of the earned rate of return on common equity that is more than 50 basis points less than the rate of return on common equity calculated pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (c) (after adjusting for any penalties to the rate of return on common equity applied pursuant to the performance metrics provision of subsection (f) of this Section) for the prior rate year, adjusted for taxes.

(6) Provide for an annual reconciliation, as described in subsection (d) of this Section, with interest, of the revenue requirement reflected in rates for each calendar year, beginning with the calendar year in which the utility files its performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, with what the revenue requirement would have been had the actual cost information for the applicable calendar year been available at the filing date.

The utility shall file, together with its tariff, final data based on its most recently filed FERC Form 1, plus projected plant additions and correspondingly updated depreciation reserve and expense for the calendar year in which the tariff and data are filed, that shall populate the performance-based formula rate and set the initial delivery services rates under the formula. For purposes of this Section, "FERC Form 1" means the Annual Report of Major Electric Utilities, Licensees and Others that electric utilities are required to file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Federal Power Act, Sections 3, 4(a), 304 and 209, modified as necessary to be consistent with 83 Ill. Adm. Code Part 415 as of May 1, 2011. Nothing in this Section is intended to allow costs that are not otherwise recoverable to be recoverable by virtue of inclusion in FERC Form 1.

After the utility files its proposed performance-based formula rate structure and protocols and initial rates, the Commission shall initiate a docket to review the filing. The Commission shall enter an order approving, or approving as modified, the performance-based formula rate, including the initial rates, as just and reasonable within 270 days after the date on which the tariff was filed, or, if the tariff is filed within 14 days after October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616), then by May 31, 2012. Such review shall be based on the same evidentiary standards, including, but not limited to, those concerning the prudence and reasonableness of the costs incurred by the utility, the Commission applies in a hearing to review a filing for a general increase in rates under Article IX of this Act. The initial rates shall take effect within 30 days after the Commission's order approving the performance-based formula rate tariff.

Until such time as the Commission approves a different rate design and cost allocation pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section, rate design and cost allocation across customer classes shall be consistent with the Commission's most recent order regarding the participating utility's request for a general increase in its delivery services rates.

Subsequent changes to the performance-based formula rate structure or protocols shall be made as set forth in Section 9-201 of this Act, but nothing in this subsection (c) is intended to limit the Commission's authority under Article IX and other provisions of this Act to initiate an investigation of a participating utility's performance-based formula rate tariff, provided that any such changes shall be consistent with paragraphs (1) through (6) of this subsection (c). Any change ordered by the Commission shall be made at the same time new rates take effect following the Commission's next order pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section, provided that the new rates take effect no less than 30 days after the date on which the Commission issues an order adopting the change.

A participating utility that files a tariff pursuant to this subsection (c) must submit a one-time $200,000 filing fee at the time the Chief Clerk of the Commission accepts the filing, which shall be a recoverable expense.

In the event the performance-based formula rate is terminated, the then current rates shall remain in effect until such time as new rates are set pursuant to Article IX of this Act, subject to retroactive rate adjustment, with interest, to reconcile rates charged with actual costs. At such time that the performance-based formula rate is terminated, the participating utility's voluntary commitments and obligations under subsection (b) of this Section shall immediately terminate, except for the utility's obligation to pay an amount already owed to the fund for training grants pursuant to a Commission order issued under subsection (b) of this Section.

(d) Subsequent to the Commission's issuance of an order approving the utility's performance-based formula rate structure and protocols, and initial rates under subsection (c) of this Section, the utility shall file, on or before May 1 of each year, with the Chief Clerk of the Commission its updated cost inputs to the performance-based formula rate for the applicable rate year and the corresponding new charges. Each such filing shall conform to the following requirements and include the following information:

(1) The inputs to the performance-based formula rate for the applicable rate year shall be based on final historical data reflected in the utility's most recently filed annual FERC Form 1 plus projected plant additions and correspondingly updated depreciation reserve and expense for the calendar year in which the inputs are filed. The filing shall also include a reconciliation of the revenue requirement that was in effect for the prior rate year (as set by the cost inputs for the prior rate year) with the actual revenue requirement for the prior rate year (determined using a year-end rate base) that uses amounts reflected in the applicable FERC Form 1 that reports the actual costs for the prior rate year. Any over-collection or under-collection indicated by such reconciliation shall be reflected as a credit against, or recovered as an additional charge to, respectively, with interest calculated at a rate equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital approved by the Commission for the prior rate year, the charges for the applicable rate year. Provided, however, that the first such reconciliation shall be for the calendar year in which the utility files its performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section and shall reconcile (i) the revenue requirement or requirements established by the rate order or orders in effect from time to time during such calendar year (weighted, as applicable) with (ii) the revenue requirement determined using a year-end rate base for that calendar year calculated pursuant to the performance-based formula rate using (A) actual costs for that year as reflected in the applicable FERC Form 1, and (B) for the first such reconciliation only, the cost of equity, which shall be calculated as the sum of 590 basis points plus the average for the applicable calendar year of the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication. The first such reconciliation is not intended to provide for the recovery of costs previously excluded from rates based on a prior Commission order finding of imprudence or unreasonableness. Each reconciliation shall be certified by the participating utility in the same manner that FERC Form 1 is certified. The filing shall also include the charge or credit, if any, resulting from the calculation required by paragraph (6) of subsection (c) of this Section.

Notwithstanding anything that may be to the contrary, the intent of the reconciliation is to ultimately reconcile the revenue requirement reflected in rates for each calendar year, beginning with the calendar year in which the utility files its performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, with what the revenue requirement determined using a year-end rate base for the applicable calendar year would have been had the actual cost information for the applicable calendar year been available at the filing date.

(2) The new charges shall take effect beginning on the first billing day of the following January billing period and remain in effect through the last billing day of the next December billing period regardless of whether the Commission enters upon a hearing pursuant to this subsection (d).

(3) The filing shall include relevant and necessary data and documentation for the applicable rate year that is consistent with the Commission's rules applicable to a filing for a general increase in rates or any rules adopted by the Commission to implement this Section. Normalization adjustments shall not be required. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or Act or any rule or other requirement adopted by the Commission, a participating utility that is a combination utility with more than one rate zone shall not be required to file a separate set of such data and documentation for each rate zone and may combine such data and documentation into a single set of schedules.

Within 45 days after the utility files its annual update of cost inputs to the performance-based formula rate, the Commission shall have the authority, either upon complaint or its own initiative, but with reasonable notice, to enter upon a hearing concerning the prudence and reasonableness of the costs incurred by the utility to be recovered during the applicable rate year that are reflected in the inputs to the performance-based formula rate derived from the utility's FERC Form 1. During the course of the hearing, each objection shall be stated with particularity and evidence provided in support thereof, after which the utility shall have the opportunity to rebut the evidence. Discovery shall be allowed consistent with the Commission's Rules of Practice, which Rules shall be enforced by the Commission or the assigned administrative law judge. The Commission shall apply the same evidentiary standards, including, but not limited to, those concerning the prudence and reasonableness of the costs incurred by the utility, in the hearing as it would apply in a hearing to review a filing for a general increase in rates under Article IX of this Act. The Commission shall not, however, have the authority in a proceeding under this subsection (d) to consider or order any changes to the structure or protocols of the performance-based formula rate approved pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section. In a proceeding under this subsection (d), the Commission shall enter its order no later than the earlier of 240 days after the utility's filing of its annual update of cost inputs to the performance-based formula rate or December 31. The Commission's determinations of the prudence and reasonableness of the costs incurred for the applicable calendar year shall be final upon entry of the Commission's order and shall not be subject to reopening, reexamination, or collateral attack in any other Commission proceeding, case, docket, order, rule or regulation, provided, however, that nothing in this subsection (d) shall prohibit a party from petitioning the Commission to rehear or appeal to the courts the order pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

In the event the Commission does not, either upon complaint or its own initiative, enter upon a hearing within 45 days after the utility files the annual update of cost inputs to its performance-based formula rate, then the costs incurred for the applicable calendar year shall be deemed prudent and reasonable, and the filed charges shall not be subject to reopening, reexamination, or collateral attack in any other proceeding, case, docket, order, rule, or regulation.

A participating utility's first filing of the updated cost inputs, and any Commission investigation of such inputs pursuant to this subsection (d) shall proceed notwithstanding the fact that the Commission's investigation under subsection (c) of this Section is still pending and notwithstanding any other law, order, rule, or Commission practice to the contrary.

(e) Nothing in subsections (c) or (d) of this Section shall prohibit the Commission from investigating, or a participating utility from filing, revenue-neutral tariff changes related to rate design of a performance-based formula rate that has been placed into effect for the utility. Following approval of a participating utility's performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, the utility shall make a filing with the Commission within one year after the effective date of the performance-based formula rate tariff that proposes changes to the tariff to incorporate the findings of any final rate design orders of the Commission applicable to the participating utility and entered subsequent to the Commission's approval of the tariff. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving, or approving with modification, the proposed changes to the performance-based formula rate tariff within 240 days after the utility's filing. Following such approval, the utility shall make a filing with the Commission during each subsequent 3-year period that either proposes revenue-neutral tariff changes or re-files the existing tariffs without change, which shall present the Commission with an opportunity to suspend the tariffs and consider revenue-neutral tariff changes related to rate design.

(f) Within 30 days after the filing of a tariff pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, each participating utility shall develop and file with the Commission multi-year metrics designed to achieve, ratably (i.e., in equal segments) over a 10-year period, improvement over baseline performance values as follows:

(1) Twenty percent improvement in the System Average Interruption Frequency Index, using a baseline of the average of the data from 2001 through 2010.

(2) Fifteen percent improvement in the system Customer Average Interruption Duration Index, using a baseline of the average of the data from 2001 through 2010.

(3) For a participating utility other than a combination utility, 20% improvement in the System Average Interruption Frequency Index for its Southern Region, using a baseline of the average of the data from 2001 through 2010. For purposes of this paragraph (3), Southern Region shall have the meaning set forth in the participating utility's most recent report filed pursuant to Section 16-125 of this Act.

(3.5) For a participating utility other than a combination utility, 20% improvement in the System Average Interruption Frequency Index for its Northeastern Region, using a baseline of the average of the data from 2001 through 2010. For purposes of this paragraph (3.5), Northeastern Region shall have the meaning set forth in the participating utility's most recent report filed pursuant to Section 16-125 of this Act.

(4) Seventy-five percent improvement in the total number of customers who exceed the service reliability targets as set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 411.140 as of May 1, 2011, using 2010 as the baseline year.

(5) Reduction in issuance of estimated electric bills: 90% improvement for a participating utility other than a combination utility, and 56% improvement for a participating utility that is a combination utility, using a baseline of the average number of estimated bills for the years 2008 through 2010.

(6) Consumption on inactive meters: 90% improvement for a participating utility other than a combination utility, and 56% improvement for a participating utility that is a combination utility, using a baseline of the average unbilled kilowatthours for the years 2009 and 2010.

(7) Unaccounted for energy: 50% improvement for a participating utility other than a combination utility using a baseline of the non-technical line loss unaccounted for energy kilowatthours for the year 2009.

(8) Uncollectible expense: reduce uncollectible expense by at least $30,000,000 for a participating utility other than a combination utility and by at least $3,500,000 for a participating utility that is a combination utility, using a baseline of the average uncollectible expense for the years 2008 through 2010.

(9) Opportunities for minority-owned and female-owned business enterprises: design a performance metric regarding the creation of opportunities for minority-owned and female-owned business enterprises consistent with State and federal law using a base performance value of the percentage of the participating utility's capital expenditures that were paid to minority-owned and female-owned business enterprises in 2010.

The definitions set forth in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 411.20 as of May 1, 2011 shall be used for purposes of calculating performance under paragraphs (1) through (3.5) of this subsection (f), provided, however, that the participating utility may exclude up to 9 extreme weather event days from such calculation for each year, and provided further that the participating utility shall exclude 9 extreme weather event days when calculating each year of the baseline period to the extent that there are 9 such days in a given year of the baseline period. For purposes of this Section, an extreme weather event day is a 24-hour calendar day (beginning at 12:00 a.m. and ending at 11:59 p.m.) during which any weather event (e.g., storm, tornado) caused interruptions for 10,000 or more of the participating utility's customers for 3 hours or more. If there are more than 9 extreme weather event days in a year, then the utility may choose no more than 9 extreme weather event days to exclude, provided that the same extreme weather event days are excluded from each of the calculations performed under paragraphs (1) through (3.5) of this subsection (f).

The metrics shall include incremental performance goals for each year of the 10-year period, which shall be designed to demonstrate that the utility is on track to achieve the performance goal in each category at the end of the 10-year period. The utility shall elect when the 10-year period shall commence for the metrics set forth in subparagraphs (1) through (4) and (9) of this subsection (f), provided that it begins no later than 14 months following the date on which the utility begins investing pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section, and when the 10-year period shall commence for the metrics set forth in subparagraphs (5) through (8) of this subsection (f), provided that it begins no later than 14 months following the date on which the Commission enters its order approving the utility's Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment Plan pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act.

The metrics and performance goals set forth in subparagraphs (5) through (8) of this subsection (f) are based on the assumptions that the participating utility may fully implement the technology described in subsection (b) of this Section, including utilizing the full functionality of such technology and that there is no requirement for personal on-site notification. If the utility is unable to meet the metrics and performance goals set forth in subparagraphs (5) through (8) of this subsection (f) for such reasons, and the Commission so finds after notice and hearing, then the utility shall be excused from compliance, but only to the limited extent achievement of the affected metrics and performance goals was hindered by the less than full implementation.

(f-5) The financial penalties applicable to the metrics described in subparagraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (f) of this Section, as applicable, shall be applied through an adjustment to the participating utility's return on equity of no more than a total of 30 basis points in each of the first 3 years, of no more than a total of 34 basis points in each of the 3 years thereafter, and of no more than a total of 38 basis points in each of the 4 years thereafter, as follows:

(1) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of this Section,

(A) for each year that a participating utility other than a combination utility does not achieve the annual goal, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced as follows: during years 1 through 3, by 5 basis points; during years 4 through 6, by 6 basis points; and during years 7 through 10, by 7 basis points; and

(B) for each year that a participating utility that is a combination utility does not achieve the annual goal, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced as follows: during years 1 through 3, by 10 basis points; during years 4 through 6, by 12 basis points; and during years 7 through 10, by 14 basis points.

(2) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Section, for each year that the participating utility does not achieve each such goal, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced as follows: during years 1 through 3, by 5 basis points; during years 4 through 6, by 6 basis points; and during years 7 through 10, by 7 basis points.

(3) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (3.5) of subsection (f) of this Section, for each year that a participating utility other than a combination utility does not achieve both such goals, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced as follows: during years 1 through 3, by 5 basis points; during years 4 through 6, by 6 basis points; and during years 7 through 10, by 7 basis points.

(4) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (f) of this Section, for each year that the participating utility does not achieve each such goal, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced as follows: during years 1 through 3, by 5 basis points; during years 4 through 6, by 6 basis points; and during years 7 through 10, by 7 basis points.

(5) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to subparagraph (5) of subsection (f) of this Section, for each year that the participating utility does not achieve at least 95% of each such goal, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced by 5 basis points for each such unachieved goal.

(6) With respect to each of the incremental annual performance goals established pursuant to paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) of subsection (f) of this Section, as applicable, which together measure non-operational customer savings and benefits relating to the implementation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment Plan, as defined in Section 16-108.6 of this Act, the performance under each such goal shall be calculated in terms of the percentage of the goal achieved. The percentage of goal achieved for each of the goals shall be aggregated, and an average percentage value calculated, for each year of the 10-year period. If the utility does not achieve an average percentage value in a given year of at least 95%, the participating utility's return on equity shall be reduced by 5 basis points.

The financial penalties shall be applied as described in this subsection (f-5) for the 12-month period in which the deficiency occurred through a separate tariff mechanism, which shall be filed by the utility together with its metrics. In the event the formula rate tariff established pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section terminates, the utility's obligations under subsection (f) of this Section and this subsection (f-5) shall also terminate, provided, however, that the tariff mechanism established pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section and this subsection (f-5) shall remain in effect until any penalties due and owing at the time of such termination are applied.

The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order within 120 days after the metrics are filed approving, or approving with modification, a participating utility's tariff or mechanism to satisfy the metrics set forth in subsection (f) of this Section. On June 1 of each subsequent year, each participating utility shall file a report with the Commission that includes, among other things, a description of how the participating utility performed under each metric and an identification of any extraordinary events that adversely impacted the utility's performance. Whenever a participating utility does not satisfy the metrics required pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving financial penalties in accordance with this subsection (f-5). The Commission-approved financial penalties shall be applied beginning with the next rate year. Nothing in this Section shall authorize the Commission to reduce or otherwise obviate the imposition of financial penalties for failing to achieve one or more of the metrics established pursuant to subparagraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (f) of this Section.

(g) On or before July 31, 2014, each participating utility shall file a report with the Commission that sets forth the average annual increase in the average amount paid per kilowatthour for residential eligible retail customers, exclusive of the effects of energy efficiency programs, comparing the 12-month period ending May 31, 2012; the 12-month period ending May 31, 2013; and the 12-month period ending May 31, 2014. For a participating utility that is a combination utility with more than one rate zone, the weighted average aggregate increase shall be provided. The report shall be filed together with a statement from an independent auditor attesting to the accuracy of the report. The cost of the independent auditor shall be borne by the participating utility and shall not be a recoverable expense. "The average amount paid per kilowatthour" shall be based on the participating utility's tariffed rates actually in effect and shall not be calculated using any hypothetical rate or adjustments to actual charges (other than as specified for energy efficiency) as an input.

In the event that the average annual increase exceeds 2.5% as calculated pursuant to this subsection (g), then Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act, other than this subsection, shall be inoperative as they relate to the utility and its service area as of the date of the report due to be submitted pursuant to this subsection and the utility shall no longer be eligible to annually update the performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section. In such event, the then current rates shall remain in effect until such time as new rates are set pursuant to Article IX of this Act, subject to retroactive adjustment, with interest, to reconcile rates charged with actual costs, and the participating utility's voluntary commitments and obligations under subsection (b) of this Section shall immediately terminate, except for the utility's obligation to pay an amount already owed to the fund for training grants pursuant to a Commission order issued under subsection (b) of this Section.

In the event that the average annual increase is 2.5% or less as calculated pursuant to this subsection (g), then the performance-based formula rate shall remain in effect as set forth in this Section.

For purposes of this Section, the amount per kilowatthour means the total amount paid for electric service expressed on a per kilowatthour basis, and the total amount paid for electric service includes without limitation amounts paid for supply, transmission, distribution, surcharges, and add-on taxes exclusive of any increases in taxes or new taxes imposed after October 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-616). For purposes of this Section, "eligible retail customers" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 16-111.5 of this Act.

The fact that this Section becomes inoperative as set forth in this subsection shall not be construed to mean that the Commission may reexamine or otherwise reopen prudence or reasonableness determinations already made.

(h) By December 31, 2017, the Commission shall prepare and file with the General Assembly a report on the infrastructure program and the performance-based formula rate. The report shall include the change in the average amount per kilowatthour paid by residential customers between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2017. If the change in the total average rate paid exceeds 2.5% compounded annually, the Commission shall include in the report an analysis that shows the portion of the change due to the delivery services component and the portion of the change due to the supply component of the rate. The report shall include separate sections for each participating utility.

Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act, other than this subsection (h) and subsection (i) of this Section, are inoperative after December 31, 2022 for every participating utility, after which time a participating utility shall no longer be eligible to annually update the performance-based formula rate tariff pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section. At such time, the then current rates shall remain in effect until such time as new rates are set pursuant to Article IX of this Act, subject to retroactive adjustment, with interest, to reconcile rates charged with actual costs.

The fact that this Section becomes inoperative as set forth in this subsection shall not be construed to mean that the Commission may reexamine or otherwise reopen prudence or reasonableness determinations already made.

(i) While a participating utility may use, develop, and maintain broadband systems and the delivery of broadband services, voice-over-internet-protocol services, telecommunications services, and cable and video programming services for use in providing delivery services and Smart Grid functionality or application to its retail customers, including, but not limited to, the installation, implementation and maintenance of Smart Grid electric system upgrades as defined in Section 16-108.6 of this Act, a participating utility is prohibited from providing to its retail customers broadband services, voice-over-internet-protocol services, telecommunications services, or cable or video programming services, unless they are part of a service directly related to delivery services or Smart Grid functionality or applications as defined in Section 16-108.6 of this Act, and from recovering the costs of such offerings from retail customers. The prohibition set forth in this subsection (i) is inoperative after December 31, 2027 for every participating utility.

(j) Nothing in this Section is intended to legislatively overturn the opinion issued in Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Ill. Commerce Comm'n, Nos. 2-08-0959, 2-08-1037, 2-08-1137, 1-08-3008, 1-08-3030, 1-08-3054, 1-08-3313 cons. (Ill. App. Ct. 2d Dist. Sept. 30, 2010). Public Act 97-616 shall not be construed as creating a contract between the General Assembly and the participating utility, and shall not establish a property right in the participating utility.

(k) The changes made in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section by Public Act 98-15 are intended to be a restatement and clarification of existing law, and intended to give binding effect to the provisions of House Resolution 1157 adopted by the House of Representatives of the 97th General Assembly and Senate Resolution 821 adopted by the Senate of the 97th General Assembly that are reflected in paragraph (3) of this subsection. In addition, Public Act 98-15 preempts and supersedes any final Commission orders entered in Docket Nos. 11-0721, 12-0001, 12-0293, and 12-0321 to the extent inconsistent with the amendatory language added to subsections (c) and (d).

(1) No earlier than 5 business days after May 22, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-15), each participating utility shall file any tariff changes necessary to implement the amendatory language set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section by Public Act 98-15 and a revised revenue requirement under the participating utility's performance-based formula rate. The Commission shall enter a final order approving such tariff changes and revised revenue requirement within 21 days after the participating utility's filing.

(2) Notwithstanding anything that may be to the contrary, a participating utility may file a tariff to retroactively recover its previously unrecovered actual costs of delivery service that are no longer subject to recovery through a reconciliation adjustment under subsection (d) of this Section. This retroactive recovery shall include any derivative adjustments resulting from the changes to subsections (c) and (d) of this Section by Public Act 98-15. Such tariff shall allow the utility to assess, on current customer bills over a period of 12 monthly billing periods, a charge or credit related to those unrecovered costs with interest at the utility's weighted average cost of capital during the period in which those costs were unrecovered. A participating utility may file a tariff that implements a retroactive charge or credit as described in this paragraph for amounts not otherwise included in the tariff filing provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection (k). The Commission shall enter a final order approving such tariff within 21 days after the participating utility's filing.

(3) The tariff changes described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (k) shall relate only to, and be consistent with, the following provisions of Public Act 98-15: paragraph (2) of subsection (c) regarding year-end capital structure, subparagraph (D) of paragraph (4) of subsection (c) regarding pension assets, and subsection (d) regarding the reconciliation components related to year-end rate base and interest calculated at a rate equal to the utility's weighted average cost of capital.

(4) Nothing in this subsection is intended to effect a dismissal of or otherwise affect an appeal from any final Commission orders entered in Docket Nos. 11-0721, 12-0001, 12-0293, and 12-0321 other than to the extent of the amendatory language contained in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section of Public Act 98-15.

(l) Each participating utility shall be deemed to have been in full compliance with all requirements of subsection (b) of this Section, subsection (c) of this Section, Section 16-108.6 of this Act, and all Commission orders entered pursuant to Sections 16-108.5 and 16-108.6 of this Act, up to and including May 22, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-15). The Commission shall not undertake any investigation of such compliance and no penalty shall be assessed or adverse action taken against a participating utility for noncompliance with Commission orders associated with subsection (b) of this Section, subsection (c) of this Section, and Section 16-108.6 of this Act prior to such date. Each participating utility other than a combination utility shall be permitted, without penalty, a period of 12 months after such effective date to take actions required to ensure its infrastructure investment program is in compliance with subsection (b) of this Section and with Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Provided further, the following subparagraphs shall apply to a participating utility other than a combination utility:

(A) if the Commission has initiated a proceeding pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act that is pending as of May 22, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-15), then the order entered in such proceeding shall, after notice and hearing, accelerate the commencement of the meter deployment schedule approved in the final Commission order on rehearing entered in Docket No. 12-0298;

(B) if the Commission has entered an order pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act prior to May 22, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-15) that does not accelerate the commencement of the meter deployment schedule approved in the final Commission order on rehearing entered in Docket No. 12-0298, then the utility shall file with the Commission, within 45 days after such effective date, a plan for accelerating the commencement of the utility's meter deployment schedule approved in the final Commission order on rehearing entered in Docket No. 12-0298; the Commission shall reopen the proceeding in which it entered its order pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act and shall, after notice and hearing, enter an amendatory order that approves or approves as modified such accelerated plan within 90 days after the utility's filing; or

(C) if the Commission has not initiated a proceeding pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act prior to May 22, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-15), then the utility shall file with the Commission, within 45 days after such effective date, a plan for accelerating the commencement of the utility's meter deployment schedule approved in the final Commission order on rehearing entered in Docket No. 12-0298 and the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, approve or approve as modified such plan within 90 days after the utility's filing.

Any schedule for meter deployment approved by the Commission pursuant to this subsection (l) shall take into consideration procurement times for meters and other equipment and operational issues. Nothing in Public Act 98-15 shall shorten or extend the end dates for the 5-year or 10-year periods set forth in subsection (b) of this Section or Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Nothing in this subsection is intended to address whether a participating utility has, or has not, satisfied any or all of the metrics and performance goals established pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section.

(m) The provisions of Public Act 98-15 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

(Source: P.A. 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.6)

Sec. 16-108.6. Provisions relating to Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment Plan.

(a) For purposes of this Section and Sections 16-108.7 and 16-108.8 of this Act:

"Advanced Metering Infrastructure" or "AMI" means the communications hardware and software and associated system software that enables Smart Grid functions by creating a network between advanced meters and utility business systems and allowing collection and distribution of information to customers and other parties in addition to providing information to the utility itself.

"Cost-beneficial" means a determination that the benefits of a participating utility's Smart Grid AMI Deployment Plan exceed the costs of the Smart Grid AMI Deployment Plan as initially filed with the Commission or as subsequently modified by the Commission. This standard is met if the present value of the total benefits of the Smart Grid AMI Deployment Plan exceeds the present value of the total costs of the Smart Grid AMI Deployment Plan. The total cost shall include all utility costs reasonably associated with the Smart Grid AMI Deployment Plan. The total benefits shall include the sum of avoided electricity costs, including avoided utility operational costs, avoided consumer power, capacity, and energy costs, and avoided societal costs associated with the production and consumption of electricity, as well as other societal benefits, including the greater integration of renewable and distributed power resources, reductions in the emissions of harmful pollutants and associated avoided health-related costs, other benefits associated with energy efficiency measures, demand-response activities, and the enabling of greater penetration of alternative fuel vehicles.

"Participating utility" has the meaning set forth in Section 16-108.5 of this Act.

"Smart Grid" means investments and policies that together promote one or more of the following goals:

(1) Increased use of digital information and controls technology to improve reliability, security, and efficiency of the electric grid.

(2) Dynamic optimization of grid operations and resources, with full cyber security.

(3) Deployment and integration of distributed resources and generation, including renewable resources.

(4) Development and incorporation of demand-response, demand-side resources, and energy efficiency resources.

(5) Deployment of "smart" technologies (real-time, automated, interactive technologies that optimize the physical operation of appliances and consumer devices) for metering, communications concerning grid operations and status, and distribution automation.

(6) Integration of "smart" appliances and consumer devices.

(7) Deployment and integration of advanced electricity storage and peak-shaving technologies, including plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles, thermal-storage air conditioning and renewable energy generation.

(8) Provision to consumers of timely information and control options.

(9) Development of open access standards for communication and interoperability of appliances and equipment connected to the electric grid, including the infrastructure serving the grid.

(10) Identification and lowering of unreasonable or unnecessary barriers to adoption of Smart Grid technologies, practices, services, and business models that support energy efficiency, demand-response, and distributed generation.

"Smart Grid Advisory Council" means the group of stakeholders formed pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section for the purposes of advising and working with participating utilities on the development and implementation of a Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment Plan.

"Smart Grid electric system upgrades" means any of the following:

(1) metering devices, sensors, control devices, and other devices integrated with and attached to an electric utility system that are capable of engaging in Smart Grid functions;

(2) other monitoring and communications devices that enable Smart Grid functions, including, but not limited to, distribution automation;

(3) software that enables devices or computers to engage in Smart Grid functions;

(4) associated cyber secure data communication network, including enhancements to cyber-security technologies and measures;

(5) substation micro-processor relay upgrades;

(6) devices that allow electric or hybrid-electric vehicles to engage in Smart Grid functions; or

(7) devices that enable individual consumers to incorporate distributed and micro-generation.

"Smart Grid electric system upgrades" does not include expenditures for: (1) electricity generation, transmission, or distribution infrastructure or equipment that does not directly relate to or support installing, implementing or enabling Smart Grid functions; (2) physical interconnection of generators or other devices to the grid except those that are directly related to enabling Smart Grid functions; or (3) ongoing or routine operation, billing, customer relations, security, and maintenance.

"Smart Grid functions" means:

(1) the ability to develop, store, send, and receive digital information concerning or enabling grid operations, electricity use, costs, prices, time of use, nature of use, storage, or other information relevant to device, grid, or utility operations, to or from or by means of the electric utility system through one or a combination of devices and technologies;

(2) the ability to develop, store, send, and receive digital information concerning electricity use, costs, prices, time of use, nature of use, storage, or other information relevant to device, grid, or utility operations to or from a computer or other control device;

(3) the ability to measure or monitor electricity use as a function of time of day, power quality characteristics such as voltage level, current, cycles per second, or source or type of generation and to store, synthesize, or report that information by digital means;

(4) the ability to sense and localize disruptions or changes in power flows on the grid and communicate such information instantaneously and automatically for purposes of enabling automatic protective responses to sustain reliability and security of grid operations;

(5) the ability to detect, prevent, communicate with regard to, respond to, or recover from system security threats, including cyber-security threats and terrorism, using digital information, media, and devices;

(6) the ability of any device or machine to respond to signals, measurements, or communications automatically or in a manner programmed by its owner or operator without independent human intervention;

(7) the ability to use digital information to operate functionalities on the electric utility grid that were previously electro-mechanical or manual;

(8) the ability to use digital controls to manage and modify electricity demand, enable congestion management, assist in voltage control, provide operating reserves, and provide frequency regulation; or

(9) the ability to integrate electric plug-in vehicles, distributed generation, and storage in a safe and cost-effective manner on the electric grid.

(b) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Smart Grid Advisory Council shall be established, which shall consist of 9 total voting members with each member possessing either technical, business or consumer expertise in Smart Grid issues, 5 of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, one of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate. Of the Governor's 5 appointments: (i) at least one must represent a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to cultivate innovation and technology-based economic development in Illinois by fostering public-private partnerships to develop and execute research and development projects, advocating for funding for research and development initiatives, and collaborating with public and private partners to attract and retain research and development resources and talent in Illinois; (ii) at least one must represent a non-profit public body corporate and politic created by law that has a duty to represent and protect residential utility consumers in Illinois; (iii) at least one must represent a membership organization that represents the interests of individuals and companies that own, operate, manage, and service commercial buildings in a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants; and (iv) at least one must represent an alternative retail electric supplier that has obtained a certificate of service authority pursuant to Section 16-115 of this Act and that is not an affiliate of a participating utility prior to one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

The Governor shall designate one of the members of the Council to serve as chairman, and that person shall serve as the chairman at the pleasure of the Governor. The members shall not be compensated for serving on the Smart Grid Advisory Council. The Smart Grid Advisory Council shall have the following duties:

(1) Serve as an advisor to participating utilities subject to this Section and in the manner described in this Section, and the recommendations provided by the Council, although non-binding, shall be considered by the utilities.

(2) Serve as trustees of the trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act with the duties enumerated thereunder.

(c) After consultation with the Smart Grid Advisory Council, each participating utility shall file a Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment Plan ("AMI Plan") with the Commission within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly or by November 1, 2011, whichever is later, or in the case of a combination utility as defined in Section 16-108.5, by April 1, 2012, provided that a participating utility shall not file its plan until the evaluation report on the Pilot Program described in this subsection (c) is issued. The AMI Plan shall provide for investment over a 10-year period that is sufficient to implement the AMI Plan across its entire service territory in a manner that is consistent with subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act. The AMI Plan shall contain:

(1) the participating utility's Smart Grid AMI vision statement that is consistent with the goal of developing a cost-beneficial Smart Grid;

(2) a statement of Smart Grid AMI strategy that includes a description of how the utility evaluates and prioritizes technology choices to create customer value, including a plan to enhance and enable customers' ability to take advantage of Smart Grid functions beginning at the time an account has billed successfully on the AMI network;

(3) a deployment schedule and plan that includes deployment of AMI to all customers for a participating utility other than a combination utility, and to 62% of all customers for a participating utility that is a combination utility;

(4) annual milestones and metrics for the purposes of measuring the success of the AMI Plan in enabling Smart Grid functions; and enhancing consumer benefits from Smart Grid AMI; and

(5) a plan for the consumer education to be implemented by the participating utility.

The AMI Plan shall be fully consistent with the standards of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) for Smart Grid interoperability that are in effect at the time the participating utility files its AMI Plan, shall include open standards and internet protocol to the maximum extent possible consistent with cyber security, and shall maximize, to the extent possible, a flexible smart meter platform that can accept remote device upgrades and contain sufficient internal memory capacity for additional storage capabilities, functions and services without the need for physical access to the meter.

The AMI Plan shall secure the privacy of personal information and establish the right of consumers to consent to the disclosure of personal energy information to third parties through electronic, web-based, and other means in accordance with State and federal law and regulations regarding consumer privacy and protection of consumer data.

After notice and hearing, the Commission shall, within 60 days of the filing of an AMI Plan, issue its order approving, or approving with modification, the AMI Plan if the Commission finds that the AMI Plan contains the information required in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection (c) and further finds that the implementation of the AMI Plan will be cost-beneficial consistent with the principles established through the Illinois Smart Grid Collaborative, giving weight to the results of any Commission-approved pilot designed to examine the benefits and costs of AMI deployment. A participating utility's decision to invest pursuant to an AMI Plan approved by the Commission shall not be subject to prudence reviews in subsequent Commission proceedings. Nothing in this subsection (c) is intended to limit the Commission's ability to review the reasonableness of the costs incurred under the AMI Plan. A participating utility shall be allowed to recover the reasonable costs it incurs in implementing a Commission-approved AMI Plan, including the costs of retired meters, and may recover such costs through its tariffs, including the performance-based formula rate tariff approved pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act.

(d) The AMI Plan shall secure the privacy of the customer's personal information. "Personal information" for this purpose consists of the customer's name, address, telephone number, and other personally identifying information, as well as information about the customer's electric usage. Electric utilities, their contractors or agents, and any third party who comes into possession of such personal information by virtue of working on Smart Grid technology shall not disclose such personal information to be used in mailing lists or to be used for other commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of the utility's business. Electric utilities shall comply with the consumer privacy requirements of the Personal Information Protection Act. In the event a participating utility receives revenues from the sale of information obtained through Smart Grid technology that is not personal information, the participating utility shall use such revenues to offset the revenue requirement.

(e) On April 1 of each year beginning in 2013 and after consultation with the Smart Grid Advisory Council, each participating utility shall submit a report regarding the progress it has made toward completing implementation of its AMI Plan. This report shall:

(1) describe the AMI investments made during the prior 12 months and the AMI investments planned to be made in the following 12 months;

(2) provide sufficient detail to determine the utility's progress in meeting the metrics and milestones identified by the utility in its AMI Plan; and

(3) identify any updates to the AMI Plan.

Within 21 days after the utility files its annual report, the Commission shall have authority, either upon complaint or its own initiative, but with reasonable notice, to enter upon an investigation regarding the utility's progress in implementing the AMI Plan as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection (e). If the Commission finds, after notice and hearing, that the participating utility's progress in implementing the AMI Plan is materially deficient for the given plan year, then the Commission shall issue an order requiring the participating utility to devise a corrective action plan, subject to Commission approval and oversight, to bring implementation back on schedule consistent with the AMI Plan. The Commission's order must be entered within 90 days after the utility files its annual report. If the Commission does not initiate an investigation within 21 days after the utility files its annual report, then the filing shall be deemed accepted by the Commission. The utility shall not be required to suspend implementation of its AMI Plan during any Commission investigation.

The participating utility's annual report regarding AMI Plan year 10 shall contain a statement verifying that the implementation of its AMI Plan is complete, provided, however, that if the utility is subject to a corrective action plan that extends the implementation period beyond 10 years, the utility shall include the verification statement in its final annual report. Following the date of a Commission order approving the final annual report or the date on which the final report is deemed accepted by the Commission, the utility's annual reporting obligations under this subsection (d) shall terminate, provided, however, that the utility shall have a continuing obligation to provide information, upon request, to the Commission and Smart Grid Advisory Council regarding the AMI Plan.

(f) Each participating utility shall pay a pro rata share, based on number of customers, of $5,000,000 per year to the trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act for each plan year of the AMI Plan, which shall be used for purposes of providing customer education regarding smart meters and related consumer-facing technologies and services and 70% of which shall be a recoverable expense; provided that other reasonable amounts expended by the utility for such consumer education shall not be subject to the 70% limitation of this subsection.

(g) Within 60 days after the Commission approves a participating utility's AMI Plan pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, the participating utility, after consultation with the Smart Grid Advisory Council, shall file a proposed tariff with the Commission that offers an opt-in market-based peak time rebate program to all residential retail customers with smart meters that is designed to provide, in a competitively neutral manner, rebates to those residential retail customers that curtail their use of electricity during specific periods that are identified as peak usage periods. The total amount of rebates shall be the amount of compensation the utility obtains through markets or programs at the applicable regional transmission organization. The utility shall make all reasonable attempts to secure funding for the peak time rebate program through markets or programs at the applicable regional transmission organization. The rules and procedures for consumers to opt-in to the peak time rebate program shall include electronic sign-up, be designed to maximize participation, and be included on the utility's website. The Commission shall monitor the performance of programs established pursuant to this subsection (g) and shall order the termination or modification of a program if it determines that the program is not, after a reasonable period of time for development of at least 4 years, resulting in net benefits to the residential customers of the participating utility.

(h) If Section 16-108.5 of this Act becomes inoperative with respect to one or more participating utilities as set forth in subsection (g) or (h) of that Section, then Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act shall become inoperative as to each affected utility and its service area on the same date as Section 16-108.5 becomes inoperative.

(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-646, eff. 12-30-11.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.7)

Sec. 16-108.7. Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Trust.

(a) Within 90 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the members of the Smart Grid Advisory Council established pursuant to Section 16-108.6 of this Act, or a majority of the members thereof, shall cause to be established an Illinois science and energy innovation trust or foundation for the purposes of providing financial and technical support and assistance to entities, public or private, within the State of Illinois including, but not limited to, units of State and local government, educational and research institutions, corporations, and charitable, educational, environmental and community organizations, for programs and projects that support, encourage or utilize innovative technologies or other methods of modernizing the State's electric grid that will benefit the public by promoting economic development in Illinois. Such activities shall be supported through grants, loans, contracts, or other programs designed to assist and further benefit technological advances in the area of electric grid modernization and operation. The trust or foundation shall also be eligible for receipt of other energy and environmental grant opportunities, from public or private sources. The trust or foundation shall not be a governmental entity.

(b) Funds received by the trust or foundation pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act shall be used solely for the purpose of providing consumer education regarding smart meters and related consumer-facing technologies and services and the peak time rebate program described in subsection (g) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Thirty percent of such funds received from each participating utility shall be used by the trust or foundation for purposes of providing such education to each participating utility's low-income retail customers, including low-income senior citizens.

The trust or foundation shall use all funds received pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108.6 of this Act in a manner that reflects the unique needs and characteristics of each participating utility's service territory and in proportion to each participating utility's payment.

(c) Such trust or foundation shall be governed by a declaration of trust or articles of incorporation and bylaws which shall, at a minimum, provide the following:

(1) There shall initially be 9 trustees of the trust or foundation, which shall consist of the members of the Smart Grid Advisory Council established pursuant to Section 16-108.6 of this Act. Subsequently, the participating utilities shall appoint one trustee and the Clean Energy Trust shall appoint one non-voting trustee who shall provide expertise regarding early stage investment in Smart Grid projects.

(2) All trustees shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of the trust in the performance of their duties as trustees. All such reimbursements shall be paid out of the trust.

(3) Trustees shall be appointed within 60 days after the creation of the trust or foundation and shall serve for a term of 5 years commencing upon the date of their respective appointments, until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.

(4) A vacancy in the office of trustee shall be filled by the person holding the office responsible for appointing the trustee whose death or resignation creates the vacancy, and a trustee appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the term of the trustee whose resignation or death created the vacancy.

(5) The trust or foundation shall have an indefinite term and shall terminate at such time as no trust assets remain.

(6) The allocation and disbursement of funds for the various purposes for which the trust or foundation is established shall be determined by the trustees in accordance with the declaration of trust or the articles of incorporation and bylaws.

(7) The trust or foundation shall be authorized to employ an executive director and other employees, or contract management of the trust or foundation in its entirety to an outside organization found suitable by the trustees, to enter into leases, contracts and other obligations on behalf of the trust or foundation, and to incur expenses that the trustees deem necessary or appropriate for the fulfillment of the purposes for which the trust or foundation is established, provided, however, that salaries and administrative expenses incurred on behalf of the trust or foundation shall not exceed 3% of the trust's principal value, or $750,000, whichever is greater, in any given year. The trustees shall not be compensated by the trust or foundation.

(8) The trustees may create and appoint advisory boards or committees to assist them with the administration of the trust or foundation, and to advise and make recommendations to them regarding the contribution and disbursement of the trust or foundation funds.

(9) All funds dispersed by the trust or foundation for programs and projects to meet the objectives of the trust or foundation as enumerated in this Section shall be subject to a peer-review process as determined by the trustees. This process shall be designed to determine, in an objective and unbiased manner, those programs and projects that best fit the objectives of the trust or foundation. In each fiscal year the trustees shall determine, based solely on the information provided through the peer-review process, a budget for programs and projects for that fiscal year.

(10) The trustees shall administer a Smart Grid education fund from which it shall make grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations for the purpose of educating customers with regard to smart meters and related consumer-facing technologies and services. In making such grants the trust or foundation shall strongly encourage grantees to coordinate to the extent practicable and consider recommendations from the participating utilities regarding the development and implementation of customer education plans.

(11) One of the objectives of the trust or foundation is to remain self-funding. In order to meet this objective, the trustees may sign agreements with those entities receiving funding that provide for license fees, royalties, or other payments to the trust or foundation from such entities that receive support for their product development from the trust or foundation. Such payments, however, shall be contingent on the commercialization of such products, services, or technologies enabled by the funding provided by the trust or foundation.

(d) The trustees shall notify each participating utility as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act of the formation of the trust or foundation. Within 90 days after receipt of the notification, each participating utility that is not a combination utility as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act shall contribute $15,000,000 to the trust or foundation, and each participating utility that is a combination utility, as defined in Section 16-108.5 of this Act, shall contribute $7,500,000 to the trust or foundation established pursuant to this Section. Such contributions shall not be a recoverable expense.

(e) If Section 16-108.5 of this Act becomes inoperative with respect to one or more participating utilities as set forth in subsection (g) or (h) of that Section, then Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act shall become inoperative as to each affected utility and its service area on the same date as Section 16-108.5 becomes inoperative.

(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-646, eff. 12-30-11.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.8)

Sec. 16-108.8. Illinois Smart Grid test bed.

(a) Within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, each participating utility, as defined by Section 16-108.5 of this Act, shall create or otherwise designate a Smart Grid test bed, which may be located at one or more places within the utility's system, for the purposes of allowing for the testing of Smart Grid technologies. The objectives of this test bed shall be to:

(1) provide an open, unbiased opportunity for testing programs, technologies, business models, and other Smart Grid-related activities;

(2) provide on-grid locations for the testing of potentially innovative Smart Grid-related technologies and services, including but not limited to those funded by the trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act;

(3) facilitate testing of business models or services that help integrate Smart Grid-related technologies into the electric grid, especially those business models that may help promote new products and services for retail customers;

(4) offer opportunities to test and showcase Smart Grid technologies and services, especially those likely to support the economic development goals of the State of Illinois.

(b) The test bed shall reside in one or more locations on the participating utility's network. Such locations shall be chosen by the utility to maximize the opportunity for real-time and real-world testing of Smart Grid technologies and services taking into account the safety and security of the participating utility's grid and grid operations.

(c) The participating utility, with input from the Smart Grid Advisory Council established pursuant to Section 16-108.6 of this Act, shall, as part of its filing under subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5, include a plan for the creation, operation, and administration of the test bed. This plan shall address the following:

(1) how the utility proposes to comply with each of the objectives set forth in subsection (a) of this Section;

(2) the proposed location or locations of the test bed;

(3) the process by which the utility will receive, review, and qualify proposals to use the test bed;

(4) the criteria by which the utility proposes to qualify proposals to use the test bed, including, but not limited to, safety, reliability, security, customer data security, privacy, and economic development considerations;

(5) the engineering and operations support that the utility will provide to test bed users, including provision of customer data; and

(6) the estimated costs to establish, administer and promote the availability of the test bed.

(d) The test bed should be open to all qualified entities wishing to test programs, technologies, business models, and other Smart Grid-related activities, provided that the utility retains control of its grid and operations and may reject any programs, technologies, business models, and other Smart Grid-related activities that threaten the reliability, safety, security, or operations of its network, or that would threaten the security of customer-identifiable data in the judgment of the utility. The number of technologies and entities participating in the test bed at any time may be limited by the utility based on its determination of its ability to maintain a secure, safe, and reliable grid.

(e) At a minimum, the test bed shall have the ability to receive live signals from PJM Interconnection LLC or other applicable regional transmission organization, the ability to test new applications in a utility scale environment (to include ramp rate regulations for distributed wind and solar resources), critical peak price response, and market-based power dispatch.

(f) At the end of the fourth year of operation the test bed shall be subject to an independent evaluation to determine if the test bed is meeting the objectives of this Section or is likely to meet the objectives in the future. The evaluation shall include the performance of the utility as test bed operator. Subject to the findings, the utility and the trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act may choose to continue operating the test bed.

(g) The utility shall be entitled to recover all prudently incurred and reasonable costs associated with evaluation of proposals, engineering, construction, operation, and administration of the test bed through the performance-based formula rate tariff established pursuant to Section 16-108.5 of this Act.

(h) The utility is authorized to charge fees to users of the test bed that shall recover the costs associated with the incremental costs to the utility associated with administration of the test bed, provided, however, that any such fees collected by the utility shall be used to offset the costs to be recovered pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section.

(i) On a quarterly basis, the utility shall provide the trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act with a report summarizing test bed activities, customers, discoveries, and other information as shall be mutually deemed relevant.

(j) To the extent practicable, the utility and trust or foundation established pursuant to Section 16-108.7 of this Act shall jointly pursue resources that enhance the capabilities and capacity of the test bed.

(k) If Section 16-108.5 of this Act becomes inoperative with respect to one or more participating utilities as set forth in subsection (g) or (h) of that Section, then Sections 16-108.5, 16-108.6, 16-108.7, and 16-108.8 of this Act shall become inoperative as to each affected utility and its service area on the same date as Section 16-108.5 become inoperative.

(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.10)

Sec. 16-108.10. Energy low-income and support program. Beginning in 2017, without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required, a participating utility that is not a combination utility, as defined by Section 16-108.5 of this Act, shall contribute $10,000,000 per year for 5 years to the energy low-income and support program, which is intended to fund customer assistance programs with the primary purpose being avoidance of imminent disconnection and reconnecting customers who have been disconnected for non-payment. Such programs may include:

(1) a residential hardship program that may partner with community-based organizations, including senior citizen organizations, and provides grants to low-income residential customers, including low-income senior citizens, who demonstrate a hardship;

(2) a program that provides grants and other bill payment concessions to disabled veterans who demonstrate a hardship and members of the armed services or reserve forces of the United States or members of the Illinois National Guard who are on active duty under an executive order of the President of the United States, an act of the Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor and who demonstrate a hardship;

(3) a budget assistance program that provides tools and education to low-income senior citizens to assist them with obtaining information regarding energy usage and effective means of managing energy costs;

(4) a non-residential special hardship program that provides grants to non-residential customers, such as small businesses and non-profit organizations, that demonstrate a hardship, including those providing services to senior citizen and low-income customers; and

(5) a performance-based assistance program that provides grants to encourage residential customers to make on-time payments by matching a portion of the customer's payments or providing credits towards arrearages.

The payments made by a participating utility under this Section shall not be a recoverable expense. A participating utility may elect to fund either new or existing customer assistance programs, including, but not limited to, those that are administered by the utility.

Programs that use funds that are provided by an electric utility to reduce utility bills may be implemented through tariffs that are filed with and reviewed by the Commission. If a utility elects to file tariffs with the Commission to implement all or a portion of the programs, those tariffs shall, regardless of the date actually filed, be deemed accepted and approved and shall become effective on the first business day after they are filed. The electric utilities whose customers benefit from the funds that are disbursed as contemplated in this Section shall file annual reports documenting the disbursement of those funds with the Commission. The Commission may audit disbursement of the funds to ensure they were disbursed consistently with this Section.

If the Commission finds that a participating utility is no longer eligible to update the performance-based formula rate tariff under subsection (d) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act or the performance-based formula rate is otherwise terminated, then the participating utility's obligations under this Section shall immediately terminate.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.11)

Sec. 16-108.11. Employment opportunities. To the extent feasible and consistent with State and federal law, the procurement of contracted labor, materials, and supplies by electric utilities in connection with the offering of delivery services under Article XVI of this Act should provide employment opportunities for all segments of the population and workforce, including minority-owned and female-owned business enterprises, and shall not, consistent with State and federal law, discriminate based on race or socioeconomic status.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.12)

Sec. 16-108.12. Utility job training program.

(a) An electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State shall spend $10,000,000 per year in 2017, 2021, and 2025 to fund the programs described in this Section.

(1) The utility shall fund a solar training pipeline program in the amount of $3,000,000. The utility may administer the program or contract with another entity to administer the program. The program shall be designed to establish a solar installer training pipeline for projects authorized under Section 1-56 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and to establish a pool of trained installers who will be able to install solar projects authorized under subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and otherwise. The program may include single event training programs. The program described in this paragraph (1) shall be designed to ensure that entities that offer training are located in, and trainees are recruited from, the same communities that the program aims to serve and that the program provides trainees with the opportunity to obtain real-world experience. The program described in this paragraph (1) shall also be designed to assist trainees so that they can obtain applicable certifications or participate in an apprenticeship program. The utility or administrator shall include funding for programs that provide training to individuals who are or were foster children or that target persons with a record who are transitioning with job training and job placement programs. The program shall include an incentive to facilitate an increase of hiring of qualified persons who are or were foster children and persons with a record. It is a goal of the program described in this paragraph (1) that at least 50% of the trainees in this program come from within environmental justice communities and that 2,000 jobs are created for persons who are or were foster children and persons with a record.

(2) The utility shall fund a craft apprenticeship program in the amount of $3,000,000. The program shall be an accredited or otherwise recognized apprenticeship program over a period not to exceed 4 years, for particular crafts, trades, or skills in the electric industry that may, but need not, be related to solar installation.

(3) The utility shall fund multi-cultural jobs programs in the amount of $4,000,000. The funding shall be allocated in the applicable year to individual programs as set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of this paragraph (3) and may, but need not, be related to solar installation, over a period not to exceed 4 years, by diversity-focused community organizations that have a record of successfully delivering job training.

(A) $1,000,000 to a community-based civil rights and human services not-for-profit organization that provides economic development, human capital, and education program services.

(B) $500,000 to a not-for-profit organization that is also an education institution that offers training programs approved by the Illinois State Board of Education and United States Department of Education with the goal of providing workforce initiatives leading to economic independence.

(C) $500,000 to a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing the educational and leadership capacity of minority youth through the operation of schools, youth leadership clubs and youth development centers.

(D) $1,000,000 to a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing equal access to opportunities in the construction industry that offer training programs that include Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 and 30 certifications, Environmental Protection Agency Renovation, Repair and Painting Certification and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Green Associate Exam preparation courses.

(E) $500,000 to a non-profit organization that has a proven record of successfully implementing utility industry training programs, with expertise in creating programs that strengthen the economics of communities including technical training workshops and economic development through community and financial partners.

(F) $500,000 to a nonprofit organization that provides family services, housing education, job and career education opportunities that has successfully partnered with the utility on electric industry job training.

For the purposes of this Section, "person with a record" means any person who (1) has been convicted of a crime in this State or of an offense in any other jurisdiction, not including an offense or attempted offense that would subject a person to registration under the Sex Offender Registration Act; (2) has a record of an arrest or an arrest that did not result in conviction for any crime in this State or of an offense in any other jurisdiction; or (3) has a juvenile delinquency adjudication.

(b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State shall file with the Commission a plan to implement this Section. Within 60 days after the plan is filed, the Commission shall enter an order approving the plan if it is consistent with this Section or, if the plan is not consistent with this Section, the Commission shall explain the deficiencies, after which time the utility shall file a new plan. The utility shall use the funds described in subparagraph (O) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act to pay for the Commission approved programs under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.15)

Sec. 16-108.15. Rate impacts.

(a) Each electric utility that serves more than 500,000 retail customers in the State shall file with the Commission the reports required by this Section, which shall identify the actual and projected average monthly increases in residential retail customers' electric bills due to future energy investment costs for the applicable period or periods.

(b) The average monthly increase calculation shall be comprised of the following components:

(1) Beginning with the 2017 calendar year, the average monthly amount paid by residential retail customers, expressed on a cents-per-kilowatthour basis, to recover future energy investment costs, which include the charges to recover the costs incurred by the utility under the following provisions:

(A) Sections 8-103, Section 8-103B, and 16-111.5B of this Act, as applicable, and as such costs may be recovered under Sections 8-103, 8-103B, 16-111.5B or Section 16-108.5 of this Act;

(B) subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, as such costs may be recovered under subsection (k) of Section 16-108 of this Act; and

(C) Section 16-107.6 of this Act.

Beginning with the 2018 calendar year, each of the average monthly charges calculated in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph (1) shall be equal to the average of each such charge applied over a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation or calculations required by this Section.

(2) The sum of the following:

(A) net energy savings to residential retail customers that are attributable to the implementation of voltage optimization measures under Section 8-103B of this Act, expressed on a cents-per-kilowatthour basis, which are estimated energy and capacity benefits for residential retail customers minus the measure costs recovered from those customers, divided by the total number of residential retail customers, which quotient shall be divided by the months in the relevant period; notwithstanding this subparagraph (A), a utility may elect not to include an estimate of net energy savings as described in this subparagraph (A), in which case the value under this subparagraph (A) shall be zero; and

(B) for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State, the benefits of the programs described in Section 16-108.10 of this Act, which are $0.00030 per kilowatthour for the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 calendar years.

Beginning with the 2018 calendar year, each of the values identified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph (2) shall be equal to the average of each such value during a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation or calculations required by this Section.

(3) For an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State, the residential retail customer energy efficiency charges shall be $2.33 per month for the 2017 calendar year, provided that such charge shall be increased by 4% per year thereafter; for an electric utility that serves more than 500,000 but less than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State, the residential retail customer energy efficiency charges shall be $3.94 per month for the 2017 calendar year, provided that such charge shall be increased by 4% per year thereafter. Beginning with the 2018 calendar year, this charge shall be equal to the average of the charges applied over a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation or calculations required by this Section.

(c)(1) No later than June 30, 2017, an electric utility subject to this Section shall submit a report to the Commission that sets forth the utility's rolling 10-year projection of the values of each of the components described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b) of this Section. No later than February 15, 2018 and every February 15 thereafter until February 15, 2031, each utility shall submit a report to the Commission that identifies the value of the actual charges applied during the immediately preceding calendar year and updates its rolling 10-year projection based on such actual charges provided that, beginning with the February 15, 2021 report and for each report thereafter, the period of time covered by such projection shall not extend beyond December 31, 2030. Each report submitted under this subsection (c) shall calculate the actual average monthly increase in residential retail customers' electric bills due to future energy investment costs during the immediately preceding calendar year and shall also calculate the projected average monthly increase in residential retail customers' electric bills due to such costs over the rolling 10-year period. Such calculations shall be performed by subtracting the sum of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section from the sum of paragraph (1) of such subsection (b), multiplying such difference by, as applicable, the actual or forecasted average monthly kilowatthour consumption for the residential retail customer class for the applicable period, and subtracting from such product the applicable value identified under paragraph (3) of such subsection (b).

If the actual or projected average monthly increase for residential retail customers of electric utility that serves more than 3 million retail customers in the State exceeds $0.25, or the actual or projected average monthly increase for residential retail customers of an electric utility that serves more than 500,000 but less than 3 million retail customers in the State exceeds $0.35, then the applicable utility shall comply with the provisions of paragraphs (2) through (4) of this subsection (c), as applicable.

(2) If the projected average monthly increase for residential retail customers during a calendar year exceeds the applicable limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), then the utility shall comply with the following provisions, as applicable:

(A) If an exceedance is projected during the first four calendar year of the rolling 10-year projection, then the utility shall include in its report submitted under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) the utility's proposal or proposals to decrease the future energy investment costs described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section to ensure that the limitation set forth in such paragraph (1) is not exceeded. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order directing the utility to implement one or more proposals, as such proposals may be modified by the Commission. The Commission shall have the authority under this subparagraph (A) to approve modifications to the contracts executed under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. If the Commission approves modifications to such contracts, then the supplier shall have the option of accepting the modifications or terminating the modified contract or contracts, subject to the termination requirements and notice provisions set forth in item (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of this Section.

(B) If an exceedance is projected during any calendar year during the last 6 years of the 10-year projection, then the utility shall demonstrate in its report submitted under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) how the utility will reduce the future energy investment costs described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section to ensure that the limitation set forth in such paragraph (1) is not exceeded.

(3) If the actual average monthly increase for residential retail customers during a calendar year exceeded the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), then the utility shall prepare and file with the Commission, at the time it submits its report under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), a corrective action plan that identifies how the utility will immediately reduce expenditures so that the utility will be in compliance with such limitation beginning on January 1 of the next calendar year. The Commission shall initiate an investigation to determine the factors that contributed to the actual average monthly increase exceeding such limitation for the applicable calendar year, and shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's corrective action plan within 120 days after the utility files such plan. The Commission shall also submit a report to the General Assembly no later than 30 days after it enters such order, and the report shall explain the results of the Commission's investigation and findings and conclusions of its order.

(4) If the actual average monthly increase for residential retail customers during a calendar year exceeds the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) for two consecutive years, then the utility shall indicate in its report filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) whether the utility will proceed with or terminate the future energy investments described and authorized under subsection (d-5) of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Sections 8-103B and 16-107.6 of this Act. The utility shall be subject to the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph (4), as applicable.

(A) If the utility indicates that it will proceed with the future energy investments, then it shall be subject to the corrective action plan requirements set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection (c). In addition, the utility must commit to apply a credit to residential retail customers' bills if the actual average monthly increase for such customers exceeds the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) for the year in which the utility files its corrective action plan, which credit shall be in an amount that equals the portion by which the increase exceeds such limitation. The Commission shall initiate an investigation to determine the factors that contributed to the actual average monthly increase exceeding such limitation for the applicable calendar year, including an analysis of the factors contributing to the limitation being exceeded for two consecutive years, and shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's corrective action plan within 120 days after the utility files such plan. The Commission shall also submit a supplemental report to the General Assembly no later than 30 days after it enters such order, and the report shall explain the results of the Commission's investigation and findings and conclusions of its order.

(B) If the utility indicates that it will terminate future energy investments, then the Commission shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary:

(i) Order the utility to terminate the contract or contracts executed under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, pursuant to the contract termination provisions set forth in such subsection (d-5), provided that notice of such termination must be made at least 3 years and 75 days prior to the effective date of such termination. In the event that only a portion of the contracts executed under such subsection (d-5) are terminated for a particular zero emission facility, then the zero emission facility may elect to terminate all of the contracts executed for that facility under such subsection (d-5).

(ii) Within 30 days after the utility submits its report indicates that it will terminate future energy investments, initiate a proceeding to approve the process for terminating future expenditures under Section 16-107.6 of the Public Utilities Act. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving such process no later than 120 days after initiating such proceeding.

(iii) Within 30 days after the utility submits its report indicates that it will terminate future energy investments, initiate a proceeding under Section 8-103B of this Act to reduce the cumulative persisting annual savings goals previously approved by the Commission under such Section to ensure just and reasonable rates. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving such goal reductions no later than 120 days after initiating such proceeding.

Notwithstanding the termination of future energy investments pursuant to this subparagraph (B), the utility shall be permitted to continue to recover the costs of such investments that were incurred prior to such termination, including but not limited to all costs that are recovered through regulatory assets created under Sections 8-103B and 16-107.6 of this Act. Nothing in this Section shall limit the utility's ability to fully recover such costs. The utility shall also be permitted to continue to recover the costs of all payments made under contracts executed under subsection (d-5) until the effective date of the contract's termination.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.16)

Sec. 16-108.16. Commercial Rate Impacts.

(a) Each electric utility that serves more than 500,000 retail customers in the State shall file with the Commission the reports required by this Section, which shall identify the annual average increases due to future energy investment costs for the applicable period or periods in electric bills to commercial and industrial retail customers. For purposes of this Section, "commercial and industrial retail customers" means non-residential retail customers other than those customers who are exempt from subsections (a) through (j) of Section 8-103B of this Act under subsection (l) of Section 8-103B.

(b) The increase determination required by subsection (a) of this Section shall be based on a calculation comprised of the following components:

(1) Beginning with the 2017 calendar year, the average annual amount paid by commercial and industrial retail customers, expressed on a cents-per-kilowatthour basis, to recover future energy investment costs, which include the charges to recover the costs incurred by the utility under the following provisions:

(A) Sections 8-103, Section 8-103B, and 16-111.5B of this Act, as applicable, and as such costs may be recovered under Sections 8-103, 8-103B, 16-111.5B or Section 16-108.5 of this Act;

(B) subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, as such costs may be recovered under subsection (k) of Section 16-108 of this Act; and

(C) Section 16-107.6 of this Act.

Beginning with the 2018 calendar year, each of the average annual charges calculated in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph (1) shall be equal to the average of each such charge applied over a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation or calculations required by this Section.

(2) The sum of the following:

(A) annual net energy savings to commercial and industrial retail customers that are attributable to the implementation of voltage optimization measures under Section 8-103B of this Act, expressed on a cents-per-kilowatthour basis, which are estimated energy and capacity benefits for commercial and industrial retail customers minus the measure costs recovered from those customers, divided by the average annual kilowatt-hour consumption of commercial and industrial retail customers; notwithstanding this subparagraph (A), a utility may elect not to include an estimate of net energy savings as described in this subparagraph (A), in which case the value under this subparagraph (A) shall be zero;

(B) the average annual cents-per-kilowatthour charge applied under Section 8-103 of this Act to commercial and industrial retail customers during calendar year 2016 to recover the costs authorized by such Section; and

(C) incremental energy efficiency savings, which shall be calculated by subtracting the value determined in item (ii) of this subparagraph (C) from the value determined in item (i) of this subparagraph and dividing the difference by the value identified in item (iii) of this subparagraph:

(i) Total value, in dollars, of the cumulative persisting annual saving achieved from the installation or implementation of all energy efficiency measures for commercial and industrial retail customers under Sections 8-103, 8-103B and 16-111.5 of this Act, net of the cumulative annual percentage savings in kilowatt-hours, if any, calculated under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (2).

(ii) 2016 value, which shall equal the value calculated under item (i) of this subparagraph (C) multiplied by the quotient of (aa) the cumulative persisting annual savings, in kilowatt-hours, achieved from the installation or implementation of all energy efficiency measures for commercial and industrial retail customers under Sections 8-103, 8-103B and 16-111.5B of this Act as of December 31, 2016, divided by (bb) the cumulative persisting annual savings, in kilowatt-hours, from the installation or implementation of all energy efficiency measures for commercial and industrial retail customers under Sections 8-103, 8-103B and 16-111.5 of this Act, net of the cumulative annual percentage savings in kilowatt-hours, if any, calculated under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (2).

(iii) The average annual kilowatt-hour consumption of those commercial and industrial retail customers that installed or implemented energy efficiency measures under energy efficiency programs or plans approved pursuant to Sections 8-103, 8-103B or 16-111.5B of this Act.

Beginning with the 2018 calendar year, each of the values identified in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of this paragraph (2) shall be equal to the average of each such value during a period that commences with the calendar year ending December 31, 2017 and ends with the most recently completed calendar year prior to the calculation or calculations required by this Section.

For purposes of this Section, cumulative persisting annual savings shall have the meaning set forth in Section 8-103B of this Act, and energy efficiency measures shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(c)(1) No later than June 30, 2017, and every June 30 thereafter until June 30, 2027, an electric utility subject to this Section shall submit a report to the Commission that sets forth the utility's 10-year projection of the values of each of the components described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of this Section. Each utility's report to the Commission shall identify the result of the computation performed under this Section for the immediately preceding calendar year and update its 10-year projection. Such calculations shall be performed by subtracting the sum of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Section from the sum of paragraph (1) of such subsection (b).

In the event that the actual or projected average annual increase for commercial and industrial retail customers exceeds 1.3% of 8.90 cents-per-kilowatthour, which is the average amount paid per kilowatt-hour for electric service during the year ending December 31, 2015 by Illinois commercial retail customers, as reported to the Edison Electric Institute, then the applicable utility shall comply with the provisions of paragraphs (2) through (4) of this subsection (c), as applicable.

(2) In the event that the projected average annual increase for commercial and industrial retail customers during a calendar year exceeds the applicable limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), then the utility shall comply with the following provisions, as applicable:

(A) If an exceedance is projected during the first four calendar years of the 10-year projection, then the utility shall include in its report submitted under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) the utility's proposal or proposals to decrease the future energy investment costs described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section to ensure that the limitation set forth in such paragraph (1) is not exceeded. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order directing the utility to implement one or more proposals, as such proposals may be modified by the Commission. The Commission shall have the authority under this subparagraph (A) to approve modifications to the contracts executed under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. If the Commission approves modifications to such contracts that are in an amount that reduces the quantities to be procured under such contracts by more than 7%, then the supplier shall have the option of accepting the modifications or terminating the modified contract or contracts, subject to the termination requirements and notice provisions set forth in item (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of this Section.

(B) If an exceedance is projected during any calendar year during the last 6 years of the 10-year projection, then the utility shall demonstrate in its report submitted under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) how the utility will reduce the future energy investment costs described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Section to ensure that the limitation set forth in such paragraph (1) is not exceeded.

(3) If the actual average annual increase for commercial and industrial retail customers during a calendar year exceeded the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), then the utility shall prepare and file with the Commission, at the time it submits its report under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), a corrective action plan. The Commission shall initiate an investigation to determine the factors that contributed to the actual average annual increase exceeding such limitation for the applicable calendar year, and shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's corrective action plan within 120 days after the utility files such plan. The Commission shall also submit a report to the General Assembly no later than 30 days after it enters such order, and the report shall explain the results of the Commission's investigation and findings and conclusions of its order.

(4) If the actual average annual increase for commercial and industrial retail customers during a calendar year exceeds the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) for two consecutive years, then the utility shall indicate in its report filed under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) whether the utility will proceed with or terminate the future energy investments described and authorized under subsection (d-5) of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Sections 8-103B and 16-107.6 of this Act. The utility's election shall be subject to the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph (4), as applicable.

(A) If the utility elects to proceed with the future energy investments, then it shall be subject to the corrective action plan requirements set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection (c). In addition, the utility must commit to apply a credit to commercial and industrial retail customers' bills if the actual average annual increase for such customers exceeds the limitation set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) for the year in which the utility files its corrective action plan, which credit shall be in an amount that equals the portion by which the increase exceeds such limitation. The Commission shall initiate an investigation to determine the factors that contributed to the actual average annual increase exceeding such limitation for the applicable calendar year, including an analysis of the factors contributing to the limitation being exceeded for two consecutive years, and shall, after notice and hearing, enter an order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's corrective action plan within 120 days after the utility files such plan. The Commission shall also submit a supplemental report to the General Assembly no later than 30 days after it enters such order, and the report shall explain the results of the Commission's investigation and findings and conclusions of its order.

(B) If the utility elects to terminate future energy investments, then the Commission shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary:

(i) Order the utility to terminate the contract or contracts executed under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, pursuant to the contract termination provisions set forth in such subsection (d-5), provided that notice of such termination must be made at least 3 years and 75 days prior to the effective date of such termination. In the event that only a portion of the contracts executed under such subsection (d-5) are terminated for a particular zero emission facility, then the zero emission facility may elect to terminate all of the contracts executed for that facility under such subsection (d-5).

(ii) Within 30 days of the utility's report identifying its election to terminate future energy investments, initiate a proceeding to approve the process for terminating future expenditures under Sections 16-107.6 of the Public Utilities Act. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving such process no later than 120 days after initiating such proceeding.

(iii) Within 30 days of the utility's report identifying its election to terminate future energy investments, initiate a proceeding under Section 8-103B of this Act to reduce the cumulative persisting annual savings goals previously approved by the Commission under such Section to ensure just and reasonable rates. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving such goal reductions no later than 120 days after initiating such proceeding.

Notwithstanding the termination of future energy investments pursuant to this subparagraph (B), the utility shall be permitted to continue to recover the costs of such investments that were incurred prior to such termination, including but not limited to all costs that are recovered through regulatory assets created under Sections 8-103B and 16-107.6 of this Act. Nothing in this Section shall limit the utility's ability to fully recover such costs. The utility shall also be permitted to continue to recover the costs of all payments made under contracts executed under subsection (d-5) until the effective date of the contract's termination.

(5) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, if, under this Section or subsection (m) of Section 16-108 of this Act, modifications to the contracts executed under subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act are, in total, in an amount that reduces the quantities to procured under such contracts by more than 10%, then the supplier shall have the option of accepting the modifications or terminating the modified contract or contracts, subject to the termination requirements and notice provisions set forth in item (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4) of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.18)

Sec. 16-108.18. Performance-based ratemaking.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) That improving the alignment of utility customer and company interests is critical to ensuring equity, rapid growth of distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, and other new technologies that substantially change the makeup of the grid and protect Illinois residents and businesses from potential economic and environmental harm from the State's energy systems.

(2) There is urgency around addressing increasing threats from climate change and assisting communities that have borne disproportionate impacts from climate change, including air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy burdens. Addressing this problem requires changes to the business model under which utilities in Illinois have traditionally functioned.

(3) Providing targeted incentives to support change through a new performance-based structure to enhance ratemaking is intended to enable alignment of utility, customer, community, and environmental goals.

(4) Though Illinois has taken some measures to move utilities to performance-based ratemaking through the establishment of performance incentives and a performance-based formula rate under the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, these measures have not been sufficiently transformative in urgently moving electric utilities toward the State's ambitious energy policy goals: protecting a healthy environment and climate, improving public health, and creating quality jobs and economic opportunities, including wealth building, especially in economically disadvantaged communities and communities of color.

(5) These measures were not developed through a process to understand first what performance measures and penalties would help drive the sought-after behavior by the utilities.

(6) While the General Assembly has not made a finding that the spending related to the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization Act and its performance metrics was not reasonable, it is important to address concerns that these measures may have resulted in excess utility spending and guaranteed profits without meaningful improvements in customer experience, rate affordability, or equity.

(7) Discussions of performance incentive mechanisms must always take into account the affordability of customer rates and bills for all customers, including low-income customers.

(8) The General Assembly therefore directs the Illinois Commerce Commission to complete a transition that includes a comprehensive performance-based regulation framework for electric utilities serving more than 500,000 customers. The breadth of this framework should revise existing utility regulations to position Illinois electric utilities to effectively and efficiently achieve current and anticipated future energy needs of this State, while ensuring affordability for consumers.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Demand response" means measures that decrease peak electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak periods.

"Distributed energy resources" or "DER" means a wide range of technologies that are connected to the grid including those that are located on the customer side of the customer's electric meter and can provide value to the distribution system, including, but not limited to, distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicles, and demand response technologies.

"Economically disadvantaged communities" means areas of one or more census tracts where average household income does not exceed 80% of area median income.

"Environmental justice communities" means the definition of that term as used and as may be updated in the long-term renewable resources procurement plan by the Illinois Power Agency and its Program Administrator in the Illinois Solar for All Program.

"Equity investment eligible community" means the geographic areas throughout Illinois which would most benefit from equitable investments by the State designed to combat discrimination. Specifically, the equity investment eligible communities shall be defined as the following areas:

(1) R3 Areas as established pursuant to Section 10-40 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, where residents have historically been excluded from economic opportunities, including opportunities in the energy sector; and

(2) Environmental justice communities, as defined by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act, where residents have historically been subject to disproportionate burdens of pollution, including pollution from the energy sector.

"Performance incentive mechanism" means an instrument by which utility performance is incentivized, which could include a monetary performance incentive.

"Performance metric" means a manner of measurement for a particular utility activity.

(c) Through coordinated, comprehensive system planning, ratemaking, and performance incentives, the performance-based ratemaking framework should be designed to accomplish the following objectives:

(1) maintain and improve service reliability and safety, including and particularly in environmental justice, low-income and equity investment eligible communities;

(2) decarbonize utility systems at a pace that meets or exceeds State climate goals, while also ensuring the affordability of rates for all customers, including low-income customers;

(3) direct electric utilities to make cost-effective investments that support achievement of Illinois' clean energy policies, including, at a minimum, investments designed to integrate distributed energy resources, comply with critical infrastructure protection standards, plans, and industry best practices, and support and take advantage of potential benefits from the electric vehicle charging and other electrification, while mitigating the impacts;

(4) choose cost-effective assets and services, whether utility-supplied or through third-party contracting, considering both economic and environmental costs and the effects on utility rates, to deliver high-quality service to customers at least cost;

(5) maintain the affordability of electric delivery services for all customers, including low-income customers;

(6) maintain and grow a diverse workforce, diverse supplier procurement base and, for relevant programs, diverse approved-vendor pools, including increased opportunities for minority-owned, female-owned, veteran-owned, and disability-owned business enterprises;

(7) improve customer service performance and engagement;

(8) address the particular burdens faced by consumers in environmental justice and equity investment eligible communities, including shareholder, consumer, and publicly funded bill payment assistance and credit and collection policies, and ensure equitable disconnections, late fees, or arrearages as a result of utility credit and collection practices, which may include consideration of impact by zip code; and

(9) implement or otherwise enhance current supplier diversity programs to increase diverse contractor participation in professional services, subcontracting, and prime contracting opportunities with programs that address barriers to access. Supplier diversity programs shall address specific barriers related to RFP and contract access, access to capital, information technology and cyber security access and costs, administrative burdens, and quality control with specific metrics, outcomes, and demographic data reported.

(d) Multi-Year Rate Plan.

(1) If an electric utility had a performance-based formula rate in effect under Section 16-108.5 as of December 31, 2020, then the utility may file a petition proposing tariffs implementing a 4-year Multi-Year Rate Plan as provided in this Section no later than, January 20, 2023, for delivery service rates to be effective for the billing periods January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2027. The Commission shall issue an order approving or approving as modified the utility's plan no later than December 20, 2023. The term "Multi-Year Rate Plan" refers to a plan establishing the base rates the utility shall charge for each delivery year of the 4-year period to be covered by the plan, which shall be subject to modification only as expressly allowed in this Section.

(2) A utility proposing a Multi-Year Rate Plan shall provide a 4-year investment plan and a description of the utility's major planned investments, including, at a minimum, all investments of $2,000,000 or greater over the plan period for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State or $500,000 for an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State but more than 500,000 retail customers in the State. The 4-year investment plan must be consistent with the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan described in Section 16-105.17 of this Act. The investment plan shall provide sufficiently detailed information, as required by the Commission, including, at a minimum, a description of each investment, the location of the investment, and an explanation of the need for and benefit of such an investment to the extent known.

(3) The Multi-Year Rate Plan shall be implemented through a tariff filed with the Commission consistent with the provisions of this paragraph (3) that shall apply to all delivery service customers. The Commission shall initiate and conduct an investigation of the tariff in a manner consistent with the provisions of this paragraph (3) and the provisions of Article IX of this Act, to the extent they do not conflict with this paragraph (3). The Multi-Year Rate Plan approved by the Commission shall do the following:

(A) Provide for the recovery of the utility's forecasted rate base, based on the 4-year investment plan and the utility's Integrated Grid Plan. The forecasted rate base must include the utility's planned capital investments, with rates based on average annual plant investment, and investment-related costs, including income tax impacts, depreciation, and ratemaking adjustments and costs that are prudently incurred and reasonable in amount consistent with Commission practice and law. The process used to develop the forecasts must be iterative, rigorous, and lead to forecasts that reasonably represent the utility's investments during the forecasted period and ensure that the investments are projected to be used and useful during the annual investment period and least cost, consistent with the provisions of Articles VIII and IX of this Act.

(B) The cost of equity shall be approved by the Commission consistent with Commission practice and law.

(C) The revenue requirement shall reflect the utility's actual capital structure for the applicable calendar year. A year-end capital structure that includes a common equity ratio of up to and including 50% of the total capital structure shall be deemed prudent and reasonable. A higher common equity ratio must be specifically approved by the Commission.

(E) Provide for recovery of prudent and reasonable projected operating expenses, giving effect to ratemaking adjustments, consistent with Commission practice and law under Article IX of this Act. Operating expenses for years after the first year of the Multi-Year Rate Plan may be estimated by the use of known and measurable changes, expense reductions associated with planned capital investments as appropriate, and reasonable and appropriate escalators, indices, or other metrics.

(F) Amortize the amount of unprotected property-related excess accumulated deferred income taxes in rates as of January 1, 2023 over a period ending December 31, 2027, unless otherwise required to amortize the excess deferred income tax pursuant to Section 16-108.21 of this Act.

(G) Allow recovery of incentive compensation expense that is based on the achievement of operational metrics, including metrics related to budget controls, outage duration and frequency, safety, customer service, efficiency and productivity, environmental compliance and attainment of affordability and environmental goals, and other goals and metrics approved by the Commission. Incentive compensation expense that is based on net income or an affiliate's earnings per share shall not be recoverable.

(H) To the maximum extent practicable, align the 4-year investment plan and annual capital budgets with the electric utility's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan.

(4) The Commission shall establish annual rates for each year of the Multi-Year Rate Plan that accurately reflect and are based only upon the utility's reasonable and prudent costs of service over the term of the plan, including the effect of all ratemaking adjustments consistent with Commission practice and law as determined by the Commission, provided that the costs are not being recovered elsewhere in rates. Tariff riders authorized by the Commission may continue outside of a plan authorized under this Section to the extent such costs are not recovered elsewhere in rates. For the first multi-year rate plan, the burden of proof shall be on the electric utility to establish the prudence of investments and expenditures and to establish that such investments consistent with and reasonably necessary to meet the requirements of the utility's first approved Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan described in Section 16-105.17 of this Act. For subsequent Multi-Year Rate Plans, the burden of proof shall be on the electric utility to establish the prudence of investments and expenditures and to establish that such investments are consistent with and reasonably necessary to meet the requirements of the utility's most recently approved Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan described in Section 16-105.17 of this Act. The sole fact that a cost differs from that incurred in a prior period or that an investment is different from that described in the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan shall not imply the imprudence or unreasonableness of that cost or investment. The sole fact that an investment is the same or similar to that described in the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan shall not imply prudence and reasonableness of that investment.

(5) To facilitate public transparency, all materials, data, testimony, and schedules shall be provided to the Commission in an editable, machine-readable electronic format including .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, and similar file formats, but not including .pdf or .exif. Should utilities designate any materials confidential, they shall have an affirmative duty to explain why the particular information is marked confidential. In determining prudence and reasonableness of rates, the Commission shall make its determination based upon the record, including each public comment filed or provided orally at open meetings consistent with the Commission's rules and practices.

(6) The Commission may, by order, establish terms, conditions, and procedures for submitting and approving a Multi-Year Rate Plan necessary to implement this Section and ensure that rates remain just and reasonable during the course of the plan, including terms and procedures for rate adjustment.

(7) An electric utility that files a tariff pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (e) must submit a one-time $300,000 filing fee at the time the Chief Clerk of the Commission accepts the filing, which shall be a recoverable expense.

(8) An electric utility operating under a Multi-Year Rate Plan shall file a new Multi-Year Rate Plan at least 300 days prior to the end of the initial Multi-Year Rate Plan unless it elects to file a general rate case pursuant to paragraph (9), and every 4 years thereafter, with a rate-effective date of the proposed tariffs such that, after the Commission suspension period, the rates would take effect immediately at the close of the final year of the initial Multi-Year Rate Plan. In subsequent Multi-Year Rate Plans, as in the initial plans, utilities and stakeholders may propose additional metrics that achieve the outcomes described in paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Section.

(9) Election of Rate Case.

(A) On or before the date prescribed by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (9) of this Section, electric utilities that serve more than 500,000 retail customers in the State shall file either a general rate case under Section 9-201 of this Act, or a Multi-Year Rate Plan, as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (d).

(B) Electric utilities described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) of this Section shall file their initial general rate case or Multi-Year Rate Plan, as applicable, with the Commission no later than January 20, 2023.

(C) Notwithstanding which rate filing option an electric utility elects to file on the date prescribed by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (9) of this Section, the electric utility shall be subject to the Multi-year Integrated Plan filing requirements.

(D) Following its initial rate filing pursuant to paragraph (2), an electric utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall thereafter be permitted to elect a different rate filing option consistent with any filing intervals established for a general rate case or Multi-Year Rate Plan, as follows:

(i) An electric utility that initially elected to file a Multi-Year Rate Plan and thereafter elects to transition to a general rate case may do so upon completion of the 4-year Multi-Year Rate Plan by filing a general rate case at the same time that the utility would have filed its subsequent Multi-Year Rate Plan, as specified in paragraph (8) of this subsection (d). Notwithstanding this election, the annual adjustment of the final year of the Multi-Year Rate Plan shall proceed as specified in paragraph (6) of subsection (f).

(ii) An electric utility that initially elected to a file general rate case and thereafter elects to transition to a Multi-Year Rate Plan may do so only at the 4-year filing intervals identified by paragraph (8) of this subsection (d).

(10) The Commission shall approve tariffs establishing rate design for all delivery service customers unless the electric utility makes the election specified in Section 16-105.5, in which case the rate design shall be subject to the provisions of that Section.

(11) The Commission shall establish requirements for annual performance evaluation reports to be submitted annually for performance metrics. Such reports shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the utility's performance under each metric and an identification of any extraordinary events that adversely affected the utility's performance.

(12) For the first Multi-Year Rate Plan, the Commission shall consolidate its investigation with the proceeding under Section 16-105.17 to establish the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan no later than 45 days after plan filing.

(13) Where a rate change under a Multi-Year Rate Plan will result in a rate increase, an electric utility may propose a rate phase-in plan that the Commission shall approve with or without modification or deny in its final order approving the new delivery services rates. A proposed rate phase-in plan under this paragraph (13) must allow the new delivery services rates to be implemented in no more than 2 steps, as follows: in the first step, at least 50% of the approved rate increase must be reflected in rates, and, in the second step, 100% of the rate increase must be reflected in rates. The second step's rates must take effect no later than 12 months after the first step's rates were placed into effect. The portion of the approved rate increase not implemented in the first step shall be recorded on the electric utility's books as a regulatory asset, and shall accrue carrying costs to ensure that the utility does not recover more or less than it otherwise would because of the deferral. This portion shall be recovered, with such carrying costs at the weighted average cost of capital, through a surcharge applied to retail customer bills that (i) begins no later than 12 months after the date on which the second step's rates went into effect and (ii) is applied over a period not to exceed 24 months. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to limit the Commission's authority to mitigate the impact of rates caused by rate plans, or any other instance on a revenue-neutral basis; nor shall it mitigate a utility's ability to make proposals to mitigate the impact of rates. When a deferral, or similar method, is used to mitigate the impact of rates, the utility should be allowed to recover carrying costs.

(14) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section (13), the Commission may, on its own initiative, take revenue-neutral measures to relieve the impact of rate increases on customers. Such initiatives may be taken by the Commission in the first Multi-Year Rate Plan, subsequent multi-year plans, or in other instances described in this Act.

(15) Whenever during the pendency of a Multi-year Rate Plan, an electric utility subject to this Section becomes aware that, due to circumstances beyond its control, prudent operating practices will require the utility to make adjustments to the Multi-Year Rate Plan, the electric utility may file a petition with the Commission requesting modification of the approved annual revenue requirements included in the Multi-Year Rate Plan. The electric utility must support its request with evidence demonstrating why a modification is necessary, due to circumstances beyond the utility's control, to follow prudent operating practices and must set forth the changes to each annual revenue requirement to be approved, and the basis for any changes in anticipated operating expenses or capital investment levels. The utility shall affirmatively address the impact of the changes on the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan and Multi-Year Rate Plan originally submitted and approved by the Commission. Any interested party may file an objection to the changes proposed, or offer alternatives to the utility's proposal, as supported by testimony and evidence. After notice and hearing, the Commission shall issue a final order regarding the electric utility's request no later than 180 days after the filing of the petition.

(e) Performance incentive mechanisms.

(1) The electric industry is undergoing rapid transformation, including fundamental changes in how electricity is generated, procured, and delivered and how customers are choosing to participate in the supply and delivery of electricity to and from the electric grid. Building upon the State's goals to increase the procurement of electricity from renewable energy resources, including distributed generation and storage devices, the General Assembly finds that electric utilities should make cost-effective investments that support moving forward on Illinois' clean energy policies. It is therefore in the State's interest for the Commission to establish performance incentive mechanisms in order to better tie utility revenues to performance and customer benefits, accelerate progress on Illinois energy and other goals, ensure equity and affordability of rates for all customers, including low-income customers, and hold utilities publicly accountable.

(2) The Commission shall approve, based on the substantial evidence proffered in the proceeding initiated pursuant to this subsection performance metrics that, to the extent practicable and achievable by the electric utility, encourage cost-effective, equitable utility achievement of the outcomes described in this subsection (e) while ensuring no degradation in the significant performance improvement achieved through previously established performance metrics. For each electric utility, the Commission shall approve metrics designed to achieve incremental improvements over baseline performance values and targets, over a performance period of up to 10 years, and no less than 4 years.

(A) The Commission shall approve no more than 8 metrics, with at least one metric from each of the categories below, for each electric utility, from subparagraphs (i) through (vi) of this subsection (A). Upon a utility request, the Commission may approve the use of a specific, measurable, and achievable tracking metric described in paragraph (3) of subsection (e) as a performance metric pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (e).

(i) Metrics designed to ensure the utility maintains and improves the high standards of both overall and locational reliability and resiliency, and makes improvements in power quality, including and particularly in environmental justice and equity investment eligible communities.

(ii) Peak load reductions attributable to demand response programs.

(iii) Supplier diversity expansion, including diverse contractor participation in professional services, subcontracting, and prime contracting opportunities, development of programs that address the barriers to access, aligning demographics of contractors to the demographics in the utility's service territory, establish long-term mentoring relationships that develop and remove barriers to access for diverse and underserved contractors. The utilities shall provide solutions, resources, and tools to address complex barriers of entry related to costly and time-intensive cyber security requirements, increasingly complex information technology requirements, insurance barriers, service provider sign-up process barriers, administrative process barriers, and other barriers that inhibit access to RFPs and contracts. For programs with contracts over $1,000,000, winning bidders must demonstrate a subcontractor development or mentoring relationship with at least one of their diverse subcontracting partners for a core component of the scope of the project. The mentoring time and cost shall be taken into account in the creation of RFP and shall include a structured and measured plan by the prime contractor to increase the capabilities of the subcontractor in their proposed scope. The metric shall include reporting on all supplier diversity programs by goals, program results, demographics and geography, with separate reporting by category of minority-owned, female-owned, veteran-owned, and disability-owned business enterprise metrics. The report shall include resources and expenses committed to the programs and conversion rates of new diverse utility contractors.

(iv) Achieve affordable customer delivery service costs, with particular emphasis on keeping the bills of lower-income households, households in equity investment eligible communities, and household in environmental justice communities within a manageable portion of their income and adopting credit and collection policies that reduce disconnections for these households specifically and for customers overall to ensure equitable disconnections, late fees, or arrearages as a result of utility credit and collection practices, which may include consideration of impact by zip code.

(v) Metrics designed around the utility's timeliness to customer requests for interconnection in key milestone areas, such as: initial response, supplemental review, and system feasibility study; improved average service reliability index for those customers that have interconnected a distributed renewable energy generation device to the utility's distribution system and are lawfully taking service under an applicable tariff; offering a variety of affordable rate options, including demand response, time of use rates for delivery and supply, real-time pricing rates for supply; comprehensive and predictable net metering, and maximizing the benefits of grid modernization and clean energy for ratepayers; and improving customer access to utility system information according to consumer demand and interest.

(vi) Metrics designed to measure the utility's customer service performance, which may include the average length of time to answer a customer's call by a customer service representative, the abandoned call rate and the relative ranking of the electric utility, by a reputable third-party organization, in customer service satisfaction when compared to other similar electric utilities in the Midwest region.

(B) Performance metrics shall include a description of the metric, a calculation method, a data collection method, annual performance targets, and any incentives or penalties for the utility's achievement of, or failure to achieve, their performance targets, provided that the total amount of potential incentives and penalties shall be symmetrical. Incentives shall be rewards or penalties or both, reflected as basis points added to, or subtracted from, the utility's cost of equity. The metrics and incentives shall apply for the entire time period covered by a Multi-Year Rate Plan. The total for all metrics shall be equal to 40 basis points, however, the Commission may adjust the basis points upward or downward by up to 20 basis points for any given Multi-Year Rate Plan, as appropriate, but in no event may the total exceed 60 basis points or fall below 20 basis points.

(C) Metrics related to reliability shall be implemented to ensure equitable benefits to environmental justice and equity investment eligible communities, as defined in this Act.

(D) The Commission shall approve performance metrics that are reasonably within control of the utility to achieve. The Commission also shall not approve a metric that is solely expected to have the effect of reducing the workforce. Performance metrics should measure outcomes and actual, rather than projected, results where possible. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to require that different electric utilities must be subject to the same metrics, goals, or incentives.

(E) Increases or enhancements to an existing performance goal or target shall be considered in light of other metrics, cost-effectiveness, and other factors the Commission deems appropriate. Performance metrics shall include one year of tracking data collected in a consistent manner, verifiable by an independent evaluator in order to establish a baseline and measure outcomes and actual results against projections where possible.

(F) For the purpose of determining reasonable performance metrics and related incentives, the Commission shall develop a methodology to calculate net benefits that includes customer and societal costs and benefits and quantifies the effect on delivery rates. In determining the appropriate level of a performance incentive, the Commission shall consider: the extent to which the amount is likely to encourage the utility to achieve the performance target in the least cost manner; the value of benefits to customers, the grid, public health and safety, and the environment from achievement of the performance target, including in particular benefits to equity investment eligible community; the affordability of customer's electric bills, including low-income customers, the utility's revenue requirement, the promotion of renewable and distributed energy, and other such factors that the Commission deems appropriate. The consideration of these factors shall result in an incentive level that ensures benefits exceed costs for customers.

(G) Achievement of performance metrics are based on the assumptions that the utility will adopt or implement the technology and equipment, and make the investments to the extent reasonably necessary to achieve the goal. If the electric utility is unable to meet the performance metrics as a result of extraordinary circumstances outside of its control, including but not limited to government-declared emergencies, then the utility shall be permitted to file a petition with the Commission requesting that the utility be excused from compliance with the applicable performance goal or goals and the associated financial incentives and penalties. The burden of proof shall be on the utility, consistent with Article IX, and the utility's petition shall be supported by substantial evidence. The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving or denying, in whole or in part, the utility's petition based on the extent to which the utility demonstrated that its achievement of the affected metrics and performance goals was hindered by extraordinary circumstances outside of the utility's control.

(3) The Commission shall approve reasonable and appropriate tracking metrics to collect and monitor data for the purpose of measuring and reporting utility performance and for establishing future performance metrics. These additional tracking metrics shall include at least one metric from each of the following categories of performance:

(A) Minimize emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants that harm human health, particularly in environmental justice and equity investment eligible communities, through minimizing total emissions by accelerating electrification of transportation, buildings and industries where such electrification results in net reductions, across all fuels and over the life of electrification measures, of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, taking into consideration the fuel mix used to produce electricity at the relevant hour and the effect of accelerating electrification on electricity delivery services rates, supply prices and peak demand, provided the revenues the utility receives from accelerating electrification of transportation, buildings and industries exceed the costs.

(B) Enhance the grid's flexibility to adapt to increased deployment of nondispatchable resources, improve the ability and performance of the grid on load balancing, and offer a variety of rate plans to match consumer consumption patterns and lower consumer bills for electricity delivery and supply.

(C) Ensure rates reflect cost savings attributable to grid modernization and utilize distributed energy resources that allow the utility to defer or forgo traditional grid investments that would otherwise be required to provide safe and reliable service.

(D) Metrics designed to create and sustain full-time-equivalent jobs and opportunities for all segments of the population and workforce, including minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and businesses owned by a person or persons with a disability, and that do not, consistent with State and federal law, discriminate based on race or socioeconomic status as a result of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.

(E) Maximize and prioritize the allocation of grid planning benefits to environmental justice and economically disadvantaged customers and communities, such that all metrics provide equitable benefits across the utility's service territory and maintain and improve utility customers' access to uninterrupted utility services.

(4) The Commission may establish new tracking and performance metrics in future Multi-Year Rate Plans to further measure achievement of the outcomes set forth in paragraph (2) of subsection (f) of this Section and the other goals and requirements of this Section.

(5) The Commission shall also evaluate metrics that were established in prior Multi-Year Rate Plans to determine if there has been an unanticipated material change in circumstances such that adjustments are required to improve the likelihood of the outcomes described in paragraph (2) of subsection (f). For metrics that were established in prior Multi-Year Rate Plan proceedings and that the Commission elects to continue, the design of these metrics, including the goals of tracking metrics and the targets and incentive levels and structures of performance metrics, may be adjusted pursuant to the requirements in this Section. The Commission may also change, adjust or phase out tracking and performance metrics that were established in prior Multi-Year Rate Plan proceedings if these metrics no longer meet the requirements of this Section or if they are rendered obsolete by the changing needs and technology of an evolving grid. Additionally, performance metrics that no longer require an incentive to create improved utility performance may become tracking metrics in a Multi-Year Rate Plan proceeding.

(6) The Commission shall initiate a workshop process no later than August 1, 2021, or 15 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, whichever is later, for the purpose of facilitating the development of metrics for each utility. The workshop shall be coordinated by the staff of the Commission, or a facilitator retained by staff, and shall be organized and facilitated in a manner that encourages representation from diverse stakeholders and ensures equitable opportunities for participation, without requiring formal intervention or representation by an attorney. Working with staff of the Commission the facilitator may conduct a combination of workshops specific to a utility or applicable to multiple utilities where content and stakeholders are substantially similar. The workshop process shall conclude no later than October 31, 2021. Following the workshop, the staff of the Commission, or the facilitator retained by the Staff, shall prepare and submit a report to the Commission that identifies the participants in the process, the metrics proposed during the process, any material issues that remained unresolved at the conclusions of such process, and any recommendations for workshop process improvements. Any workshop participant may file comments and reply comments in response to the Staff report.

(A) No later than January, 20, 2022, each electric utility that intends to file a petition pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section shall file a petition with the Commission seeking approval of its performance metrics, which shall include for each metric, at a minimum, (i) a detailed description, (ii) the calculation of the baseline, (iii) the performance period and overall performance goal, provided that the performance period shall not commence prior to January 1, 2024, (iv) each annual performance goal, (v) the performance adjustment, which shall be a symmetrical basis point increase or decrease to the utility's cost of equity based on the extent to which the utility achieved the annual performance goal, and (vi) the new or modified tariff mechanism that will apply the performance adjustments. The Commission shall issue its order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's proposed performance metrics no later than September 30, 2022.

(B) No later than August 1, 2025, the Commission shall initiate a workshop process that conforms to the workshop purpose and requirements of this paragraph (6) of this Section to the extent they do not conflict. The workshop process shall conclude no later than October 31, 2025, and the staff of the Commission, or the facilitator retained by the Staff, shall prepare and submit a report consistent with the requirements described in this paragraph (6) of this Section. No later than January 20, 2026, each electric utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall file a petition the reflects, and is consistent with, the components required in this paragraph (6) of this Section, and the Commission shall issue its order approving, or approving with modification, the utility's proposed performance metrics no later than September 30, 2026.

(f) On May 1 of each year, following the approval of the first Multi-Year Rate Plan and its initial year, the Commission shall open an annual performance evaluation proceeding to evaluate the utilities' performance on their metric targets during the year just completed, as well as the appropriate Annual Adjustment as defined in paragraph (6). The Commission shall determine the performance and annual adjustments to be applied through a surcharge in the following calendar year.

(1) On February 15 of each year, prior to the annual performance evaluation proceeding, each utility shall file a performance evaluation report with the Commission that includes a description of and all data supporting how the utility performed under each performance metric and an identification of any extraordinary events that adversely impacted the utility's performance.

(2) The metrics approved under this Section are based on the assumptions that the utility may fully implement the technology and equipment, and make the investments, required to achieve the metrics and performance goals. If the utility is unable to meet the metrics and performance goals because it was hindered by unanticipated technology or equipment implementation delays, government-declared emergencies, or other investment impediments, then the utility shall be permitted to file a petition with the Commission on or before the date that its report is due pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection (f) requesting that the utility be excused from compliance with the applicable performance goal or goals. The burden of proof shall be on the utility, consistent with Article IX, and the utility's petition shall be supported by substantial evidence. No later than 90 days after the utility files its petition, the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, enter its order approving or denying, in whole or in part, the utility's petition based on the extent to which the utility demonstrated that its achievement of the affected metrics and performance goals was hindered by unanticipated technology or equipment implementation delays, or other investment impediments, that were reasonably outside of the utility's control.

(3) The electric utility shall provide for an annual independent evaluation of its performance on metrics. The independent evaluator shall review the utility's assumptions, baselines, targets, calculation methodologies, and other relevant information, especially ensuring that the utility's data for establishing baselines matches actual performance, and shall provide a report to the Commission in each annual performance evaluation describing the results. The independent evaluator shall present this report as evidence as a nonparty participant and shall not be represented by the utility's legal counsel. The independent evaluator shall be hired through a competitive bidding process with approval of the contract by the Commission.

The Commission shall consider the report of the independent evaluator in determining the utility's achievement of performance targets. Discrepancies between the utility's assumptions, baselines, targets, or calculations and those of the independent evaluator shall be closely scrutinized by the Commission. If the Commission finds that the utility's reported data for any metric or metrics significantly and incorrectly deviates from the data reported by the independent evaluator, then the Commission shall order the utility to revise its data collection and calculation process within 60 days, with specifications where appropriate.

(4) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing in the annual performance evaluation proceeding, enter an order approving the utility's performance adjustment based on its achievement of or failure to achieve its performance targets no later than December 20 each year. The Commission-approved penalties or incentives shall be applied beginning with the next calendar year.

(5) In order to promote the transparency of utility investments during the effective period of a multi-year rate plan, inform the Commission's investigation and adjustment of rates in the annual adjustment process, and to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in the annual adjustment process, an electric utility with an effective Multi-Year Rate Plan shall, within 90 days of the close of each quarter during the Multi-Year Rate Plan period, submit to the Commission a report that summarizes the additions to utility plant that were placed into service during the prior quarter, which for purposes of the report shall be the most recently closed fiscal quarter. The report shall also summarize the utility plant the electric utility projects it will place into service through the end of the calendar year in which the report is filed. The projections, estimates, plans, and forward-looking information that are provided in the reports pursuant to this paragraph (5) are for planning purposes and are intended to be illustrative of the investments that the utility proposes to make as of the time of submittal. Nothing in this paragraph (5) precludes, or is intended to limit, a utility's ability to modify and update its projections, estimates, plans, and forward-looking information previously submitted in order to reflect stakeholder input or other new or updated information and analysis, including, but not limited to, changes in specific investment needs, customer electric use patterns, customer applications and preferences, and commercially available equipment and technologies, however the utility shall explain any changes or deviations between the projected investments from the quarterly reports and actual investments in the annual report. The reports submitted pursuant to this subsection are intended to be flexible planning tools, and are expected to evolve as new information becomes available. Within 7 days of receiving a quarterly report, the Commission shall timely make such report available to the public by posting it on the Commission's website. Each quarterly report shall include the following detail:

(A) The total dollar value of the additions to utility plant placed in service during the prior quarter;

(B) A list of the major investment categories the electric utility used to manage its routine standing operational activities during the prior quarter including the total dollar amount for the work reflected in each investment category in which utility plant in service is equal to or greater than $2,000,000 for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State or $500,000 for an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 customers but more than 500,000 customers in the State as of the last day of the quarterly reporting period, as well as a summary description of each investment category;

(C) A list of the projects which the electric utility has identified by a unique investment tracking number for utility plant placed in service during the prior quarter for utility plant placed in service with a total dollar value as of the last day of the quarterly reporting period that is equal to or greater than $2,000,000 for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State or $500,000 for an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than $500,000 retail customers in the State, as well as a summary of each project;

(D) The estimated total dollar value of the additions to utility plant projected to be placed in service through the end of the calendar year in which the report is filed;

(E) A list of the major investment categories the electric utility used to manage its routine standing operational activities with utility plant projected to be placed in service through the end of the calendar year in which the report is filed, including the total dollar amount for the work reflected in each investment category in which utility plant in service is projected to be equal to or greater than $2,000,000 for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State or $500,000 for an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 retail customers in the State, as well as a summary description of each investment category; and

(F) A list of the projects for which the electric utility has identified by a unique investment tracking number for utility plant projected to be placed in service through the end of the calendar year in which the report is filed with an estimated dollar value that is equal to or greater than $2,000,000 for an electric utility that serves more than 3,000,000 customers in the State or $500,000 for an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retails customers but more than $500,000 retail customers in the State, as well as a summary description of each project.

(6) As part of the Annual Performance Adjustment, the electric utility shall submit evidence sufficient to support a determination of its actual revenue requirement for the applicable calendar year, consistent with the provisions of paragraphs (d) and (f) of this subsection. The electric utility shall bear the burden of demonstrating that its costs were prudent and reasonable, subject to the provisions of paragraph (4) of this subsection (f). The Commission's review of the electric utility's annual adjustment shall be based on the same evidentiary standards, including, but not limited to, those concerning the prudence and reasonableness of the known and measurable costs forecasted to be incurred by the utility, and the used and usefulness of the actual plant investment pursuant to Section 9-211 of this Act, that the Commission applies in a proceeding to review a filing for changes in rates pursuant to Section 9-201 of this Act. The Commission shall determine the prudence and reasonableness of the actual costs incurred by the utility during the applicable calendar year, as well as determine the original cost of plant in service as of the end of the applicable calendar year. The Commission shall then determine the Annual Adjustment, which shall mean the amount by which, the electric utility's actual revenue requirement for the applicable year of the Multi-Year Rate Plan either exceeded, or was exceeded by, the revenue requirement approved by the Commission for such calendar year, plus carrying costs calculated at the weighted average cost of capital approved for the Multi-Year Rate Plan.

The Commission's determination of the electric utility's actual revenue requirement for the applicable calendar year shall be based on:

(A) the Commission-approved used and useful, prudent and reasonable actual costs for the applicable calendar year, which shall be determined pursuant to the following criteria:

(i) The overall level of actual costs incurred during the calendar year, provided that the Commission may not allow recovery of actual costs that are more than 105% of the approved revenue requirement calculated as provided in item (ii) of this subparagraph (A), except to the extent the Commission approves a modification of the Multi-Year Rate Plan to permit such recovery.

(ii) The calculation of 105% of the revenue requirement required by this subparagraph (A) shall exclude the revenue requirement impacts of the following volatile and fluctuating variables that occurred during the year: (i) storms and weather-related events for which the utility provides sufficient evidence to demonstrate that such expenses were not foreseeable and not in control of the utility; (ii) new business; (iii) changes in interest rates; (iv) changes in taxes; (v) facility relocations; (vi) changes in pension or post-retirement benefits costs due to fluctuations in interest rates, market returns or actuarial assumptions; (vii) amortization expenses related to costs; and (viii) changes in the timing of when an expenditure or investment is made such that it is accelerated to occur during the applicable year or deferred to occur in a subsequent year.

(B) the year-end rate base;

(C) the cost of equity approved in the multi-year rate plan; and

(D) the electric utility's actual year-end capital structure, provided that the common equity ratio in such capital structure may not exceed the common equity ratio that was approved by the Commission in the Multi-Year Rate Plan.

(2) The Commission's determinations of the prudence and reasonableness of the costs incurred for the applicable year, and of the original cost of plant in service as of the end of the applicable calendar year, shall be final upon entry of the Commission's order and shall not be subject to collateral attack in any other Commission proceeding, case, docket, order, rule, or regulation; however, nothing in this Section shall prohibit a party from petitioning the Commission to rehear or appeal to the courts the order pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

(g) During the period leading to approval of the first Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan, each electric utility will necessarily continue to invest in its distribution grid. Those investments will be subject to a determination of prudence and reasonableness consistent with Commission practice and law. Any failure to conform to the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan ultimately approved shall not imply imprudence or unreasonableness.

(h) After calculating the Performance Adjustment and Annual Adjustment, the Commission shall order the electric utility to collect the amount in excess of the revenue requirement from customers, or issue a refund to customers, as applicable, to be applied through a surcharge beginning with the next calendar year.

Electric utilities subject to the requirements of this Section shall be permitted to file new or revised tariffs to comply with the provisions of, and Commission orders entered pursuant to, this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.19)

Sec. 16-108.19. Division of Integrated Distribution Planning.

(a) The Commission shall establish the Division of Integrated Distribution Planning within the Bureau of Public Utilities. The Division shall be staffed by no less than 13 professionals, including engineers, rate analysts, accountants, policy analysts, utility research and analysis analysts, cybersecurity analysts, informational technology specialists, and lawyers to review and evaluate Integrated Grid Plans, updates to Integrated Grid Plans, audits, and other duties as assigned by the Chief of the Public Utilities Bureau.

(b) The Division of Integrated Distribution Planning shall be established by January 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.20)

Sec. 16-108.20. Cost-effectiveness incentive.

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is critical to maintain this focus on utility bill affordability as the State transitions to a clean energy economy. The General Assembly accordingly finds that it may be in the public interest to incentivize electric utilities to reduce spending where practicable and where such reduction will not have an adverse impact on the State's clean energy goals; this Act's overarching objectives of efficiency, environmental quality, reliability, and equity; or the utility's achievement on its metrics.

(b) In addition to the performance metrics established and approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 16-108.18 of this Act, the Commission may also determine whether each electric utility that serves more than 500,000 retail customers in the State may also be subject to a performance metric that incentivizes the utility to make cost-effective choices and stretch to achieve cost savings for public utility customers where it can do so without adverse impact (on efficiency, environmental quality, reliability or equity).

(c) The Commission shall initiate a docket on the subject of cost-effective shared savings, and shall make a determination if it would be in the public interest and the best interest of electric utility customers to establish a performance metric that incentivizes utilities to reduce their costs while meeting all other performance metrics and addressing state goals as found in this Act.

(d) At the conclusion of the docket, if the Commission determines that such an incentive is in the best interest of consumers, the Commission shall have the authority to set a specific metric as part of the performance metric process pursuant to Section 16-108.18. Such metric shall include a determination of the percentage of the shared savings to be returned to the customers and to the utility. Such percentage shall be set so as to incentivize the utility to make savings, while providing substantial benefits to consumers.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.21)

Sec. 16-108.21. Accelerated repayment of excess deferred income tax.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) That a portion of each utility's compensation from ratepayers is attributable to reimbursement for federal taxes paid by the utility.

(2) Due to the enactment of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the federal income tax rate for corporations was lowered, resulting in excess deferred income tax for distribution utilities in the State that serve more than 100,000 customers.

(3) In proceedings before the Commission, it was determined that the repayment period to ratepayers by the utilities which serve more than 100,000 customers in this State for this excess deferred income tax would be 39.5 years.

(4) The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed many customers of all rate classes in the State, and resulted in the Commission adopting a number of measures to provide relief for customers.

(5) It would be in the interest of the State for the repayment of the excess deferred income tax referenced in Commission Dockets 19-0436, 19-0387, 20-0381, and 20-0393 to be paid back to ratepayers on a timetable greatly accelerated from that set forth in the dockets.

(b) Notwithstanding the Commission Orders in Dockets 19-0436, 19-0387, 20-0381, and 20-0382, the excess deferred income tax referenced in those dockets shall be fully refunded to ratepayers by the respective utilities no later than December 31, 2025.

(c) The Commission shall initiate a docket to provide for the refunding of these excess deferred income taxes to ratepayers of the utilities referenced in those dockets, and shall set forth any necessary provisions to accomplish the reimbursement on the schedule delineated in subsection (b).

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.25)

Sec. 16-108.25. Tariff regarding transition in rates. Each electric utility that files a Multi-Year Rate Plan pursuant to Section 16-108.18 of this Act or a general rate case as described in this Act shall also file a tariff that sets forth the processes and procedures by which the electric utility will transition from its current rates and ratemaking mechanism to the new Multi-Year Rate Plan or a general rate case and rates that will take effect under that multi-year plan. The proposed tariff shall be consistent with the tariff approved by the Commission in Docket No. 20-0426 and covers the period until the new delivery rates are effective and all required processes and procedures described in the tariff have been completed.

Each electric utility subject to this Section shall file its proposed tariff no later than 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, and the Commission shall enter its order approving the tariff no later than 120 days after it was filed if the Commission finds that the proposed tariff is consistent with the tariff previously approved in Docket No. 20-0426 for the period until the new delivery rates are effective and all required processes and procedures described in the tariff have been completed. If the Commission does not so find, then the Commission shall approve the utility's tariff with those modifications that are required to make the proposed tariff consistent with the tariff approved in Docket 20-0426 until the new delivery rates are effective and all required processes and procedures described in the tariff have been completed.

An electric utility that has a tariff in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly that provides for the transition from its current rates and ratemaking mechanism to new base rates approved pursuant to Article IX of this Act, shall file a compliance tariff modifying its existing tariff to comply with the provisions of this Section. The compliance tariff shall go into effect on 45 days' notice.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-108.30)

Sec. 16-108.30. Energy Transition Assistance Fund.

(a) The Energy Transition Assistance Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The Energy Transition Assistance Fund is authorized to receive moneys collected pursuant to this Section. Subject to appropriation, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall use moneys from the Energy Transition Assistance Fund consistent with the purposes of this Act.

(b) An electric utility serving more than 500,000 customers in the State shall assess an energy transition assistance charge on all its retail customers for the Energy Transition Assistance Fund. The utility's total charge shall be set based upon the value determined by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity pursuant to subsection (d) or (e), as applicable, of Section 605-1075 of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. For each utility, the charge shall be recovered through a single, uniform cents per kilowatt-hour charge applicable to all retail customers. For each utility, the charge shall not exceed 1.3% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by eligible retail customers during the year ending May 31, 2009.

(c) Within 75 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric utility serving more than 500,000 customers in the State shall file with the Illinois Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the energy transition assistance charge in other charges stated in such tariffs, which energy transition assistance charges shall become effective no later than the beginning of the first billing cycle that begins on or after January 1, 2022. Each electric utility serving more than 500,000 customers in the State shall, prior to the beginning of each calendar year starting with calendar year 2023, file with the Illinois Commerce Commission tariff revisions to incorporate annual revisions to the energy transition assistance charge as prescribed by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity pursuant to Section 605-1075 of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois so that such revision becomes effective no later than the beginning of the first billing cycle in each respective year.

(d) The energy transition assistance charge shall be considered a charge for public utility service.

(e) By the 20th day of the month following the month in which the charges imposed by this Section were collected, each electric utility serving more than 500,000 customers in the State shall remit to Department of Revenue all moneys received as payment of the energy transition assistance charge on a return prescribed and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably require. If a customer makes a partial payment, a public utility may apply such partial payments first to amounts owed to the utility. No customer may be subjected to disconnection of his or her utility service for failure to pay the energy transition assistance charge.

If any payment provided for in this subsection exceeds the electric utility's liabilities under this Act, as shown on an original return, the Department may authorize the electric utility to credit such excess payment against liability subsequently to be remitted to the Department under this Act, in accordance with reasonable rules adopted by the Department.

All the provisions of Sections 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5i, 5j, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act that are not inconsistent with this Act apply, as far as practicable, to the charge imposed by this Act to the same extent as if those provisions were included in this Act. References in the incorporated Sections of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act to retailers, to sellers, or to persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property mean persons required to remit the charge imposed under this Act.

(f) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the Energy Transition Assistance Fund all moneys remitted to it in accordance with this Section.

(g) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(h) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21; 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-109)

Sec. 16-109. Unbundling of delivery services; Commission review. The General Assembly finds that the offering of delivery services will, and is intended to, facilitate the development of competition for generation services, and that competition may develop for other services currently offered on a tariffed basis by the electric utility. The Commission shall open a proceeding to investigate the need for and desirability of different or additional unbundling of delivery services for some or all electric utilities 3 years from the date that a tariff for delivery services is first approved or allowed into effect pursuant to this Section. The Commission shall open an additional proceeding to again investigate the need for and desirability of different or additional unbundling of delivery services for some or all electric utilities, 3 years after the entry of its final order in the first investigation proceeding. The Commission shall issue its final order in each investigation proceeding no later than 6 months after the proceeding is initiated. In each such proceeding the Commission shall consider, at a minimum, the effect of additional unbundling on (i) the objective of just and reasonable rates, (ii) electric utility employees, and (iii) the development of competitive markets for electric energy services in Illinois. Specific changes to the delivery services tariffs of individual electric utilities to implement findings and directives stated in an order in an investigation proceeding initiated under this Section shall be addressed through individual electric utility tariff filings. The Commission may also, in accordance with Section 16-108, upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, upon reasonable notice, enter upon a hearing concerning the need and desirability of requiring additional or other unbundling of delivery services offered by electric utilities.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-109A)

Sec. 16-109A. Unbundling of prices for tariffed services; Commission investigation. In addition to the unbundling authorized under Sections 16-108 and 16-109, the Commission shall have the authority to investigate the need for, and to require, the restructuring or unbundling of prices for tariffed services, other than delivery services, offered by an electric utility; provided, however, that the Commission shall not enter an order requiring the restructuring or unbundling of prices for any such tariffed services for a customer class of an electric utility prior to the date that the class first becomes eligible for delivery services pursuant to Section 16-104.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-110)

Sec. 16-110. Delivery services customer power purchase options.

(a) Each electric utility shall offer a tariffed service or services in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Section pursuant to which its non-residential delivery services customers may purchase from the electric utility an amount of electric power and energy that is equal to or less than the amounts that are delivered by such electric utility.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (o) of Section 16-112, a non-residential delivery services customer that is paying transition charges to the electric utility shall be permitted to purchase electric power and energy from the electric utility at a price or prices equal to the sum of (i) the market values that are determined for the electric utility in accordance with Section 16-112 and used by the electric utility to calculate the customer's transition charges and (ii) a fee that compensates the electric utility for any administrative costs it incurs in arranging to supply such electric power and energy. The electric utility may require that the customer purchase such electric power and energy for periods of not less than one year and may also require that the customer give up to 30 days notice for a purchase of one year's duration, and 90 days notice for a purchase of more than one year's duration. A non-residential delivery service customer exercising the option described in this subsection may sell or assign its interests in the electric power or energy that the customer has purchased. In the case of any such assignment or sale by any non-residential delivery service customer to an alternative retail electric supplier that is serving such customer and has been certified pursuant to Section 16-115, an electric utility serving more than 500,000 customers shall provide such power and energy at the same market value as set forth in clause (i) of this subsection, together with the fee charged under clause (ii) of this subsection, less any costs included in such market value or fee with respect to retail marketing activities, provided, however, that in no event shall an electric utility be required after June 1, 2002 to provide power and energy at this market value plus fee that excludes marketing costs for any such assignment or sale by a non-residential customer to an alternative retail electric supplier. At least twice per year, each electric utility shall notify its small commercial retail customers, through bill inserts and other similar means, of their option to obtain electric power and energy through purchases at market value pursuant to this subsection.

(c) After the transition charge period applicable to a non-residential delivery services customer, and until the provision of electric power and energy is declared competitive for the customer group to which the customer belongs, a non-residential delivery services customer that paid any transition charges it was legally obligated to pay to an electric utility shall be permitted to purchase electric power and energy from the electric utility for contract periods of one year at a price or prices equal to the sum of (i) the market value determined for that customer's class pursuant to Section 16-112 and (ii) to the extent it is not included in such market value, a fee to compensate the electric utility for the service of arranging the supply or purchase of such electric power and energy. The electric utility may require that a delivery services customer give the following notice for such a purchase: (i) for a small commercial retail customer, not more than 30 days; (ii) for a nonresidential customer which is not a small commercial retail customer but which has maximum electrical demand of less than 500 kilowatts, not more than 6 months; (iii) for a nonresidential customer with maximum electrical demand of 500 kilowatts or more but less than one megawatt, not more than 9 months; and (iv) for a nonresidential customer with maximum electrical demand of one megawatt or more, not more than one year. At least twice per year, each electric utility shall notify its small commercial retail customers, through bill inserts or other similar means, of their option to obtain electric power and energy through purchases at market value pursuant to this subsection.

(d) After the transition charge period applicable to a non-residential delivery services customer, and until the provision of electric power and energy is declared competitive for the customer group to which the customer belongs, a non-residential delivery services customer, other than a small commercial retail customer, that paid any transition charges it was legally obligated to pay to an electric utility shall be permitted to purchase electric power and energy from the electric utility for contract periods of one year at a price or prices equal to (A) the sum of (i) the electric utility's actual cost of procuring such electric power and energy and (ii) a broker's fee to compensate the electric utility for arranging the supply, or, if the utility so elects, (B) the market value of electric power or energy provided by the electric utility determined as set forth in the electric utility's tariff for that customer's class. The electric utility may require that the delivery services customer give up to 30 days notice for such a purchase.

(e) Each delivery services customer purchasing electric power and energy from the electric utility pursuant to a tariff filed in accordance with this Section shall also pay all of the applicable charges set forth in the electric utility's delivery services tariffs and any other tariffs applicable to the services provided to that customer by the electric utility.

(f) An electric utility can require a retail customer taking delivery services that formerly generated electric power and energy for its own use and that would not otherwise pay transition charges on a portion of its electric power and energy requirements served on delivery services to pay transition charges on that portion of the customer's electric power and energy requirements as a condition of exercising the delivery services customer power purchase options set forth in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111)

Sec. 16-111. Rates and restructuring transactions during mandatory transition period; restructuring and other transactions.

(a) During the mandatory transition period, notwithstanding any provision of Article IX of this Act, and except as provided in subsections (b) and (f) of this Section, the Commission shall not (i) initiate, authorize or order any change by way of increase (other than in connection with a request for rate increase which was filed after September 1, 1997 but prior to October 15, 1997, by an electric utility serving less than 12,500 customers in this State), (ii) initiate or, unless requested by the electric utility, authorize or order any change by way of decrease, restructuring or unbundling (except as provided in Section 16-109A), in the rates of any electric utility that were in effect on October 1, 1996, or (iii) in any order approving any application for a merger pursuant to Section 7-204 that was pending as of May 16, 1997, impose any condition requiring any filing for an increase, decrease, or change in, or other review of, an electric utility's rates or enforce any such condition of any such order; provided, however, that this subsection shall not prohibit the Commission from:

(1) approving the application of an electric utility to implement an alternative to rate of return regulation or a regulatory mechanism that rewards or penalizes the electric utility through adjustment of rates based on utility performance, pursuant to Section 9-244;

(2) authorizing an electric utility to eliminate its fuel adjustment clause and adjust its base rate tariffs in accordance with subsection (b), (d), or (f) of Section 9-220 of this Act, to fix its fuel adjustment factor in accordance with subsection (c) of Section 9-220 of this Act, or to eliminate its fuel adjustment clause in accordance with subsection (e) of Section 9-220 of this Act;

(3) ordering into effect tariffs for delivery services and transition charges in accordance with Sections 16-104 and 16-108, for real-time pricing in accordance with Section 16-107, or the options required by Section 16-110 and subsection (n) of 16-112, allowing a billing experiment in accordance with Section 16-106, or modifying delivery services tariffs in accordance with Section 16-109; or

(4) ordering or allowing into effect any tariff to recover charges pursuant to Sections 9-201.5, 9-220.1, 9-221, 9-222 (except as provided in Section 9-222.1), 16-108, and 16-114 of this Act, Section 5-5 of the Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Law, Section 6-5 of the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Coal Resources Development Law of 1997, and Section 13 of the Energy Assistance Act.

After December 31, 2004, the provisions of this subsection (a) shall not apply to an electric utility whose average residential retail rate was less than or equal to 90% of the average residential retail rate for the "Midwest Utilities", as that term is defined in subsection (b) of this Section, based on data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 1995, and which served between 150,000 and 250,000 retail customers in this State on January 1, 1995 unless the electric utility or its holding company has been acquired by or merged with an affiliate of another electric utility subsequent to January 1, 2002. This exemption shall be limited to this subsection (a) and shall not extend to any other provisions of this Act.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), each Illinois electric utility serving more than 12,500 customers in Illinois shall file tariffs (i) reducing, effective August 1, 1998, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by 15% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998 and (ii) if the public utility provides electric service to (A) more than 500,000 customers but less than 1,000,000 customers in this State on January 1, 1999, reducing, effective May 1, 2002, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by an additional 5% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998, or (B) at least 1,000,000 customers in this State on January 1, 1999, reducing, effective October 1, 2001, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by an additional 5% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998. Provided, however, that (A) if an electric utility's average residential retail rate is less than or equal to the average residential retail rate for a group of Midwest Utilities (consisting of all investor-owned electric utilities with annual system peaks in excess of 1000 megawatts in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin), based on data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 1995, then it shall only be required to file tariffs (i) reducing, effective August 1, 1998, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by 5% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998, (ii) reducing, effective October 1, 2000, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by the lesser of 5% of the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998 or the percentage by which the electric utility's average residential retail rate exceeds the average residential retail rate of the Midwest Utilities, based on data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 1999, and (iii) reducing, effective October 1, 2002, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by an additional amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998 or the percentage by which the electric utility's average residential retail rate exceeds the average residential retail rate of the Midwest Utilities, based on data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 2001; and (B) if the average residential retail rate of an electric utility serving between 150,000 and 250,000 retail customers in this State on January 1, 1995 is less than or equal to 90% of the average residential retail rate for the Midwest Utilities, based on data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 1995, then it shall only be required to file tariffs (i) reducing, effective August 1, 1998, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by 2% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998; (ii) reducing, effective October 1, 2000, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by 2% from the base rate in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998; and (iii) reducing, effective October 1, 2002, each component of its base rates to residential retail customers by 1% from the base rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998. Provided, further, that any electric utility for which a decrease in base rates has been or is placed into effect between October 1, 1996 and the dates specified in the preceding sentences of this subsection, other than pursuant to the requirements of this subsection, shall be entitled to reduce the amount of any reduction or reductions in its base rates required by this subsection by the amount of such other decrease. The tariffs required under this subsection shall be filed 45 days in advance of the effective date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 9-220 of this Act, no restatement of base rates in conjunction with the elimination of a fuel adjustment clause under that Section shall result in a lesser decrease in base rates than customers would otherwise receive under this subsection had the electric utility's fuel adjustment clause not been eliminated.

(c) Any utility reducing its base rates by 15% on August 1, 1998 pursuant to subsection (b) shall include the following statement on its bills for residential customers from August 1 through December 31, 1998: "Effective August 1, 1998, your rates have been reduced by 15% by the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the Illinois General Assembly.". Any utility reducing its base rates by 5% on August 1, 1998, pursuant to subsection (b) shall include the following statement on its bills for residential customers from August 1 through December 31, 1998: "Effective August 1, 1998, your rates have been reduced by 5% by the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the Illinois General Assembly.".

Any utility reducing its base rates by 2% on August 1, 1998 pursuant to subsection (b) shall include the following statement on its bills for residential customers from August 1 through December 31, 1998: "Effective August 1, 1998, your rates have been reduced by 2% by the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the Illinois General Assembly.".

(d) (Blank.)

(e) (Blank.)

(f) During the mandatory transition period, an electric utility may file revised tariffs reducing the price of any tariffed service offered by the electric utility for all customers taking that tariffed service, which shall be effective 7 days after filing.

(g) Until all classes of tariffed services are declared competitive, an electric utility may, without obtaining any approval of the Commission other than that provided for in this subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any rule or regulation of the Commission that would require such approval:

(1) implement a reorganization, other than a merger of 2 or more public utilities as defined in Section 3-105 or their holding companies;

(2) retire generating plants from service;

(3) sell, assign, lease or otherwise transfer assets to an affiliated or unaffiliated entity and as part of such transaction enter into service agreements, power purchase agreements, or other agreements with the transferee; provided, however, that the prices, terms and conditions of any power purchase agreement must be approved or allowed into effect by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; or

(4) use any accelerated cost recovery method including accelerated depreciation, accelerated amortization or other capital recovery methods, or record reductions to the original cost of its assets.

In order to implement a reorganization, retire generating plants from service, or sell, assign, lease or otherwise transfer assets pursuant to this Section, the electric utility shall comply with subsections (c) and (d) of Section 16-128, if applicable, and subsection (k) of this Section, if applicable, and provide the Commission with at least 30 days notice of the proposed reorganization or transaction, which notice shall include the following information:

(i) a complete statement of the entries that the electric utility will make on its books and records of account to implement the proposed reorganization or transaction together with a certification from an independent certified public accountant that such entries are in accord with generally accepted accounting principles and, if the Commission has previously approved guidelines for cost allocations between the utility and its affiliates, a certification from the chief accounting officer of the utility that such entries are in accord with those cost allocation guidelines;

(ii) a description of how the electric utility will use proceeds of any sale, assignment, lease or transfer to retire debt or otherwise reduce or recover the costs of services provided by such electric utility;

(iii) a list of all federal approvals or approvals required from departments and agencies of this State, other than the Commission, that the electric utility has or will obtain before implementing the reorganization or transaction;

(iv) an irrevocable commitment by the electric utility that it will not, as a result of the transaction, impose any stranded cost charges that it might otherwise be allowed to charge retail customers under federal law or increase the transition charges that it is otherwise entitled to collect under this Article XVI;

(v) if the electric utility proposes to sell, assign, lease or otherwise transfer a generating plant that brings the amount of net dependable generating capacity transferred pursuant to this subsection to an amount equal to or greater than 15% of the electric utility's net dependable capacity as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, and enters into a power purchase agreement with the entity to which such generating plant is sold, assigned, leased, or otherwise transferred, the electric utility also agrees, if its fuel adjustment clause has not already been eliminated, to eliminate its fuel adjustment clause in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 9-220 for a period of time equal to the length of any such power purchase agreement or successor agreement, or until January 1, 2005, whichever is longer; if the capacity of the generating plant so transferred and related power purchase agreement does not result in the elimination of the fuel adjustment clause under this subsection, and the fuel adjustment clause has not already been eliminated, the electric utility shall agree that the costs associated with the transferred plant that are included in the calculation of the rate per kilowatt-hour to be applied pursuant to the electric utility's fuel adjustment clause during such period shall not exceed the per kilowatt-hour cost associated with such generating plant included in the electric utility's fuel adjustment clause during the full calendar year preceding the transfer, with such limit to be adjusted each year thereafter by the Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator; and

(vi) in addition, if the electric utility proposes to sell, assign, or lease, (A) either (1) an amount of generating plant that brings the amount of net dependable generating capacity transferred pursuant to this subsection to an amount equal to or greater than 15% of its net dependable capacity on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or (2) one or more generating plants with a total net dependable capacity of 1100 megawatts, or (B) transmission and distribution facilities that either (1) bring the amount of transmission and distribution facilities transferred pursuant to this subsection to an amount equal to or greater than 15% of the electric utility's total depreciated original cost investment in such facilities, or (2) represent an investment of $25,000,000 in terms of total depreciated original cost, the electric utility shall provide, in addition to the information listed in subparagraphs (i) through (v), the following information: (A) a description of how the electric utility will meet its service obligations under this Act in a safe and reliable manner and (B) the electric utility's projected earned rate of return on common equity for each year from the date of the notice through December 31, 2006 both with and without the proposed transaction. If the Commission has not issued an order initiating a hearing on the proposed transaction within 30 days after the date the electric utility's notice is filed, the transaction shall be deemed approved. The Commission may, after notice and hearing, prohibit the proposed transaction if it makes either or both of the following findings: (1) that the proposed transaction will render the electric utility unable to provide its tariffed services in a safe and reliable manner, or (2) that there is a strong likelihood that consummation of the proposed transaction will result in the electric utility being entitled to request an increase in its base rates. Any hearing initiated by the Commission into the proposed transaction shall be completed, and the Commission's final order approving or prohibiting the proposed transaction shall be entered, within 90 days after the date the electric utility's notice was filed. Provided, however, that a sale, assignment, or lease of transmission facilities to an independent system operator that meets the requirements of Section 16-126 shall not be subject to Commission approval under this Section.

In any proceeding conducted by the Commission pursuant to this subparagraph (vi), intervention shall be limited to parties with a direct interest in the transaction which is the subject of the hearing and any statutory consumer protection agency as defined in subsection (d) of Section 9-102.1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10-113 of this Act, any application seeking rehearing of an order issued under this subparagraph (vi), whether filed by the electric utility or by an intervening party, shall be filed within 10 days after service of the order.

The Commission shall not in any subsequent proceeding or otherwise, review such a reorganization or other transaction authorized by this Section, but shall retain the authority to allocate costs as stated in Section 16-111(i). An entity to which an electric utility sells, assigns, leases or transfers assets pursuant to this subsection (g) shall not, as a result of the transactions specified in this subsection (g), be deemed a public utility as defined in Section 3-105. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall change any requirement under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety including, but not limited to, the payment of fees. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall exempt a utility from obtaining a certificate pursuant to Section 8-406 of this Act for the construction of a new electric generating facility. Nothing in this subsection (g) is intended to exempt the transactions hereunder from the operation of the federal or State antitrust laws. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall require an electric utility to use the procedures specified in this subsection for any of the transactions specified herein. Any other procedure available under this Act may, at the electric utility's election, be used for any such transaction.

(h) During the mandatory transition period, the Commission shall not establish or use any rates of depreciation, which for purposes of this subsection shall include amortization, for any electric utility other than those established pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 5-104 of this Act or utilized pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section. Provided, however, that in any proceeding to review an electric utility's rates for tariffed services pursuant to Section 9-201, 9-202, 9-250 or 16-111(d) of this Act, the Commission may establish new rates of depreciation for the electric utility in the same manner provided in subsection (d) of Section 5-104 of this Act. An electric utility implementing an accelerated cost recovery method including accelerated depreciation, accelerated amortization or other capital recovery methods, or recording reductions to the original cost of its assets, pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, shall file a statement with the Commission describing the accelerated cost recovery method to be implemented or the reduction in the original cost of its assets to be recorded. Upon the filing of such statement, the accelerated cost recovery method or the reduction in the original cost of assets shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission as though an order had been entered by the Commission.

(i) Subsequent to the mandatory transition period, the Commission, in any proceeding to establish rates and charges for tariffed services offered by an electric utility, shall consider only (1) the then current or projected revenues, costs, investments and cost of capital directly or indirectly associated with the provision of such tariffed services; (2) collection of transition charges in accordance with Sections 16-102 and 16-108 of this Act; (3) recovery of any employee transition costs as described in Section 16-128 which the electric utility is continuing to incur, including recovery of any unamortized portion of such costs previously incurred or committed, with such costs to be equitably allocated among bundled services, delivery services, and contracts with alternative retail electric suppliers; and (4) recovery of the costs associated with the electric utility's compliance with decommissioning funding requirements; and shall not consider any other revenues, costs, investments or cost of capital of either the electric utility or of any affiliate of the electric utility that are not associated with the provision of tariffed services. In setting rates for tariffed services, the Commission shall equitably allocate joint and common costs and investments between the electric utility's competitive and tariffed services. In determining the justness and reasonableness of the electric power and energy component of an electric utility's rates for tariffed services subsequent to the mandatory transition period and prior to the time that the provision of such electric power and energy is declared competitive, the Commission shall consider the extent to which the electric utility's tariffed rates for such component for each customer class exceed the market value determined pursuant to Section 16-112, and, if the electric power and energy component of such tariffed rate exceeds the market value by more than 10% for any customer class, may establish such electric power and energy component at a rate equal to the market value plus 10%.

(j) During the mandatory transition period, an electric utility may elect to transfer to a non-operating income account under the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts either or both of (i) an amount of unamortized investment tax credit that is in addition to the ratable amount which is credited to the electric utility's operating income account for the year in accordance with Section 46(f)(2) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect prior to P.L. 101-508, or (ii) "excess tax reserves", as that term is defined in Section 203(e)(2)(A) of the federal Tax Reform Act of 1986, provided that (A) the amount transferred may not exceed the amount of the electric utility's assets that were created pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 71 which the electric utility has written off during the mandatory transition period, and (B) the transfer shall not be effective until approved by the Internal Revenue Service. An electric utility electing to make such a transfer shall file a statement with the Commission stating the amount and timing of the transfer for which it intends to request approval of the Internal Revenue Service, along with a copy of its proposed request to the Internal Revenue Service for a ruling. The Commission shall issue an order within 14 days after the electric utility's filing approving, subject to receipt of approval from the Internal Revenue Service, the proposed transfer.

(k) If an electric utility is selling or transferring to a single buyer 5 or more generating plants located in this State with a total net dependable capacity of 5000 megawatts or more pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section and has obtained a sale price or consideration that exceeds 200% of the book value of such plants, the electric utility must provide to the Governor, the President of the Illinois Senate, the Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives no later than 15 days after filing its notice under subsection (g) of this Section or 5 days after the date on which this subsection (k) becomes law, whichever is later, a written commitment in which such electric utility agrees to expend $2 billion outside the corporate limits of any municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants within such electric utility's service area, over a 6-year period beginning with the calendar year in which the notice is filed, on projects, programs, and improvements within its service area relating to transmission and distribution including, without limitation, infrastructure expansion, repair and replacement, capital investments, operations and maintenance, and vegetation management.

(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any rule, regulation, or prior order of the Commission, a public utility providing electric and gas service may do any one or more of the following: transfer assets to, reorganize with, or merge with one or more public utilities under common holding company ownership or control in the manner prescribed in subsection (g) of this Section. No merger transaction costs, such as fees paid to attorneys, investment bankers, and other consultants, incurred in connection with a merger pursuant to this subsection (l) shall be recoverable in any subsequent rate proceeding. Approval of a merger pursuant to this subsection (l) shall not constitute approval of, or otherwise require, rate recovery of other costs incurred in connection with, or to implement the merger, such as the cost of restructuring, combining, or integrating debt, assets, or systems. Such other costs may be recovered only to the extent that the surviving utility can demonstrate that the cost savings produced by such restructuring, combination, or integration exceed the associated costs. Nothing in this subsection (l) shall impair the terms or conditions of employment or the collective bargaining rights of any employees of the utilities that are transferring assets, reorganizing, or merging.

(m) If an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois transfers assets, reorganizes, or merges under this Section, then the same provisions apply that applied during the mandatory transition period under Section 16-128.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.1)

Sec. 16-111.1. Illinois Clean Energy Community Trust.

(a) An electric utility which has sold or transferred generating facilities in a transaction to which subsection (k) of Section 16-111 applies is authorized to establish an Illinois clean energy community trust or foundation for the purposes of providing financial support and assistance to entities, public or private, within the State of Illinois including, but not limited to, units of State and local government, educational institutions, corporations, and charitable, educational, environmental and community organizations, for programs and projects that benefit the public by improving energy efficiency, developing renewable energy resources, supporting other energy related projects that improve the State's environmental quality, and supporting projects and programs intended to preserve or enhance the natural habitats and wildlife areas of the State. Provided, however, that the trust or foundation funds shall not be used for the remediation of environmentally impaired property. The trust or foundation may also assist in identifying other energy and environmental grant opportunities.

(b) Such trust or foundation shall be governed by a declaration of trust or articles of incorporation and bylaws which shall, at a minimum, provide that:

(1) There shall be 6 voting trustees of the trust or foundation, one of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Illinois Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, and one of whom shall be appointed by the electric utility establishing the trust or foundation, provided that the voting trustee appointed by the utility shall be a representative of a recognized environmental action group selected by the utility. The Governor shall designate one of the 6 voting trustees to serve as chairman of the trust or foundation, who shall serve as chairman of the trust or foundation at the pleasure of the Governor. In addition, there shall be 5 non-voting trustees, one of whom shall be appointed by the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, one of whom shall be appointed by the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, one of whom shall be appointed by the Director of Natural Resources, and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the electric utility establishing the trust or foundation, provided that the non-voting trustee appointed by the utility shall bring financial expertise to the trust or foundation and shall have appropriate credentials therefor.

(2) All voting trustees and the non-voting trustee with financial expertise shall be entitled to compensation for their services as trustees, provided, however, that no member of the General Assembly and no employee of the electric utility establishing the trust or foundation serving as a voting trustee shall receive any compensation for his or her services as a trustee, and provided further that the compensation to the chairman of the trust shall not exceed $25,000 annually and the compensation to any other trustee shall not exceed $20,000 annually. All trustees shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of the trust in the performance of their duties as trustees. All such compensation and reimbursements shall be paid out of the trust.

(3) Trustees shall be appointed within 30 days after the creation of the trust or foundation and shall serve for a term of 5 years commencing upon the date of their respective appointments, until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.

(4) A vacancy in the office of trustee shall be filled by the person holding the office responsible for appointing the trustee whose death or resignation creates the vacancy, and a trustee appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the term of the trustee whose resignation or death created the vacancy.

(5) The trust or foundation shall have an indefinite term, and shall terminate at such time as no trust assets remain.

(6) The trust or foundation shall be funded in the minimum amount of $250,000,000, with the allocation and disbursement of funds for the various purposes for which the trust or foundation is established to be determined by the trustees in accordance with the declaration of trust or the articles of incorporation and bylaws; provided, however, that this amount may be reduced by up to $25,000,000 if, at the time the trust or foundation is funded, a corresponding amount is contributed by the electric utility establishing the trust or foundation to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University for the purpose of funding programs or projects related to clean coal and provided further that $25,000,000 of the amount contributed to the trust or foundation shall be available to fund programs or projects related to clean coal.

(7) The trust or foundation shall be authorized to employ an executive director and other employees, to enter into leases, contracts and other obligations on behalf of the trust or foundation, and to incur expenses that the trustees deem necessary or appropriate for the fulfillment of the purposes for which the trust or foundation is established, provided, however, that salaries and administrative expenses incurred on behalf of the trust or foundation shall not exceed $500,000 in the first fiscal year after the trust or foundation is established and shall not exceed $1,000,000 in each subsequent fiscal year.

(8) The trustees may create and appoint advisory boards or committees to assist them with the administration of the trust or foundation, and to advise and make recommendations to them regarding the contribution and disbursement of the trust or foundation funds.

(c)(1) In addition to the allocation and disbursement of funds for the purposes set forth in subsection (a) of this Section, the trustees of the trust or foundation shall annually contribute funds in amounts set forth in subparagraph (2) of this subsection to the Citizens Utility Board created by the Citizens Utility Board Act; provided, however, that any such funds shall be used solely for the representation of the interests of utility consumers before the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission and for the provision of consumer education on utility service and prices and on benefits and methods of energy conservation. Provided, however, that no part of such funds shall be used to support (i) any lobbying activity, (ii) activities related to fundraising, (iii) advertising or other marketing efforts regarding a particular utility, or (iv) solicitation of support for, or advocacy of, a particular position regarding any specific utility or a utility's docketed proceeding.

(2) In the calendar year in which the trust or foundation is first funded, the trustees shall contribute $1,000,000 to the Citizens Utility Board within 60 days after such trust or foundation is established; provided, however, that such contribution shall be made after December 31, 1999. In each of the 6 calendar years subsequent to the first contribution, if the trust or foundation is in existence, the trustees shall contribute to the Citizens Utility Board an amount equal to the total expenditures by such organization in the prior calendar year, as set forth in the report filed by the Citizens Utility Board with the chairman of such trust or foundation as required by subparagraph (3) of this subsection. Such subsequent contributions shall be made within 30 days of submission by the Citizens Utility Board of such report to the Chairman of the trust or foundation, but in no event shall any annual contribution by the trustees to the Citizens Utility Board exceed $1,000,000. Following such 7-year period, an Illinois statutory consumer protection agency may petition the trust or foundation for contributions to fund expenditures of the type identified in paragraph (1), but in no event shall annual contributions by the trust or foundation for such expenditures exceed $1,000,000.

(3) The Citizens Utility Board shall file a report with the chairman of such trust or foundation for each year in which it expends any funds received from the trust or foundation setting forth the amount of any expenditures (regardless of the source of funds for such expenditures) for: (i) the representation of the interests of utility consumers before the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, and (ii) the provision of consumer education on utility service and prices and on benefits and methods of energy conservation. Such report shall separately state the total amount of expenditures for the purposes or activities identified by items (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, the name and address of the external recipient of any such expenditure, if applicable, and the specific purposes or activities (including internal purposes or activities) for which each expenditure was made. Any report required by this subsection shall be filed with the chairman of such trust or foundation no later than March 31 of the year immediately following the year for which the report is required.

(d) In addition to any other allocation and disbursement of funds in this Section, the trustees of the trust or foundation shall contribute an amount up to $125,000,000 (1) for deposit into the General Obligation Bond Retirement and Interest Fund held in the State treasury to assist in the repayment on general obligation bonds issued under subsection (d) of Section 7 of the General Obligation Bond Act, and (2) for deposit into funds administered by agencies with responsibility for environmental activities to assist in payment for environmental programs. The amount required to be contributed shall be provided to the trustees in a certification letter from the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that shall be provided no later than August 1, 2003. The payment from the trustees shall be paid to the State no later than December 31st following the receipt of the letter.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.2)

Sec. 16-111.2. Provisions related to proposed utility transactions.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) A transaction as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (a) will contribute to improved reliability of the electric supply system in Illinois which is one of the key purposes of the Illinois Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997.

(2) A transaction as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (a) is likely to promote additional investment in the existing generating assets and in the development of additional generation capacity in Illinois, and such change in ownership is in the public interest, consistent with the intent of the Illinois Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 and beneficial for the citizens of this State.

(3) As of the date on which this amendatory Act of 1999 becomes law, an electric utility providing service to more than 1,000,000 customers in this State has proposed to sell or transfer to a single buyer 5 or more generating plants with a total net dependable capacity of 5000 megawatts or more pursuant to subsection (g) of Section 16-111.

(4) Such electric utility anticipates receiving a sale price or consideration as a result of such transaction exceeding 200% of the book value of these plants.

(5) Such electric utility has presented to the Governor and the leaders of the General Assembly a written commitment in which such electric utility agrees to expend $2,000,000,000 outside the corporate limits of any municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants within such electric utility's service area, over a 6-year period beginning with this calendar year on projects, programs and improvements within its service area relating to transmission and distribution including, without limitation, infrastructure expansion, repair and replacement, capital investments, operations and maintenance, and vegetation management.

(6) Such electric utility has committed that, if the sale or transfer contemplated by paragraph (3) of this subsection is consummated on or before December 31, 1999, the electric utility shall make contributions totaling $250,000,000 to entities within this State for, among other purposes, environmental and clean coal initiatives pursuant to Section 16-111.1, which commitment includes a contribution of $25,000,000 to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University for the purpose of funding programs or projects related to clean coal.

(b) That, in light of the findings in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) and, in this instance, the circumstances described in paragraphs (3) through (6) of subsection (a) and otherwise, the General Assembly hereby finds that allowing the generating facilities being acquired to be eligible facilities under the provisions of the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 that apply to exempt wholesale generators (A) will benefit consumers; (B) is in the public interest; and (C) does not violate the law of this State.

(c) Nothing in this Section shall have any effect on the authority of the Commission under subsection (g) of Section 16-111 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.3)

Sec. 16-111.3. Transition period earnings calculations. At such time as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ceases to include the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication, the Monthly Treasury Long-Term Average Rates (25 years and above) published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its weekly H.15 Statistical Release or successor publication shall instead be used to establish a rate for the purpose of calculating the Index defined in subsection (e) of Section 16-111 of this Act, and at such time, such Monthly Treasury Long-Term Average Rates (25 years and above) shall also be used in place of the monthly average yields of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds in the rate of return calculation required by subsection (d) of Section 16-111. An electric utility shall also remove the effects, if any, of any impairment due to the application of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, which was issued in June 2001, when making the calculations required by this Section or by subsections (d) and (e) of Section 16-111.

(Source: P.A. 92-537, eff. 6-6-02.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.5)

Sec. 16-111.5. Provisions relating to procurement.

(a) An electric utility that on December 31, 2005 served at least 100,000 customers in Illinois shall procure power and energy for its eligible retail customers in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section. Beginning with the delivery year commencing on June 1, 2017, such electric utility shall also procure zero emission credits from zero emission facilities in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and, for years beginning on or after June 1, 2017, the utility shall procure renewable energy resources in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section. Beginning with the delivery year commencing on June 1, 2022, an electric utility serving over 3,000,000 customers shall also procure carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section. A small multi-jurisdictional electric utility that on December 31, 2005 served less than 100,000 customers in Illinois may elect to procure power and energy for all or a portion of its eligible Illinois retail customers in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in this Section and Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. This Section shall not apply to a small multi-jurisdictional utility until such time as a small multi-jurisdictional utility requests the Illinois Power Agency to prepare a procurement plan for its eligible retail customers. "Eligible retail customers" for the purposes of this Section means those retail customers that purchase power and energy from the electric utility under fixed-price bundled service tariffs, other than those retail customers whose service is declared or deemed competitive under Section 16-113 and those other customer groups specified in this Section, including self-generating customers, customers electing hourly pricing, or those customers who are otherwise ineligible for fixed-price bundled tariff service. For those customers that are excluded from the procurement plan's electric supply service requirements, and the utility shall procure any supply requirements, including capacity, ancillary services, and hourly priced energy, in the applicable markets as needed to serve those customers, provided that the utility may include in its procurement plan load requirements for the load that is associated with those retail customers whose service has been declared or deemed competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of this Act to the extent that those customers are purchasing power and energy during one of the transition periods identified in subsection (b) of Section 16-113 of this Act.

(b) A procurement plan shall be prepared for each electric utility consistent with the applicable requirements of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section. For purposes of this Section, Illinois electric utilities that are affiliated by virtue of a common parent company are considered to be a single electric utility. Small multi-jurisdictional utilities may request a procurement plan for a portion of or all of its Illinois load. Each procurement plan shall analyze the projected balance of supply and demand for those retail customers to be included in the plan's electric supply service requirements over a 5-year period, with the first planning year beginning on June 1 of the year following the year in which the plan is filed. The plan shall specifically identify the wholesale products to be procured following plan approval, and shall follow all the requirements set forth in the Public Utilities Act and all applicable State and federal laws, statutes, rules, or regulations, as well as Commission orders. Nothing in this Section precludes consideration of contracts longer than 5 years and related forecast data. Unless specified otherwise in this Section, in the procurement plan or in the implementing tariff, any procurement occurring in accordance with this plan shall be competitively bid through a request for proposals process. Approval and implementation of the procurement plan shall be subject to review and approval by the Commission according to the provisions set forth in this Section. A procurement plan shall include each of the following components:

(1) Hourly load analysis. This analysis shall include:

(i) multi-year historical analysis of hourly loads;

(ii) switching trends and competitive retail market analysis;

(iii) known or projected changes to future loads; and

(iv) growth forecasts by customer class.

(2) Analysis of the impact of any demand side and renewable energy initiatives. This analysis shall include:

(i) the impact of demand response programs and energy efficiency programs, both current and projected; for small multi-jurisdictional utilities, the impact of demand response and energy efficiency programs approved pursuant to Section 8-408 of this Act, both current and projected; and

(ii) supply side needs that are projected to be offset by purchases of renewable energy resources, if any.

(3) A plan for meeting the expected load requirements that will not be met through preexisting contracts. This plan shall include:

(i) definitions of the different Illinois retail customer classes for which supply is being purchased;

(ii) the proposed mix of demand-response products for which contracts will be executed during the next year. For small multi-jurisdictional electric utilities that on December 31, 2005 served fewer than 100,000 customers in Illinois, these shall be defined as demand-response products offered in an energy efficiency plan approved pursuant to Section 8-408 of this Act. The cost-effective demand-response measures shall be procured whenever the cost is lower than procuring comparable capacity products, provided that such products shall:

(A) be procured by a demand-response provider from those retail customers included in the plan's electric supply service requirements;

(B) at least satisfy the demand-response requirements of the regional transmission organization market in which the utility's service territory is located, including, but not limited to, any applicable capacity or dispatch requirements;

(C) provide for customers' participation in the stream of benefits produced by the demand-response products;

(D) provide for reimbursement by the demand-response provider of the utility for any costs incurred as a result of the failure of the supplier of such products to perform its obligations thereunder; and

(E) meet the same credit requirements as apply to suppliers of capacity, in the applicable regional transmission organization market;

(iii) monthly forecasted system supply requirements, including expected minimum, maximum, and average values for the planning period;

(iv) the proposed mix and selection of standard wholesale products for which contracts will be executed during the next year, separately or in combination, to meet that portion of its load requirements not met through pre-existing contracts, including but not limited to monthly 5 x 16 peak period block energy, monthly off-peak wrap energy, monthly 7 x 24 energy, annual 5 x 16 energy, other standardized energy or capacity products designed to provide eligible retail customer benefits from commercially deployed advanced technologies including but not limited to high voltage direct current converter stations, as such term is defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, whether or not such product is currently available in wholesale markets, annual off-peak wrap energy, annual 7 x 24 energy, monthly capacity, annual capacity, peak load capacity obligations, capacity purchase plan, and ancillary services;

(v) proposed term structures for each wholesale product type included in the proposed procurement plan portfolio of products; and

(vi) an assessment of the price risk, load uncertainty, and other factors that are associated with the proposed procurement plan; this assessment, to the extent possible, shall include an analysis of the following factors: contract terms, time frames for securing products or services, fuel costs, weather patterns, transmission costs, market conditions, and the governmental regulatory environment; the proposed procurement plan shall also identify alternatives for those portfolio measures that are identified as having significant price risk and mitigation in the form of additional retail customer and ratepayer price, reliability, and environmental benefits from standardized energy products delivered from commercially deployed advanced technologies, including, but not limited to, high voltage direct current converter stations, as such term is defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, whether or not such product is currently available in wholesale markets.

(4) Proposed procedures for balancing loads. The procurement plan shall include, for load requirements included in the procurement plan, the process for (i) hourly balancing of supply and demand and (ii) the criteria for portfolio re-balancing in the event of significant shifts in load.

(5) Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan. The Agency shall prepare a long-term renewable resources procurement plan for the procurement of renewable energy credits under Sections 1-56 and 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act for delivery beginning in the 2017 delivery year.

(i) The initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan and all subsequent revisions shall be subject to review and approval by the Commission. For the purposes of this Section, "delivery year" has the same meaning as in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. For purposes of this Section, "Agency" shall mean the Illinois Power Agency.

(ii) The long-term renewable resources planning process shall be conducted as follows:

(A) Electric utilities shall provide a range of load forecasts to the Illinois Power Agency within 45 days of the Agency's request for forecasts, which request shall specify the length and conditions for the forecasts including, but not limited to, the quantity of distributed generation expected to be interconnected for each year.

(B) The Agency shall publish for comment the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan no later than 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly and shall review, and may revise, the plan at least every 2 years thereafter. To the extent practicable, the Agency shall review and propose any revisions to the long-term renewable energy resources procurement plan in conjunction with the Agency's other planning and approval processes conducted under this Section. The initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan shall:

(aa) Identify the procurement programs and competitive procurement events consistent with the applicable requirements of the Illinois Power Agency Act and shall be designed to achieve the goals set forth in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of that Act.

(bb) Include a schedule for procurements for renewable energy credits from utility-scale wind projects, utility-scale solar projects, and brownfield site photovoltaic projects consistent with subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(cc) Identify the process whereby the Agency will submit to the Commission for review and approval the proposed contracts to implement the programs required by such plan.

Copies of the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan and all subsequent revisions shall be posted and made publicly available on the Agency's and Commission's websites, and copies shall also be provided to each affected electric utility. An affected utility and other interested parties shall have 45 days following the date of posting to provide comment to the Agency on the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan and all subsequent revisions. All comments submitted to the Agency shall be specific, supported by data or other detailed analyses, and, if objecting to all or a portion of the procurement plan, accompanied by specific alternative wording or proposals. All comments shall be posted on the Agency's and Commission's websites. During this 45-day comment period, the Agency shall hold at least one public hearing within each utility's service area that is subject to the requirements of this paragraph (5) for the purpose of receiving public comment. Within 21 days following the end of the 45-day review period, the Agency may revise the long-term renewable resources procurement plan based on the comments received and shall file the plan with the Commission for review and approval.

(C) Within 14 days after the filing of the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan or any subsequent revisions, any person objecting to the plan may file an objection with the Commission. Within 21 days after the filing of the plan, the Commission shall determine whether a hearing is necessary. The Commission shall enter its order confirming or modifying the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan or any subsequent revisions within 120 days after the filing of the plan by the Illinois Power Agency.

(D) The Commission shall approve the initial long-term renewable resources procurement plan and any subsequent revisions, including expressly the forecast used in the plan and taking into account that funding will be limited to the amount of revenues actually collected by the utilities, if the Commission determines that the plan will reasonably and prudently accomplish the requirements of Section 1-56 and subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The Commission shall also approve the process for the submission, review, and approval of the proposed contracts to procure renewable energy credits or implement the programs authorized by the Commission pursuant to a long-term renewable resources procurement plan approved under this Section.

In approving any long-term renewable resources procurement plan after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission shall approve or modify the Agency's proposal for minimum equity standards pursuant to subsection (c-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The Commission shall consider any analysis performed by the Agency in developing its proposal, including past performance, availability of equity eligible contractors, and availability of equity eligible persons at the time the long-term renewable resources procurement plan is approved.

(iii) The Agency or third parties contracted by the Agency shall implement all programs authorized by the Commission in an approved long-term renewable resources procurement plan without further review and approval by the Commission. Third parties shall not begin implementing any programs or receive any payment under this Section until the Commission has approved the contract or contracts under the process authorized by the Commission in item (D) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (5) of this subsection (b) and the third party and the Agency or utility, as applicable, have executed the contract. For those renewable energy credits subject to procurement through a competitive bid process under the plan or under the initial forward procurements for wind and solar resources described in subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, the Agency shall follow the procurement process specified in the provisions relating to electricity procurement in subsections (e) through (i) of this Section.

(iv) An electric utility shall recover its costs associated with the procurement of renewable energy credits under this Section and pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act through an automatic adjustment clause tariff under subsection (k) or a tariff pursuant to subsection (i-5), as applicable, of Section 16-108 of this Act. A utility shall not be required to advance any payment or pay any amounts under this Section that exceed the actual amount of revenues collected by the utility under paragraph (6) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and subsection (k) or subsection (i-5), as applicable, of Section 16-108 of this Act, and contracts executed under this Section shall expressly incorporate this limitation.

(v) For the public interest, safety, and welfare, the Agency and the Commission may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Section on an emergency basis immediately following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

(vi) On or before July 1 of each year, the Commission shall hold an informal hearing for the purpose of receiving comments on the prior year's procurement process and any recommendations for change.

(b-5) An electric utility that as of January 1, 2019 served more than 300,000 retail customers in this State shall purchase renewable energy credits from new renewable energy facilities constructed at or adjacent to the sites of coal-fueled electric generating facilities in this State in accordance with subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Except as expressly provided in this Section, the plans and procedures for such procurements shall not be included in the procurement plans provided for in this Section, but rather shall be conducted and implemented solely in accordance with subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(c) The provisions of this subsection (c) shall not apply to procurements conducted pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. However, the Agency may retain a procurement administrator to assist the Agency in planning and carrying out the procurement events and implementing the other requirements specified in such subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, with the costs incurred by the Agency for the procurement administrator to be recovered through fees charged to applicants for selection to sell and deliver renewable energy credits to electric utilities pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The procurement process set forth in Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and subsection (e) of this Section shall be administered by a procurement administrator and monitored by a procurement monitor.

(1) The procurement administrator shall:

(i) design the final procurement process in accordance with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and subsection (e) of this Section following Commission approval of the procurement plan;

(ii) develop benchmarks in accordance with subsection (e)(3) to be used to evaluate bids; these benchmarks shall be submitted to the Commission for review and approval on a confidential basis prior to the procurement event;

(iii) serve as the interface between the electric utility and suppliers;

(iv) manage the bidder pre-qualification and registration process;

(v) obtain the electric utilities' agreement to the final form of all supply contracts and credit collateral agreements;

(vi) administer the request for proposals process;

(vii) have the discretion to negotiate to determine whether bidders are willing to lower the price of bids that meet the benchmarks approved by the Commission; any post-bid negotiations with bidders shall be limited to price only and shall be completed within 24 hours after opening the sealed bids and shall be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner; in conducting the negotiations, there shall be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing bidders; if information is disclosed to any bidder, it shall be provided to all competing bidders;

(viii) maintain confidentiality of supplier and bidding information in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs;

(ix) submit a confidential report to the Commission recommending acceptance or rejection of bids;

(x) notify the utility of contract counterparties and contract specifics; and

(xi) administer related contingency procurement events.

(2) The procurement monitor, who shall be retained by the Commission, shall:

(i) monitor interactions among the procurement administrator, suppliers, and utility;

(ii) monitor and report to the Commission on the progress of the procurement process;

(iii) provide an independent confidential report to the Commission regarding the results of the procurement event;

(iv) assess compliance with the procurement plans approved by the Commission for each utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois and for each small multi-jurisdictional utility that on December 31, 2005 served less than 100,000 customers in Illinois;

(v) preserve the confidentiality of supplier and bidding information in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs;

(vi) provide expert advice to the Commission and consult with the procurement administrator regarding issues related to procurement process design, rules, protocols, and policy-related matters; and

(vii) consult with the procurement administrator regarding the development and use of benchmark criteria, standard form contracts, credit policies, and bid documents.

(d) Except as provided in subsection (j), the planning process shall be conducted as follows:

(1) Beginning in 2008, each Illinois utility procuring power pursuant to this Section shall annually provide a range of load forecasts to the Illinois Power Agency by July 15 of each year, or such other date as may be required by the Commission or Agency. The load forecasts shall cover the 5-year procurement planning period for the next procurement plan and shall include hourly data representing a high-load, low-load, and expected-load scenario for the load of those retail customers included in the plan's electric supply service requirements. The utility shall provide supporting data and assumptions for each of the scenarios.

(2) Beginning in 2008, the Illinois Power Agency shall prepare a procurement plan by August 15th of each year, or such other date as may be required by the Commission. The procurement plan shall identify the portfolio of demand-response and power and energy products to be procured. Cost-effective demand-response measures shall be procured as set forth in item (iii) of subsection (b) of this Section. Copies of the procurement plan shall be posted and made publicly available on the Agency's and Commission's websites, and copies shall also be provided to each affected electric utility. An affected utility shall have 30 days following the date of posting to provide comment to the Agency on the procurement plan. Other interested entities also may comment on the procurement plan. All comments submitted to the Agency shall be specific, supported by data or other detailed analyses, and, if objecting to all or a portion of the procurement plan, accompanied by specific alternative wording or proposals. All comments shall be posted on the Agency's and Commission's websites. During this 30-day comment period, the Agency shall hold at least one public hearing within each utility's service area for the purpose of receiving public comment on the procurement plan. Within 14 days following the end of the 30-day review period, the Agency shall revise the procurement plan as necessary based on the comments received and file the procurement plan with the Commission and post the procurement plan on the websites.

(3) Within 5 days after the filing of the procurement plan, any person objecting to the procurement plan shall file an objection with the Commission. Within 10 days after the filing, the Commission shall determine whether a hearing is necessary. The Commission shall enter its order confirming or modifying the procurement plan within 90 days after the filing of the procurement plan by the Illinois Power Agency.

(4) The Commission shall approve the procurement plan, including expressly the forecast used in the procurement plan, if the Commission determines that it will ensure adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of price stability.

(4.5) The Commission shall review the Agency's recommendations for the selection of applicants to enter into long-term contracts for the sale and delivery of renewable energy credits from new renewable energy facilities to be constructed at or adjacent to the sites of coal-fueled electric generating facilities in this State in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and shall approve the Agency's recommendations if the Commission determines that the applicants recommended by the Agency for selection, the proposed new renewable energy facilities to be constructed, the amounts of renewable energy credits to be delivered pursuant to the contracts, and the other terms of the contracts, are consistent with the requirements of subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(e) The procurement process shall include each of the following components:

(1) Solicitation, pre-qualification, and registration of bidders. The procurement administrator shall disseminate information to potential bidders to promote a procurement event, notify potential bidders that the procurement administrator may enter into a post-bid price negotiation with bidders that meet the applicable benchmarks, provide supply requirements, and otherwise explain the competitive procurement process. In addition to such other publication as the procurement administrator determines is appropriate, this information shall be posted on the Illinois Power Agency's and the Commission's websites. The procurement administrator shall also administer the prequalification process, including evaluation of credit worthiness, compliance with procurement rules, and agreement to the standard form contract developed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection (e). The procurement administrator shall then identify and register bidders to participate in the procurement event.

(2) Standard contract forms and credit terms and instruments. The procurement administrator, in consultation with the utilities, the Commission, and other interested parties and subject to Commission oversight, shall develop and provide standard contract forms for the supplier contracts that meet generally accepted industry practices. Standard credit terms and instruments that meet generally accepted industry practices shall be similarly developed. The procurement administrator shall make available to the Commission all written comments it receives on the contract forms, credit terms, or instruments. If the procurement administrator cannot reach agreement with the applicable electric utility as to the contract terms and conditions, the procurement administrator must notify the Commission of any disputed terms and the Commission shall resolve the dispute. The terms of the contracts shall not be subject to negotiation by winning bidders, and the bidders must agree to the terms of the contract in advance so that winning bids are selected solely on the basis of price.

(3) Establishment of a market-based price benchmark. As part of the development of the procurement process, the procurement administrator, in consultation with the Commission staff, Agency staff, and the procurement monitor, shall establish benchmarks for evaluating the final prices in the contracts for each of the products that will be procured through the procurement process. The benchmarks shall be based on price data for similar products for the same delivery period and same delivery hub, or other delivery hubs after adjusting for that difference. The price benchmarks may also be adjusted to take into account differences between the information reflected in the underlying data sources and the specific products and procurement process being used to procure power for the Illinois utilities. The benchmarks shall be confidential but shall be provided to, and will be subject to Commission review and approval, prior to a procurement event.

(4) Request for proposals competitive procurement process. The procurement administrator shall design and issue a request for proposals to supply electricity in accordance with each utility's procurement plan, as approved by the Commission. The request for proposals shall set forth a procedure for sealed, binding commitment bidding with pay-as-bid settlement, and provision for selection of bids on the basis of price.

(5) A plan for implementing contingencies in the event of supplier default or failure of the procurement process to fully meet the expected load requirement due to insufficient supplier participation, Commission rejection of results, or any other cause.

(i) Event of supplier default: In the event of supplier default, the utility shall review the contract of the defaulting supplier to determine if the amount of supply is 200 megawatts or greater, and if there are more than 60 days remaining of the contract term. If both of these conditions are met, and the default results in termination of the contract, the utility shall immediately notify the Illinois Power Agency that a request for proposals must be issued to procure replacement power, and the procurement administrator shall run an additional procurement event. If the contracted supply of the defaulting supplier is less than 200 megawatts or there are less than 60 days remaining of the contract term, the utility shall procure power and energy from the applicable regional transmission organization market, including ancillary services, capacity, and day-ahead or real time energy, or both, for the duration of the contract term to replace the contracted supply; provided, however, that if a needed product is not available through the regional transmission organization market it shall be purchased from the wholesale market.

(ii) Failure of the procurement process to fully meet the expected load requirement: If the procurement process fails to fully meet the expected load requirement due to insufficient supplier participation or due to a Commission rejection of the procurement results, the procurement administrator, the procurement monitor, and the Commission staff shall meet within 10 days to analyze potential causes of low supplier interest or causes for the Commission decision. If changes are identified that would likely result in increased supplier participation, or that would address concerns causing the Commission to reject the results of the prior procurement event, the procurement administrator may implement those changes and rerun the request for proposals process according to a schedule determined by those parties and consistent with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this subsection. In any event, a new request for proposals process shall be implemented by the procurement administrator within 90 days after the determination that the procurement process has failed to fully meet the expected load requirement.

(iii) In all cases where there is insufficient supply provided under contracts awarded through the procurement process to fully meet the electric utility's load requirement, the utility shall meet the load requirement by procuring power and energy from the applicable regional transmission organization market, including ancillary services, capacity, and day-ahead or real time energy, or both; provided, however, that if a needed product is not available through the regional transmission organization market it shall be purchased from the wholesale market.

(6) The procurement processes described in this subsection and in subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act are exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code, pursuant to Section 20-10 of that Code.

(f) Within 2 business days after opening the sealed bids, the procurement administrator shall submit a confidential report to the Commission. The report shall contain the results of the bidding for each of the products along with the procurement administrator's recommendation for the acceptance and rejection of bids based on the price benchmark criteria and other factors observed in the process. The procurement monitor also shall submit a confidential report to the Commission within 2 business days after opening the sealed bids. The report shall contain the procurement monitor's assessment of bidder behavior in the process as well as an assessment of the procurement administrator's compliance with the procurement process and rules. The Commission shall review the confidential reports submitted by the procurement administrator and procurement monitor, and shall accept or reject the recommendations of the procurement administrator within 2 business days after receipt of the reports.

(g) Within 3 business days after the Commission decision approving the results of a procurement event, the utility shall enter into binding contractual arrangements with the winning suppliers using the standard form contracts; except that the utility shall not be required either directly or indirectly to execute the contracts if a tariff that is consistent with subsection (l) of this Section has not been approved and placed into effect for that utility.

(h) For the procurement of standard wholesale products, the names of the successful bidders and the load weighted average of the winning bid prices for each contract type and for each contract term shall be made available to the public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event. For procurements conducted to meet the requirements of subsection (b) of Section 1-56 or subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act governed by the provisions of this Section, the address and nameplate capacity of the new renewable energy generating facility proposed by a winning bidder shall also be made available to the public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event, along with the business address and contact information for any winning bidder. An estimate or approximation of the nameplate capacity of the new renewable energy generating facility may be disclosed if necessary to protect the confidentiality of individual bid prices.

The Commission, the procurement monitor, the procurement administrator, the Illinois Power Agency, and all participants in the procurement process shall maintain the confidentiality of all other supplier and bidding information in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs. Confidential information, including the confidential reports submitted by the procurement administrator and procurement monitor pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, shall not be made publicly available and shall not be discoverable by any party in any proceeding, absent a compelling demonstration of need, nor shall those reports be admissible in any proceeding other than one for law enforcement purposes.

(i) Within 2 business days after a Commission decision approving the results of a procurement event or such other date as may be required by the Commission from time to time, the utility shall file for informational purposes with the Commission its actual or estimated retail supply charges, as applicable, by customer supply group reflecting the costs associated with the procurement and computed in accordance with the tariffs filed pursuant to subsection (l) of this Section and approved by the Commission.

(j) Within 60 days following August 28, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-481), each electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois shall prepare and file with the Commission an initial procurement plan, which shall conform in all material respects to the requirements of the procurement plan set forth in subsection (b); provided, however, that the Illinois Power Agency Act shall not apply to the initial procurement plan prepared pursuant to this subsection. The initial procurement plan shall identify the portfolio of power and energy products to be procured and delivered for the period June 2008 through May 2009, and shall identify the proposed procurement administrator, who shall have the same experience and expertise as is required of a procurement administrator hired pursuant to Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Copies of the procurement plan shall be posted and made publicly available on the Commission's website. The initial procurement plan may include contracts for renewable resources that extend beyond May 2009.

(i) Within 14 days following filing of the initial procurement plan, any person may file a detailed objection with the Commission contesting the procurement plan submitted by the electric utility. All objections to the electric utility's plan shall be specific, supported by data or other detailed analyses. The electric utility may file a response to any objections to its procurement plan within 7 days after the date objections are due to be filed. Within 7 days after the date the utility's response is due, the Commission shall determine whether a hearing is necessary. If it determines that a hearing is necessary, it shall require the hearing to be completed and issue an order on the procurement plan within 60 days after the filing of the procurement plan by the electric utility.

(ii) The order shall approve or modify the procurement plan, approve an independent procurement administrator, and approve or modify the electric utility's tariffs that are proposed with the initial procurement plan. The Commission shall approve the procurement plan if the Commission determines that it will ensure adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any benefits of price stability.

(k) (Blank).

(k-5) (Blank).

(l) An electric utility shall recover its costs incurred under this Section and subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, including, but not limited to, the costs of procuring power and energy demand-response resources under this Section and its costs for purchasing renewable energy credits pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The utility shall file with the initial procurement plan its proposed tariffs through which its costs of procuring power that are incurred pursuant to a Commission-approved procurement plan and those other costs identified in this subsection (l), will be recovered. The tariffs shall include a formula rate or charge designed to pass through both the costs incurred by the utility in procuring a supply of electric power and energy for the applicable customer classes with no mark-up or return on the price paid by the utility for that supply, plus any just and reasonable costs that the utility incurs in arranging and providing for the supply of electric power and energy. The formula rate or charge shall also contain provisions that ensure that its application does not result in over or under recovery due to changes in customer usage and demand patterns, and that provide for the correction, on at least an annual basis, of any accounting errors that may occur. A utility shall recover through the tariff all reasonable costs incurred to implement or comply with any procurement plan that is developed and put into effect pursuant to Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section, and for the procurement of renewable energy credits pursuant to subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, including any fees assessed by the Illinois Power Agency, costs associated with load balancing, and contingency plan costs. The electric utility shall also recover its full costs of procuring electric supply for which it contracted before the effective date of this Section in conjunction with the provision of full requirements service under fixed-price bundled service tariffs subsequent to December 31, 2006. All such costs shall be deemed to have been prudently incurred. The pass-through tariffs that are filed and approved pursuant to this Section shall not be subject to review under, or in any way limited by, Section 16-111(i) of this Act. All of the costs incurred by the electric utility associated with the purchase of zero emission credits in accordance with subsection (d-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, all costs incurred by the electric utility associated with the purchase of carbon mitigation credits in accordance with subsection (d-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and, beginning June 1, 2017, all of the costs incurred by the electric utility associated with the purchase of renewable energy resources in accordance with Sections 1-56 and 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and all of the costs incurred by the electric utility in purchasing renewable energy credits in accordance with subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, shall be recovered through the electric utility's tariffed charges applicable to all of its retail customers, as specified in subsection (k) or subsection (i-5), as applicable, of Section 16-108 of this Act, and shall not be recovered through the electric utility's tariffed charges for electric power and energy supply to its eligible retail customers.

(m) The Commission has the authority to adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Section. For the public interest, safety, and welfare, the Commission also has authority to adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Section on an emergency basis immediately following August 28, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-481).

(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any affiliated electric utilities that submit a single procurement plan covering their combined needs may procure for those combined needs in conjunction with that plan, and may enter jointly into power supply contracts, purchases, and other procurement arrangements, and allocate capacity and energy and cost responsibility therefor among themselves in proportion to their requirements.

(o) On or before June 1 of each year, the Commission shall hold an informal hearing for the purpose of receiving comments on the prior year's procurement process and any recommendations for change.

(p) An electric utility subject to this Section may propose to invest, lease, own, or operate an electric generation facility as part of its procurement plan, provided the utility demonstrates that such facility is the least-cost option to provide electric service to those retail customers included in the plan's electric supply service requirements. If the facility is shown to be the least-cost option and is included in a procurement plan prepared in accordance with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and this Section, then the electric utility shall make a filing pursuant to Section 8-406 of this Act, and may request of the Commission any statutory relief required thereunder. If the Commission grants all of the necessary approvals for the proposed facility, such supply shall thereafter be considered as a pre-existing contract under subsection (b) of this Section. The Commission shall in any order approving a proposal under this subsection specify how the utility will recover the prudently incurred costs of investing in, leasing, owning, or operating such generation facility through just and reasonable rates charged to those retail customers included in the plan's electric supply service requirements. Cost recovery for facilities included in the utility's procurement plan pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to review under or in any way limited by the provisions of Section 16-111(i) of this Act. Nothing in this Section is intended to prohibit a utility from filing for a fuel adjustment clause as is otherwise permitted under Section 9-220 of this Act.

(q) If the Illinois Power Agency filed with the Commission, under Section 16-111.5 of this Act, its proposed procurement plan for the period commencing June 1, 2017, and the Commission has not yet entered its final order approving the plan on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, then the Illinois Power Agency shall file a notice of withdrawal with the Commission, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, to withdraw the proposed procurement of renewable energy resources to be approved under the plan, other than the procurement of renewable energy credits from distributed renewable energy generation devices using funds previously collected from electric utilities' retail customers that take service pursuant to electric utilities' hourly pricing tariff or tariffs and, for an electric utility that serves less than 100,000 retail customers in the State, other than the procurement of renewable energy credits from distributed renewable energy generation devices. Upon receipt of the notice, the Commission shall enter an order that approves the withdrawal of the proposed procurement of renewable energy resources from the plan. The initially proposed procurement of renewable energy resources shall not be approved or be the subject of any further hearing, investigation, proceeding, or order of any kind.

This amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly preempts and supersedes any order entered by the Commission that approved the Illinois Power Agency's procurement plan for the period commencing June 1, 2017, to the extent it is inconsistent with the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly. To the extent any previously entered order approved the procurement of renewable energy resources, the portion of that order approving the procurement shall be void, other than the procurement of renewable energy credits from distributed renewable energy generation devices using funds previously collected from electric utilities' retail customers that take service under electric utilities' hourly pricing tariff or tariffs and, for an electric utility that serves less than 100,000 retail customers in the State, other than the procurement of renewable energy credits for distributed renewable energy generation devices.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.5A)

Sec. 16-111.5A. Provisions relating to electric rate relief.

(a) The General Assembly finds that action must be taken in order to mitigate the 2007 electric rate increases approved for residential and certain nonresidential customers served by the State's largest electric utilities in 2007. The General Assembly further finds that although various means of providing rate relief have been proposed, including imposition of a rate freeze on the electric utilities or a tax on generation within the State, the establishment of voluntary rate relief programs provides the most immediate and certain means of providing that rate relief. Accordingly, if the residential customer electric service rates that were charged to residential customers beginning January 2, 2007 by an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois resulted in an annual increase of more than 20% in an electric utility's average rate charged to residential customers for bundled electric service, those electric utilities and their holding companies or other affiliates, and any other company owning generation in this State or its affiliates, may, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, and without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required, establish and make payments to provide funds that can be used to provide rate relief beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly through July 31, 2011.

(b) For purposes of this Section, the "Ameren Utilities" means Illinois Power Company, Central Illinois Public Service Company, and Central Illinois Light Company.

(c) For purposes of this Section, the "Generators" means Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Ameren Energy Resources Generating Company; Ameren Energy Marketing Company; Ameren Energy Generating Company; MidAmerican Energy Company; Midwest Generation, LLC; and Dynegy Holdings Inc.; and may include non-utility affiliates of the entities named in this subsection.

(d) For purposes of this Section, "Rate Relief Agreements" means the 2 Rate Relief Funding Agreements, the Escrow Funding Agreement, and the Illinois Power Agency Funding Agreement that Commonwealth Edison Company, the Ameren Utilities, and Generators have entered into with the Illinois Attorney General on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois for the purpose of providing $1,001,000,000 to be used to fund rate relief programs for customers of Commonwealth Edison Company and the Ameren Utilities and for the Illinois Power Agency Trust Fund and that become effective on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. The Rate Relief Agreements have been filed with the Illinois Secretary of State Index Department and designated as "95-GA-C01" through "95-GA-C04" inclusive. The Illinois Attorney General has the right to enforce the provisions of all of the Rate Relief Agreements on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois or the Illinois Power Agency, or both, as appropriate.

(e) Subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, Commonwealth Edison Company will apply a total of $488,000,000 in rate relief to residential and certain nonresidential customers from 2007 through 2010. Commonwealth Edison Company will apply bill credits for all of its residential customers in its service territory in the following amounts: $250,000,000 in 2007, $125,500,000 in 2008, and $36,000,000 in 2009. Any undisbursed rate relief funds shall be applied to the targeted programs. Commonwealth Edison Company will provide rate relief for residential and certain nonresidential customers through targeted programs in the following amounts: $33,000,000 in 2007, $18,000,000 in 2008, $15,500,000 in 2009, and $10,000,000 in 2010. Subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, the targeted programs for 2007 consist of the following, some of which are already underway and, in the aggregate, therefore total more than $33,000,000:

(1) an electric space heating customer relief program costing approximately $8,000,000 designed to lower the average percentage increase of residential electric space heating customers to rate increases similar to other residential customers;

(2) a summer assistance program costing approximately $10,300,000 for working families and low-income customers, including low-income seniors;

(3) a residential rate relief program costing approximately $5,500,000 for working families and low-income customers, including low-income seniors, with higher than average rate increases (over 30%);

(4) a residential special hardship program costing approximately $5,000,000 to address special circumstances and hardships;

(5) a nonresidential special hardship program costing approximately $1,500,000 to address special circumstances and hardships;

(6) a relief program for the common area accounts of apartment building owners and condominium associations costing approximately $4,500,000 designed to reduce rate increases for these customers to rate increases similar to those for residential customers and to mitigate the impact of their rate increase;

(7) a weatherization assistance program for electric space heating low-income customers costing approximately $3,900,000 designed to provide energy efficiency assistance; and

(8) energy efficiency, environmental, education, and assistance programs costing approximately $5,000,000 designed to promote the use of energy efficiency programs and services by residential customers, maintenance and upgrades of a website that allows those customers to analyze their energy usage and provides incentives for the purchase of energy efficient products, the provision of energy efficient light bulbs to residential customers at a discount, and free efficient light bulbs and other assistance to low-income customers.

Based on the outcome of these targeted programs, Commonwealth Edison Company will design and implement, subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, targeted programs for working families, seniors, and other customers in need in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

(f) Subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, the Ameren Utilities will apply a total of $488,000,000 in rate relief to residential and certain nonresidential customers from 2007 through 2010. The Ameren Utilities will apply bill credits for all of their residential customers in their service territories in the following aggregate amounts: $213,000,000 in 2007, $109,000,000 in 2008, and $78,000,000 in 2009. The Ameren Utilities will apply bill credits to certain nonresidential customers in the following aggregate amounts: $26,000,000 in 2007, $11,000,000 in 2008, and $11,000,000 in 2009. Any undisbursed rate relief funds shall be applied to the targeted programs. The Ameren Utilities will provide rate relief for residential and certain nonresidential customers through targeted programs in the following amounts: $13,500,000 in 2007, $13,500,000 in 2008, $7,500,000 in 2009, and $5,500,000 in 2010. Subject to the terms, conditions and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, the targeted programs consist of the following for 2007:

(1) a cooling assistance program costing approximately $2,000,000 to provide donations to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;

(2) a bill payment assistance program costing approximately $2,000,000 for working families and low-income customers, including low-income seniors;

(3) a residential special hardship program costing approximately $2,000,000 to address special circumstances and hardships;

(4) a nonresidential special hardship program costing approximately $2,000,000 to address special circumstances and hardships;

(5) a percent-of-income payment program pilot costing approximately $2,500,000 that will be designed to determine for low-income electric space heating customers if paying a percentage of income for their electricity will make electricity more affordable and promote regular paying habits;

(6) a weatherization assistance program for all electric space heating low-income customers costing approximately $1,000,000 designed to provide energy efficiency assistance;

(7) a compact fluorescent light bulb distribution program costing approximately $1,000,000 designed to provide energy efficient light bulbs to residential customers at a discount; and

(8) a municipal street lighting conversion program costing approximately $1,000,000 to convert existing street lights to more efficient lights at a discount.

Based on the outcome of these targeted programs, the Ameren Utilities will design and implement, subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, targeted programs for working families, seniors, and other customers in need in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

In addition, the Ameren Utilities voluntarily agree to waive outstanding late payment charges associated with unpaid electric bills for usage on and after January 2, 2007, through the September 2007 billing period.

(g) Programs that use funds that are provided by electric utilities and their holding companies or other affiliates, and any other company owning generation in this State or its affiliates, to reduce utility bills, or to otherwise offset costs incurred by the utilities in mitigating rate increases for certain customer groups, may be implemented through tariffs that are filed with and reviewed by the Commission. If a utility elects to file tariffs with the Commission to implement all or a portion of the programs, those tariffs shall, regardless of the date actually filed, be deemed accepted and approved, and shall become effective, on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. The electric utilities whose customers benefit from the funds that are disbursed as contemplated in this Section shall file annual reports documenting the disbursement of those funds with the Commission and the Illinois Attorney General. The Commission has the authority to audit disbursement of the funds to ensure they were disbursed consistently with this Section.

(h) Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to limit the Commission's general authority over ratemaking.

(i) Subject to the terms, conditions, and contingencies of the Rate Relief Agreements, the Generators are providing a total of $25,000,000 to the Illinois Power Agency Trust Fund.

(j) None of the contributions by Commonwealth Edison Company or the Ameren Utilities pursuant to this Section may be recovered in rates.

(k) Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to limit the authority or right of the Illinois Attorney General, under the terms of the Rate Relief Agreements, to review or audit documents, make demands, or file suit or to take other action to enforce the provisions of the Rate Relief Agreements.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.5B)

Sec. 16-111.5B. Provisions relating to energy efficiency procurement.

(a) Procurement plans prepared and filed pursuant to Section 16-111.5 of this Act during the years 2012 through 2015 shall be subject to the following additional requirements:

(1) The analysis included pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 16-111.5 shall also include the impact of energy efficiency building codes or appliance standards, both current and projected.

(2) The procurement plan components described in subsection (b) of Section 16-111.5 shall also include an assessment of opportunities to expand the programs promoting energy efficiency measures that have been offered under plans approved pursuant to Section 8-103 of this Act or to implement additional cost-effective energy efficiency programs or measures.

(3) In addition to the information provided pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5 of this Act, each Illinois utility procuring power pursuant to that Section shall annually provide to the Illinois Power Agency by July 15 of each year, or such other date as may be required by the Commission or Agency, an assessment of cost-effective energy efficiency programs or measures that could be included in the procurement plan. The assessment shall include the following:

(A) A comprehensive energy efficiency potential study for the utility's service territory that was completed within the past 3 years.

(B) Beginning in 2014, the most recent analysis submitted pursuant to Section 8-103A of this Act and approved by the Commission under subsection (f) of Section 8-103 of this Act.

(C) Identification of new or expanded cost-effective energy efficiency programs or measures that are incremental to those included in energy efficiency and demand-response plans approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 8-103 of this Act and that would be offered to all retail customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive under Section 16-113 of this Act and who are eligible to purchase power and energy from the utility under fixed-price bundled service tariffs, regardless of whether such customers actually do purchase such power and energy from the utility.

(D) Analysis showing that the new or expanded cost-effective energy efficiency programs or measures would lead to a reduction in the overall cost of electric service.

(E) Analysis of how the cost of procuring additional cost-effective energy efficiency measures compares over the life of the measures to the prevailing cost of comparable supply.

(F) An energy savings goal, expressed in megawatt-hours, for the year in which the measures will be implemented.

(G) For each expanded or new program, the estimated amount that the program may reduce the agency's need to procure supply.

In preparing such assessments, a utility shall conduct an annual solicitation process for purposes of requesting proposals from third-party vendors, the results of which shall be provided to the Agency as part of the assessment, including documentation of all bids received. The utility shall develop requests for proposals consistent with the manner in which it develops requests for proposals under plans approved pursuant to Section 8-103 of this Act, which considers input from the Agency and interested stakeholders.

(4) The Illinois Power Agency shall include in the procurement plan prepared pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5 of this Act energy efficiency programs and measures it determines are cost-effective and the associated annual energy savings goal included in the annual solicitation process and assessment submitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (a).

(5) Pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5 of this Act, the Commission shall also approve the energy efficiency programs and measures included in the procurement plan, including the annual energy savings goal, if the Commission determines they fully capture the potential for all achievable cost-effective savings, to the extent practicable, and otherwise satisfy the requirements of Section 8-103 of this Act.

In the event the Commission approves the procurement of additional energy efficiency, it shall reduce the amount of power to be procured under the procurement plan to reflect the additional energy efficiency and shall direct the utility to undertake the procurement of such energy efficiency, which shall not be subject to the requirements of subsection (e) of Section 16-111.5 of this Act. The utility shall consider input from the Agency and interested stakeholders on the procurement and administration process. The requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection (a) shall terminate after the filing of the procurement plan in 2015, and no energy efficiency shall be procured by the Agency thereafter. Energy efficiency programs approved previously under this Section shall terminate no later than December 31, 2017.

(6) An electric utility shall recover its costs incurred under this Section related to the implementation of energy efficiency programs and measures approved by the Commission in its order approving the procurement plan under Section 16-111.5 of this Act, including, but not limited to, all costs associated with complying with this Section and all start-up and administrative costs and the costs for any evaluation, measurement, and verification of the measures, from all retail customers whose electric service has not been declared competitive under Section 16-113 of this Act and who are eligible to purchase power and energy from the utility under fixed-price bundled service tariffs, regardless of whether such customers actually do purchase such power and energy from the utility through the automatic adjustment clause tariff established pursuant to Section 8-103 of this Act, provided, however, that the limitations described in subsection (d) of that Section shall not apply to the costs incurred pursuant to this Section or Section 16-111.7 of this Act.

(b) For purposes of this Section, the term "energy efficiency" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and the term "cost-effective" shall have the meaning set forth in subsection (a) of Section 8-103 of this Act.

(c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly shall not interfere with existing contracts executed under a Commission order entered under this Section.

(d)(1) For those electric utilities subject to the requirements of Section 8-103B of this Act, the contracts governing the energy efficiency programs and measures approved by the Commission in its order approving the procurement plan for the period June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017 may be extended through December 31, 2017 so that the energy efficiency programs subject to such contracts and approved in such plan continue to be offered during the period June 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Each such utility is authorized to increase, on a pro rata basis, the energy savings goals and budgets approved under this Section to reflect the additional 7 months of implementation of the energy efficiency programs and measures.

(2) If the Illinois Power Agency filed with the Commission, under Section 16-111.5 of this Act, its proposed procurement plan for the period commencing June 1, 2017, and the Commission has not yet entered its final order approving such plan on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, then the Illinois Power Agency shall file a notice of withdrawal with the Commission to withdraw the proposed energy efficiency programs to be approved under such plan. Upon receipt of such notice, the Commission shall enter an order that approves the withdrawal of all proposed energy efficiency programs from the plan. The initially proposed energy efficiency programs shall not be approved or be the subject of any further hearing, investigation, proceeding, or order of any kind.

(3) This amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly preempts and supersedes any order entered by the Commission that approved the Illinois Power Agency's procurement plan for the period commencing June 1, 2017, to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly. To the extent any such previously entered order approved energy efficiency programs under this Section, the portion of such order approving such programs shall be void, and the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d) shall apply.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.6)

Sec. 16-111.6. Termination of utility service to electric space-heating customers. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any other law to the contrary, a public utility that, on December 31, 2005, served more than 100,000 electric customers in Illinois may not, prior to September 1, 2007, terminate electric service to a residential electric space-heating customer for non-payment. For 2007 and every year thereafter, such an electric utility shall not terminate electric service to a residential space-heating customer for non-payment from December 1 through March 31.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.7)

Sec. 16-111.7. On-bill financing program; electric utilities.

(a) The Illinois General Assembly finds that Illinois homes and businesses have the potential to save energy through conservation and cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Programs created pursuant to this Section will allow utility customers to purchase cost-effective energy efficiency measures, including measures set forth in a Commission-approved energy efficiency and demand-response plan under Section 8-103 or 8-103B of this Act, with no required initial upfront payment, and to pay the cost of those products and services over time on their utility bill.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an electric utility serving more than 100,000 customers on January 1, 2009 shall offer a Commission-approved on-bill financing program ("program") that allows its eligible retail customers, as that term is defined in Section 16-111.5 of this Act, who own a residential single family home, duplex, or other residential building with 4 or less units, or condominium at which the electric service is being provided (i) to borrow funds from a third party lender in order to purchase electric energy efficiency measures approved under the program for installation in such home or condominium without any required upfront payment and (ii) to pay back such funds over time through the electric utility's bill. Based upon the process described in subsection (b-5) of this Section, small commercial customers who own the premises at which electric service is being provided may be included in such program. After receiving a request from an electric utility for approval of a proposed program and tariffs pursuant to this Section, the Commission shall render its decision within 120 days. If no decision is rendered within 120 days, then the request shall be deemed to be approved.

Beginning no later than December 31, 2013, an electric utility subject to this subsection (b) shall also offer its program to eligible retail customers that own multifamily residential or mixed-use buildings with no more than 50 residential units, provided, however, that such customers must either be a residential customer or small commercial customer and may not use the program in such a way that repayment of the cost of energy efficiency measures is made through tenants' utility bills. An electric utility may impose a per site loan limit not to exceed $150,000. The program, and loans issued thereunder, shall only be offered to customers of the utility that meet the requirements of this Section and that also have an electric service account at the premises where the energy efficiency measures being financed shall be installed. Beginning no later than 2 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the 50 residential unit limitation described in this paragraph shall no longer apply, and the utility shall replace the per site loan limit of $150,000 with a loan limit that correlates to a maximum monthly payment that does not exceed 50% of the customer's average utility bill over the prior 12-month period.

Beginning no later than 2 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, an electric utility subject to this subsection (b) shall also offer its program to eligible retail customers that are Unit Owners' Associations, as defined in subsection (o) of Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act, or Master Associations, as defined in subsection (u) of the Condominium Property Act. However, such customers must either be residential customers or small commercial customers and may not use the program in such a way that repayment of the cost of energy efficiency measures is made through unit owners' utility bills. The program and loans issued under the program shall only be offered to customers of the utility that meet the requirements of this Section and that also have an electric service account at the premises where the energy efficiency measures being financed shall be installed.

For purposes of this Section, "small commercial customer" means, for an electric utility serving more than 3,000,000 retail customers, those customers having peak demand of less than 100 kilowatts, and, for an electric utility serving less than 3,000,000 retail customers, those customers having peak demand of less than 150 kilowatts; provided, however, that in the event the Commission, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, approves changes to a utility's tariffs that reflects new or revised demand criteria for the utility's customer rate classifications, then the utility may file a petition with the Commission to revise the applicable definition of a small commercial customer to reflect the new or revised demand criteria for the purposes of this Section. After notice and hearing, the Commission shall enter an order approving, or approving with modification, the revised definition within 60 days after the utility files the petition.

(b-5) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Commission shall convene a workshop process during which interested participants may discuss issues related to the program, including program design, eligible electric energy efficiency measures, vendor qualifications, and a methodology for ensuring ongoing compliance with such qualifications, financing, sample documents such as request for proposals, contracts and agreements, dispute resolution, pre-installment and post-installment verification, and evaluation. The workshop process shall be completed within 150 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.

(c) Not later than 60 days following completion of the workshop process described in subsection (b-5) of this Section, each electric utility subject to subsection (b) of this Section shall submit a proposed program to the Commission that contains the following components:

(1) A list of recommended electric energy efficiency measures that will be eligible for on-bill financing. An eligible electric energy efficiency measure ("measure") shall be a product or service for which one or more of the following is true:

(A) (blank);

(B) the projected electricity savings (determined by rates in effect at the time of purchase) are sufficient to cover the costs of implementing the measures, including finance charges and any program fees not recovered pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section; or

(C) the product or service is included in a Commission-approved energy efficiency and demand-response plan under Section 8-103 or 8-103B of this Act.

(1.5) Beginning no later than 2 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, an eligible electric energy efficiency measure (measure) shall be a product or service that qualifies under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) or for which one or more of the following is true:

(A) a building energy assessment, performed by an energy auditor who is certified by the Building Performance Institute or who holds a similar certification, has recommended the product or service as likely to be cost effective over the course of its installed life for the building in which the measure is to be installed; or

(B) the product or service is necessary to safely or correctly install to code or industry standard an efficiency measure, including, but not limited to, installation work; changes needed to plumbing or electrical connections; upgrades to wiring or fixtures; removal of hazardous materials; correction of leaks; changes to thermostats, controls, or similar devices; and changes to venting or exhaust necessitated by the measure. However, the costs of the product or service described in this subparagraph (B) shall not exceed 25% of the total cost of installing the measure.

(2) The electric utility shall issue a request for proposals ("RFP") to lenders for purposes of providing financing to participants to pay for approved measures. The RFP criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the interest rate, origination fees, and credit terms. The utility shall select the winning bidders based on its evaluation of these criteria, with a preference for those bids containing the rates, fees, and terms most favorable to participants;

(3) The utility shall work with the lenders selected pursuant to the RFP process, and with vendors, to establish the terms and processes pursuant to which a participant can purchase eligible electric energy efficiency measures using the financing obtained from the lender. The vendor shall explain and offer the approved financing packaging to those customers identified in subsection (b) of this Section and shall assist customers in applying for financing. As part of the process, vendors shall also provide to participants information about any other incentives that may be available for the measures.

(4) The lender shall conduct credit checks or undertake other appropriate measures to limit credit risk, and shall review and approve or deny financing applications submitted by customers identified in subsection (b) of this Section. Following the lender's approval of financing and the participant's purchase of the measure or measures, the lender shall forward payment information to the electric utility, and the utility shall add as a separate line item on the participant's utility bill a charge showing the amount due under the program each month.

(5) A loan issued to a participant pursuant to the program shall be the sole responsibility of the participant, and any dispute that may arise concerning the loan's terms, conditions, or charges shall be resolved between the participant and lender. Upon transfer of the property title for the premises at which the participant receives electric service from the utility or the participant's request to terminate service at such premises, the participant shall pay in full its electric utility bill, including all amounts due under the program, provided that this obligation may be modified as provided in subsection (g) of this Section. Amounts due under the program shall be deemed amounts owed for residential and, as appropriate, small commercial electric service.

(6) The electric utility shall remit payment in full to the lender each month on behalf of the participant. In the event a participant defaults on payment of its electric utility bill, the electric utility shall continue to remit all payments due under the program to the lender, and the utility shall be entitled to recover all costs related to a participant's nonpayment through the automatic adjustment clause tariff established pursuant to Section 16-111.8 of this Act. In addition, the electric utility shall retain a security interest in the measure or measures purchased under the program, and the utility retains its right to disconnect a participant that defaults on the payment of its utility bill.

(7) The total outstanding amount financed under the program in this subsection and subsection (c-5) of this Section shall not exceed $2.5 million for an electric utility or electric utilities under a single holding company, provided that the electric utility or electric utilities may petition the Commission for an increase in such amount. Beginning after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the total maximum outstanding amount financed under the program in this subsection and subsections (c-5) and (c-10) of this Section shall increase by $5,000,000 per year until such time as the total maximum outstanding amount financed reaches $20,000,000. For purposes of this Section, "maximum outstanding amount financed" means the sum of all principal that has been loaned and not yet repaid.

(c-5) Within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, each electric utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes its plan for implementing the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly on or before December 31, 2013. Such filing shall also describe how the electric utility shall coordinate its program with any gas utility or utilities that provide gas service to buildings within the electric utility's service territory so that it is practical and feasible for the owner of a multifamily building to make a single application to access loans for both gas and electric energy efficiency measures in any individual building.

(c-10) No later than 365 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, each electric utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes its plan for implementing the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly that were incorporated into this Section. Such filing shall also include the criteria to be used by the program for determining if measures to be financed are eligible electric energy efficiency measures, as defined by paragraph (1.5) of subsection (c) of this Section.

(d) A program approved by the Commission shall also include the following criteria and guidelines for such program:

(1) guidelines for financing of measures installed under a program, including, but not limited to, RFP criteria and limits on both individual loan amounts and the duration of the loans;

(2) criteria and standards for identifying and approving measures;

(3) qualifications of vendors that will market or install measures, as well as a methodology for ensuring ongoing compliance with such qualifications;

(4) sample contracts and agreements necessary to implement the measures and program; and

(5) the types of data and information that utilities and vendors participating in the program shall collect for purposes of preparing the reports required under subsection (g) of this Section.

(e) The proposed program submitted by each electric utility shall be consistent with the provisions of this Section that define operational, financial and billing arrangements between and among program participants, vendors, lenders, and the electric utility.

(f) An electric utility shall recover all of the prudently incurred costs of offering a program approved by the Commission pursuant to this Section, including, but not limited to, all start-up and administrative costs and the costs for program evaluation. All prudently incurred costs under this Section shall be recovered from the residential and small commercial retail customer classes eligible to participate in the program through the automatic adjustment clause tariff established pursuant to Section 8-103 or 8-103B of this Act.

(g) An independent evaluation of a program shall be conducted after 3 years of the program's operation. The electric utility shall retain an independent evaluator who shall evaluate the effects of the measures installed under the program and the overall operation of the program, including, but not limited to, customer eligibility criteria and whether the payment obligation for permanent electric energy efficiency measures that will continue to provide benefits of energy savings should attach to the meter location. As part of the evaluation process, the evaluator shall also solicit feedback from participants and interested stakeholders. The evaluator shall issue a report to the Commission on its findings no later than 4 years after the date on which the program commenced, and the Commission shall issue a report to the Governor and General Assembly including a summary of the information described in this Section as well as its recommendations as to whether the program should be discontinued, continued with modification or modifications or continued without modification, provided that any recommended modifications shall only apply prospectively and to measures not yet installed or financed.

(h) An electric utility offering a Commission-approved program pursuant to this Section shall not be required to comply with any other statute, order, rule, or regulation of this State that may relate to the offering of such program, provided that nothing in this Section is intended to limit the electric utility's obligation to comply with this Act and the Commission's orders, rules, and regulations, including Part 280 of Title 83 of the Illinois Administrative Code.

(i) The source of a utility customer's electric supply shall not disqualify a customer from participation in the utility's on-bill financing program. Customers of alternative retail electric suppliers may participate in the program under the same terms and conditions applicable to the utility's supply customers.

(Source: P.A. 98-586, eff. 8-27-13; 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.8)

Sec. 16-111.8. Automatic adjustment clause tariff; uncollectibles.

(a) An electric utility shall be permitted, at its election, to recover through an automatic adjustment clause tariff the incremental difference between its actual uncollectible amount as set forth in Account 904 in the utility's most recent annual FERC Form 1 and the uncollectible amount included in the utility's rates for the period reported in such annual FERC Form 1. The Commission may, in a proceeding to review a general rate case filed subsequent to the effective date of the tariff established under this Section, prospectively switch from using the actual uncollectible amount set forth in Account 904 to using net write-offs in such tariff, but only if net write-offs are also used to determine the utility's uncollectible amount in rates. In the event the Commission requires such a change, it shall be made effective at the beginning of the first full calendar year after the new rates approved in such proceeding are first placed in effect and an adjustment shall be made, if necessary, to ensure the change does not result in double-recovery or unrecovered uncollectible amounts for any year. For purposes of this Section, "uncollectible amount" means the expense set forth in Account 904 of the utility's FERC Form 1 or cost of net write-offs as appropriate. In the event the utility's rates change during the period of time reported in its most recent annual FERC Form 1, the uncollectible amount included in the utility's rates during such period of time for purposes of this Section will be a weighted average, based on revenues earned during such period by the utility under each set of rates, of the uncollectible amount included in the utility's rates at the beginning of such period and at the end of such period. This difference may either be a charge or a credit to customers depending on whether the uncollectible amount is more or less than the uncollectible amount then included in the utility's rates.

(b) The tariff may be established outside the context of a general rate case filing and shall specify the terms of any applicable audit. The Commission shall review and by order approve, or approve as modified, the proposed tariff within 180 days after the date on which it is filed. Charges and credits under the tariff shall be allocated to the appropriate customer class or classes. In addition, customers who purchase their electric supply from an alternative retail electric supplier shall not be charged by the utility for uncollectible amounts associated with electric supply provided by the utility to the utility's customers, provided that nothing in this Section is intended to affect or alter the rights and obligations imposed pursuant to Section 16-118 of this Act and any Commission order issued thereunder. Upon approval of the tariff, the utility shall, based on the 2008 FERC Form 1, apply the appropriate credit or charge based on the full year 2008 amounts for the remainder of the 2010 calendar year. Starting with the 2009 FERC Form 1 reporting period and each subsequent period, the utility shall apply the appropriate credit or charge over a 12-month period beginning with the June billing period and ending with the May billing period, with the first such billing period beginning June 2010.

(c) The approved tariff shall provide that the utility shall file a petition with the Commission annually, no later than August 31st, seeking initiation of an annual review to reconcile all amounts collected with the actual uncollectible amount in the prior period. As part of its review, the Commission shall verify that the utility collects no more and no less than its actual uncollectible amount in each applicable FERC Form 1 reporting period. The Commission shall review the prudence and reasonableness of the utility's actions to pursue minimization and collection of uncollectibles which shall include, at a minimum, the 6 enumerated criteria set forth in this Section. The Commission shall determine any required adjustments and may include suggestions for prospective changes in current practices. Nothing in this Section or the implementing tariffs shall affect or alter the electric utility's existing obligation to pursue collection of uncollectibles or the electric utility's right to disconnect service. A utility that has in effect a tariff authorized by this Section shall pursue minimization of and collection of uncollectibles through the following activities, including, but not limited to:

(1) identifying customers with late payments;

(2) contacting the customers in an effort to obtain payment;

(3) providing delinquent customers with information about possible options, including payment plans and assistance programs;

(4) serving disconnection notices;

(5) implementing disconnections based on the level of uncollectibles; and

(6) pursuing collection activities based on the level of uncollectibles.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require a utility to immediately disconnect service for nonpayment.

(Source: P.A. 96-33, eff. 7-10-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.9)

Sec. 16-111.9. Rate relief; electricity suppliers. On and after August 14, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-533), any electric utility providing rate relief pursuant to Section 16-111.5A of this Act shall not deem any residential or non-residential customer to be ineligible to receive that relief solely based upon that customer's purchase of electricity from a supplier other than that electric utility at the time the rate relief is to be credited to that customer. Nothing in this Section shall entitle customers of an electric utility that had been previously deemed ineligible prior to August 14, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-533) to become eligible for rate relief credits.

(Source: P.A. 96-533, eff. 8-14-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.10)

Sec. 16-111.10. Equitable Energy Upgrade Program.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that Illinois homes and businesses can contribute to the creation of a clean energy economy, conservation of natural resources, and reliability of the electricity grid through the installation of cost-effective renewable energy generation, energy efficiency and demand response equipment, and energy storage systems. Further, a large portion of Illinois residents and businesses that would benefit from the installation of energy efficiency, storage, and renewable energy generation systems are unable to purchase systems due to capital or credit barriers. This State should pursue options to enable many more Illinoisans to access the health, environmental, and financial benefits of new clean energy technology.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Energy project" means renewable energy generation systems, including solar projects, energy efficiency upgrades, energy storage systems, demand response equipment, or any combination thereof.

"Fund" means the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund established in the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund Act.

"Program" means the Equitable Energy Upgrade Program established under subsection (c).

"Utility" means electric public utilities providing services to 500,000 or more customers under this Act.

(c) The Commission shall open an investigation into and direct all electric public utilities in this State to adopt an Equitable Energy Upgrade Program that permits customers to finance the construction of energy projects through an optional tariff payable directly through their utility bill, modeled after the Pay As You Save system, developed by the Energy Efficiency Institute. The Program model shall enable utilities to offer to make investments in energy projects to customer properties with low-cost capital and use an opt-in tariff to recover the costs. The Program shall be designed to provide customers with immediate financial savings if they choose to participate. The Program shall allow residential electric utility customers that own the property, or renters that have permission of the property owner, for which they subscribe to utility service to agree to the installation of an energy project. The Program shall ensure:

(1) eligible projects do not require upfront payments; however, customers may pay down the costs for projects with a payment to the installing contractor in order to qualify projects that would otherwise require upfront payments;

(2) eligible projects have sufficient estimated savings and estimated life span to produce significant, immediate net savings;

(3) participants shall agree the utility can recover its costs for the projects at their location by paying for the project through an optional tariff directly through the participant's electricity bill, allowing participants to benefit from installation of energy projects without traditional loans;

(4) accessibility by lower-income residents and environmental justice community residents; and

(5) the utility must ensure that customers who are interested in participating are notified that if they are income qualified, they may also be eligible for the Percentage of Income Payment Plan program and free energy improvements through other programs and provide contact information.

(d) The Commission shall establish Program guidelines with the anticipated schedule of Program availability as follows:

(1) Year 1: Beginning in the first year of operation, each utility with greater than 100,000 retail customers is required to obtain low-cost capital of at least $20,000,000 annually for investments in energy projects.

(2) Year 2: Beginning in the second year of operation, each utility with greater than 100,000 retail customers is required to obtain low-cost capital for investments in energy projects of at least $40,000,000 annually.

(3) Year 3: Beginning in the third year of operation, each utility with greater than 100,000 retail customers is required to obtain low-cost capital for investments in as many systems as customers demand, subject to available capital provided by the utility, State, or other lenders.

(e) In the design of the Program, the Commission shall:

(1) Within 270 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, convene a workshop during which interested participants may discuss issues and submit comments related to the Program.

(2) Establish Program guidelines for implementation of the Program in accordance with the Pay As You Save Essential Elements and Minimum Program Requirements that electric utilities must abide by when implementing the Program. Program guidelines established by the Commission shall include the following elements:

(A) The Commission shall establish conditions under which utilities secure capital to fund the energy projects. The Commission may allow utilities to raise capital independently, work with third-party lenders to secure the capital for participants, or a combination thereof. Any process the Commission approves must use a market mechanism to identify the least costly sources of capital funds so as to pass on maximum savings to participants. The State or the Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund may also provide capital for the Program.

(B) Customer protection guidelines should be designed consistent with Pay As You Save Essential Elements and Minimum Program Requirements.

(C) The Commission shall establish conditions by which utilities may connect Program participants to energy project vendors. In setting conditions for connection, the Commission may prioritize vendors that have a history of good relations with the State, including vendors that have hired participants from State-created job training programs.

(D) Guarantee that conservative estimates of financial savings will immediately and significantly exceed Program costs for Program participants.

(f) Within 120 days after the Commission releases the Program conditions established under this Section, each utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes its plan for implementing the provisions of this Section. If the Commission finds that the submission does not properly comply with the statutory or regulatory requirements of the Program, the Commission may require that the utility make modifications to its filing.

(g) An independent process evaluation shall be conducted after one year of the Program's operation. An independent impact evaluation shall be conducted after 3 years of operation, excluding one-time startup costs and results from the first 12 months of the Program. The Commission shall convene an advisory council of stakeholders, including representation of low-income and environmental justice community members to make recommendations in response to the findings of the independent evaluation.

(h) The Program shall be designed using the Pay As You Save system guidelines to be cost-effective for customers. Only projects that are deemed to be cost-effective and can be reasonably expected to ensure customer savings are eligible for funding through the Program, unless, as specified in paragraph (1) of subsection (c), customers able to make upfront copayments to installers buy down the cost of projects so it can be deemed cost-effective.

(i) Eligible customers must be:

(1) property renters with permission of the property owner; or

(2) property owners.

(j) The calculation of project cost-effectiveness shall be based upon the Pay As You Save system requirements.

(1) The calculation of cost-effectiveness must be conducted by an objective process approved by the Commission and based on rates in effect at the time of installation.

(2) A project shall be considered cost-effective only if it is estimated to produce significant immediate net savings, not counting copayments voluntarily made by customers. The Commission may establish guidelines by which this required savings is estimated.

(k) The Program should be modeled after the Pay As You Save system, by which Program participants finance energy projects using the savings that the energy project creates with a tariffed on-bill program. Eligible projects shall not create personal debt for the customer, result in a lien in the event of nonpayment, or require customers to pay monthly charges for any upgrade that fails and is not repaired within 21 days. The utility may restart charges once the upgrade is repaired and functioning and extend the term of payments to recover its costs for missed payments and deferred cost recovery, providing the upgrade continues to function.

(l) Any energy project that is defective or damaged due to no fault of the participant must be either replaced or repaired with parts that meet industry standards at the cost of the utility or vendor, as specified by the Commission, and charges shall be suspended until repairs or replacement is completed. The Commission may establish, increase, or replace the requirements imposed in this subsection. The Commission may determine that this responsibility is best handled by participating project vendors in the form of insurance, contractual guarantees, or other mechanisms, and issue rules detailing this requirement. Customers shall not be charged monthly payments for upgrades that are no longer functioning.

(m) In the event of nonpayment, the remaining balance due to pay off the system shall remain with the utility meter at an upgraded location. The Commission shall establish conditions subject to this constraint in the event of nonpayment that are in accordance with the Pay As You Save system.

(n) If the demand by utility customers exceeds the Program capital supply in a given year, utilities shall ensure that 50% of participants are:

(1) customers in neighborhoods where a majority of households make 150% or less of area median income; or

(2) residents of environmental justice communities.

(o) Utilities shall endeavor to inform customers about the availability of the Program, their potential eligibility for participation in the Program, and whether they are likely to save money on the basis of an estimate conducted using variables consistent with the Program that the utility has at its disposal. The Commission may establish guidelines by which utilities must abide by this directive and alternatives if the Commission deems utilities' efforts as inadequate.

(p) Subject to Commission specifications under subsection (c), each utility shall work with certified project vendors selected using a request for proposals process to establish the terms and processes under which a utility can install eligible renewable energy generation and energy storage systems using the capital to fit the Equitable Energy Upgrade model. The certified project vendor shall explain and offer the approved upgrades to customers and shall assist customers in applying for financing through the Program. As part of the process, vendors shall also provide participants with information about any other relevant incentives that may be available.

(q) An electric utility shall recover all of the prudently incurred costs of offering a program approved by the Commission under this Section. For investor-owned utilities, shareholder incentives will be proportional to meeting Commission approved thresholds for the number of customers served and the amount of its investments in those locations.

(r) The Commission shall adopt all rules necessary for the administration of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-111.11)

Sec. 16-111.11. Supplier diversity reporting for non-utilities.

(a) The following entities shall submit an annual supplier diversity report to the Commission for a given year:

(1) entities that received a contract to provide more than 10,000 renewable energy credits approved by the Commission in a given year pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (5) of subsection (b) of Section 16-111.5;

(2) entities that received a contract to provide more than 10,000 renewable energy credits approved by the Commission in a given year pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 16-111.5;

(3) alternative retail electric suppliers that have yearly sales in the State of 1,000,000,000 kilowatt hours or more, and alternative gas suppliers as defined in Section 19-105 that have yearly sales in the State of 1,000,000 dekatherms or more;

(4) entities constructing or operating an HVDC transmission line as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act or entities constructing or operating transmission facilities under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to subsection (b-5) of Section 8-406;

(5) entities installing more than 100 energy efficiency measures with a certificate approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 16-128B; and

(6) other suppliers of electricity generated from any resource, including, but not limited to, hydro, nuclear, coal, natural gas, and any other supplier of energy within this State.

(b) An annual report filed pursuant to this Section shall be filed on an electronic form as designed by the Commission by June 1, 2023 and every June 1 thereafter, in a searchable Adobe PDF format, on all procurement goals and actual spending for women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and small business enterprises in the previous calendar year related to the performance of obligations in the State of the contracts of licenses listed in subsection (a). These goals shall be expressed as a percentage of the total work performed by the entity submitting the report. The actual spending for all women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and small business enterprises shall also be expressed as a percentage of the total work performed by the entity submitting the report. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any entity with obligations related to equity eligible actions pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act may express such goals and spending in those terms.

Each participating entity in its annual report shall include the following information related to the entity's operations in the State related to the certificates or activities listed in subsection (a):

(1) an explanation of the plan for the next year to increase participation;

(2) an explanation of the plan to increase the goals;

(3) the areas of procurement each entity shall be actively seeking more participation in the next year;

(4) an outline of the plan to alert and encourage potential vendors in that area to seek business from the entity;

(5) an explanation of the challenges faced in finding quality vendors and offer any suggestions for what the Commission could do to be helpful to identify those vendors;

(6) a list of the certifications the entity recognizes;

(7) the point of contact for any potential vendor who wants to do business with the entity and explain the process for a vendor to enroll with the company as a minority-owned, women-owned, or veteran-owned company; and

(8) any particular success stories to encourage other entities to emulate best practices.

(c) Each annual report shall include as much State-specific data as possible. If the submitting entity does not submit State-specific data, then the entity shall include any national data it does have and explain why it could not submit State-specific data and how it intends to do so in future reports.

(d) Each annual report shall include the rules, regulations, and definitions used for the procurement goals in the entity's annual report.

(e) Each annual report filed or submitted under this Section shall be submitted with the Commission. The Commission shall not be required or authorized to compel production of any report under this Section. The Commission shall hold an annual workshop open to the public in 2024 and every year thereafter on the state of supplier diversity to collaboratively seek solutions to structural impediments to achieving stated goals, including testimony from participating entities as well as subject matter experts and advocates in a non-antagonistic manner. The Commission shall invite all entities submitting a report pursuant to this Section. The Commission shall publish a database on its website of the point of contact for each participating entity for supplier diversity, along with a list of certifications each company recognizes from the information submitted in each annual report. The Commission shall publish each annual report on its website and shall maintain each annual report for at least 5 years.

(Source: P.A. 102-1031, eff. 5-27-22.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-112)

Sec. 16-112. Determination of market value.

(a) The market value to be used in the calculation of transition charges as defined in Section 16-102 shall be determined in accordance with either (i) a tariff that has been filed by the electric utility with the Commission pursuant to Article IX of this Act and that provides for a determination of the market value for electric power and energy as a function of an exchange traded or other market traded index, options or futures contract or contracts applicable to the market in which the utility sells, and the customers in its service area buy, electric power and energy, or (ii) in the event no such tariff has been placed into effect for the electric utility, or in the event such tariff does not establish market values for each of the years specified in the neutral fact-finder process described in subsections (b) through (h) of this Section, a tariff incorporating the market values resulting from the neutral fact-finder process set forth in subsections (b) through (h) of this Section.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (m) of this Section, on or before April 30, 1998, on or before February 28, 1999, and on or before each April 30 from 2000 until 2007, the Commission shall appoint a neutral fact-finder to make the calculations described in subsection (c) of this Section. The neutral fact-finder shall be a member of a national public accounting firm, shall not have served as the neutral fact-finder in the previous year, and shall be selected from a list of candidates provided by a nationally recognized provider of neutral fact-finders that has established rules for maintaining confidentiality. An amount sufficient to pay the fees of the neutral fact-finder shall be appropriated annually from the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.

(c) On or before June 1, 1998, on or before April 1, 1999, and on or before each June 1 from 2000 until 2007, or until discontinued in accordance with subsection (m) of this Section, each electric utility and each alternative retail electric supplier shall submit to the neutral fact-finder a summary of (A) all contracts entered into after June 1, 1997 that are for the sale of electric power and energy from a generating facility or facilities located in this State or located in a contiguous State and owned by an electric utility as part of its interconnected operating system and delivery during one or more of the 5 years succeeding the date of submission, and (B) all contracts entered into after June 1, 1997 for purchase and delivery of electric power and energy in or into this State during one or more of the 5 years succeeding the date of submission; provided, however, that such contracts shall not include (i) contracts between the electric utility and an affiliate; (ii) sales, purchases, or deliveries made under rates and tariffs filed with the Commission, except for tariffs filed pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 16-110 and except for special or negotiated rate contracts between an electric utility and a retail customer to the extent that such contracts are for the provision of electric power and energy after the date that the customer becomes eligible for delivery services; and (iii) extensions or amendments to full requirements wholesale contracts existing as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, provided that such contracts, extensions, or amendments are cost of service regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The summaries shall, at a minimum, identify the date of the contract; the year in which the electric power or energy is to be sold or delivered; the point of delivery; defining characteristics such as the nature of the power transaction (for example, reserve responsibility (firm, non-firm)), length of contract and temporal differences (for example, season, on-peak or off-peak); and the applicable prices stated at the point at which the electric power and energy leaves the electric utility's or alternative retail electric supplier's transmission system, as the case may be, in the case of contracts described in item (A) and at the point at which the electric power and energy enters the electric utility's transmission system in the case of contracts in item (B), provided, that the applicable price shall be stated at the point at which the electric power and energy enters the electric utility's transmission system in the case of electric power and energy generated for delivery within the electric utility's service area. In reporting to the neutral fact-finder the price of power and energy sold under bundled service contracts, electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers shall deduct from the contract price the charges for delivery services, including transition charges, applicable to delivery services customers in a utility's service area, and charges for services, if any, other than the provision of power and energy or delivery services. The Commission may adopt orders setting forth requirements governing the form and content of such summaries.

(d) The neutral fact-finder shall calculate market values for electric power and energy for each electric utility, taking into account the defining characteristics set forth in subsection (c) of this Section; provided, however, that the neutral fact-finder may determine that a particular value is appropriate for more than one electric utility, or for all electric utilities in this State. The neutral fact-finder shall calculate the market values for the next year and, to the extent the summaries include a sufficient number of actual contracts to represent a viable market for the sale and delivery of electric power and energy in subsequent years, for each of the 4 succeeding years.

(e) In calculating market values for electric power, the neutral fact-finder shall weight contract prices (including any contract price indices) by both the amount of capacity covered by the contract and the number of hours in which capacity is to be provided under the contract in each period of the year, shall take into account all of the defining characteristics set forth in subsection (c) of this Section and shall develop such values as required to represent the different types of market values of electric power.

(f) The neutral fact-finder shall base calculations of the market values for electric energy on the energy prices stated in the contracts, and where no explicit energy prices or index price basis are stated, on the actual energy costs of the supplier in the corresponding period of the preceding year that would have been applicable to the electric energy provided under the contract. The neutral fact-finder shall develop market values for electric energy and shall take into account the defining characteristics set forth in subsection (c) of this Section, as required to represent the market values of such electric energy.

(g) If the contracts used by the neutral fact-finder base prices for future years on one or more indices, the neutral fact-finder shall identify such indices in his or her final report, develop a weighting for each index, and calculate a weighted average index. The market values shall be calculated using the weighted average index when the actual values of the component indices are known.

(h) The neutral fact-finder shall publish a final report on or before July 30 of each year, except that in 1999 the neutral fact finder shall publish the report on or before May 30, setting forth the calculated market values and stating the basis for such calculations. The final report shall not, however, disclose any proprietary or confidential data.

(i) The market values calculated by the neutral fact-finder shall not be admissible in any proceeding for any purpose other than the calculation of transition charges or calculation of the price for the power purchase options provided pursuant to subsection (b) and (c) of Section 16-110.

(j) The Commission shall have access to all contracts described in subsection (c) of this Section and shall perform such audits as it and the neutral fact-finder deem necessary to insure the accuracy of the summaries submitted to the neutral fact-finder. The summaries described in subsection (c) of this Section and each contract shall be accorded confidential and proprietary treatment and their review shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 4-404 and 5-108 of this Act, and the contract between the Commission and the neutral fact-finder shall contain provisions obligating the neutral fact-finder to comply with such Sections. The summaries shall not be discoverable by any party in any proceeding absent a compelling demonstration of need.

(k) In determining the market values to be used for the various customer classes in calculating transition charges as defined in Section 16-102 or for the power purchase options set forth in Section 16-110, an electric utility shall apply the market values that are determined as set forth in subsection (a) to the electric power and energy that would have been used to serve the delivery services customers' electric power and energy requirements, based on the usage specified in Section 16-102 and taking into account the daily, monthly, annual and other relevant characteristics of the customers' demands on the electric utility's system.

(l) In calculating a lump sum transition charge payment for the purposes of subsection (h) of Section 16-108, the electric utility shall use the market values that were determined as provided in its tariff, or if such market values have not been determined for the full period of time covered by such lump sum calculation, such other basis as is stated in the electric utility's tariff filed pursuant to Section 16-108.

(m) The Commission may approve or reject, or propose modifications to, any tariff providing for the determination of market value that has been proposed by an electric utility pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, but shall not have the power to otherwise order the electric utility to implement a modified tariff or to place into effect any tariff for the determination of market value other than one incorporating the neutral fact-finder procedure set forth in this Section. Provided, however, that if each electric utility serving at least 300,000 customers has placed into effect a tariff that provides for a determination of market value as a function of an exchange traded or other market traded index, options or futures contract or contracts, then the Commission can require any other electric utilities to file such a tariff, and can terminate the neutral fact-finder procedure for the periods covered by such tariffs.

(n) To the extent that the summaries list a sufficient number of actual contracts to represent a viable market and market values can be determined for more than one year, the electric utility shall offer customers that are obligated to pay transition charges contracts that establish for one or more years, up to a maximum of the lesser of 5 years or the remaining number of years until December 31, 2008, the market value or values to be used in calculating the customer's transition charges in such years and for which market value determinations have been made. The electric utility may require any customer to give up to one year notice prior to entering into a one or 2 year contract pursuant to this subsection, up to 2 years notice for a 3 year contract, and up to 3 years notice for a 4 or 5 year contract. Contracts of one or 2 years duration shall incorporate the market values that were determined as provided in this Section in the year in which the notice is required to be given. Contracts of more than 2 years duration shall incorporate the market values that are determined in the year prior to the first year in which the electric utility will collect transition charges from the customer under the contract. The electric utility shall also allow customers to select, at the time that a customer gives its notice, an option to revoke the notice within 30 days following the determination of the market values that will apply under the contract requested by the customer, and may charge customers a fee for such option that is set forth in a tariff filed pursuant to Article IX and that is adequate to allow the electric utility to recover its transactional costs and compensate it based on the cost that would be incurred to purchase an option to cover the risk associated with the customer's option to revoke. The electric utility shall not be required to offer customers a contract under this paragraph for any year for which no determination of market value has been made either by the neutral fact-finder or pursuant to a tariff filed by the electric utility.

(o) An electric utility shall have no obligation to provide electric power or energy as a tariffed service for the electric power and energy requirements placed on delivery service by any customer that has entered into a contract pursuant to subsection (n) of this Section and has not purchased and exercised an option to revoke, during the term of the contract. A customer that has purchased and exercised an option to revoke under this subsection shall remain eligible to receive any tariffed service for which it would otherwise be eligible.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-113)

Sec. 16-113. Declaration of service as a competitive service.

(a) An electric utility may, by petition, request the Commission to declare a tariffed service that is provided by the electric utility, and that has not otherwise been declared to be competitive, to be a competitive service. The electric utility shall give notice of its petition to the public in the same manner that public notice is provided for proposed general increases in rates for tariffed services, in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission. The Commission shall hold a hearing and shall declare the class of tariffed service to be a competitive service within the electric utility's service area, only after the electric utility demonstrates that at least 33% of the customers in the electric utility's service area that are eligible to take the class of tariffed service instead take service from alternative retail electric suppliers, as defined in Section 16-102, and that at least 3 alternative retail electric suppliers provide service that is comparable to the class of tariffed service to those customers in the electric utility's service area that do not take service from the electric utility. The Commission shall make its determination and issue its final order declaring or refusing to declare the service to be a competitive service within 180 days following the date that the petition is filed.

(b) Except as otherwise set forth in this Section, any customer except a customer identified in subsection (c) of Section 16-103 who is taking a tariffed service that is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis for a period of 3 years following the date that the service is declared competitive, or such other period as is stated in the electric utility's tariff pursuant to Section 16-110. This subsection shall not require the electric utility to offer or provide on a tariffed basis any service to any customer (except those customers identified in subsection (c) of Section 16-103) that was not taking such service on a tariffed basis on the date the service was declared to be competitive.

Customers of an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 2,000,000 customers in Illinois and (i) whose service is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, (ii) that have peak demand of 400 kilowatts and above, and (iii) that were taking that service from the utility on the effective date of this amendatory Act through fixed-price bundled service tariffs, shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis through the end of the May 2008 billing period. Customers of an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 2,000,000 customers in Illinois and (i) whose service is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, (ii) that have peak demand of 100 kilowatts and above but less than 400 kilowatts, and (iii) that were taking that service from the utility on the effective date of this amendatory Act through fixed-price bundled service tariffs, shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis through the end of the May 2010 billing period.

Customers of an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to 2,000,000 or fewer customers but more than 100,000 customers in Illinois and (i) whose service is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, (ii) that have peak demand of one megawatt and above, and (iii) that were taking that service from the utility on the effective date of this amendatory Act through fixed-price bundled service tariffs, shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis through the end of May 2008. Customers of an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to 2,000,000 or fewer customers but more than 100,000 customers in the State of Illinois and (i) whose service is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, (ii) that have peak demand of 400 kilowatts and above but less than one megawatt, and (iii) that were taking that service from the utility on the effective date of this amendatory Act through fixed-price bundled service tariffs, shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis through the end of May 2010.

(c) If the Commission denies a petition to declare a service to be a competitive service, or determines in a separate proceeding that a service is not competitive based on the criteria set forth in subsection (a), the electric utility may file a new petition no earlier than 6 months following the date of the Commission's order, requesting, on the basis of additional or different facts and circumstances, that the service be declared to be a competitive service.

(d) The Commission shall not deny a petition to declare a service to be a competitive service, and shall not find that a service is not a competitive service, on the grounds that it has previously denied the petition of another electric utility to declare the same or a similar service to be a competitive service or has previously determined that the same or a similar service provided by another electric utility is not a competitive service.

(e) An electric utility may declare a service, other than delivery services or the provision of electric power or energy, to be competitive by filing with the Commission at least 14 days prior to the date on which the service is to become competitive a notice describing the service that is being declared competitive and the date on which it will become competitive; provided, that any customer who is taking a tariffed service that is declared to be a competitive service pursuant to this subsection (e) shall be entitled to continue to take the service from the electric utility on a tariffed basis until the electric utility files, and the Commission grants, a petition to declare the service competitive in accordance with subsection (a) of this Section. The Commission shall be authorized to find and order, after notice and hearing in a subsequent proceeding initiated by the Commission, that any service declared to be competitive pursuant to this subsection (e) is not competitive in accordance with the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this Section.

(f) As of the effective date of this amendatory Act, the provision of electric power and energy, whether through fixed-price bundled service tariffs or otherwise, to those retail customers with peak demands of 400 kilowatts and above that are served by an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 served more than 100,000 customers in its service territory in Illinois shall be deemed to be, and is declared to be, a competitive service.

(g) An electric utility that provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in its service territory in Illinois as of December 31, 2005 may seek to declare the provision of electric power and energy, whether through fixed-price bundled service tariffs or otherwise, to those retail customers with peak demand of 100 kilowatts and above but less than 400 kilowatts to be competitive by filing with the Commission at least 60 days prior to the date on which the service is to become competitive a petition with attached analyses demonstrating that at least 33% of those customers in the electric utility's service area that are eligible to take the class of tariffed service instead take service from alternative retail electric suppliers, as defined in Section 16-102, and that at least 3 alternative retail electric suppliers provide service that is comparable to that tariffed service to those customers in the electric utility's service area that do not take service from the electric utility. The electric utility shall give notice of its petition to the public in the same manner that public notice is provided for proposed general increases in rates for tariffed services, in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission. Within 14 days following filing of the petition, any person may file a detailed objection with the Commission contesting the analyses submitted by the electric utility with its petition. All objections to the electric utility's petition shall be specific, supported by data or other detailed analyses, and limited to whether the electric utility has met the standard set forth in this subsection (g). The electric utility may file a response to any objections to its petition within 7 days after the deadline for objections. The Commission shall declare the provision of electric power and energy by the electric utility to those retail customers with peak demand of 100 kilowatts and above but less than 400 kilowatts to be a competitive service within 30 days after the filing of the petition if it finds that the electric utility has met the standard set forth in this subsection (g). If, however, the Commission finds that there are material issues of disputed fact, it may require the parties to submit additional information, including through additional filings or as part of an evidentiary hearing. If the Commission has required the parties to submit additional information, it shall issue an order within 60 days after the filing of the petition stating whether the provision of electric power and energy by the utility to those retail customers with peak demand of 100 kilowatts and above but less than 400 kilowatts has been declared to be a competitive service.

(h) Until July 1, 2012, no electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in its service territory in Illinois may seek to declare the class of tariffed service for residential customers and those non-residential customers with peak demand of less than 100 kilowatts to be a competitive service.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-114)

Sec. 16-114. Recovery of decommissioning charges. On or before April 1, 1999, each electric utility owning an interest in, or having responsibility as a matter of contract or statute for decommissioning costs as defined in Section 8-508.1 of, one or more nuclear power plants shall file with the Commission a tariff or tariffs conforming to the provisions of Section 9-201.5 of this Act, to be applicable to each and every kilowatt-hour of electricity delivered or sold at retail in the electric utility's service area, including, but not limited to, sales by the electric utility to tariffed services retail customers, sales by the electric utility to retail customers pursuant to special contracts or other negotiated arrangements, sales by alternative retail electric suppliers, and sales by an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customer is located; provided, however, that for a user that obtained electric power and energy from its own cogeneration or self-generation facilities on or before January 1, 1997, and subsequently takes services from an alternative retail electric supplier or an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the user is located for any portion of its electric power and energy requirements formerly obtained from those facilities, the tariff required by this Section shall not be applicable in any year to that portion of the user's electric power and energy requirements formerly obtained from those facilities, provided that for the purposes of this Section, such portion shall not exceed the average number of kilowatt-hours per year obtained from the cogeneration or self-generation facilities during the 3 years prior to the date on which the user became eligible for delivery services.

The Commission shall determine whether the tariff meets the requirements of Sections 9-201 and 9-201.5 and of this Section, and shall permit the electric utility's tariff together with any modifications made after hearing to become effective no later than October 1, 1999. In making its determination, the Commission shall retain the authority it possessed prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 to make jurisdictional allocations of decommissioning expense recovery. The tariff filed pursuant to this Section shall be applicable to any user taking some or all of its electric power and energy requirements from an alternative retail electric supplier or from an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the user is located on and after the date that the user becomes eligible for delivery services in accordance with Section 16-104. If the electric utility has in effect as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 a decommissioning rate as defined in Section 9-201.5 conforming to the requirements of that Section, the tariff or tariffs required by this Section shall if the electric utility requests be consistent with its decommissioning rate that is already in effect; provided, that the tariff or tariffs filed pursuant to this Section shall provide for the removal from base rates of any decommissioning costs that are included in the electric utility's base rates and their inclusion in the tariff or tariffs required by this Section. The tariff required by this Section shall be included by the Commission in the reviews required by subsection (d) of Section 9-201.5.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-114.1)

Sec. 16-114.1. Recovery of decommissioning costs in connection with nuclear power plant sale agreement.

(a) An electric utility owning a single-unit nuclear power plant located in this State which enters into an agreement to sell the nuclear power plant and as part of such agreement agrees: (i) to make contributions to a tax-qualified decommissioning trust or non-tax qualified decommissioning trust, or both, as defined in Section 8-508.1 for the nuclear power plant, in specified amounts or for a specified period of time, after the sale is consummated, or (ii) to purchase an insurance instrument which provides for the payment of all or a specified amount of the decommissioning costs of the nuclear power plant, shall be entitled, in the case of item (i), to maintain such decommissioning trusts for the purpose of receiving such contributions after the consummation of the sale, to implement revisions to its decommissioning rate in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section, and to transfer such decommissioning trusts, or the balance in the trusts, to the buyer of the nuclear power plant in accordance with the agreement of sale, and in the case of item (ii), to implement revisions to its decommissioning rate in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section.

(b) An electric utility entering into an agreement of sale described in subsection (a)(i) of this Section shall be entitled to file a petition with the Commission for entry of an order authorizing the electric utility (i) to amortize its liability for decommissioning costs pursuant to the agreement of sale over the period of time in which the electric utility is required by such agreement to make additional contributions to the tax-qualified decommissioning trust, the non-tax qualified decommissioning trust, or both, and (ii) to revise its decommissioning rate to a level that will recover, over the time period specified in the agreement of sale, an annual amount equal to the electric utility's annual contributions to the decommissioning trusts which are required by the agreement of sale multiplied by the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase in each such year.

(c) An electric utility entering into an agreement of sale described in subsection (a)(ii) shall be entitled to file a petition with the Commission for entry of an order authorizing the electric utility to revise its decommissioning rate to a level that will recover, over 5 years, the electric utility's cost of purchasing the insurance instrument multiplied by the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase in each such year.

(d) An electric utility's petition pursuant to subsection (b) or subsection (c) shall state the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase from the new owner of the nuclear power plant in each of the years for which the electric utility is seeking to implement a revised decommissioning rate. The electric utility's petition shall also state that the electric utility agrees, as conditions of the Commission's order and the implementation of the revised decommissioning rate, (i) to file revisions, pursuant to Section 16-111(f), to its base rate tariffs applicable to retail customers subject to the electric utility's decommissioning rate reducing such tariffs, and (ii) to file revisions to its transition charge tariffs applicable to retail customers subject to the electric utility's decommissioning rate incorporating a credit into the calculation of the electric utility's transition charges in accordance with this subsection. The reduction and the credit shall be in an amount per kilowatt-hour of electricity sold or delivered to retail customers equal to (i) the electric utility's decommissioning rate authorized by the Commission's order in accordance with subsection (b)(ii) or (c), as applicable, less (ii) the product of the electric utility's decommissioning rate in effect immediately prior to the agreement of sale multiplied by the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase from the new owner of the nuclear power plant. The Commission shall issue an order granting the petition within 30 days after the petition is filed. The Commission's order shall state the aggregate total amount which the order is authorizing the electric utility to collect through its decommissioning rate. The Commission's order shall state that the effectiveness of the revisions to the electric utility's decommissioning rate shall be conditioned on the filing by the electric utility of the revisions reducing its base rate tariffs and providing for credits to its transition charge tariffs as specified in this subsection. Upon completion of the collection of the total amount which the Commission's order authorizes the electric utility to collect through its decommissioning rate, the electric utility shall not be entitled to collect any further amounts of decommissioning costs for its nuclear power plant through a decommissioning rate. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit an increase in the overall tariffed rates and charges paid by the electric utility's customers.

(e) In addition to the uses of the proceeds of the sale and issuance of transitional funding instruments authorized by Section 18-103(d)(1), an electric utility which has entered into an agreement to sell a nuclear power plant may use the proceeds from the sale and issuance of transitional funding instruments to make contributions, or to reimburse itself for contributions which the electric utility has made, to decommissioning trusts in accordance with the agreement of sale, in an amount not to exceed 20% of the aggregate principal amount of transitional funding instruments which the electric utility was authorized to cause to have issued pursuant to Section 18-103(d)(6), including for purposes of this calculation the amount of any transitional funding instruments which the electric utility caused to be issued prior to the date of this amendatory Act of 1999. The use of proceeds authorized by this subsection shall not be subject to Section 18-103(d)(1)(B) and shall not be considered in determining if the percentage limitations on the use of proceeds set forth in the proviso following Section 18-103(d)(1)(E) have been complied with.

(f) None of the authorizations permitted by this Section may be exercised if the sale of the nuclear power plant is disapproved by the Commission.

(Source: P.A. 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115)

Sec. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain a certificate of service authority from the Commission in accordance with this Section before serving any retail customer or other user located in this State. An alternative retail electric supplier may request, and the Commission may grant, a certificate of service authority for the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the State. A certificate granted pursuant to this Section is not property, and the grant of a certificate to an entity does not create a property interest in the certificate. This Section does not diminish the existing rights of a certificate holder to notice and hearing as proscribed by the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and in rules adopted by the Commission.

(b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a certificate of service authority shall file with the Commission a verified application containing information showing that the applicant meets the requirements of this Section. The alternative retail electric supplier shall publish notice of its application in the official State newspaper within 10 days following the date of its filing. No later than 45 days after a complete application is properly filed with the Commission, and such notice is published, the Commission shall issue its order granting or denying the application.

(c) An application for a certificate of service authority shall identify the area or areas in which the applicant intends to offer service and the types of services it intends to offer. Applicants that seek to serve residential or small commercial retail customers within a geographic area that is smaller than an electric utility's service area shall submit evidence demonstrating that the designation of this smaller area does not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant that seeks to serve residential or small commercial retail customers may state in its application for certification any limitations that will be imposed on the number of customers or maximum load to be served.

(d) The Commission shall grant the application for a certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set forth in this subsection based on the verified application and such other information as the applicant may submit:

(1) That the applicant possesses sufficient technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a certificate of service authority. In determining the level of technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the Commission shall consider (i) the characteristics, including the size and financial sophistication, of the customers that the applicant seeks to serve, and (ii) whether the applicant seeks to provide electric power and energy using property, plant, and equipment which it owns, controls, or operates;

(2) That the applicant will comply with all applicable federal, State, regional, and industry rules, policies, practices, and procedures for the use, operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity, and reliability, of the interconnected electric transmission system;

(3) That the applicant will only provide service to retail customers in an electric utility's service area that are eligible to take delivery services under this Act;

(4) That the applicant will comply with such informational or reporting requirements as the Commission may by rule establish and provide the information required by Section 16-112. Any data related to contracts for the purchase and sale of electric power and energy shall be made available for review by the Staff of the Commission on a confidential and proprietary basis and only to the extent and for the purposes which the Commission determines are reasonably necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this Act;

(5) That the applicant will procure renewable energy resources in accordance with Section 16-115D of this Act, and will source electricity from clean coal facilities, as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, in amounts at least equal to the percentages set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. For purposes of this Section:

(i) (blank);

(ii) (blank);

(iii) the required sourcing of electricity generated by clean coal facilities, other than the initial clean coal facility, shall be limited to the amount of electricity that can be procured or sourced at a price at or below the benchmarks approved by the Commission each year in accordance with item (1) of subsection (c) and items (1) and (5) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act;

(iv) all alternative retail electric suppliers shall execute a sourcing agreement to source electricity from the initial clean coal facility, on the terms set forth in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, except that in lieu of the requirements in subparagraphs (A)(v), (B)(i), (C)(v), and (C)(vi) of paragraph (3) of that subsection (d), the applicant shall execute one or more of the following:

(1) if the sourcing agreement is a power purchase agreement, a contract with the initial clean coal facility to purchase in each hour an amount of electricity equal to all clean coal energy made available from the initial clean coal facility during such hour, which the utilities are not required to procure under the terms of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the alternative retail electric supplier's retail market sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State during the prior calendar month and the denominator of which is the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative retail electric suppliers during such prior month that are subject to the requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their service areas during such prior month, pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act; or

(2) if the sourcing agreement is a contract for differences, a contract with the initial clean coal facility in each hour with respect to an amount of electricity equal to all clean coal energy made available from the initial clean coal facility during such hour, which the utilities are not required to procure under the terms of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the alternative retail electric supplier's retail market sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State during the prior calendar month and the denominator of which is the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative retail electric suppliers during such prior month that are subject to the requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their service areas during such prior month, pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act;

(v) if, in any year after the first year of commercial operation, the owner of the clean coal facility fails to demonstrate to the Commission that the initial clean coal facility captured and sequestered at least 50% of the total carbon emissions that the facility would otherwise emit or that sequestration of emissions from prior years has failed, resulting in the release of carbon into the atmosphere, the owner of the facility must offset excess emissions. Any such carbon offsets must be permanent, additional, verifiable, real, located within the State of Illinois, and legally and practicably enforceable. The costs of any such offsets that are not recoverable shall not exceed $15,000,000 in any given year. No costs of any such purchases of carbon offsets may be recovered from an alternative retail electric supplier or its customers. All carbon offsets purchased for this purpose and any carbon emission credits associated with sequestration of carbon from the facility must be permanently retired. The initial clean coal facility shall not forfeit its designation as a clean coal facility if the facility fails to fully comply with the applicable carbon sequestration requirements in any given year, provided the requisite offsets are purchased. However, the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois, may specifically enforce the facility's sequestration requirement and the other terms of this contract provision. Compliance with the sequestration requirements and offset purchase requirements that apply to the initial clean coal facility shall be reviewed annually by an independent expert retained by the owner of the initial clean coal facility, with the advance written approval of the Attorney General;

(vi) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, revoke the certification of any alternative retail electric supplier that fails to execute a sourcing agreement with the initial clean coal facility as required by item (5) of subsection (d) of this Section. The sourcing agreements with this initial clean coal facility shall be subject to both approval of the initial clean coal facility by the General Assembly and satisfaction of the requirements of item (4) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and shall be executed within 90 days after any such approval by the General Assembly. The Commission shall not accept an application for certification from an alternative retail electric supplier that has lost certification under this subsection (d), or any corporate affiliate thereof, for at least one year from the date of revocation;

(6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve residential or small commercial retail customers, that the area to be served by the applicant and any limitations it proposes on the number of customers or maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions of Section 16-115A, provided, that the Commission can extend the time for considering such a certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on such a request;

(7) That the applicant meets the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128;

(8) That the applicant discloses whether the applicant is the subject of any lawsuit filed in a court of law or formal complaint filed with a regulatory agency alleging fraud, deception, or unfair marketing practices or other similar allegations and, if the applicant is the subject of such lawsuit or formal complaint, the applicant shall identify the name, case number, and jurisdiction of each lawsuit or complaint, and that the applicant is capable of fulfilling its obligations as an alternative retail electric supplier in Illinois notwithstanding any lawsuit or complaint. For the purpose of this item (8), "formal complaint" includes only those complaints that seek a binding determination from a State or federal regulatory body;

(9) That the applicant shall at all times remain in compliance with requirements for certification stated in this Section and as the Commission may establish by rule;

(10) That the applicant shall execute and maintain a license or permit bond issued by a qualifying surety or insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois in favor of the People of the State of Illinois. The amount of the bond shall equal $30,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt or more, $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers with annual electrical consumption greater than 15,000 kilowatt-hours, or $500,000 if the applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. Applicants shall be required to submit an additional $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to residential customers using in-person solicitations. The bonds shall be conditioned upon the full and faithful performance of all duties and obligations of the applicant as an alternative retail electric supplier, shall be valid for a period of not less than one year, and may be drawn upon in whole or in part to satisfy any penalties imposed, and finally adjudicated, by the Commission pursuant to Section 16-115B for a violation of the applicant's duties or obligations, except that the total amount of claims and penalties against the bond shall not exceed the penal sum of the bond and shall not include any consequential or punitive damage. The cost of the bond shall be paid by the applicant. The applicant shall file a copy of this bond, with a notarized verification page from the issuer, as part of its application for certification under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451; and

(11) That the applicant will comply with all other applicable laws and regulations.

(d-3) The Commission may deny with prejudice an application in which the applicant fails to provide the Commission with information sufficient for the Commission to grant the application.

(d-5) (Blank).

(e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or self-generation facility and that seeks certification only to provide electric power and energy from such facility to retail customers at separate locations which customers are both (i) owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate affiliate of, such applicant and (ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be granted a certificate of service authority upon filing an application and notifying the Commission that it has entered into an agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant to Section 16-118. Provided, however, that if the retail customer owning such cogeneration or self-generation facility would not be charged a transition charge due to the exemption provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the certification, and the retail customers at separate locations are taking delivery services in conjunction with purchasing power and energy from the facility, the retail customer on whose premises the facility is located shall not thereafter be required to pay transition charges on the power and energy that such retail customer takes from the facility.

(f) The Commission shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Section. On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission shall adopt a rule or rules applicable to the certification of those alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i) expedited and streamlined procedures for certification of such alternative retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific criteria which, if met by any such alternative retail electric supplier, shall constitute the demonstration of technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities to provide service required by paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of this Section, such as a requirement to post a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety or financial institution, of sufficient size for the nature and scope of the services to be provided; demonstration of adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services to be provided; and experience in providing similar services in other jurisdictions.

(g) An alternative retail electric supplier may seek confidential treatment for the following information by filing an affidavit with the Commission so long as the affidavit meets the requirements in this subsection (g):

(1) the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold by an alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers within each utility service territory and the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold by an alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers in all utility service territories in the preceding calendar year as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.770;

(2) the total peak demand supplied by an alternative retail electric supplier during the previous year in each utility service territory as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 465.40;

(3) a good faith estimate of the amount an alternative retail electric supplier expects to be obliged to pay the utility under single billing tariffs during the next 12 months and the amount of any bond or letter of credit used to demonstrate an alternative retail electric supplier's credit worthiness to provide single billing services pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.510(a) and (b).

The affidavit must be filed contemporaneously with the information for which confidential treatment is sought and must clearly state that the affiant seeks confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (g) and the information for which confidential treatment is sought must be clearly identified on the confidential version of the document filed with the Commission. The affidavit must be accompanied by a "confidential" and a "public" version of the document or documents containing the information for which confidential treatment is sought.

If the alternative retail electric supplier has met the affidavit requirements of this subsection (g), then the Commission shall afford confidential treatment to the information identified in the affidavit for a period of 2 years after the date the affidavit is received by the Commission.

Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an alternative retail electric supplier from filing a petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for information beyond that identified in this subsection (g) or for information contained in other reports or documents filed with the Commission other than annual rate reports.

Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents the Commission, on its own motion, or any party from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking to reconsider the conferring of confidential status on an item of information afforded confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (g).

The Commission, on its own motion, may at any time initiate a docketed proceeding to investigate the continued applicability of this subsection (g) to the information contained in items (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subsection (g). If, at the end of such investigation, the Commission determines that a particular item of information should no longer be eligible for the affidavit-based process outlined in this subsection (g), the Commission may enter an order to remove that item from the list of items eligible for the process set forth in this subsection (g). Notwithstanding any such order, in the event the Commission makes such a determination, nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an alternative retail electric supplier desiring confidential treatment for such information from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for such information.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-958, eff. 1-1-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115A)

Sec. 16-115A. Obligations of alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) An alternative retail electric supplier:

(i) shall comply with the requirements imposed on public utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have application to the services being offered by the alternative retail electric supplier;

(ii) shall continue to comply with the requirements for certification stated in subsection (d) of Section 16-115;

(iii) by May 31, 2020 and every June 30 thereafter, shall submit to the Commission and the Office of the Attorney General the rates the retail electric supplier charged to residential customers in the prior year, including each distinct rate charged and whether the rate was a fixed or variable rate, the basis for the variable rate, and any fees charged in addition to the supply rate, including monthly fees, flat fees, or other service charges; and

(iv) shall make publicly available on its website, without the need for a customer login, rate information for all of its variable, time-of-use, and fixed rate contracts currently available to residential customers, including, but not limited to, fixed monthly charges, early termination fees, and kilowatt-hour charges.

(b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain verifiable authorization from a customer, in a form or manner approved by the Commission consistent with Section 2EE of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, before the customer is switched from another supplier.

(c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area a customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one megawatt from having access to the services of the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii) charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service, notice period for terminating service and provisions governing early termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by Section 16-119.

(d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is certified to serve residential or small commercial retail customers shall not:

(1) deny service to a customer or group of customers nor establish any differences as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based upon race, gender or income, except as provided in Section 16-115E.

(2) deny service to a customer or group of customers based on locality nor establish any unreasonable difference as to prices, terms, conditions, services, products, or facilities as between localities.

(3) warrant that it has a residential customer or small commercial retail customer's express consent agreement to access interval data as described in subsection (b) of Section 16-122, unless the alternative retail electric supplier has:

(A) disclosed to the consumer at the outset of the offer that the alternative retail electric supplier will access the consumer's interval data from the consumer's utility with the consumer's express agreement and the consumer's option to refuse to provide express agreement to access the consumer's interval data; and

(B) obtained the consumer's express agreement for the alternative retail electric supplier to access the consumer's interval data from the consumer's utility in a separate letter of agency, a distinct response to a third-party verification, or as a separate affirmative consent during a recorded enrollment initiated by the consumer. The disclosure by the alternative retail electric supplier to the consumer in this Section shall be conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language in which the consumer subject to the disclosure is able to understand and communicate.

(4) release, sell, license, or otherwise disclose any customer interval data obtained under Section 16-122 to any third person except as provided for in Section 16-122 and paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d-5) of Section 2EE of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply with the following requirements with respect to the marketing, offering and provision of products or services to residential and small commercial retail customers:

(i) All marketing materials, including, but not limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall contain information that adequately discloses the prices, terms, and conditions of the products or services that the alternative retail electric supplier is offering or selling to the customer and shall disclose the current utility electric supply price to compare applicable at the time the alternative retail electric supplier is offering or selling the products or services to the customer and shall disclose the date on which the utility electric supply price to compare became effective and the date on which it will expire. The utility electric supply price to compare shall be the sum of the electric supply charge and the transmission services charge and shall not include the purchased electricity adjustment. The disclosure shall include a statement that the price to compare does not include the purchased electricity adjustment, and, if applicable, the range of the purchased electricity adjustment. All marketing materials, including, but not limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall include the following statement:

"(Name of the alternative retail electric supplier) is not the same entity as your electric delivery company. You are not required to enroll with (name of alternative retail electric supplier). Beginning on (effective date), the electric supply price to compare is (price in cents per kilowatt hour). The electric utility electric supply price will expire on (expiration date). The utility electric supply price to compare does not include the purchased electricity adjustment factor. For more information go to the Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at www.pluginillinois.org.".

If applicable, the statement shall also include the following statement:

"The purchased electricity adjustment factor may range between +.5 cents and -.5 cents per kilowatt hour.".

This paragraph (i) does not apply to goodwill or institutional advertising.

(ii) Before any customer is switched from another supplier, the alternative retail electric supplier shall give the customer written information that adequately discloses, in plain language, the prices, terms and conditions of the products and services being offered and sold to the customer. This written information shall be provided in a language in which the customer subject to the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and communicate, and the alternative retail electric supplier shall not switch a customer who is unable to understand and communicate in a language in which the marketing or solicitation was conducted. The alternative retail electric supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(iii) An alternative retail electric supplier shall provide documentation to the Commission and to customers that substantiates any claims made by the alternative retail electric supplier regarding the technologies and fuel types used to generate the electricity offered or sold to customers.

(iv) The alternative retail electric supplier shall provide to the customer (1) itemized billing statements that describe the products and services provided to the customer and their prices, and (2) an additional statement, at least annually, that adequately discloses the average monthly prices, and the terms and conditions, of the products and services sold to the customer.

(v) All in-person and telephone solicitations shall be conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language in which the consumer subject to the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and communicate. An alternative retail electric supplier shall terminate a solicitation if the consumer subject to the marketing or communication is unable to understand and communicate in the language in which the marketing or solicitation is being conducted. An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(vi) Each alternative retail electric supplier shall conduct training for individual representatives engaged in in-person solicitation and telemarketing to residential customers on behalf of that alternative retail electric supplier prior to conducting any such solicitations on the alternative retail electric supplier's behalf. Each alternative retail electric supplier shall submit a copy of its training material to the Commission on an annual basis and the Commission shall have the right to review and require updates to the material. After initial training, each alternative retail electric supplier shall be required to conduct refresher training for its individual representatives every 6 months.

(f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit the overall size or availability of a service offering by specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time period during which the offering will be available, or other comparable limitation, but not including the geographic locations of customers within the area which the alternative retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and conditions of such service offering including the applicable limitations with the Commission prior to making the service offering available to customers.

(g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as preventing an alternative retail electric supplier, which is an affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an industry or trade organization or association, (ii) a membership organization or association that exists for a purpose other than the purchase of electricity, or (iii) another organization that meets criteria established in a rule adopted by the Commission, from offering through the organization or association services at prices, terms and conditions that are available solely to the members of the organization or association.

(Source: P.A. 102-459, eff. 8-20-21; 103-237, eff. 6-30-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115B)

Sec. 16-115B. Commission oversight of services provided by alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) The Commission shall have jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of Article X of this Act to entertain and dispose of any complaint made by the Commission, on its own motion, or by any person or corporation, chamber of commerce, board of trade, or any industrial, commercial, mercantile, agricultural or manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal corporation against any alternative retail electric supplier alleging (i) that the alternative retail electric supplier has violated or is in nonconformance with any applicable provisions of Section 16-115 through Section 16-115A; (ii) that the alternative retail electric supplier violated rules adopted by the Commission to govern the sales, marketing, or operations of retail electric suppliers; (iii) that an alternative retail electric supplier serving any residential and small commercial customers failed to provide service in accordance with the terms of its contract or contracts with such customer or customers; (iv) that the alternative retail electric supplier has violated or is in nonconformance with the delivery services tariff of, or any of its agreements relating to delivery services with, the electric utility, municipal system, or electric cooperative providing delivery services; or (v) that the alternative retail electric supplier has violated or failed to comply with the requirements of Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505, or 8-507 of this Act as made applicable to alternative retail electric suppliers.

(b) The Commission shall have authority, after such administrative notice as is required by the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and after an administrative hearing held on complaint or on the Commission's own motion:

(1) To order an alternative retail electric supplier to cease and desist, or correct, any violation of or nonconformance with the provisions of Section 16-115 or 16-115A or any violation or nonconformance over which the Commission has jurisdiction under subsection (a) of Section 16-115B;

(2) To impose financial penalties for violations of or nonconformances with the provisions of Section 16-115 or 16-115A, not to exceed $10,000 per occurrence, and for any violations or nonconformances that continue after the Commission issues a cease and desist order, up to an additional $30,000 for each day the violations or nonconformances continue; and

(3) To alter, modify, revoke, or suspend the certificate of service authority of an alternative retail electric supplier for substantial or repeated violations of or nonconformances with the provisions of Section 16-115 or 16-115A.

(c) In addition to other powers and authority granted to it under this Act, the Commission may require an alternative retail electric supplier to enter into a compliance plan. If the Commission comes into possession of information causing it to conclude that an alternative retail electric supplier is violating this Act or the Commission's rules, the Commission may, after notice and hearing, enter an order directing the alternative retail electric supplier to implement practices, procedures, oversight, or other measures or refrain from practices, conduct, or activities that the Commission finds is necessary or reasonable to ensure the alternative retail electric supplier's compliance with this Act and the Commission's rules. Failure by an alternative retail electric supplier to implement or comply with a Commission-ordered compliance plan is a violation of this Section. The Commission, in its discretion, may order a compliance plan under such circumstances as it considers warranted and is not required to order a compliance plan prior to taking other enforcement action against an alternative retail electric supplier. Nothing in this subsection (c) shall be interpreted to limit the authority or right of the Attorney General.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-958, eff. 1-1-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115C)

Sec. 16-115C. Licensure of agents, brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties.

(a) The purpose of this Section is to adopt licensing and code of conduct rules in a competitive retail electricity market to protect Illinois consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices and to provide persons acting as agents, brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties with notice of the illegality of those acts or practices.

(a-5) All third-party sales representatives engaged in the marketing of retail electricity supply must, prior to the customer signing a contract, disclose that they are not employed by the electric utility operating in the applicable service territory.

(b) For purposes of this Section, "agents, brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties" means any person or entity that attempts to procure on behalf of or sell retail electric service to an electric customer in the State. "Agents, brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties" does not include the Illinois Power Agency or any of its employees, any entity licensed as an alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451 offering retail electric service on its own behalf, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a single alternative retail electric supplier on condition that exclusivity is disclosed to any third party contracted in such agent capacity, any person acting exclusively on behalf of a retail electric supplier on condition that exclusivity is disclosed to any third party contracted in such agent capacity, any person or entity representing a municipal power agency, as defined in Section 11-119.1-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code, or any person or entity that is attempting to procure on behalf of or sell retail electric service to a third party that has aggregate billing demand of all of its affiliated electric service accounts in Illinois of greater than 1,500 kilowatts.

(c) No person or entity shall act as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties unless that person or entity is licensed by the Commission under this Section or is offering services on their own behalf under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451. A license granted pursuant to this Section is not property, and the grant of a license to an entity does not create a property interest in the license.

(d) The Commission shall create requirements for licensure as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties, which shall include all of the following criteria:

(1) Technical competence.

(2) Managerial competence.

(3) Financial responsibility, including the posting of an appropriate performance bond.

(4) Annual reporting requirements.

(e) Any person or entity required to be licensed under this Section must:

(1) disclose in plain language in writing to all persons it solicits (i) before July 1, 2011, the total anticipated remuneration to be paid to it by any third party over the period of the proposed underlying customer contract and (ii) on or after July 1, 2011, the total price per kilowatt-hour, and the total anticipated cost, inclusive of all fees or commissions received by the licensee, to be paid by the customer over the period of the proposed underlying customer contract;

(2) disclose, if applicable, to all customers, prior to the customer signing a contract, the fact that they will be receiving compensation from the supplier;

(3) not hold itself out as independent or unaffiliated with any supplier, or both, or use words reasonably calculated to give that impression, unless the person offering service under this Section has no contractual relationship with any retail electricity supplier or its affiliates regarding retail electric service in Illinois;

(4) not utilize false, misleading, materially inaccurate, defamatory, or otherwise deceptive language or materials in the soliciting or providing of its services;

(5) maintain copies of all marketing materials disseminated to third parties for a period of not less than 3 years;

(6) not present electricity pricing information in a manner that favors one supplier over another, unless a valid pricing comparison is made utilizing all relevant costs and terms; and

(7) comply with the requirements of Sections 2EE, 2FF, 2GG, and 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(f) Any person or entity licensed under this Section shall file with the Commission all of the following information no later than March of each year:

(1) A verified report detailing any and all contractual relationships that it has with certified electricity suppliers in the State regarding retail electric service in Illinois.

(2) A verified report detailing the distribution of its customers with the various certified electricity suppliers in Illinois during the prior calendar year. A report under this Section shall not be required to contain customer-identifying information.

A public redacted version of the verified report may be submitted to the Commission along with a proprietary version. The public redacted version may redact from the verified report the name or names of every certified electricity supplier contained in the report to protect against disclosure of competitively sensitive market share information. The information shall be afforded proprietary treatment for 2 years after the date of the filing of the verified report.

(3) A verified statement of any changes to the original licensure qualifications and notice of continuing compliance with all requirements.

(g) The Commission shall have jurisdiction over complaints, including on the Commission's own motion, for violations of this Section. The findings of a violation of this Section by the Commission shall result in discipline on a progressive scale. For a first violation, the Commission may, in its discretion, suspend the license of the person or entity for a period of no less than one month. For a second violation within a 5-year period, the Commission shall suspend the license of the person or entity for a period of not less than 6 months. For a third or subsequent violation within a 5-year period, the Commission shall suspend the license of the disciplined person for a period of not less than 2 years. Notwithstanding the minimum progressive suspensions, the Commission shall have authority, in its discretion, to impose whatever reasonable disciplinary measures it deems appropriate for any violation, including, but not limited to, terminating the license of the person or entity.

(h) This Section shall not apply to a retail customer that operates or manages either directly or indirectly any facilities, equipment, or property used or contemplated to be used to distribute electric power or energy if that retail customer is a political subdivision or public institution of higher education of this State, or any corporation, company, limited liability company, association, joint-stock company or association, firm, partnership, or individual, or their lessees, trusts, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever that are owned or controlled by the political subdivision, public institution of higher education, or operated by any of its lessees or operating agents.

(Source: P.A. 102-958, eff. 1-1-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115D)

Sec. 16-115D. Renewable portfolio standard for alternative retail electric suppliers and electric utilities operating outside their service territories.

(a) An alternative retail electric supplier shall be responsible for procuring cost-effective renewable energy resources as required under item (5) of subsection (d) of Section 16-115 of this Act as outlined herein:

(1) The definition of renewable energy resources contained in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act applies to all renewable energy resources required to be procured by alternative retail electric suppliers.

(2) Through May 31, 2017, the quantity of renewable energy resources shall be measured as a percentage of the actual amount of metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier to Illinois retail customers during the 12-month period June 1 through May 31, commencing June 1, 2009, and the comparable 12-month period in each year thereafter except as provided in item (6) of this subsection (a).

(3) Through May 31, 2017, the quantity of renewable energy resources shall be in amounts at least equal to the annual percentages set forth in item (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. At least 60% of the renewable energy resources procured pursuant to items (1) and (3) of subsection (b) of this Section shall come from wind generation and, starting June 1, 2015, at least 6% of the renewable energy resources procured pursuant to items (1) and (3) of subsection (b) of this Section shall come from solar photovoltaics. If, in any given year, an alternative retail electric supplier does not purchase at least these levels of renewable energy resources, then the alternative retail electric supplier shall make alternative compliance payments, as described in subsection (d) of this Section.

(3.5) For the delivery year commencing June 1, 2017, the quantity of renewable energy resources shall be at least 13.0% of the uncovered amount of metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier to Illinois retail customers during the delivery year, which uncovered amount shall equal 50% of such metered electricity delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier. For the delivery year commencing June 1, 2018, the quantity of renewable energy resources shall be at least 14.5% of the uncovered amount of metered electricity (megawatt-hours) delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier to Illinois retail customers during the delivery year, which uncovered amount shall equal 25% of such metered electricity delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier. At least 32% of the renewable energy resources procured by the alternative retail electric supplier for its uncovered portion under this paragraph (3.5) shall come from wind or photovoltaic generation. The renewable energy resources procured under this paragraph (3.5) shall not include any resources from a facility whose costs were being recovered through rates regulated by any state or states on or after January 1, 2017.

(4) The quantity and source of renewable energy resources shall be independently verified through the PJM Environmental Information System Generation Attribute Tracking System (PJM-GATS) or the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS), which shall document the location of generation, resource type, month, and year of generation for all qualifying renewable energy resources that an alternative retail electric supplier uses to comply with this Section. No later than June 1, 2009, the Illinois Power Agency shall provide PJM-GATS, M-RETS, and alternative retail electric suppliers with all information necessary to identify resources located in Illinois, within states that adjoin Illinois or within portions of the PJM and MISO footprint in the United States that qualify under the definition of renewable energy resources in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act for compliance with this Section 16-115D. Alternative retail electric suppliers shall not be subject to the requirements in item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(5) All renewable energy credits used to comply with this Section shall be permanently retired.

(6) The required procurement of renewable energy resources by an alternative retail electric supplier shall apply to all metered electricity delivered to Illinois retail customers by the alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to contracts executed or extended after March 15, 2009.

(b) Compliance obligations.

(1) Through May 31, 2017, an alternative retail electric supplier shall comply with the renewable energy portfolio standards by making an alternative compliance payment, as described in subsection (d) of this Section, to cover at least one-half of the alternative retail electric supplier's compliance obligation for the period prior to June 1, 2017.

(2) For the delivery years beginning June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, an alternative retail electric supplier need not make any alternative compliance payment to meet any portion of its compliance obligation, as set forth in paragraph (3.5) of subsection (a) of this Section.

(3) An alternative retail electric supplier shall use any one or combination of the following means to cover the remainder of the alternative retail electric supplier's compliance obligation, as set forth in paragraphs (3) and (3.5) of subsection (a) of this Section, not covered by an alternative compliance payment made under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection (b) of this Section:

(A) Generating electricity using renewable energy resources identified pursuant to item (4) of subsection (a) of this Section.

(B) Purchasing electricity generated using renewable energy resources identified pursuant to item (4) of subsection (a) of this Section through an energy contract.

(C) Purchasing renewable energy credits from renewable energy resources identified pursuant to item (4) of subsection (a) of this Section.

(D) Making an alternative compliance payment as described in subsection (d) of this Section.

(c) Use of renewable energy credits.

(1) Renewable energy credits that are not used by an alternative retail electric supplier to comply with a renewable portfolio standard in a compliance year may be banked and carried forward up to 2 12-month compliance periods after the compliance period in which the credit was generated for the purpose of complying with a renewable portfolio standard in those 2 subsequent compliance periods. For the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 compliance periods, an alternative retail electric supplier may use renewable credits generated after December 31, 2008 and before June 1, 2009 to comply with this Section.

(2) An alternative retail electric supplier is responsible for demonstrating that a renewable energy credit used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard is derived from a renewable energy resource and that the alternative retail electric supplier has not used, traded, sold, or otherwise transferred the credit.

(3) The same renewable energy credit may be used by an alternative retail electric supplier to comply with a federal renewable portfolio standard and a renewable portfolio standard established under this Act. An alternative retail electric supplier that uses a renewable energy credit to comply with a renewable portfolio standard imposed by any other state may not use the same credit to comply with a renewable portfolio standard established under this Act.

(d) Alternative compliance payments.

(1) The Commission shall establish and post on its website, within 5 business days after entering an order approving a procurement plan pursuant to Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, maximum alternative compliance payment rates, expressed on a per kilowatt-hour basis, that will be applicable in the first compliance period following the plan approval. A separate maximum alternative compliance payment rate shall be established for the service territory of each electric utility that is subject to subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Each maximum alternative compliance payment rate shall be equal to the maximum allowable annual estimated average net increase due to the costs of the utility's purchase of renewable energy resources included in the amounts paid by eligible retail customers in connection with electric service, as described in item (2) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act for the compliance period, and as established in the approved procurement plan. Following each procurement event through which renewable energy resources are purchased for one or more of these utilities for the compliance period, the Commission shall establish and post on its website estimates of the alternative compliance payment rates, expressed on a per kilowatt-hour basis, that shall apply for that compliance period. Posting of the estimates shall occur no later than 10 business days following the procurement event, however, the Commission shall not be required to establish and post such estimates more often than once per calendar month. By July 1 of each year, the Commission shall establish and post on its website the actual alternative compliance payment rates for the preceding compliance year. For compliance years beginning prior to June 1, 2014, each alternative compliance payment rate shall be equal to the total amount of dollars that the utility contracted to spend on renewable resources, excepting the additional incremental cost attributable to solar resources, for the compliance period divided by the forecasted load of eligible retail customers, at the customers' meters, as previously established in the Commission-approved procurement plan for that compliance year. For compliance years commencing on or after June 1, 2014, each alternative compliance payment rate shall be equal to the total amount of dollars that the utility contracted to spend on all renewable resources for the compliance period divided by the forecasted load of retail customers for which the utility is procuring renewable energy resources in a given delivery year, at the customers' meters, as previously established in the Commission-approved procurement plan for that compliance year. The actual alternative compliance payment rates may not exceed the maximum alternative compliance payment rates established for the compliance period. For purposes of this subsection (d), the term "eligible retail customers" has the same meaning as found in Section 16-111.5 of this Act.

(2) In any given compliance year, an alternative retail electric supplier may elect to use alternative compliance payments to comply with all or a part of the applicable renewable portfolio standard. In the event that an alternative retail electric supplier elects to make alternative compliance payments to comply with all or a part of the applicable renewable portfolio standard, such payments shall be made by September 1, 2010 for the period of June 1, 2009 to May 1, 2010 and by September 1 of each year thereafter for the subsequent compliance period, in the manner and form as determined by the Commission. Any election by an alternative retail electric supplier to use alternative compliance payments is subject to review by the Commission under subsection (e) of this Section.

(3) An alternative retail electric supplier's alternative compliance payments shall be computed separately for each electric utility's service territory within which the alternative retail electric supplier provided retail service during the compliance period, provided that the electric utility was subject to subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. For each service territory, the alternative retail electric supplier's alternative compliance payment shall be equal to (i) the actual alternative compliance payment rate established in item (1) of this subsection (d), multiplied by (ii) the actual amount of metered electricity delivered by the alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers for which the supplier has a compliance obligation within the service territory during the compliance period, multiplied by (iii) the result of one minus the ratios of the quantity of renewable energy resources used by the alternative retail electric supplier to comply with the requirements of this Section within the service territory to the product of the percentage of renewable energy resources required under item (3) or (3.5) of subsection (a) of this Section and the actual amount of metered electricity delivered by the alternative retail electrical supplier to retail customers for which the supplier has a compliance obligation within the service territory during the compliance period.

(4) Through May 31, 2017, all alternative compliance payments by alternative retail electric suppliers shall be deposited in the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund and used to purchase renewable energy credits, in accordance with Section 1-56 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. Beginning April 1, 2012 and by April 1 of each year thereafter, the Illinois Power Agency shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly, the Commission, and alternative retail electric suppliers that shall include, but not be limited to:

(A) the total amount of alternative compliance payments received in aggregate from alternative retail electric suppliers by planning year for all previous planning years in which the alternative compliance payment was in effect;

(B) the amount of those payments utilized to purchased renewable energy credits itemized by the date of each procurement in which the payments were utilized; and

(C) the unused and remaining balance in the Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund attributable to those payments.

(4.5) Beginning with the delivery year commencing June 1, 2017, all alternative compliance payments by alternative retail electric suppliers shall be remitted to the applicable electric utility. To facilitate this remittance, each electric utility shall file a tariff with the Commission no later than 30 days following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, which the Commission shall approve, after notice and hearing, no later than 45 days after its filing. The Illinois Power Agency shall use such payments to increase the amount of renewable energy resources otherwise to be procured under subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

(5) The Commission, in consultation with the Illinois Power Agency, shall establish a process or proceeding to consider the impact of a federal renewable portfolio standard, if enacted, on the operation of the alternative compliance mechanism, which shall include, but not be limited to, developing, to the extent permitted by the applicable federal statute, an appropriate methodology to apportion renewable energy credits retired as a result of alternative compliance payments made in accordance with this Section. The Commission shall commence any such process or proceeding within 35 days after enactment of a federal renewable portfolio standard.

(e) Each alternative retail electric supplier shall, by September 1, 2010 and by September 1 of each year thereafter, prepare and submit to the Commission a report, in a format to be specified by the Commission, that provides information certifying compliance by the alternative retail electric supplier with this Section, including copies of all PJM-GATS and M-RETS reports, and documentation relating to banking, retiring renewable energy credits, and any other information that the Commission determines necessary to ensure compliance with this Section.

An alternative retail electric supplier may file commercially or financially sensitive information or trade secrets with the Commission as provided under the rules of the Commission. To be filed confidentially, the information shall be accompanied by an affidavit that sets forth both the reasons for the confidentiality and a public synopsis of the information.

(f) The Commission may initiate a contested case to review allegations that the alternative retail electric supplier has violated this Section, including an order issued or rule promulgated under this Section. In any such proceeding, the alternative retail electric supplier shall have the burden of proof. If the Commission finds, after notice and hearing, that an alternative retail electric supplier has violated this Section, then the Commission shall issue an order requiring the alternative retail electric supplier to:

(1) immediately comply with this Section; and

(2) if the violation involves a failure to procure the requisite quantity of renewable energy resources or pay the applicable alternative compliance payment by the annual deadline, the Commission shall require the alternative retail electric supplier to double the applicable alternative compliance payment that would otherwise be required to bring the alternative retail electric supplier into compliance with this Section.

If an alternative retail electric supplier fails to comply with the renewable energy resource portfolio requirement in this Section more than once in a 5-year period, then the Commission shall revoke the alternative electric supplier's certificate of service authority. The Commission shall not accept an application for a certificate of service authority from an alternative retail electric supplier that has lost certification under this subsection (f), or any corporate affiliate thereof, for at least one year after the date of revocation.

(g) All of the provisions of this Section apply to electric utilities operating outside their service area except under item (2) of subsection (a) of this Section the quantity of renewable energy resources shall be measured as a percentage of the actual amount of electricity (megawatt-hours) supplied in the State outside of the utility's service territory during the 12-month period June 1 through May 31, commencing June 1, 2009, and the comparable 12-month period in each year thereafter except as provided in item (6) of subsection (a) of this Section.

If any such utility fails to procure the requisite quantity of renewable energy resources by the annual deadline, then the Commission shall require the utility to double the alternative compliance payment that would otherwise be required to bring the utility into compliance with this Section.

If any such utility fails to comply with the renewable energy resource portfolio requirement in this Section more than once in a 5-year period, then the Commission shall order the utility to cease all sales outside of the utility's service territory for a period of at least one year.

(h) The provisions of this Section and the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 16-115 of this Act relating to procurement of renewable energy resources shall not apply to an alternative retail electric supplier that operates a combined heat and power system in this State or that has a corporate affiliate that operates such a combined heat and power system in this State that supplies electricity primarily to or for the benefit of: (i) facilities owned by the supplier, its subsidiary, or other corporate affiliate; (ii) facilities electrically integrated with the electrical system of facilities owned by the supplier, its subsidiary, or other corporate affiliate; or (iii) facilities that are adjacent to the site on which the combined heat and power system is located.

(i) The obligations of alternative retail electric suppliers and electric utilities operating outside their service territories to procure renewable energy resources, make alternative compliance payments, and file annual reports, and the obligations of the Commission to determine and post alternative compliance payment rates, shall terminate after May 31, 2019, provided that alternative retail electric suppliers and electric utilities operating outside their service territories shall be obligated to make all alternative compliance payments that they were obligated to pay for periods through and including May 31, 2019, but were not paid as of that date. The Commission shall continue to enforce the payment of unpaid alternative compliance payments in accordance with subsections (f) and (g) of this Section. All alternative compliance payments made after May 31, 2016 shall be remitted to the applicable electric utility and used to purchase renewable energy credits, in accordance with Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

This subsection (i) is intended to accommodate the transition to the procurement of renewable energy resources for all retail customers in the amounts specified under subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of this Act, including but not limited to the transition to a single charge applicable to all retail customers to recover the costs of these resources. Each alternative retail electric supplier shall certify in its annual reports filed pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section after May 31, 2019, that its retail customers are not paying the costs of alternative compliance payments or renewable energy resources that the alternative retail electric supplier is not required to remit or purchase under this Section. The Commission shall have the authority to initiate an emergency rulemaking to adopt rules regarding such certification.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-115E)

Sec. 16-115E. Alternative retail electric supplier utility assistance recipient.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2020, an alternative retail electric supplier shall not knowingly submit an enrollment to change a customer's electric supplier if the electric utility's records indicate that the customer either received financial assistance in the previous 12 months from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or, at the time of enrollment is participating in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan, unless (1) the customer's change in electric supplier is pursuant to a government aggregation program adopted in accordance with Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, or (2) the customer's change in electric supplier is pursuant to a Commission-approved savings guarantee plan as described in subsection (b).

(b) Beginning January 1, 2020, an alternative retail electric supplier may apply to the Commission to offer a savings guarantee plan to recipients of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding or Percentage of Income Payment Plan funding. The Commission shall initiate a public, docketed proceeding to consider whether or not to approve an alternative retail electric supplier's application to offer a savings guarantee plan. At a minimum, the savings guarantee plan shall charge customers for electric supply at an amount that is less than the amount charged by the electric utility.

(c) An agreement entered into between an alternative retail electric supplier and a customer in violation of this Section is void and unenforceable. Before the electric utility executes a change in a customer's electric supplier, other than a change pursuant to a government aggregation program adopted in accordance with Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act or a Commission-approved savings guarantee plan as described in subsection (b), the electric utility shall confirm at the time of the request whether its records indicate that the customer either has received financial assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in the previous 12 months or, at the time of enrollment, is participating in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan; and if so, shall reject such change request. Absent willful or wanton misconduct, no electric utility shall be held liable for any error in acting or failing to act pursuant to this Section.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-116)

Sec. 16-116. Commission oversight of electric utilities serving retail customers outside their service areas or providing competitive, non-tariffed services.

(a) An electric utility that has a tariff on file for delivery services may, without regard to any otherwise applicable tariffs on file, provide electric power and energy to one or more retail customers located outside its service area, but only to the extent (i) such retail customer (A) is eligible for delivery services under any delivery services tariff filed with the Commission by the electric utility in whose service area the retail customer is located and (B) has either elected to take such delivery services or has paid or contracted to pay the charges specified in Sections 16-108 and 16-114, or (ii) if such retail customer is served by a municipal system or electric cooperative, the customer is eligible for delivery services under the terms and conditions for such service established by the municipal system or electric cooperative serving that customer.

(b) An electric utility may offer any competitive service to any customer or group of customers without filing contracts with or seeking approval of the Commission, notwithstanding any rule or regulation that would require such approval. The Commission shall not increase or decrease the prices, and may not alter or add to the terms and conditions for the utility's competitive services, from those agreed to by the electric utility and the customer or customers. Non-tariffed, competitive services shall not be subject to the provisions of the Electric Supplier Act or to Articles V, VII, VIII or IX of the Act, except to the extent that any provisions of such Articles are made applicable to alternative retail electric suppliers pursuant to Sections 16-115 and 16-115A, but shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (b) through (g) of Section 16-115A, and Section 16-115B to the same extent such provisions are applicable to the services provided by alternative retail electric suppliers.

(c) Electric utilities serving retail customers outside their service areas shall be subject to the requirements of paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of Section 16-115 of the Public Utilities Act, except that the numerators referred to in that subsection (d) shall be the utility's retail market sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State outside of the utility's service territory in the prior month.

(Source: P.A. 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-117)

Sec. 16-117. Commission consumer education program.

(a) The restructuring of the electricity industry will create a new electricity market with new marketers and sellers offering new goods and services, many of which the average consumer will not be able to readily evaluate. It is the intent of the General Assembly that (i) electricity consumers be provided with sufficient and reliable information so that they are able to compare and make informed selections of products and services provided in the electricity market; and (ii) mechanisms be provided to enable consumers to protect themselves from marketing practices that are unfair or abusive.

(b) The Commission shall maintain consumer education information to help residential and small commercial retail customers understand their service options in a competitive electric services market, and their rights and responsibilities.

(c) Not more than 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall direct the Office of Retail Market Development to review the existing consumer education information for residential and small commercial customers and consider whether updates are necessary. The Office of Retail Market Development shall seek input from interested persons, including alternative retail electric suppliers, electric utilities, the Attorney General, and the Citizens Utility Board, to further its review of the consumer education materials and possible proposed changes. Within 4 months after the start of the review, the Office of Retail Market Development shall submit recommendations to the Commission for approval.

(d) (Blank).

(e) At a minimum, the consumer education information submitted to the Commission by the Office of Retail Market Development shall include concise explanations or descriptions of the following:

(1) the structure of the electric utility industry following this amendatory Act of 1997 and a glossary of basic terms;

(2) the choices available to consumers to take electric service from an alternative retail electric supplier or remain as a retail customer of an electric utility;

(3) a customer's rights, risks and responsibilities in receiving service from an alternative retail electric supplier or remaining as a retail customer of an electric utility;

(4) the legal obligations of alternative retail electric suppliers;

(5) those services that may be offered on a competitive basis in a deregulated electric services market, including services that could be packaged with the delivery of electric power and energy;

(6) services that an electric utility is required to provide pursuant to tariffed rates;

(7) the components of a bill that could be received by a customer taking delivery services;

(8) the complaint procedures set forth in Section 10-108 of this Act by which consumers may seek a redress of grievances against an electric utility or an alternative retail electric supplier and a list of phone numbers of the Commission, the Attorney General or other entities that can provide information and assistance to customers; and

(9) additional information available from the Commission upon request.

(f) Within 45 days following the submission required of the Office of Retail Market Development by subsection (c) of this Section, the Commission shall approve or disapprove the consumer education information.

(g) Once approved by the Commission, the consumer education information shall be provided as follows:

(1) If the electric utility bills residential or small commercial retail customers directly, then the bill shall include the Commission's electric education internet address in the space reserved for alternative retail electric supplier messages.

(2) Alternative retail electric suppliers shall provide the Commission's electric education internet address to all residential and small commercial retail customers.

(3) (Blank).

(4) The Commission shall make the following information available on its web site and printed information from the web site available to the public upon request and at no charge:

(A) all consumer education information developed by the Office of Retail Market Development and approved by the Commission;

(B) a list of all certified alternative retail electric suppliers serving residential and small commercial retail customers within the service territory of each electric utility;

(C) a list of alternative retail electric suppliers serving residential or small commercial retail customers which have been found in the last 3 years by the Commission pursuant to Section 10-108 to have failed to provide service in accordance with the terms of their contracts with such retail customers; and

(D) guidelines to assist customers in determining which energy supplier is most appropriate for each customer.

(h) The Commission may also adopt a uniform disclosure form which alternative retail electric suppliers would be required to complete enabling consumers to compare prices, terms and conditions offered by such suppliers.

(i) The Commission shall make available to the public staff with the ability and knowledge to respond to consumer inquiries.

(j) (Blank).

(k) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 97-222, eff. 7-28-11.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-118)

Sec. 16-118. Services provided by electric utilities to alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) It is in the best interest of Illinois energy consumers to promote fair and open competition in the provision of electric power and energy and to prevent anticompetitive practices in the provision of electric power and energy. Therefore, to the extent an electric utility provides electric power and energy or delivery services to alternative retail electric suppliers and such services are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and are not competitive services, they shall be provided through tariffs that are filed with the Commission, pursuant to Article IX of this Act. Each electric utility shall permit alternative retail electric suppliers to interconnect facilities to those owned by the utility provided they meet established standards for such interconnection, and may provide standby or other services to alternative retail electric suppliers. The alternative retail electric supplier shall sign a contract setting forth the prices, terms and conditions for interconnection with the electric utility and the prices, terms and conditions for services provided by the electric utility to the alternative retail electric supplier in connection with the delivery by the electric utility of electric power and energy supplied by the alternative retail electric supplier.

(b) An electric utility shall file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of the Act that would allow alternative retail electric suppliers or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area retail customers are located to issue single bills to the retail customers for both the services provided by such alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility and the delivery services provided by the electric utility to such customers. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection shall (i) require partial payments made by retail customers to be credited first to the electric utility's tariffed services, (ii) impose commercially reasonable terms with respect to credit and collection, including requests for deposits, (iii) retain the electric utility's right to disconnect the retail customers, if it does not receive payment for its tariffed services, in the same manner that it would be permitted to if it had billed for the services itself, and (iv) require the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility that elects the billing option provided by this tariff to include on each bill to retail customers an identification of the electric utility providing the delivery services and a listing of the charges applicable to such services. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection may also include other just and reasonable terms and conditions. In addition, an electric utility, an alternative retail electric supplier or electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the customer is located, and a customer served by such alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility, may enter into an agreement pursuant to which the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility pays the charges specified in Section 16-108, or other customer-related charges, including taxes and fees, in lieu of such charges being recovered by the electric utility directly from the customer.

(c) An electric utility with more than 100,000 customers shall file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of this Act that provides alternative retail electric suppliers, and electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customers are located, with the option to have the electric utility purchase their receivables for power and energy service provided to residential retail customers and non-residential retail customers with a non-coincident peak demand of less than 400 kilowatts. Receivables for power and energy service of alternative retail electric suppliers or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customers are located shall be purchased by the electric utility at a just and reasonable discount rate to be reviewed and approved by the Commission after notice and hearing. The discount rate shall be based on the electric utility's historical bad debt and any reasonable start-up costs and administrative costs associated with the electric utility's purchase of receivables. The discounted rate for purchase of receivables shall be included in the tariff filed pursuant to this subsection (c). The discount rate filed pursuant to this subsection (c) shall be subject to periodic Commission review. The electric utility retains the right to impose the same terms on retail customers with respect to credit and collection, including requests for deposits, and retain the electric utility's right to disconnect the retail customers, if it does not receive payment for its tariffed services or purchased receivables, in the same manner that it would be permitted to if the retail customers purchased power and energy from the electric utility. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection (c) shall permit the electric utility to recover from retail customers any uncollected receivables that may arise as a result of the purchase of receivables under this subsection (c), may also include other just and reasonable terms and conditions, and shall provide for the prudently incurred costs associated with the provision of this service pursuant to this subsection (c). Nothing in this subsection (c) permits the double recovery of bad debt expenses from customers.

(d) An electric utility with more than 100,000 customers shall file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of this Act that would provide alternative retail electric suppliers or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area retail customers are located with the option to have the electric utility produce and provide single bills to the retail customers for both the electric power and energy service provided by the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility and the delivery services provided by the electric utility to the customers. The tariffs filed pursuant to this subsection shall require the electric utility to collect and remit customer payments for electric power and energy service provided by alternative retail electric suppliers or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area retail customers are located. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection shall require the electric utility to include on each bill to retail customers an identification of the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility that elects the billing option. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection (d) may also include other just and reasonable terms and conditions and shall provide for the recovery of prudently incurred costs associated with the provision of service pursuant to this subsection (d). The costs associated with the provision of service pursuant to this Section shall be subject to periodic Commission review.

(e) An electric utility with more than 100,000 customers in this State shall file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of this Act that provides alternative retail electric suppliers, and electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customers are located, with the option to have the electric utility purchase 2 billing cycles worth of uncollectible receivables for power and energy service provided to residential retail customers and to non-residential retail customers with a non-coincident peak demand of less than 400 kilowatts upon returning that customer to that electric utility for delivery and energy service after that alternative retail electric supplier, or an electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customer is located, has made reasonable collection efforts on that account. Uncollectible receivables for power and energy service of alternative retail electric suppliers, or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area the retail customers are located, shall be purchased by the electric utility at a just and reasonable discount rate to be reviewed and approved by the Commission, after notice and hearing. The discount rate shall be based on the electric utility's historical bad debt for receivables that are outstanding for a similar length of time and any reasonable start-up costs and administrative costs associated with the electric utility's purchase of receivables. The discounted rate for purchase of uncollectible receivables shall be included in the tariff filed pursuant to this subsection (e). The electric utility retains the right to impose the same terms on these retail customers with respect to credit and collection, including requests for deposits, and retains the right to disconnect these retail customers, if it does not receive payment for its tariffed services or purchased receivables, in the same manner that it would be permitted to if the retail customers had purchased power and energy from the electric utility. The tariff filed pursuant to this subsection (e) shall permit the electric utility to recover from retail customers any uncollectable receivables that may arise as a result of the purchase of uncollectible receivables under this subsection (e), may also include other just and reasonable terms and conditions, and shall provide for the prudently incurred costs associated with the provision of this service pursuant to this subsection (e). Nothing in this subsection (e) permits the double recovery of utility bad debt expenses from customers. The electric utility may file a joint tariff for this subsection (e) and subsection (c) of this Section.

(f) Every alternative retail electric supplier or electric utility other than the electric utility in whose service area retail customers are located that issues single bills to the retail customers for the services provided by the alternative retail electric supplier or other electric utility to the customers shall include on the single bills issued to residential customers the current utility electric supply price to compare that would apply to the customer for the billing period if the customer obtained supply from the utility. The current utility electric supply price shall be the sum of the electric supply charge and the transmission services charge and shall disclose that the price does not include the monthly purchased electricity adjustment.

(g) Every electric utility that provides delivery and supply services shall include on each bill issued to residential customers who obtain supply from an alternative retail electric supplier the current utility electric supply price to compare that would apply to the customer for the billing period if the customer obtained supply from the utility. The current utility electric supply price to compare shall be the sum of the electric supply charge and the transmission services charge and shall disclose that the price does not include the monthly purchased electricity adjustment.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-119)

Sec. 16-119. Switching suppliers. An electric utility or an alternative retail electric supplier may establish a term of service, notice period for terminating service and provisions governing early termination through a tariff or contract. A customer may change its supplier subject to tariff or contract terms and conditions. Any notice provisions; or provision for a fee, charge or penalty with early termination of a contract; shall be conspicuously disclosed in any tariff or contract. Any tariff filed or contract renewed or entered into on and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly that contains an early termination clause shall disclose the amount of the early termination fee or penalty, provided that any early termination fee or penalty shall not exceed $50 total for residential customers and $150 for small commercial retail customers as defined in Section 16-102 of this Act, regardless of whether or not the tariff or contract is a multiyear tariff or contract. Beginning January 1, 2020, residential and small commercial retail customers shall have a right to terminate their contracts with alternative retail electric suppliers at any time without any termination fees or penalties. A customer shall remain responsible for any unpaid charges owed to an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier at the time it switches to another provider.

The caps on early termination fees and penalties under this Section shall apply only to early termination fees and penalties for early termination of electric service. The caps shall not apply to charges or fees for devices, equipment, or other services provided by the utility or alternative retail electric supplier.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-119A)

Sec. 16-119A. Functional separation.

(a) Within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, the Commission shall open a rulemaking proceeding to establish standards of conduct for every electric utility described in subsection (b). To create efficient competition between suppliers of generating services and sellers of such services at retail and wholesale, the rules shall allow all customers of a public utility that distributes electric power and energy to purchase electric power and energy from the supplier of their choice in accordance with the provisions of Section 16-104. In addition, the rules shall address relations between providers of any 2 services described in subsection (b) to prevent undue discrimination and promote efficient competition. Provided, however, that a proposed rule shall not be published prior to May 15, 1999.

(b) The Commission shall also have the authority to investigate the need for, and adopt rules requiring, functional separation between the generation services and the delivery services of those electric utilities whose principal service area is in Illinois as necessary to meet the objective of creating efficient competition between suppliers of generating services and sellers of such services at retail and wholesale. After January 1, 2003, the Commission shall also have the authority to investigate the need for, and adopt rules requiring, functional separation between an electric utility's competitive and non-competitive services.

(b-5) If there is a change in ownership of a majority of the voting capital stock of an electric utility or the ownership or control of any entity that owns or controls a majority of the voting capital stock of an electric utility, the electric utility shall have the right to file with the Commission a new plan. The newly filed plan shall supersede any plan previously approved by the Commission pursuant to this Section for that electric utility, subject to Commission approval. This subsection only applies to the extent that the Commission rules for the functional separation of delivery services and generation services provide an electric utility with the ability to select from 2 or more options to comply with this Section. The electric utility may file its revised plan with the Commission up to one calendar year after the conclusion of the sale, purchase, or any other transfer of ownership described in this subsection. In all other respects, an electric utility must comply with the Commission rules in effect under this Section. The Commission may promulgate rules to implement this subsection. This subsection shall have no legal effect after January 1, 2005.

(c) In establishing or considering the need for rules under subsections (a) and (b), the Commission shall take into account the effects on the cost and reliability of service and the obligation of the utility to provide bundled service under this Act. The Commission shall adopt rules that are a cost effective means to ensure compliance with this Section.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as imposing any requirements or obligations that are in conflict with federal law.

(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an electric utility may market and promote the services, rates and programs authorized by Sections 16-107, and 16-108.6 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(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.

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.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-121)

Sec. 16-121. Non-discrimination; adoption of rules and regulations. The Commission shall adopt rules and regulations no later than 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 governing the relationship between the electric utility and its affiliates, and ensuring nondiscrimination in services provided to the utility's affiliate and any alternative retail electric supplier, including without limitation, cost allocation, cross-subsidization and information sharing.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-122)

Sec. 16-122. Customer information.

(a) Upon the request of a retail customer, or a person who presents verifiable authorization and is acting as the customer's agent, and payment of a reasonable fee, electric utilities shall provide to the customer or its authorized agent the customer's billing and usage data.

(b) Upon request from any alternative retail electric supplier and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility serving retail customers in its service area shall make available generic information concerning the usage, load shape curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate classification. Provided however, no customer specific billing, usage or load shape data shall be provided under this subsection unless authorization to provide such information is provided by the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.

Notwithstanding the requirements of this Section, if an alternative retail electric supplier warrants to an electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers that the alternative retail electric supplier's customer has provided consent as described in subsection (d-5) of Section 2EE of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, then until either the customer contacts the alternative retail electric supplier to opt out or the customer is no longer served by the alternative retail electric supplier:

(1) An electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers shall electronically transmit interval meter usage data at the end of each monthly billing period for each residential retail customer for which the alternative retail electric supplier is providing electric power and energy supply service, for which the alternative retail electric supplier has requested such information, and for which the electric utility meters the residential customer using automated metering infrastructure equipment. Such data transmission shall occur no later than one business day after the electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers validates the interval meter usage data with the monthly billing period for such residential retail customer through an electronic data interchange or secure interface for which the alternative retail electric supplier has requested such information and upon payment of a reasonable and amortized fee to recover the utility's prudently and reasonably incurred costs, approved by the Commission after notice and hearing, to provide this service. The interval meter usage data shall be provided at a minimum on an hourly basis or on a 30-minute basis. In addition, not later than the following day, the electric utility shall provide unverified interval data through an electronic data interchange or secure interface for which the alternative retail electric supplier has requested such information and upon payment of a reasonable and amortized fee to recover the utility's prudently and reasonably incurred costs, approved by the Commission after notice and hearing, to provide this service. The unverified interval meter usage data shall be provided at a minimum on an hourly basis or on a 30-minute basis. The same processes shall apply for nonresidential retail customers.

(2) An electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers shall submit tariffs to the Commission for approval within 120 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly to meet the minimum requirements of paragraph (1) and provide such services no later than June 1, 2025. The Commission shall issue an order approving, or approving with modification to ensure compliance with this Section, the tariff no later than 240 days after such filing of the tariffs filed as described in this Section.

(3) Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly prohibits such utility proposing new tariffs as described in Article IX to the extent such tariffs are consistent with the requirements of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall require such electric utility to alter its tariffs or practices to the extent that they: (i) provide interval data with shorter intervals; (ii) provide interval data more frequently than monthly; or (iii) provide other enhancements beyond the minimum standards required by paragraph (1).

(4) An alternative retail electric supplier shall use such interval meter usage data exclusively for the development, marketing, and provision of current and future products and services to enable such customers to more easily and effectively manage their energy consumption, including, but not limited to, time-of-use pricing, demand response, energy efficiency or management, beneficial electrification, on-site or community generation, or any other electricity-related products or services or customer billing or as otherwise authorized by the Commission.

(5) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not sell interval data obtained under this Section. An alternative retail electric supplier shall not provide, share, or otherwise disclose a consumer's interval meter data obtained under this Section, except an alternative retail electric supplier may license or disclose a customer's interval meter data obtained under this Section if the following conditions are met: (i) the license or disclosure is made to an alternative retail electric supplier's affiliate or a third party with which the alternative retail electric supplier has a contract; (ii) the disclosure of a customer's interval meter data is made only to perform the following functions on behalf of the alternative retail electric supplier: billing and invoicing, administration of the product or service provided to the customer, or pricing products and services for the customer; and (iii) the alternative retail electric supplier maintains responsibility for ensuring that its affiliates and contracted third parties purge such data upon termination of their contract, ownership, affiliation, or license or other agreement, or to the extent that the customer interval data is no longer necessary for the affiliate or contracted third party to perform the function for which the customer interval data was provided. An alternative retail electric supplier may not provide a customer's interval meter data obtained under this Section to a sales agent, broker, or consultant for the purpose of marketing to that specific customer. An alternative retail electric supplier shall be strictly liable under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, this Act, and any other applicable law for any improper or unauthorized disclosure of customer interval data by it or any entity to which it discloses such customer interval data, regardless of whether such data was disclosed under the terms of this Section.

(6) Nothing in this Section prohibits an electric utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers from providing interval metering data to an alternative retail electric supplier as otherwise authorized by law or order of the Commission.

(7) The Commission shall set such fee, after notice and hearing pursuant to paragraph (1) and cost recovery to provide data or services, including any and all data or services provided or proposed under paragraphs (1) through (3) or otherwise authorized by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, which shall be designed to obtain cost recovery solely from alternative retail electric suppliers. The fee shall be paid by all alternative retail electric suppliers that are authorized to provide service to residential customers in the electric utility's service territory on a periodic basis as set forth in the tariff. The Commission shall not establish a fee that is so high as to deter competition or competitive supply offerings in the State, or deny a utility a reasonable opportunity to recover its cost of providing public utility service pursuant to this Act. The Commission may at any time review the reasonableness of the fee established pursuant to this Section upon its own motion or petition of an interested party.

(c) Upon request from a unit of local government and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility shall make available information concerning the usage, load shape curves, and other characteristics of customers by customer classification and location within the boundaries of the unit of local government, however, no customer specific billing, usage, or load shape data shall be provided under this subsection unless authorization to provide that information is provided by the customer. This subsection (c) does not prohibit an electric utility from providing a unit of local government or its designated auditor the materials delineated in Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code for the purposes of an audit under that Section.

(d) All such customer information shall be made available in a timely fashion in an electronic format, if available.

(Source: P.A. 102-1144, eff. 3-17-23; 103-237, eff. 6-30-23.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-123)

Sec. 16-123. Establishment of customer information centers for electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) All electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers shall be required to maintain a customer call center where customers can reach a representative and receive current information. Customers shall periodically be notified on how to reach the call center. The Commission shall have the authority to establish reporting requirements for such centers.

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, an electric utility may:

(1) disclose the current utility electric supply price to a retail customer who takes electric power and energy supply service from an alternative retail electric supplier;

(2) disclose the supply price the customer is paying as reflected on the customer's bill, if known;

(3) furnish to a retail customer a list of frequently asked questions to be used by the retail customer in evaluating electric power and energy supply rate offers by alternative retail electric suppliers; this list may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(A) length of the contract;

(B) the price per kilowatt hour, and whether the contract price is fixed or variable, and if variable, the circumstances under which the price may change;

(C) whether penalties or early termination fees apply if the customer terminates the contract before the expiration of its term; and

(D) whether the customer may be subject to any other adjustments, penalties, surcharges, or costs beyond the electric power and energy supply rate; and

(4) provide to a retail customer education information published by the Office of Retail Market Development and the Office of the Attorney General regarding the selection and evaluation of electric power and energy supply rate offers by alternative retail electric suppliers.

(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-124)

Sec. 16-124. Metering for residential and small commercial retail customers. An electric utility shall not require a residential or small commercial retail customer to take additional metering or metering capability as a condition of taking delivery services unless the Commission finds, after notice and hearing, that additional metering or metering capability is required to meet reliability requirements. Alternative retail electric suppliers serving such customers may provide such additional metering or metering capability at their own expense or take such additional metering or metering capability from the utility as a tariffed service. Any additional metering requirements shall be imposed in a nondiscriminatory manner. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the normal maintenance, replacement or upgrade of meters as required to comply with Commission rules.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-125)

Sec. 16-125. Transmission and distribution reliability requirements.

(a) To assure the reliable delivery of electricity to all customers in this State and the effective implementation of the provisions of this Article, the Commission shall, within 180 days of the effective date of this Article, adopt rules and regulations for assessing and assuring the reliability of the transmission and distribution systems and facilities that are under the Commission's jurisdiction.

(b) These rules and regulations shall require each electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier owning, controlling, or operating transmission and distribution facilities and equipment subject to the Commission's jurisdiction, referred to in this Section as "jurisdictional entities", to adopt and implement procedures for restoring transmission and distribution services to customers after transmission or distribution outages on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether a customer has chosen the electric utility, an affiliate of the electric utility, or another entity as its provider of electric power and energy. These rules and regulations shall also, at a minimum, specifically require each jurisdictional entity to submit annually to the Commission.

(1) the number and duration of planned and unplanned outages during the prior year and their impacts on customers;

(2) outages that were controllable and outages that were exacerbated in scope or duration by the condition of facilities, equipment or premises or by the actions or inactions of operating personnel or agents;

(3) customer service interruptions that were due solely to the actions or inactions of an alternative retail electric supplier or a public utility in supplying power or energy;

(4) a detailed report of the age, current condition, reliability and performance of the jurisdictional entity's existing transmission and distribution facilities, which shall include, without limitation, the following data:

(i) a summary of the jurisdictional entity's outages and voltage variances reportable under the Commission's rules;

(ii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for transmission construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's transmission investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's transmission facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;

(iii) the jurisdictional entity's expenditures for distribution construction and maintenance, the ratio of those expenditures to the jurisdictional entity's distribution investment, and the average remaining depreciation lives of the entity's distribution facilities, expressed as a percentage of total depreciation lives;

(iv) a customer satisfaction survey covering, among other areas identified in Commission rules, reliability, customer service, and understandability of the jurisdictional entity's services and prices; and

(v) the corresponding information, in the same format, for the previous 3 years, if available;

(5) a plan for future investment and reliability improvements for the jurisdictional entity's transmission and distribution facilities that will ensure continued reliable delivery of energy to customers and provide the delivery reliability needed for fair and open competition; and

(6) a report of the jurisdictional entity's implementation of its plan filed pursuant to subparagraph (5) for the previous reporting period.

(c) The Commission rules shall set forth the criteria that will be used to assess each jurisdictional entity's annual report and evaluate its reliability performance. Such criteria must take into account, at a minimum: the items required to be reported in subsection (b); the relevant characteristics of the area served; the age and condition of the system's equipment and facilities; good engineering practices; the costs of potential actions; and the benefits of avoiding the risks of service disruption.

(d) At least every 3 years, beginning in the year the Commission issues the rules required by subsection (a) or the following year if the rules are issued after June 1, the Commission shall assess the annual report of each jurisdictional entity and evaluate its reliability performance. The Commission's evaluation shall include specific identification of, and recommendations concerning, any potential reliability problems that it has identified as a result of its evaluation.

(e) In the event that more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, of an electric utility are subjected to a continuous power interruption of 4 hours or more that results in the transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, or that results in the total loss of power transmission, the utility shall be responsible for compensating customers affected by that interruption for 4 hours or more for all actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages, suffered as a result of the power interruption. The utility shall also reimburse the affected municipality, county, or other unit of local government in which the power interruption has taken place for all emergency and contingency expenses incurred by the unit of local government as a result of the interruption. A waiver of the requirements of this subsection may be granted by the Commission in instances in which the utility can show that the power interruption was a result of any one or more of the following causes:

(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions.

(2) Customer tampering.

(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international unrest or animals.

(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.

Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers.

(f) In the event of a power surge or other fluctuation that causes damage and affects more than either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers, whichever is less, the electric utility shall pay to affected customers the replacement value of all goods damaged as a result of the power surge or other fluctuation unless the utility can show that the power surge or other fluctuation was due to one or more of the following causes:

(1) Unpreventable damage due to weather events or conditions.

(2) Customer tampering.

(3) Unpreventable damage due to civil or international unrest or animals.

(4) Damage to utility equipment or other actions by a party other than the utility, its employees, agents, or contractors.

Loss of revenue and expenses incurred in complying with this subsection may not be recovered from ratepayers. Customers with respect to whom a waiver has been granted by the Commission pursuant to subparagraphs (1)-(4) of subsections (e) and (f) shall not count toward the either (i) 30,000 (or some other number, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers or (ii) 0.8% (or some other percentage, but only as provided by statute) of the total customers required therein.

(g) Whenever an electric utility must perform planned or routine maintenance or repairs on its equipment that will result in transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as defined in subsection (f)), the utility shall make reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected customers no less than 24 hours in advance of performance of the repairs or maintenance.

(h) Remedies provided for under this Section may be sought exclusively through the Illinois Commerce Commission as provided under Section 10-109 of this Act. Damages awarded under this Section for a power interruption shall be limited to actual damages, which shall not include consequential damages, and litigation costs. A utility's request for a waiver of this Section shall be timely if filed no later than 30 days after the date on which a claim is filed with the Commission seeking damages or expense reimbursement under this Section. No utility shall be liable under this Section while a request for waiver is pending. Damage awards may not be paid out of utility rate funds.

(i) The provisions of this Section shall not in any way diminish or replace other civil or administrative remedies available to a customer or a class of customers.

(j) The Commission shall by rule require an electric utility to maintain service records detailing information on each instance of transmission of power at less than 50% of the standard voltage, loss of power, or power fluctuation (as defined in subsection (f)), that affects 10 or more customers. Occurrences that are momentary shall not be required to be recorded or reported. The service record shall include, for each occurrence, the following information:

(1) The date.

(2) The time of occurrence.

(3) The duration of the incident.

(4) The number of customers affected.

(5) A description of the cause.

(6) The geographic area affected.

(7) The specific equipment involved in the fluctuation or interruption.

(8) A description of measures taken to restore service.

(9) A description of measures taken to remedy the cause of the power interruption or fluctuation.

(10) A description of measures taken to prevent future occurrence.

(11) The amount of remuneration, if any, paid to affected customers.

(12) A statement of whether the fixed charge was waived for affected customers.

Copies of the records containing this information shall be available for public inspection at the utility's offices, and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction. A copy of each record shall be filed with the Commission and shall be available for public inspection. Copies of the records may be obtained upon payment of a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of reproduction.

(k) The requirements of subsections (e) through (j) of this Section shall apply only to an electric public utility having 100,000 or more customers.

(Source: P.A. 95-1027, eff. 6-1-09.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-125A)

Sec. 16-125A. Consolidated billing provision for established intergovernmental agreement participants.

(a) The tariffs of each electric utility serving at least 1,000,000 customers shall permit governmental customers acting through an intergovernmental agreement that was in effect 30 days prior to the date specified in subsection (b) and which provides for these governmental customers to work cooperatively in the purchase of electric energy to aggregate their monthly kilowatt-hour energy usage and monthly kilowatt billing demand.

(b) In implementing the provisions of this Section, the rates and charges applicable under the combined billing tariff of the serving utility in effect on May 1, 1997 shall apply to all load of eligible government customers selected by the governmental customers including, but not limited to, load served under contract.

(c) For purposes of this Section, "governmental customers" shall mean any customer that is a municipality, municipal corporation, unit of local government, park district, school district, community college district, forest preserve district, special district, public corporation, body politic and corporate, sanitary or water reclamation district, or other local government agencies, including any entity created by intergovernmental agreement among any of the foregoing entities to implement the arrangements permitted by subsections (a) and (b) of this Section.

(d) Electric utilities shall file tariffs that comply with the requirements of this Section within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-126)

Sec. 16-126. Membership in an independent system operator.

(a) The General Assembly finds that the establishment of one or more independent system operators or their functional equivalents is required to facilitate the development of an open and efficient marketplace for electric power and energy to the benefit of Illinois consumers. Therefore, each Illinois electric utility owning or controlling transmission facilities or providing transmission services in Illinois and that is a member of the Mid-American Interconnected Network as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 shall submit for approval to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission an application for establishing or joining an independent system operator that shall:

(1) independently manage and control transmission facilities of any electric utility;

(2) provide for nondiscriminatory access to and use of the transmission system for buyers and sellers of electricity;

(3) direct the transmission activities of the control area operators;

(4) coordinate, plan, and order the installation of new transmission facilities;

(5) adopt inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement standards for the transmission facilities under its control and direct maintenance, repair, and replacement of all facilities under its control; and

(6) implement procedures and act to assure the provision of adequate and reliable service.

These standards shall be consistent with reliability criteria no less stringent than those established by the Mid-American Interconnected Network and the North American Electric Reliability Council or their successors.

(b) The requirements of this Section may be met by joining or establishing a regional independent system operator that meets the criteria enumerated in subsections (a), (c), and (d) of this Section, as determined by the Commission. To achieve the objectives set forth in subsection (a), the State of Illinois, through the appropriate officers, departments, and agencies, shall work cooperatively with the appropriate officials and agencies of those States contiguous to this State and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission towards the formation of one or more regional independent system operators.

(c) The independent system operator's governance structure must be fair and nondiscriminatory, and the independent system operator must be independent of any one market participant or class of participants. The independent system operator's rules of governance must prevent control, or the appearance of control, of decision-making by any class of participants.

(d) Participants in the independent system operator shall make available to the independent system operator all information required by the independent system operator in performance of its functions described herein. The independent system operator and the electric utilities participating in the independent system operator shall make all filings required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The independent system operator shall ensure that additional filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission request confirmation of the relevant provisions of this amendatory Act of 1997.

(e) If a spot market, exchange market, or other market-based mechanism providing transparent real-time market prices for electric power has not been developed, the independent system operator or a closely cooperating agent of the independent system operator may provide an efficient competitive power exchange auction for electric power and energy, open on a nondiscriminatory basis to all suppliers, which meets the loads of all auction customers at efficient prices.

(f) For those electric utilities referred to in subsection (a) which have not filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by June 30, 1998 an application for establishment or participation in an independent system operator or if such application has not been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by March 31, 1999, a 5 member Oversight Board shall be formed. The Oversight Board shall (1) oversee the creation of an Illinois independent system operator and (2) determine the composition and initial terms of service of, and appoint the initial members of, the Illinois independent system operator board of directors. The Oversight Board shall consist of the following: (1) 3 persons appointed by the Governor; (2) one person appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and (3) one person appointed by the President of the Senate. The Oversight Board shall take the steps that are necessary to ensure the earliest possible incorporation of an Illinois independent system operator under the Business Corporation Act of 1983, and shall serve until the Illinois independent system operator is incorporated.

(g) After notice and hearing, the Commission shall require each electric utility referred to in subsection (a), that is not participating in an independent system operator meeting the requirements of subsections (a) and (c), to seek authority from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to transfer functional control of transmission facilities to the Illinois independent system operator for control by the Illinois independent system operator consistent with the requirements of subsection (a). Upon approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, electric utilities may also elect to transfer ownership of transmission facilities to the Illinois independent system operator. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to preclude the Illinois independent system operator from (1) seeking authority, as necessary, to merge with or otherwise combine its operations with those of one or more other entities authorized to provide transmission services, (2) purchasing or leasing transmission assets from transmission-owning entities not required by this Section to lease transmission facilities to the Illinois independent system operator, or (3) operating as a transmission public utility under the Federal Power Act.

(h) Any other owner of transmission facilities in Illinois not required by this Section to participate in an independent system operator shall be permitted, but not required, to become a member of the Illinois independent system operator.

(i) The Illinois independent system operator created under this Section, and any other independent system operator authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide transmission services as a public utility under the Federal Power Act within the State of Illinois, shall be deemed to be a public utility for purposes of Section 8-503 and 8-509 of this Act. An independent system operator or regional transmission organization that is the subject of an order entered by the Commission under Section 8-503 need not possess a certificate of service authority under Section 8-406 in order to be authorized to take the actions set forth in Section 8-509.

(j) Electric utilities referred to in subsection (a) may withdraw from the Illinois independent system operator upon becoming a member of an independent system operator or operators conforming with the criteria in subsections (a) and (c) and whose formation and operation has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This subsection does not relieve any electric utility of any obligations under Federal law.

(k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as imposing any requirements or obligations that are in conflict with federal law.

(l) A regional transmission organization created under the rules of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall be considered to be the functional equivalent of an independent system operator for purposes of this Section, and an electric utility shall be deemed to meet its obligations under this Section through membership in a regional transmission organization that fulfills the requirements of an independent system operator under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 92-12, eff. 7-1-01.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-126.1)

Sec. 16-126.1. Regional transmission organization memberships. The State shall not directly or indirectly prohibit an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in Illinois from membership in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved regional transmission organization of its choosing. Nothing in this Section limits any authority the Commission otherwise has to regulate that electric utility. This Section ceases to be effective on July 1, 2022 unless extended by the General Assembly by law.

(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-127)

Sec. 16-127. Environmental disclosure.

(a) Every electric utility and alternative retail electric supplier shall provide the following information, to the maximum extent practicable, to its customers on a quarterly basis:

(i) the known sources of electricity supplied, broken-out by percentages, of biomass power, coal-fired power, hydro power, natural gas-fired power, nuclear power, oil-fired power, solar power, wind power and other resources, respectively;

(ii) a pie chart that graphically depicts the percentages of the sources of the electricity supplied as set forth in subparagraph (i) of this subsection;

(iii) a pie chart that graphically depicts the quantity of renewable energy resources procured pursuant to Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act as a percentage of electricity supplied to serve eligible retail customers as defined in Section 16-111.5(a) of this Act; and

(iv) a pie chart that graphically depicts the quantity of zero emission credits from zero emission facilities procured under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act as a percentage of the actual load of retail customers within its service area and, for an electric utility serving over 3,000,000 customers, the quantity of carbon mitigation credits from carbon-free energy resources procured under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, which may be depicted in combination with the zero emission credits procured.

(b) In addition, every electric utility and alternative retail electric supplier shall provide, to the maximum extent practicable, to its customers on a quarterly basis, a standardized chart in a format to be determined by the Commission in a rule following notice and hearings which provides the amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions and nuclear waste attributable to the known sources of electricity supplied as set forth in subparagraph (i) of subsection (a) of this Section.

(c) The electric utilities and alternative retail electric suppliers may provide their customers with such other information as they believe relevant to the information required in subsections (a) and (b) of this Section. All of the information required in subsections (a) and (b) of this Section shall be made available by the electric utilities or alternative retail electric suppliers either in an electronic medium, such as on a website or by electronic mail, or through the U.S. Postal Service.

(d) For the purposes of subsection (a) of this Section, "biomass" means dedicated crops grown for energy production and organic wastes.

(e) All of the information provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this Section shall be presented to the Commission for inclusion in its World Wide Web Site.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-128)

Sec. 16-128. Provisions related to utility employees.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) The reliability and safety of the electric system has depended and depends on a workforce of skilled and dedicated employees, equipped with technical training and experience.

(2) The integrity and reliability of the system also requires the industry's commitment to invest in regular inspection and maintenance, to assure that it can withstand the demands of heavy service requirements and emergency situations.

(3) It is in the State's interest to protect the interests of utility employees who have and continue to dedicate themselves to assuring reliable service to the citizens of this State, and who might otherwise be economically displaced in a restructured industry.

The General Assembly further finds that it is necessary to assure that employees of electric utilities and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an electric utility operating in the deregulated industry have the requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service under this Act.

The General Assembly also finds that it is necessary to assure that employees of alternative retail electric suppliers and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on behalf of an alternative retail electric supplier operating in the deregulated industry have the requisite skills, knowledge, training, experience, and competence to provide reliable and safe electrical service under this Act.

To ensure that these findings and prerequisites for reliable and safe electrical service continue to prevail, each alternative retail electric supplier, electric utility, and contractors and subcontractors performing work on behalf of an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier must demonstrate the competence of their respective employees to work on the distribution system.

The knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence levels to be demonstrated shall be consistent with those required of or by the electric utilities in this State as of January 1, 2007, with respect to their employees and employees of contractors or subcontractors performing work on their behalf. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an electric utility from establishing knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence levels greater than those required as of January 1, 2007.

An adequate demonstration of requisite knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence shall include, at a minimum, completion or current participation and ultimate completion by the employee of an accredited or otherwise recognized apprenticeship program for the particular craft, trade or skill, or specified and several years of employment performing a particular work function that is utilized by an electric utility.

Notwithstanding any law, tariff, Commission rule, order, or decision to the contrary, the Commission shall have an affirmative statutory obligation to ensure that an electric utility is employing employees, contractors, and subcontractors with employees who meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section when installing, constructing, operating, and maintaining generation, transmission, or distribution facilities and equipment within this State pursuant to any provision in this Act or any Commission order, rule, or decision.

For purposes of this Section, "distribution facilities and equipment" means any and all of the facilities and equipment, including, but not limited to, substations, distribution feeder circuits, switches, meters, protective equipment, primary circuits, distribution transformers, line extensions and service extensions both above or below ground, conduit, risers, elbows, transformer pads, junction boxes, manholes, pedestals, conductors, and all associated fittings that connect the transmission or distribution system to either the weatherhead on the retail customer's building or other structure for above ground service or to the terminals on the meter base of the retail customer's building or other structure for below ground service.

To implement this requirement for alternative retail electric suppliers, the Commission, in determining that an applicant meets the standards for certification as an alternative retail electric supplier, shall require the applicant to demonstrate (i) that the applicant is licensed to do business, and bonded, in the State of Illinois; and (ii) that the employees of the applicant that will be installing, operating, and maintaining generation, transmission, or distribution facilities within this State, or any entity with which the applicant has contracted to perform those functions within this State, have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform those functions in a safe and responsible manner in order to provide safe and reliable service, in accordance with the criteria stated above.

(b) The General Assembly finds, based on experience in other industries that have undergone similar transitions, that the introduction of competition into the State's electric utility industry may result in workforce reductions by electric utilities which may adversely affect persons who have been employed by this State's electric utilities in functions important to the public convenience and welfare. The General Assembly further finds that the impacts on employees and their communities of any necessary reductions in the utility workforce directly caused by this restructuring of the electric industry shall be mitigated to the extent practicable through such means as offers of voluntary severance, retraining, early retirement, outplacement and related benefits. Therefore, before any such reduction in the workforce during the transition period, an electric utility shall present to its employees or their representatives a workforce reduction plan outlining the means by which the electric utility intends to mitigate the impact of such workforce reduction on its employees.

(c) In the event of a sale, purchase, or any other transfer of ownership during the mandatory transition period of one or more Illinois divisions or business units, and/or generating stations or generating units, of an electric utility, the electric utility's contract and/or agreements with the acquiring entity or persons shall require that the entity or persons hire a sufficient number of non-supervisory employees to operate and maintain the station, division or unit by initially making offers of employment to the non-supervisory workforce of the electric utility's division, business unit, generating station and/or generating unit at no less than the wage rates, and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms and conditions of employment that are in effect at the time of transfer of ownership of said division, business unit, generating station, and/or generating units; and said wage rates and substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms and conditions of employment shall continue for at least 30 months from the time of said transfer of ownership unless the parties mutually agree to different terms and conditions of employment within that 30-month period. The utility shall offer a transition plan to those employees who are not offered jobs by the acquiring entity because that entity has a need for fewer workers. If there is litigation concerning the sale, or other transfer of ownership of the electric utility's divisions, business units, generating station, or generating units, the 30-month period will begin on the date the acquiring entity or persons take control or management of the divisions, business units, generating station or generating units of the electric utility.

(d) If a utility transfers ownership during the mandatory transition period of one or more Illinois divisions, business units, generating stations or generating units of an electric utility to a majority-owned subsidiary, that subsidiary shall continue to employ the utility's employees who were employed by the utility at such division, business unit or generating station at the time of the transfer under the same terms and conditions of employment as those employees enjoyed at the time of the transfer. If ownership of the subsidiary is subsequently sold or transferred to a third party during the transition period, the transition provisions outlined in subsection (c) shall apply.

(e) The plant transfer provisions set forth above shall not apply to any generating station which was the subject of a sales agreement entered into before January 1, 1997.

(Source: P.A. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-646, eff. 12-30-11.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-128A)

Sec. 16-128A. Certification of installers, maintainers, or repairers.

(a) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing certification requirements ensuring that entities installing distributed generation facilities are in compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act.

For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing distributed generation facilities" shall include, but not be limited to, all entities that are exempt from the definition of "alternative retail electric supplier" under item (v) of Section 16-102 of this Act. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases a cogeneration facility for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs such cogeneration or self-generation facility on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person.

(b) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under this Act or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to this Section; and (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of this Section.

(c) No electric utility shall provide a retail customer with net metering service related to interconnection of that customer's distributed generation facility unless the customer provides the electric utility with (i) a certification that the customer installing the distributed generation facility was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the distributed generation facility was installed by an entity certified under this Section that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection, a retail customer includes that customer's employees, officers, and agents. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer must provide to an electric utility. The provisions of this subsection (c) shall apply on or after the effective date of the Commission's rules prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) Within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish certification requirements that shall be applicable to persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations. The notification and certification requirements of this Section shall only be applicable to individuals or entities that perform work on or within an electric vehicle charging station, including, but not limited to, connection of power to an electric vehicle charging station.

For the purposes of this Section "electric vehicle charging station" means any facility or equipment that is used to charge a battery or other energy storage device of an electric vehicle.

Rules regulating the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations, in which the Commission may establish separate requirements based upon the characteristics of electric vehicle charging stations, so long as it is in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 and Section 16-128A of this Act, shall:

(1) establish a certification process for persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations;

(2) require persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle stations to be certified to do business and to be bonded in the State;

(3) ensure that persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform functions in a safe and reliable manner as required under subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act;

(4) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties on persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations for noncompliance of the rules adopted under this subsection;

(5) ensure that all persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations conform to applicable building and electrical codes;

(6) ensure that all electric vehicle charging stations meet recognized industry standards as the Commission deems appropriate, such as the National Electric Code (NEC) and standards developed or created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Detroit Edison Institute (DTE), the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);

(7) include any additional requirements that the Commission deems reasonable to ensure that persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations meet adequate training, financial, and competency requirements;

(8) ensure that the obligations required under this Section and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act are met prior to the interconnection of any electric vehicle charging station;

(9) ensure electric vehicle charging stations installed by a self-installer are not used for any commercial purpose;

(10) establish an inspection procedure for the conversion of electric vehicle charging stations installed by a self-installer if it is determined that the self-installed electric vehicle charging station is being used for commercial purposes;

(11) establish the requirement that all persons or entities that install electric vehicle charging stations shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing of plans to install an electric vehicle charging station and shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing when installation is complete;

(12) ensure that all persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations obtain certificates of insurance in sufficient amounts and coverages that the Commission so determines and, if necessary as determined by the Commission, names the affected public utility as an additional insured; and

(13) identify and determine the training or other programs by which persons or entities may obtain the requisite training, skills, or experience necessary to achieve and maintain compliance with the requirements set forth in this subsection and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 to install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations.

Within 18 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, and may, if it deems necessary, adopt emergency rules, for the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations.

All retail customers who own, maintain, or repair an electric vehicle charging station shall provide the servicing electric utility (i) a certification that the customer installing the electric vehicle charging station was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the electric vehicle charging station was installed by an entity certified under this subsection (d) that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection (d), a retail customer includes that retail customer's employees, officers, and agents. If the electric vehicle charging station was not installed by a self-installer, then the person or entity that plans to install the electric vehicle charging station shall provide notice to the servicing electric utility prior to installation and when installation is complete and provide any other information required by the Commission's rules established under subsection (d) of this Section. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer who owns, uses, operates, or maintains an electric vehicle charging station must provide to an electric utility.

For the purposes of this subsection, an electric vehicle charging station shall constitute a distribution facility or equipment as that term is used in subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. The phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases an electric vehicle charging station for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs an electric vehicle charging station on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person.

(e) Fees and penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Public Utility Fund and used to fund the Commission's compliance with the obligations imposed by this Section.

(f) The rules established under subsection (d) of this Section shall specify the initial dates for compliance with the rules.

(g) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing a process for entities installing a new utility-scale solar project to certify compliance with the requirements of this Section. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing a new utility-scale solar project" shall include, but is not limited to, any entity installing new photovoltaic projects as such terms are defined in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.

The process shall include an option to complete the certification electronically by completing forms on-line. An entity installing a new utility-scale solar project shall be permitted to complete certification after the subject work has been completed. The Commission shall maintain on its website a list of entities installing new utility-scale solar projects measures that have successfully completed the certification process.

(h) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under subsection (g) of this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under subsection (g) of this Section or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section; (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of subsection (g) and this subsection (h) of this Section; and (7) establish requirements to ensure that entities installing a new photovoltaic project have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform in a safe and reliable manner as required by subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act.

(i) The certification of persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, and electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section is an exclusive power and function of the State. A home rule unit or other units of local government authority may subject persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section to any applicable local licensing, siting, and permitting requirements otherwise permitted under law so long as only Commission-certified persons or entities are authorized to install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations. This Section is a limitation under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exclusively exercised by the State.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17; 100-16, eff. 6-30-17.)