220 ILCS 5/ Public Utilities Act.

(220 ILCS 5/17-200)

Sec. 17-200. Election to provide existing or future customers access to alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) An electric cooperative or municipal system each may, by appropriate action and at the sole discretion of the governing body of each, from time to time make one or more elections to cause one or more of the existing or future customers of each respective system to be eligible to take service from an alternative retail electric supplier for a specified period of time. Provided that, and subject to their authority to serve customers pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act with respect to electric cooperatives and pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code with respect to municipal systems, each shall continue to provide exclusive distribution facilities for any existing and future customers that the electric cooperative or municipal system are now or in the future otherwise entitled to serve and which customers are now or in the future receiving service provided by an alternative retail electric supplier.

(b) Notification of election to provide existing or future customers access to alternative retail electric suppliers. The election by an electric cooperative or municipal system authorizing access to alternative retail electric suppliers for existing or future customers shall be made by filing notice thereof with the Commission and shall be made effective only by such filing.

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

(220 ILCS 5/17-300)

Sec. 17-300. Election to be an alternative retail electric supplier.

(a) An electric cooperative or municipal system may, by appropriate action, and at the sole discretion of the governing body of each, make an election to become an alternative retail electric supplier. A generation and transmission electric cooperative may not, as an alternative retail electric supplier, serve any present or future retail customers of a distribution electric cooperative not a member of that generation and transmission electric cooperative unless at least 30% of the total number of meters of the generation and transmission electric cooperative's member-cooperatives are eligible to obtain electric power and energy from an alternative retail electric supplier other than the generation and transmission electric cooperative or an electric utility due to member-cooperative elections pursuant to either Section 17-200 or 17-300.

(b) Commission authority over an electric cooperative or municipal system electing to be an alternative retail electric supplier. An electric cooperative or municipal system electing to be an alternative retail electric supplier shall provide those services in accordance with Sections 16-115A and 16-115B of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have application to the services being offered by the electric cooperative or municipal system as an alternative retail electric supplier. In no case shall these provisions apply to the existing or future customers taking delivery services from an electric cooperative or municipal system pursuant to their respective authority under the Electric Supplier Act or the Illinois Municipal Code.

(c) Notification of election to be an alternative retail electric supplier. Upon filing notice of intent by an electric cooperative or a municipal system to become an alternative retail electric supplier, the Commission shall issue within 45 days a certificate of service authority for the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the State, as specified in the notice. Issuance of a certificate of service authority shall constitute compliance with Section 16-115 of this Act.

(d) Delivery services provided by electric cooperatives or municipal systems. Municipal systems or electric cooperatives making an election under this Section shall be required to provide delivery services on their respective systems to the electric utility or utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed service will be offered. Such required delivery services to be provided by the electric cooperatives and municipal systems shall be reasonably comparable to the delivery services provided to the electric cooperative's and municipal system's own customers.

(e) Exclusive authority over distribution facilities. Provided that, and subject to their authority to serve customers pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act with respect to electric cooperatives and pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code with respect to municipal systems, each shall continue to provide the exclusive distribution facilities for any existing and future customers that the electric cooperative or municipal system is now or in the future otherwise entitled to serve, and which customers are now or in the future receiving service provided by an alternative retail electric supplier.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 90-624, eff. 7-10-98.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-400)

Sec. 17-400. Conditions prohibiting municipal system participation. At no time shall a municipal system make an election under Sections 17-200 or 17-300 of this Article if such election places at risk:

(1) Any status held by the municipal system or municipal corporation or political subdivision which provides exemption from State or federal tax statutes; or

(2) Any debt, credit instrument or other contractual financial obligation held by, or on behalf of the municipal system which was entered into under an exemption from State or federal tax statutes.

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

(220 ILCS 5/17-500)

Sec. 17-500. Jurisdiction. Except as provided in the Electric Supplier Act, the Illinois Municipal Code, and this Article XVII, the Commission, or any other agency or subdivision thereof of the State of Illinois or any private entity shall have no jurisdiction over any electric cooperative or municipal system regardless of whether any election or elections as provided for herein have been made, and all control regarding an electric cooperative or municipal system shall be vested in the electric cooperative's board of directors or trustees or the applicable governing body of the municipal system.

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

(220 ILCS 5/17-600)

Sec. 17-600. Rights of electric cooperatives and municipal systems in conflict herewith. Except as expressly provided for herein, this Article XVII shall not be construed to conflict with the rights of an electric cooperative or a municipal system as declared in the Electric Supplier Act or as set forth in the Illinois Municipal Code or the public policy against duplication of facilities as set forth therein.

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

(220 ILCS 5/17-700)

Sec. 17-700. Right to create municipal utility unaffected. Nothing in this amendatory Act of 1997 shall limit the right of a municipality to form a municipal utility in accordance with Article 11, Division 117 of the Illinois Municipal Code and the provisions of this Article XVII shall apply to any municipal utility formed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997.

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

(220 ILCS 5/17-800)

Sec. 17-800. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 95-311, eff. 1-1-08. Repealed by P.A. 96-176, eff. 1-1-10.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-900)

Sec. 17-900. Customer self-generation of electricity.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that municipal systems and electric cooperatives shall continue to be governed by their respective governing bodies, but that such governing bodies should recognize and implement policies to provide the opportunity for their residential and small commercial customers who wish to self-generate electricity and for reasonable credits to customers for excess electricity, balanced against the rights of the other non-self-generating customers. This includes creating consistent, fair policies that are accessible to all customers and transparent, fair processes for raising and addressing any concerns.

(b) Customers have the right to install renewable generating facilities to be located on the customer's premises or customer's side of the billing meter and that are intended primarily to offset the customer's own electrical requirements and produce, consume, and store their own renewable energy without discriminatory repercussions from an electric cooperative or municipal system. This includes a customer's rights to:

(1) generate, consume, and deliver excess renewable energy to the distribution grid and reduce his or her use of electricity obtained from the grid;

(2) use technology to store energy at his or her residence;

(3) interconnect his or her electrical system that generates renewable energy, stores energy, or any combination thereof, with the electricity meter on the customer's premises that is provided by an electric cooperative or municipal system:

(A) in a timely manner;

(B) in accordance with requirements established by the electric cooperative or municipal utility to ensure the safety of utility workers; and

(C) after providing written notice to the electric cooperative or municipal utility system providing service in the service territory, installing a nomenclature plate on the electrical meter panel and meeting all applicable State and local safety and electrical code requirements associated with installing a parallel distributed generation system; and

(4) receive fair credit for excess energy delivered to the distribution grid.

(c) The policies of municipal systems and electric cooperatives regarding self-generation and credits for excess electricity may reasonably differ from those required of other entities by Article XVI of the Public Utilities Act or other Acts. The credits must recognize the value of self-generation to the distribution grid and benefits to other customers.

(d) Within 180 days after this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric cooperative and municipal system shall update its policies for the interconnection and fair crediting of customer self-generation and storage if necessary, to comply with the standards of subsection (b) of this Section. Each electric cooperative and municipal system shall post its updated policies to a public-facing area of its website.

(e) An electric cooperative or municipal system customer who produces, consumes, and stores his or her own renewable energy shall not face discriminatory rate design, fees or charges, treatment, or excessive compliance requirements that would unreasonably affect that customer's right to self-generate electricity as provided for in this Section.

(f) An electric cooperative or municipal utility system customer shall have a right to appeal any decision related to self-generation and storage that violates these rights to self-generation and non-discrimination pursuant to the provisions of this Section through a complaint under the Administrative Review Law or similar legal process.

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

(220 ILCS 5/Art. XVIII heading) ARTICLE XVIII. ELECTRIC UTILITY TRANSITIONAL FUNDING LAW

(220 ILCS 5/18-101)

Sec. 18-101. Short title and applicability. This Article may be cited as the Electric Utility Transitional Funding Law of 1997 and shall apply to electric utilities as defined in this Article.

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

(220 ILCS 5/18-102)

Sec. 18-102. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this Section. Terms defined in Article XVI shall have the same meanings in this Article.

"Assignee" means any party, other than an electric utility or grantee, to which an interest in intangible transition property shall have been assigned, sold or transferred. The term "assignee" includes any corporation, public authority, trust, financing vehicle, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.

"Grantee" means any party, other than an electric utility or an assignee which acquires its interest from an electric utility, to whom or for whose benefit the Commission shall create, establish and grant rights in, to and under intangible transition property. The term "grantee" includes any corporation, public authority, trust, financing vehicle, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.

"Grantee instruments" means (a) any instruments, documents, notes, debentures, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness evidencing any contractual right to receive the payment of money from a grantee or (b) any certificates of participation, certificates of beneficial interest or other instruments evidencing a beneficial or ownership interest in a grantee or in intangible transition property of such grantee which are (i) issued (A) by or on behalf of a grantee pursuant to a transitional funding order and (B) pursuant to an executed indenture, pooling agreement, security agreement or other similar agreement of such grantee creating a security interest, ownership interest or other beneficial interest in intangible transition property and (ii) payable solely from proceeds of intangible transition property, including amounts received with respect to the related instrument funding charges.

"Holder" means any holder of transitional funding instruments, including a trustee, collateral agent, nominee or other such party acting for the benefit of such a holder.

"Instrument funding charge" means a non-bypassable charge expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour authorized in a transitional funding order to be applied and invoiced to each retail customer, class of retail customers of an electric utility or other person or group of persons obligated to pay any base rates, transition charges or other rates for tariffed services from which such instrument funding charge has been deducted and stated separately pursuant to subsection (j) of Section 18-104.

"Intangible transition property" means the right, title, and interest of an electric utility or grantee or assignee arising pursuant to a transitional funding order to impose and receive instrument funding charges, and all related revenues, collections, claims, payments, money, or proceeds thereof, including all right, title, and interest of an electric utility, grantee or assignee in, to, under and pursuant to such transitional funding order, whether or not such intangible transition property described above is characterized on the books of the electric utility as a regulatory asset or as a cost incurred by the electric utility or otherwise. Intangible transition property shall arise and exist only when, as, and to the extent that instrument funding charges are authorized in a transitional funding order that has become effective in accordance with this Article and shall thereafter continuously exist to the extent provided in the order.

"Issuer" means any party, other than an electric utility, which has issued transitional funding instruments. The term "issuer" includes any corporation, public authority, trust, financing vehicle, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.

"Transitional funding instruments" means any instruments, pass-through certificates, notes, debentures, certificates of participation, bonds, certificates of beneficial interest or other evidences of indebtedness or instruments evidencing a beneficial interest (i) which are issued by or on behalf of an electric utility or issuer pursuant to a transitional funding order, (ii) which are issued pursuant to an executed indenture, pooling agreement, security agreement or other similar agreement of an electric utility or issuer creating a security interest, ownership interest or other beneficial interest in intangible transition property or grantee instruments, if any, and (iii) the proceeds of which are to be used for the purposes set forth in subparagraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 18-103 of this Article.

"Transitional funding order" means an order of the Commission issued in accordance with the provisions of this Article creating and establishing intangible transition property and the rights of any party therein and approving the sale, pledge, assignment or other transfer of intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if any, the issuance of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, and the imposition and collection of instrument funding charges.

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

(220 ILCS 5/18-103)

Sec. 18-103. Transitional funding orders.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or other law, the Commission is hereby authorized to issue transitional funding orders in accordance with the provisions of this Section, in order to facilitate (i) the issuance of transitional funding instruments by or on behalf of electric utilities or issuers and (ii) the issuance of grantee instruments by or on behalf of grantees.

(b) A transitional funding order may be issued by the Commission only upon the application of an electric utility and shall become effective in accordance with its terms only after such electric utility files with the Commission its written consent to all terms and conditions of such order. After the issuance of a transitional funding order, the electric utility or grantee shall retain sole discretion regarding whether to assign, sell, pledge or otherwise transfer intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if any, or to cause transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, to be issued, including the right to defer or postpone such assignment, sale, transfer, pledge or issuance or to change the terms thereof as allowed by such order.

(c) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, an electric utility may file any number of applications for transitional funding orders. Each application for a transitional funding order shall contain detailed information regarding the electric utility's proposal for (i) the assignment, sale, pledge or other transfer of, or the establishment, creation and granting of rights in and to, intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if any, (ii) the issuance of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, (iii) the total dollar amount of intangible transition property to be created and the amount to be sold, pledged, assigned or otherwise transferred or granted hereunder (which amount may be in excess of the principal and interest payable on the transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, in order to provide for servicing costs and the funding or maintenance of debt service and other reserves, costs and fees as security to the holders of the transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any), (iv) the amount of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, to be issued, (v) the amount, expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour, of instrument funding charges to be collected from retail customers or other persons, (vi) the time to maturity for the transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, and (vii) the electric utility's planned use of the proceeds from the issuance of transitional funding instruments including the amounts allocated for the respective uses specified in subparagraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 18-103 of this Article.

(d) The Commission shall, after proper notice, hold a hearing for the sole purpose of determining whether the application and requested transitional funding order are in compliance with this Article and shall complete its review of the application and issue its final transitional funding order by no later than 90 days after the filing of such application by the electric utility; provided, that, in contested cases where the public interest is in issue pursuant to subparagraph (1)(B) of this subsection (d) or pursuant to subsection (m) of Section 18-104, the Commission may complete its review and issue its final transitional funding order by no later than 120 days after the filing of such application. The order shall create and establish the proposed intangible transition property in the amount requested by the applicant and approve the proposed sale, pledge, assignment or other transfer of, or the establishment, creation and granting of rights in and to, intangible transition property and grantee instruments, if any, the proposed issuance of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, and the proposed imposition and collection of the corresponding instrument funding charges, if the Commission finds that each of the following conditions are met:

(1) the electric utility will use the proceeds of the sale and issuance of the transitional funding instruments for one or more of the following purposes:

(A) to refinance debt or equity, or both, in a manner which the electric utility reasonably demonstrates will result in an overall reduction in its cost of capital, taking into account the costs of financing; provided, however, that any proceeds transferred to a parent company through a common stock repurchase transaction shall be used to retire publicly traded common stock of the parent company or to pay commercially reasonable transaction costs associated with such retirement;

(B) if the Commission finds that the sale or issuance of transitional funding instruments for the following purposes is in the public interest, then the following uses of proceeds: (i) to repay or retire fuel contracts or obligations related to nuclear spent fuel previously incurred by the electric utility in providing electric power or energy services prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 or (ii) to pay any expenditures required to be undertaken by such electric utility by the provisions of Section 16-128 of this Act including labor severance costs and employee retraining costs;

(C) to fund debt service and other reserves, commercially reasonable costs and fees necessary or desirable in connection with the marketing of the transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any;

(D) to pay for commercially reasonable costs associated with the issuance and collateralization of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any; and

(E) to pay for the commercially reasonable costs associated with the issuance of such transitional funding instruments, including the costs incurred since the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or to be incurred, in connection with transactions to recapitalize, refinance or retire stock and/or debt, any associated taxes, and the costs incurred or to be incurred to obtain, collateralize, issue, service and administer transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, including interest and other related fees, costs and charges;

provided, (i) that the transitional funding order shall require the electric utility to use (1) at least 80% of such proceeds for the purposes specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) above and (2) no more than 20% of the maximum amount of such proceeds permitted under subparagraph (6)(B) of this subsection for purposes other than those specified in subparagraph (A) above; (ii) that the electric utility's use of such proceeds for the purposes specified in subparagraph (A) above shall not, as of the date of application of such proceeds, result in the common equity component of its capital structure, exclusive of the portion of its capital structure that consists of obligations representing transitional funding instruments or grantee instruments, being reduced below the lesser of (1) 40% and (2) the common equity percentage as of December 31, 1996 adjusted to reflect any write-off of assets or common equity implemented or required to be implemented as a result of this amendatory Act of 1997; and (iii) in no event shall the electric utility use the proceeds of the sale of grantee instruments or transitional funding instruments to repay or retire obligations incurred by any affiliate of the electric utility (other than in connection with any refinancing of grantee instruments or transitional funding instruments issued by such affiliate), without the consent of the Commission;

(2) the expected maturity date for the grantee instruments or the transitional funding instruments, and the final date on which the electric utility, grantee or assignee shall be entitled to charge and collect instrument funding charges, shall each be set to occur no later than December 31, 2008, subject to the provisions of subsections (l) and (m) of Section 18-104;

(3) the instrument funding charges authorized in such order will be deducted and stated separately from base rates and transition charges, and, where applicable, other rates for tariffed services, all as provided in subsection (j) of Section 18-104 and in a manner conforming to the allocation of the instrument funding charges implemented pursuant to subparagraph (4) of this subsection;

(4) the instrument funding charges authorized in such order shall have been allocated among classes of retail customers in accordance with percentage ratios determined by dividing the base rate revenue from each class by the electric utility's total base rate revenue for the 1996 calendar year;

(5) the issuance of the transitional funding instruments will not cause the rates for tariffed services to increase over the rates then in existence as adjusted for the rate decreases provided in subsection (b) of Section 16-111; and

(6) the aggregate principal amount of grantee instruments or, if such transitional funding order does not provide for the issuance of grantee instruments, transitional funding instruments, to be issued pursuant to such order, together with the aggregate amount of such instruments issued under any prior orders requested by such electric utility, shall not exceed:

(A) during the twelve-month period commencing August 1, 1998, an amount equal to 25% of the applicable electric utility's total capitalization, including both debt and equity, as of December 31, 1996, multiplied by the ratio of the electric utility's revenues from Illinois electric utility retail customers in the 1996 calendar year to its total electric retail revenues for such 1996 year; and

(B) thereafter, an amount equal to 50% of the applicable electric utility's total capitalization, including both debt and equity, as of December 31, 1996 multiplied by the ratio of the electric utility's revenues from Illinois electric utility retail customers in the 1996 calendar year to its total electric retail revenues for such 1996 year.

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