Public Act 1128 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5071 Enrolled LRB097 20038 CEL 65359 b

Public Act 097-1128

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 1. The Electric Vehicle Act is amended by adding Section 25 as follows:

(20 ILCS 627/25 new)

Sec. 25. Charging station installations. 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 the Public Utilities Act.

Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Sections 3-105, 16-102, and 16-128A as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/3-105) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 3-105)

Sec. 3-105. Public utility.

(a) "Public utility" means and includes, except where otherwise expressly provided in this Section, every corporation, company, limited liability company, association, joint stock company or association, firm, partnership or individual, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever that owns, controls, operates or manages, within this State, directly or indirectly, for public use, any plant, equipment or property used or to be used for or in connection with, or owns or controls any franchise, license, permit or right to engage in:

(1) the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery or furnishing of heat, cold, power, electricity, water, or light, except when used solely for communications purposes;

(2) the disposal of sewerage; or

(3) the conveyance of oil or gas by pipe line.

(b) "Public utility" does not include, however:

(1) public utilities that are owned and operated by any political subdivision, public institution of higher education or municipal corporation of this State, or public utilities that are owned by such political subdivision, public institution of higher education, or municipal corporation and operated by any of its lessees or operating agents;

(2) water companies which are purely mutual concerns, having no rates or charges for services, but paying the operating expenses by assessment upon the members of such a company and no other person;

(3) electric cooperatives as defined in Section 3-119;

(4) the following natural gas cooperatives:

(A) residential natural gas cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations established for the purpose of administering and operating, on a cooperative basis, the furnishing of natural gas to residences for the benefit of their members who are residential consumers of natural gas. For entities qualifying as residential natural gas cooperatives and recognized by the Illinois Commerce Commission as such, the State shall guarantee legally binding contracts entered into by residential natural gas cooperatives for the express purpose of acquiring natural gas supplies for their members. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish rules and regulations providing for such guarantees. The total liability of the State in providing all such guarantees shall not at any time exceed $1,000,000, nor shall the State provide such a guarantee to a residential natural gas cooperative for more than 3 consecutive years; and

(B) natural gas cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for the purpose of administering, on a cooperative basis, the furnishing of natural gas for the benefit of their members and that, prior to 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, either had acquired or had entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire all or substantially all of the operating assets of a public utility or natural gas cooperative with the intention of operating those assets as a natural gas cooperative;

(5) sewage disposal companies which provide sewage disposal services on a mutual basis without establishing rates or charges for services, but paying the operating expenses by assessment upon the members of the company and no others;

(6) (Blank);

(7) cogeneration facilities, small power production facilities, and other qualifying facilities, as defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act and regulations promulgated thereunder, except to the extent State regulatory jurisdiction and action is required or authorized by federal law, regulations, regulatory decisions or the decisions of federal or State courts of competent jurisdiction;

(8) the ownership or operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel and the selling of compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel;

(9) alternative retail electric suppliers as defined in Article XVI; and

(10) the Illinois Power Agency.

(c) 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 a public utility notwithstanding the basis on which the service is provided or billed. If, however, the entity is otherwise deemed a public utility 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 subsection, the term "electric vehicles" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 10 of the Electric Vehicle Act.

(Source: P.A. 94-738, eff. 5-4-06; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)

(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. 94-977, eff. 6-30-06.)

(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 vendors 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) The certification of persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair 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 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 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. 97-616, eff. 10-26-11.)

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