Bill Text: IL HB3113 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Public Utilities Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning rates and restructuring transactions during the mandatory transition period.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB3113 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HB3113-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 16-111 as follows:
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6 | (220 ILCS 5/16-111)
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7 | Sec. 16-111. Rates and restructuring transactions during
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8 | mandatory transition period; restructuring and other | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | transactions. | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | (a) During the
the mandatory transition period,
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11 | notwithstanding any provision of Article IX of this Act, and
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12 | except as provided in subsections (b) and (f)
of this Section, | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | the Commission shall not (i) initiate,
authorize or order any | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | change by way of increase (other than in connection with
a | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | request for rate increase which was filed after September 1, | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | 1997 but prior
to October 15, 1997, by an electric utility | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | serving less than 12,500 customers
in this State), (ii)
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18 | initiate or, unless requested by the electric utility,
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19 | authorize or order any change by way of decrease,
restructuring | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | or unbundling (except as provided in Section 16-109A), in the
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21 | rates of any electric
utility that were in effect on October 1, | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | 1996, or (iii) in any order approving
any application for a | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | merger pursuant to Section 7-204 that was pending as of
May 16, |
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1 | 1997, impose any condition requiring any filing for an | ||||||
2 | increase,
decrease, or change in, or other review of, an | ||||||
3 | electric utility's rates or
enforce any such condition of any | ||||||
4 | such order;
provided,
however, that this subsection shall not | ||||||
5 | prohibit the
Commission from:
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6 | (1) approving the application of an electric utility
to | ||||||
7 | implement an alternative to rate of return regulation
or a | ||||||
8 | regulatory mechanism that rewards or penalizes the
| ||||||
9 | electric utility through adjustment of rates based on
| ||||||
10 | utility performance, pursuant to Section 9-244;
| ||||||
11 | (2) authorizing an electric utility to eliminate its
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12 | fuel adjustment clause and adjust its base rate tariffs
in | ||||||
13 | accordance with subsection (b), (d), or (f) of Section
| ||||||
14 | 9-220 of this Act, to fix its fuel adjustment factor in
| ||||||
15 | accordance with subsection (c) of Section 9-220 of this
| ||||||
16 | Act, or to eliminate its fuel adjustment clause in | ||||||
17 | accordance with subsection
(e) of Section 9-220 of this | ||||||
18 | Act;
| ||||||
19 | (3) ordering into effect tariffs for delivery
services | ||||||
20 | and transition charges in accordance with
Sections 16-104 | ||||||
21 | and 16-108, for real-time pricing in
accordance with | ||||||
22 | Section 16-107, or the options required
by Section 16-110 | ||||||
23 | and subsection (n) of 16-112,
allowing a billing experiment | ||||||
24 | in accordance with
Section 16-106, or modifying delivery | ||||||
25 | services tariffs in accordance with
Section 16-109; or
| ||||||
26 | (4) ordering or allowing into effect any tariff to
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1 | recover charges pursuant to Sections 9-201.5, 9-220.1,
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2 | 9-221, 9-222 (except as provided in Section 9-222.1), | ||||||
3 | 16-108, and 16-114 of
this
Act, Section 5-5 of the | ||||||
4 | Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Law, Section
| ||||||
5 | 6-5 of the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Coal | ||||||
6 | Resources Development
Law of 1997, and Section 13 of the | ||||||
7 | Energy Assistance Act.
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8 | After December 31, 2004, the provisions of this subsection | ||||||
9 | (a) shall not
apply to an electric utility whose average | ||||||
10 | residential retail rate was less
than or equal to 90% of the | ||||||
11 | average residential retail rate for the "Midwest
Utilities", as | ||||||
12 | that term is defined in subsection (b) of this Section, based | ||||||
13 | on
data reported on Form 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory | ||||||
14 | Commission for
calendar year 1995, and which served between | ||||||
15 | 150,000 and 250,000 retail
customers in this State on January | ||||||
16 | 1, 1995
unless the electric utility or its holding company has | ||||||
17 | been acquired by or
merged with an affiliate of another | ||||||
18 | electric utility subsequent to January 1,
2002. This exemption | ||||||
19 | shall be limited to
this subsection (a) and shall not extend to | ||||||
20 | any other provisions of this Act.
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21 | (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), each | ||||||
22 | Illinois electric
utility serving more than 12,500 customers in | ||||||
23 | Illinois shall file tariffs (i)
reducing, effective August 1, | ||||||
24 | 1998, each component of its base rates to
residential retail
| ||||||
25 | customers by 15% from the base rates in effect immediately | ||||||
26 | prior to January 1,
1998 and (ii) if the public utility |
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1 | provides electric service to (A) more
than
500,000
customers | ||||||
2 | but less than 1,000,000 customers in this State on January 1,
| ||||||
3 | 1999,
reducing, effective May 1, 2002, each component of its
| ||||||
4 | base rates to residential retail customers by an additional 5% | ||||||
5 | from the base
rates in effect immediately prior to January 1, | ||||||
6 | 1998, or (B) at least
1,000,000 customers in this State on | ||||||
7 | January 1, 1999,
reducing, effective October 1, 2001, each | ||||||
8 | component of its
base rates to residential retail customers by | ||||||
9 | an additional
5% from the base rates in effect immediately | ||||||
10 | prior to
January 1, 1998.
Provided, however, that (A) if an | ||||||
11 | electric utility's average residential
retail
rate is less than | ||||||
12 | or equal to the average residential retail
rate for a group
of | ||||||
13 | Midwest Utilities (consisting of all investor-owned electric | ||||||
14 | utilities with
annual system peaks in excess of 1000 megawatts | ||||||
15 | in the States of Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, | ||||||
16 | Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin), based on
data
reported on Form | ||||||
17 | 1 to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar
year | ||||||
18 | 1995,
then it shall only be required to file tariffs (i) | ||||||
19 | reducing, effective August
1, 1998, each component of its base | ||||||
20 | rates to residential
retail customers by
5% from the base rates | ||||||
21 | in effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998, (ii)
reducing, | ||||||
22 | effective October 1, 2000, each component of its base
rates to | ||||||
23 | residential retail customers by the lesser of 5% of the base | ||||||
24 | rates in
effect immediately prior to January 1, 1998 or the
| ||||||
25 | percentage by which the electric utility's average residential | ||||||
26 | retail rate
exceeds the average residential retail rate of the |
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1 | Midwest Utilities,
based on data
reported on Form 1 to the | ||||||
2 | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar
year 1999, | ||||||
3 | and (iii) reducing, effective October 1, 2002, each component | ||||||
4 | of its
base rates to
residential retail customers by an
| ||||||
5 | additional amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the base rates | ||||||
6 | in effect
immediately prior to January 1, 1998 or the | ||||||
7 | percentage by which
the electric utility's average residential | ||||||
8 | retail rate exceeds the average
residential retail rate of the | ||||||
9 | Midwest Utilities,
based on data reported on Form
1 to the | ||||||
10 | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for calendar year 2001; | ||||||
11 | and (B)
if the average residential retail rate of an electric | ||||||
12 | utility serving between
150,000
and 250,000 retail customers in | ||||||
13 | this State on January 1, 1995 is less than or
equal to 90% of
| ||||||
14 | the average residential retail rate for the Midwest Utilities, | ||||||
15 | based on data
reported
on Form 1 to the Federal Energy | ||||||
16 | Regulatory Commission for calendar year 1995,
then it shall | ||||||
17 | only be required to file tariffs (i) reducing, effective August
| ||||||
18 | 1,
1998, each component of its base rates to residential retail | ||||||
19 | customers by 2%
from the base rates in effect immediately prior | ||||||
20 | to January 1, 1998; (ii)
reducing, effective October 1, 2000, | ||||||
21 | each component of its base rates to
residential retail | ||||||
22 | customers by 2% from the base rate in effect immediately
prior | ||||||
23 | to January 1, 1998; and (iii) reducing, effective October 1, | ||||||
24 | 2002, each
component of its base rates to residential retail | ||||||
25 | customers by 1% from the base
rates in effect immediately prior | ||||||
26 | to January 1, 1998.
Provided,
further, that any electric |
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1 | utility for which a decrease in base rates has been
or is | ||||||
2 | placed into effect between October 1, 1996 and the dates | ||||||
3 | specified in the
preceding sentences of this subsection, other | ||||||
4 | than pursuant to the requirements
of this subsection,
shall be | ||||||
5 | entitled to reduce the amount of any reduction or reductions in | ||||||
6 | its
base rates required by this subsection by the amount of | ||||||
7 | such other decrease.
The tariffs required under this
subsection | ||||||
8 | shall be filed 45 days in advance of
the effective date.
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9 | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 9-220 of | ||||||
10 | this Act, no
restatement of base rates in conjunction with the | ||||||
11 | elimination of a fuel
adjustment clause under that Section | ||||||
12 | shall result in a lesser decrease in base
rates than customers | ||||||
13 | would otherwise receive under this subsection had the
electric | ||||||
14 | utility's fuel adjustment clause not been eliminated.
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15 | (c) Any utility reducing its base rates by 15% on August 1, | ||||||
16 | 1998 pursuant
to
subsection
(b)
shall include the following | ||||||
17 | statement on its bills for residential customers
from August 1 | ||||||
18 | through December 31, 1998: "Effective August 1, 1998, your | ||||||
19 | rates
have been
reduced by 15% by the Electric Service
Customer | ||||||
20 | Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the Illinois | ||||||
21 | General
Assembly.". Any utility reducing its base rates by 5% | ||||||
22 | on August 1, 1998,
pursuant to subsection (b) shall include the | ||||||
23 | following statement on its bills
for residential customers from | ||||||
24 | August 1 through December 31, 1998: "Effective
August 1,
1998, | ||||||
25 | your rates have been reduced by 5% by the Electric Service | ||||||
26 | Customer
Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the |
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1 | Illinois General Assembly.".
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2 | Any utility reducing its base rates by 2% on August 1, 1998 | ||||||
3 | pursuant to
subsection (b) shall include the following | ||||||
4 | statement on its bills for
residential customers from August 1 | ||||||
5 | through December 31, 1998: "Effective
August 1, 1998, your | ||||||
6 | rates have been reduced by 2% by the Electric Service
Customer | ||||||
7 | Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 passed by the Illinois | ||||||
8 | General
Assembly.".
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9 | (d) (Blank.)
| ||||||
10 | (e) (Blank.)
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11 | (f) During the mandatory transition period, an electric
| ||||||
12 | utility may file revised tariffs reducing the price of any
| ||||||
13 | tariffed service offered by the electric utility for all
| ||||||
14 | customers taking that tariffed service, which shall be
| ||||||
15 | effective 7 days after filing.
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16 | (g) Until all classes of tariffed services are declared | ||||||
17 | competitive, an electric
utility may, without obtaining any | ||||||
18 | approval of the Commission other than that
provided for in this | ||||||
19 | subsection and
notwithstanding any other provision of this Act | ||||||
20 | or any rule or
regulation of the Commission that would require | ||||||
21 | such approval:
| ||||||
22 | (1) implement a reorganization, other than a merger of | ||||||
23 | 2 or
more public utilities as defined in Section 3-105 or | ||||||
24 | their
holding companies;
| ||||||
25 | (2) retire generating plants from service;
| ||||||
26 | (3) sell, assign, lease or otherwise transfer assets to |
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1 | an
affiliated or unaffiliated entity and as part of such
| ||||||
2 | transaction enter into service agreements, power purchase
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3 | agreements, or other agreements with the transferee; | ||||||
4 | provided,
however, that the prices, terms and conditions of | ||||||
5 | any power
purchase agreement must be approved or allowed | ||||||
6 | into effect by
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; or
| ||||||
7 | (4) use any
accelerated cost recovery method including | ||||||
8 | accelerated depreciation,
accelerated amortization or | ||||||
9 | other capital recovery
methods, or record reductions to the | ||||||
10 | original cost of its
assets.
| ||||||
11 | In order to implement a reorganization, retire
generating | ||||||
12 | plants from service, or sell, assign, lease or
otherwise | ||||||
13 | transfer assets pursuant to this Section, the
electric utility | ||||||
14 | shall comply with subsections (c) and (d) of Section
16-128, if | ||||||
15 | applicable, and subsection (k) of this Section, if applicable,
| ||||||
16 | and provide the Commission with at
least 30 days notice of the | ||||||
17 | proposed reorganization or
transaction, which notice shall | ||||||
18 | include the following
information:
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19 |
(i) a complete statement of the entries that the
| ||||||
20 | electric utility will make on its books and records of
| ||||||
21 | account to implement the proposed reorganization or
| ||||||
22 | transaction together with a certification from an
| ||||||
23 | independent certified public accountant that such entries
| ||||||
24 | are in accord with generally accepted accounting
| ||||||
25 | principles and, if the Commission has previously approved
| ||||||
26 | guidelines for cost allocations between the utility and
its |
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| |||||||
1 | affiliates, a certification from the chief accounting
| ||||||
2 | officer of the utility that such entries are in accord
with | ||||||
3 | those cost allocation guidelines;
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4 |
(ii) a description of how the electric utility will
| ||||||
5 | use proceeds of any sale, assignment, lease or transfer
to | ||||||
6 | retire debt or otherwise reduce or recover the costs
of | ||||||
7 | services provided by such electric utility;
| ||||||
8 |
(iii) a list of all federal approvals or approvals
| ||||||
9 | required from departments and agencies of this State,
other | ||||||
10 | than the Commission, that the electric utility has
or will | ||||||
11 | obtain before implementing the reorganization or
| ||||||
12 | transaction;
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13 |
(iv) an irrevocable commitment by the electric
utility | ||||||
14 | that it will not, as a result of the transaction,
impose | ||||||
15 | any stranded cost charges that it might otherwise
be | ||||||
16 | allowed to charge retail customers under federal law
or | ||||||
17 | increase the transition charges that it is otherwise
| ||||||
18 | entitled to collect under this Article XVI;
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19 |
(v) if the electric utility proposes to sell,
assign, | ||||||
20 | lease or otherwise transfer a generating plant
that brings | ||||||
21 | the amount of net dependable generating
capacity | ||||||
22 | transferred pursuant to this subsection to an
amount equal | ||||||
23 | to or greater than 15% of the electric
utility's net | ||||||
24 | dependable capacity as of the effective
date of this | ||||||
25 | amendatory Act of 1997, and enters into a
power purchase | ||||||
26 | agreement with the entity to which such
generating plant is |
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1 | sold, assigned, leased, or otherwise
transferred, the | ||||||
2 | electric utility also agrees, if its
fuel adjustment clause | ||||||
3 | has not already been eliminated,
to eliminate its fuel | ||||||
4 | adjustment clause in accordance
with subsection (b) of | ||||||
5 | Section 9-220 for a period of time
equal to the length of | ||||||
6 | any such power purchase agreement
or successor agreement, | ||||||
7 | or until January 1, 2005,
whichever is longer; if the | ||||||
8 | capacity of the generating
plant so transferred and related | ||||||
9 | power purchase agreement
does not result in the elimination | ||||||
10 | of the fuel adjustment
clause under this subsection, and | ||||||
11 | the fuel adjustment clause has not already
been eliminated, | ||||||
12 | the electric utility shall
agree that the costs associated | ||||||
13 | with the transferred
plant that are included in the | ||||||
14 | calculation of the rate
per kilowatt-hour to be applied | ||||||
15 | pursuant to the electric
utility's fuel adjustment clause | ||||||
16 | during such period shall
not exceed the per kilowatt-hour | ||||||
17 | cost associated with
such generating plant included in the | ||||||
18 | electric utility's
fuel adjustment clause during the full | ||||||
19 | calendar year
preceding the transfer, with such limit to be | ||||||
20 | adjusted
each year thereafter by the Gross Domestic Product
| ||||||
21 | Implicit Price Deflator; and
| ||||||
22 |
(vi) in
addition, if the electric utility proposes to | ||||||
23 | sell, assign, or
lease, (A) either (1) an amount of | ||||||
24 | generating plant that brings the amount of
net dependable | ||||||
25 | generating capacity transferred pursuant to this | ||||||
26 | subsection to
an amount equal to or greater than 15% of its |
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| |||||||
1 | net dependable capacity on the
effective date of this | ||||||
2 | amendatory Act of 1997, or (2) one or more generating
| ||||||
3 | plants with a total net dependable capacity of 1100 | ||||||
4 | megawatts, or (B)
transmission and distribution facilities | ||||||
5 | that either (1) bring the amount of
transmission and | ||||||
6 | distribution facilities transferred pursuant to this
| ||||||
7 | subsection to an amount equal to or greater than 15% of the | ||||||
8 | electric utility's
total depreciated original cost | ||||||
9 | investment in such facilities, or (2) represent
an | ||||||
10 | investment of $25,000,000 in terms of total depreciated | ||||||
11 | original cost, the
electric utility shall provide, in
| ||||||
12 | addition to the information listed in subparagraphs
(i) | ||||||
13 | through (v), the following information: (A) a description | ||||||
14 | of how the
electric utility will meet its service | ||||||
15 | obligations under this Act in a safe and
reliable manner | ||||||
16 | and (B) the electric utility's projected earned rate of
| ||||||
17 | return on common equity for each year from the date of the | ||||||
18 | notice through December 31,
2006
both with and without the | ||||||
19 | proposed transaction. If
the Commission has not issued an | ||||||
20 | order initiating a hearing on the proposed
transaction | ||||||
21 | within 30 days after the date the electric utility's notice | ||||||
22 | is
filed, the transaction shall be deemed approved. The | ||||||
23 | Commission may, after
notice and hearing,
prohibit the | ||||||
24 | proposed transaction if it makes either or both of the | ||||||
25 | following
findings: (1) that the proposed transaction will | ||||||
26 | render the electric utility
unable to provide its tariffed |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | services in a safe and reliable manner, or (2)
that there | ||||||
2 | is a strong likelihood that consummation of the proposed | ||||||
3 | transaction
will result in the electric utility being | ||||||
4 | entitled to request an increase in
its base rates. Any | ||||||
5 | hearing initiated by the Commission into the proposed
| ||||||
6 | transaction shall be completed, and the Commission's final | ||||||
7 | order approving or
prohibiting the proposed transaction | ||||||
8 | shall be entered, within 90 days after the
date the | ||||||
9 | electric utility's notice was filed.
Provided, however, | ||||||
10 | that a sale, assignment, or lease of transmission | ||||||
11 | facilities
to an independent system operator that meets the | ||||||
12 | requirements of Section 16-126
shall not be subject to | ||||||
13 | Commission approval under this Section.
| ||||||
14 |
In any proceeding conducted by the Commission pursuant | ||||||
15 | to this
subparagraph
(vi), intervention shall be limited to | ||||||
16 | parties with a direct interest in the
transaction which is | ||||||
17 | the subject of the hearing and any statutory consumer
| ||||||
18 | protection agency as defined in subsection (d) of Section | ||||||
19 | 9-102.1.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10-113 | ||||||
20 | of this Act, any application
seeking rehearing of an order | ||||||
21 | issued under this subparagraph (vi), whether
filed by the | ||||||
22 | electric utility or by an intervening party, shall be filed | ||||||
23 | within
10 days after service of the order.
| ||||||
24 | The Commission shall not in any subsequent proceeding or
| ||||||
25 | otherwise, review such a reorganization or other transaction
| ||||||
26 | authorized by this Section, but shall retain the authority to |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | allocate costs as
stated in Section 16-111(i). An entity to | ||||||
2 | which an electric
utility sells, assigns, leases or transfers | ||||||
3 | assets pursuant to
this subsection (g) shall not, as a result | ||||||
4 | of the transactions
specified in this subsection (g), be deemed | ||||||
5 | a public utility
as defined in Section 3-105. Nothing in this | ||||||
6 | subsection (g)
shall change any requirement under the | ||||||
7 | jurisdiction of the
Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety | ||||||
8 | including, but not
limited to, the payment of fees. Nothing in | ||||||
9 | this subsection
(g) shall exempt a utility from obtaining a | ||||||
10 | certificate
pursuant to Section 8-406 of this Act for the | ||||||
11 | construction of
a new electric generating facility. Nothing in | ||||||
12 | this
subsection (g) is intended to exempt the transactions | ||||||
13 | hereunder from the
operation of the federal or State antitrust
| ||||||
14 | laws. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall require an electric
| ||||||
15 | utility to use the procedures specified in this subsection for
| ||||||
16 | any of the transactions specified herein. Any other procedure
| ||||||
17 | available under this Act may, at the electric utility's
| ||||||
18 | election, be used for any such transaction.
| ||||||
19 | (h) During the mandatory transition period, the
Commission | ||||||
20 | shall not establish or use any rates of
depreciation, which for | ||||||
21 | purposes of this subsection shall
include amortization, for any | ||||||
22 | electric utility other than
those established pursuant to | ||||||
23 | subsection (c) of Section 5-104
of this Act or utilized | ||||||
24 | pursuant to subsection (g) of this
Section. Provided, however, | ||||||
25 | that in any proceeding to review an electric
utility's rates | ||||||
26 | for tariffed services pursuant to Section 9-201, 9-202, 9-250
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | or
16-111(d) of this Act, the Commission may establish new | ||||||
2 | rates
of depreciation for the electric utility in the same | ||||||
3 | manner provided in
subsection (d) of Section 5-104 of this Act.
| ||||||
4 | An electric utility implementing an accelerated cost
recovery | ||||||
5 | method including accelerated depreciation,
accelerated | ||||||
6 | amortization or other capital recovery methods, or
recording | ||||||
7 | reductions to the original cost of its assets,
pursuant to | ||||||
8 | subsection (g) of this Section, shall file a
statement with the | ||||||
9 | Commission describing the accelerated cost
recovery method to | ||||||
10 | be implemented or the reduction in the
original cost of its | ||||||
11 | assets to be recorded. Upon the filing
of such statement, the | ||||||
12 | accelerated cost recovery method or the
reduction in the | ||||||
13 | original cost of assets shall be deemed to be
approved by the | ||||||
14 | Commission as though an order had been entered
by the | ||||||
15 | Commission.
| ||||||
16 | (i) Subsequent to the mandatory transition period, the
| ||||||
17 | Commission, in any proceeding to establish rates and charges
| ||||||
18 | for tariffed services offered by an electric utility, shall
| ||||||
19 | consider only (1) the then current or projected revenues,
| ||||||
20 | costs, investments and cost of capital directly or
indirectly | ||||||
21 | associated with the provision of such tariffed
services; (2) | ||||||
22 | collection of transition charges in accordance
with Sections | ||||||
23 | 16-102 and 16-108 of this Act; (3) recovery of
any employee | ||||||
24 | transition costs as described in Section 16-128
which the | ||||||
25 | electric utility is continuing to incur, including
recovery of | ||||||
26 | any unamortized portion of such costs previously
incurred or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | committed, with such costs to be equitably
allocated among | ||||||
2 | bundled services, delivery services, and
contracts with | ||||||
3 | alternative retail electric suppliers; and (4)
recovery of the | ||||||
4 | costs associated with the electric utility's
compliance with | ||||||
5 | decommissioning funding requirements; and
shall not consider | ||||||
6 | any other revenues, costs, investments
or cost of capital of | ||||||
7 | either the electric utility or of any
affiliate of the electric | ||||||
8 | utility that are not associated with the provision of
tariffed | ||||||
9 | services. In setting rates for tariffed services, the | ||||||
10 | Commission
shall equitably allocate joint and common costs and | ||||||
11 | investments between the
electric utility's competitive and | ||||||
12 | tariffed services. In determining the
justness and
| ||||||
13 | reasonableness of the electric power and energy component of
an | ||||||
14 | electric utility's rates for tariffed services subsequent
to | ||||||
15 | the mandatory transition period and prior to the time that
the | ||||||
16 | provision of such electric power and energy is declared
| ||||||
17 | competitive, the Commission shall consider the extent to which
| ||||||
18 | the electric utility's tariffed rates for such component for
| ||||||
19 | each customer class exceed the market value determined
pursuant | ||||||
20 | to Section 16-112, and, if the electric power and
energy | ||||||
21 | component of such tariffed rate exceeds the market
value by | ||||||
22 | more than 10% for any customer class, may
establish such | ||||||
23 | electric power and energy component at a rate
equal to the | ||||||
24 | market value plus 10%.
| ||||||
25 | (j) During the mandatory transition period, an electric
| ||||||
26 | utility may elect to transfer to a non-operating income
account |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | under the Commission's Uniform System of Accounts
either or | ||||||
2 | both of (i) an amount of unamortized investment tax
credit that | ||||||
3 | is in addition to the ratable amount which is
credited to the | ||||||
4 | electric utility's operating income account
for the year in | ||||||
5 | accordance with Section 46(f)(2) of the
federal Internal | ||||||
6 | Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect prior to P.L. 101-508, or
| ||||||
7 | (ii) "excess tax reserves",
as that term is defined in Section | ||||||
8 | 203(e)(2)(A) of the federal
Tax Reform Act of 1986, provided | ||||||
9 | that (A) the amount
transferred may not exceed the amount of | ||||||
10 | the electric
utility's assets that were created pursuant to | ||||||
11 | Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 71 which the | ||||||
12 | electric
utility has written off during the mandatory | ||||||
13 | transition
period, and (B) the transfer shall not be effective | ||||||
14 | until
approved by the Internal Revenue Service. An electric | ||||||
15 | utility
electing to make such a transfer shall file a statement | ||||||
16 | with
the Commission stating the amount and timing of the | ||||||
17 | transfer
for which it intends to request approval of the | ||||||
18 | Internal
Revenue Service, along with a copy of its proposed | ||||||
19 | request to
the Internal Revenue Service for a ruling. The | ||||||
20 | Commission
shall issue an order within 14 days after the | ||||||
21 | electric
utility's filing approving, subject to receipt of | ||||||
22 | approval
from the Internal Revenue Service, the proposed | ||||||
23 | transfer.
| ||||||
24 | (k) If an electric utility is selling or transferring
to a | ||||||
25 | single buyer 5 or more generating plants located in this State | ||||||
26 | with a
total net dependable capacity of 5000 megawatts or more
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section and has obtained
a | ||||||
2 | sale price or consideration that exceeds 200% of
the book value | ||||||
3 | of such plants, the electric utility must
provide to the | ||||||
4 | Governor, the President of the Illinois
Senate, the Minority | ||||||
5 | Leader of the Illinois Senate, the
Speaker of the Illinois | ||||||
6 | House of Representatives, and the
Minority Leader of the | ||||||
7 | Illinois House of Representatives no
later than 15 days after | ||||||
8 | filing its notice under subsection
(g) of this Section or 5 | ||||||
9 | days after the date on which this
subsection (k) becomes law, | ||||||
10 | whichever is later, a written
commitment in which such electric | ||||||
11 | utility agrees to expend
$2 billion outside the corporate | ||||||
12 | limits of any municipality
with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants | ||||||
13 | within such electric
utility's service area, over a 6-year | ||||||
14 | period beginning
with the calendar year in which the notice is | ||||||
15 | filed, on
projects, programs, and improvements within its | ||||||
16 | service area
relating to transmission and distribution | ||||||
17 | including, without
limitation, infrastructure expansion, | ||||||
18 | repair and
replacement, capital investments, operations and
| ||||||
19 | maintenance, and vegetation management.
| ||||||
20 | (l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any | ||||||
21 | rule, regulation, or prior order of the Commission, a public | ||||||
22 | utility providing electric and gas service may do any one or | ||||||
23 | more of the following: transfer assets to, reorganize with, or | ||||||
24 | merge with one or more public utilities under common holding | ||||||
25 | company ownership or control in the manner prescribed in | ||||||
26 | subsection (g) of this Section. No merger transaction costs, |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | such as fees paid to attorneys, investment bankers, and other | ||||||
2 | consultants, incurred in connection with a merger pursuant to | ||||||
3 | this subsection (l) shall be recoverable in any subsequent rate | ||||||
4 | proceeding. Approval of a merger pursuant to this subsection | ||||||
5 | (l) shall not constitute approval of, or otherwise require, | ||||||
6 | rate recovery of other costs incurred in connection with, or to | ||||||
7 | implement the merger, such as the cost of restructuring, | ||||||
8 | combining, or integrating debt, assets, or systems. Such other | ||||||
9 | costs may be recovered only to the extent that the surviving | ||||||
10 | utility can demonstrate that the cost savings produced by such | ||||||
11 | restructuring, combination, or integration exceed the | ||||||
12 | associated costs. Nothing in this subsection (l) shall impair | ||||||
13 | the terms or conditions of employment or the collective | ||||||
14 | bargaining rights of any employees of the utilities that are | ||||||
15 | transferring assets, reorganizing, or merging.
| ||||||
16 | (m) If an electric utility that on December 31, 2005 | ||||||
17 | provided electric service to at least 100,000 customers in | ||||||
18 | Illinois transfers assets, reorganizes, or merges under this | ||||||
19 | Section, then the same provisions apply that applied during the | ||||||
20 | mandatory transition period under Section 16-128.
| ||||||
21 | (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07; | ||||||
22 | 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
|