Sen. Don Harmon
Filed: 3/15/2013
 
 


 




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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2335 




2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2335 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:


4 "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing 
5Sections 19-105 and 19-111 as follows:



6 (220 ILCS 5/19-105)


7 Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, 
8the following
terms shall be defined as set forth in this 
9Section.

10 "Alternative gas supplier" means every person, 
11cooperative, corporation,
municipal corporation, company, 
12association, joint stock company or
association, firm,

13partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees, 
14trustees, or receivers
appointed by
any court whatsoever, that 
15offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other
value

16received to one or more customers, or that engages in the 
 
 
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1furnishing of gas to
one or
more customers, and shall include 
2affiliated interests of a gas utility,
resellers,
aggregators 
3and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas utilities (or any

4agent of the gas
utility to the extent the gas utility provides 
5tariffed services to customers
through an
agent); (ii) public 
6utilities that are owned and operated by any political

7subdivision, public institution of higher education or 
8municipal corporation
of this State, or public utilities that 
9are owned by a political
subdivision, public institution of 
10higher education, or municipal corporation
and operated by any 
11of its lessees or operating agents; (iii)
natural gas 
12cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for

13the purpose of administering, on a cooperative basis, the

14furnishing of natural gas for the benefit of their members who

15are
consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership or 
16operation
of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at 
17retail to the public for use
only as a motor vehicle fuel and 
18the selling of compressed natural gas at
retail to the public 
19for use only as a motor vehicle fuel.

20 "Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section 
213-105 of this
Act,
that
has a franchise, license, permit, or 
22right to furnish or sell gas
or transportation services to

23customers within a service area.

24 "Non-tariffed service" means any service provided by an 
25alternative gas supplier to a residential customer or a small 
26commercial customer. 
 
 
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1 "Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas 
2utility service for
household purposes distributed to a 
3dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is
billed under
a 
4residential rate or gas utility service for household purposes 
5distributed to
a dwelling
unit or units which is billed under a 
6residential rate and is registered by a
separate meter
for each 
7dwelling unit.

8 "Sales agent" means any employee, agent, independent 
9contractor, consultant, or other person that is engaged by the 
10alternative gas supplier to solicit customers to purchase, 
11enroll in, or contract for alternative gas service on behalf of 
12an alternative gas supplier. 
13 "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which a 
14gas utility was
lawfully entitled to provide gas to customers 
15as of the effective date
of this
amendatory
Act of the 92nd 
16General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of any
customer 
17to
which the gas utility was lawfully providing gas utility 
18services on such
effective date.

19 "Single billing" means the combined billing of the services 
20provided by both a natural gas utility and an alternative gas 
21supplier to any customer who has enrolled in a customer choice 
22program.
23 "Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail 
24customer of
a
natural gas utility
who consumed 5,000 or fewer 
25therms of natural gas
during the previous year; provided that 
26any alternative gas
supplier may remove the customer from 
 
 
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1designation as a "small
commercial customer" if the customer 
2consumes more than 5,000 therms
of natural gas in any calendar 
3year after becoming a customer of the
alternative gas supplier. 
4In determining whether a customer has consumed 5,000 or fewer 
5therms of natural gas during the previous year, usage by the 
6same commercial customer shall be aggregated to include usage 
7at the same premises even if measured by more than one meter, 
8and to include usage at multiple premises. Nothing in this 
9Section creates an affirmative obligation on a gas utility to 
10monitor or inform customers or alternative gas suppliers as to 
11a customer's status as a small commercial customer as that term 
12is defined herein. Nothing in this Section relieves a gas 
13utility from any obligation to provide information upon request 
14to a customer, alternative gas supplier, the Commission, or 
15others necessary to determine whether a customer meets the 
16classification of small commercial customers as that term is 
17defined herein. 

18 "Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers by 
19a gas
utility as
defined by its rates on file with the 
20Commission pursuant to the provisions of
Article IX
of this 
21Act.

22 "Transportation services" means those services provided by 
23the gas utility
that
are necessary in order for the storage, 
24transmission and distribution systems
to
function so that

25customers located in the gas utility's service area can receive 
26gas from
suppliers other
than the gas utility and shall 
 
 
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1include, without limitation, standard metering
and billing

2services.

3(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10; 
496-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)


5 (220 ILCS 5/19-111)
6 Sec. 19-111. Material changes in business.
7 (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to 
8alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve 
9residential or small commercial customers and only to the 
10extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to 
11residential or small commercial customers.
12 (b) Alternative gas suppliers shall file with the 
13Commission a notification of any material change to the 
14information supplied in a certification application within 30 
15days of such material change. 
16  (1) An alternative gas supplier shall file such notice 
17 under the docket number assigned to the alternative gas 
18 supplier's certification application, whichever is the 
19 most recent. The supplier shall also serve such notice upon 
20 the gas utility company serving customers in the service 
21 area where the alternative gas supplier is certified to 
22 provide service.
23  (2) After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the 
24 Commission may (i) suspend, rescind, or conditionally 
25 rescind an alternative gas supplier's certificate if it 
 
 
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1 determines that the material change will adversely affect 
2 the alternative gas supplier's fitness or ability to 
3 provide the services for which it is certified or (ii) 
4 require the alternative gas supplier to provide reasonable 
5 financial assurances sufficient to protect their customers 
6 and gas utilities from default. 
7 (c) Material changes to the information contained in or 
8supplied with a certification application include, but are not 
9limited to, the following:
10  (1) Any significant change in ownership (an ownership 
11 interest of 5% or more) of the applicant or alternative gas 
12 supplier.
13  (2) An affiliation with any gas utility or change of an 
14 affiliation with a gas utility in this State.
15  (3) Retirement or other long-term changes to the 
16 operational status of supply resources relied upon by the 
17 alternative gas supplier to provide alternative gas 
18 service. Changes in the volume of supply from any given 
19 supply resource replaced by a comparable supply resource do 
20 not need to be reported.
21  (4) Revocation, restriction, or termination of any 
22 interconnection or service agreement with a pipeline 
23 company or natural gas company relied upon by an 
24 alternative gas supplier to provide alternative retail 
25 natural gas service, but only if such revocation, 
26 restriction, or termination creates a situation in which 
 
 
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1 the alternative gas supplier does not meet the tariffed 
2 capacity requirements of the relevant Illinois natural gas 
3 utility or utilities.
4  (5) If the alternative gas supplier has a long-term 
5 bond rating from Standard & Poor's or its successor, or 
6 Fitch Ratings or its successor, or Moody's Investor Service 
7 or its successor, and the alternative gas supplier's 
8 long-term bond rating falls below BBB as reported by 
9 Standard & Poor's or its successor or Fitch Ratings or its 
10 successor or below Baa3 as reported by Moody's Investors 
11 Service or its successor.
12  (6) The applicant or alternative gas supplier has or 
13 intends to file for reorganization, protection from 
14 creditors, or any other form of bankruptcy with any court.
15  (7) Any judgment, finding, or ruling by a court or 
16 regulatory agency that could affect an alternative gas 
17 supplier's fitness or ability to provide service in this 
18 State.
19  (8) Any change in the alternative gas supplier's name 
20 or logo, including without limitation any change in the 
21 alternative gas supplier's legal name, fictitious names, 
22 or assumed business names, except for logos and names the 
23 alternative gas supplier provided as part of its original 
24 certification process or that the alternative gas supplier 
25 previously provided to the Commission under this Section. 

26 (d) An alternative gas supplier shall provide annually to 
 
 
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1the Commission a list of all non-tariffed services available to 
2customers in a service area for publication on the Commission's 
3website. 
4(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)".