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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning utilities.
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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 4-304 as follows:
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| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/4-304) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 4-304)
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| 7 | | Sec. 4-304.
Beginning in 1986, the Commission shall prepare |
| 8 | | an
annual report which shall be filed by January 31 of each |
| 9 | | year with the Joint
Committee on Legislative Support Services |
| 10 | | of the General Assembly, the
Public Counsel and the Governor |
| 11 | | and which shall be publicly available. Such
report shall |
| 12 | | include:
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| 13 | | (1) A general review of agency activities and changes, |
| 14 | | including:
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| 15 | | (a) a review of significant decisions and other |
| 16 | | regulatory actions for
the preceding year, and pending |
| 17 | | cases, and an analysis of the impact of
such decisions and |
| 18 | | actions, and potential impact of any significant pending
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| 19 | | cases;
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| 20 | | (b) for each significant decision, regulatory action |
| 21 | | and pending
case, a description of the positions advocated |
| 22 | | by major parties, including
Commission staff, and for each |
| 23 | | such decision rendered or action taken, the
position |
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| 1 | | adopted by the Commission and reason therefor;
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| 2 | | (c) a description of the Commission's budget, |
| 3 | | caseload, and staff
levels, including specifically:
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| 4 | | (i) a breakdown by type of case of the cases |
| 5 | | resolved and filed during
the year and of pending |
| 6 | | cases;
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| 7 | | (ii) a description of the allocation of the |
| 8 | | Commission's budget,
identifying amounts budgeted for |
| 9 | | each significant regulatory function or
activity and |
| 10 | | for each department, bureau, section, division or |
| 11 | | office of
the Commission and its employees;
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| 12 | | (iii) a description of current employee levels, |
| 13 | | identifying any change
occurring during the year in the |
| 14 | | number of employees, personnel policies
and practices |
| 15 | | or compensation levels; and identifying the number and |
| 16 | | type
of employees assigned to each Commission |
| 17 | | regulatory function and to each
department, bureau, |
| 18 | | section, division or office of the Commission;
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| 19 | | (d) a description of any significant changes in |
| 20 | | Commission policies,
programs or practices with respect to |
| 21 | | agency organization and
administration, hearings and |
| 22 | | procedures or substantive regulatory
activity.
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| 23 | | (2) A discussion and analysis of the state of each utility |
| 24 | | industry
regulated by the Commission and significant changes, |
| 25 | | trends and developments
therein, including the number and types |
| 26 | | of firms offering each utility
service, existing, new and |
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| 1 | | prospective technologies, variations in the
quality, |
| 2 | | availability and price for utility services in different
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| 3 | | geographic areas of the State, and any other industry factors |
| 4 | | or
circumstances which may affect the public interest or the |
| 5 | | regulation of such
industries.
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| 6 | | (3) A specific discussion of the energy planning |
| 7 | | responsibilities and
activities of the Commission and energy |
| 8 | | utilities, including:
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| 9 | | (a) the extent to which conservation, cogeneration, |
| 10 | | renewable energy
technologies and improvements in energy |
| 11 | | efficiency are being utilized by energy
consumers, the |
| 12 | | extent to which additional potential exists for the |
| 13 | | economical
utilization of such supplies, and a description |
| 14 | | of existing and proposed
programs and policies designed to |
| 15 | | promote and encourage such utilization;
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| 16 | | (b) a description of each energy plan filed with the |
| 17 | | Commission pursuant
to the provisions of this Act, and a |
| 18 | | copy, or detailed summary of the most
recent energy plans |
| 19 | | adopted by the Commission; and
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| 20 | | (c) a discussion of the powers by which the Commission |
| 21 | | is implementing
the planning responsibilities of Article |
| 22 | | VIII, including a description of
the staff and budget |
| 23 | | assigned to such function, the procedures by which
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| 24 | | Commission staff reviews and analyzes energy plans |
| 25 | | submitted by the utilities,
the Department of Natural |
| 26 | | Resources, and any other person or
party; and .
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| 1 | | (d) a summary of the adoption of solar photovoltaic |
| 2 | | systems by residential and small business consumers in |
| 3 | | Illinois and a description of any and all barriers to |
| 4 | | residential and small business consumers' financing, |
| 5 | | installation, and valuation of energy produced by solar |
| 6 | | photovoltaic systems. |
| 7 | | (4) A discussion of the extent to which utility services |
| 8 | | are available
to all Illinois citizens including:
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| 9 | | (a) the percentage and number of persons or households |
| 10 | | requiring each
such service who are not receiving such |
| 11 | | service, and the reasons therefore,
including specifically |
| 12 | | the number of such persons or households who are
unable to |
| 13 | | afford such service;
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| 14 | | (b) a critical analysis of existing programs designed |
| 15 | | to promote and
preserve the availability and affordability |
| 16 | | of utility services; and
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| 17 | | (c) an analysis of the financial impact on utilities |
| 18 | | and other
ratepayers of the inability of some customers or |
| 19 | | potential customers to
afford utility service, including |
| 20 | | the number of service disconnections and
reconnections, |
| 21 | | and cost thereof and the dollar amount of uncollectible
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| 22 | | accounts recovered through rates.
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| 23 | | (5) A detailed description of the means by which the |
| 24 | | Commission is
implementing its new statutory responsibilities |
| 25 | | under this Act, and the
status of such implementation, |
| 26 | | including specifically:
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| 1 | | (a) Commission reorganization resulting from the |
| 2 | | addition of an
Executive Director and hearing examiner |
| 3 | | qualifications and review;
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| 4 | | (b) Commission responsibilities for construction and |
| 5 | | rate supervision,
including construction cost audits, |
| 6 | | management audits, excess capacity
adjustments, phase-ins |
| 7 | | of new plant and the means and capability for monitoring
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| 8 | | and reevaluating existing or future construction projects;
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| 9 | | (c) promulgation and application of rules concerning |
| 10 | | ex parte
communications, circulation of recommended orders |
| 11 | | and transcription of closed
meetings.
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| 12 | | (6) A description of all appeals taken from Commission |
| 13 | | orders, findings
or decisions and the status and outcome of |
| 14 | | such appeals.
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| 15 | | (7) A description of the status of all studies and |
| 16 | | investigations
required by this Act, including those ordered |
| 17 | | pursuant to Sections 8-304,
9-242, 9-244 and 13-301 and all
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| 18 | | such subsequently ordered studies or investigations.
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| 19 | | (8) A discussion of new or potential developments in |
| 20 | | federal
legislation, and federal agency and judicial decisions |
| 21 | | relevant to State
regulation of utility services.
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| 22 | | (9) All recommendations for appropriate legislative action |
| 23 | | by the General
Assembly.
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| 24 | | The Commission may include such other information as it |
| 25 | | deems to be
necessary or beneficial in describing or explaining |
| 26 | | its activities or
regulatory responsibilities. The report |