Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 5/31/2013

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1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1453

2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1453 by replacing

3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:

4 "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing

5 Sections 16-102, 16-115A, 16-119, 19-105, and 19-115 and by

6 adding Sections 19-150, 19-155, and 19-199 as follows:

7 (220 ILCS 5/16-102)

8 Sec. 16-102. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article

9 the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this

10 Section.

11 "Alternative retail electric supplier" means every person,

12 cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company,

13 association, joint stock company or association, firm,

14 partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees,

15 trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, that

16 offers electric power or energy for sale, lease or in exchange

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1 for other value received to one or more retail customers, or

2 that engages in the delivery or furnishing of electric power or

3 energy to such retail customers, and shall include, without

4 limitation, resellers, aggregators and power marketers, but

5 shall not include (i) electric utilities (or any agent of the

6 electric utility to the extent the electric utility provides

7 tariffed services to retail customers through that agent), (ii)

8 any electric cooperative or municipal system as defined in

9 Section 17-100 to the extent that the electric cooperative or

10 municipal system is serving retail customers within any area in

11 which it is or would be entitled to provide service under the

12 law in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this

13 amendatory Act of 1997, (iii) a public utility that is owned

14 and operated by any public institution of higher education of

15 this State, or a public utility that is owned by such public

16 institution of higher education and operated by any of its

17 lessees or operating agents, within any area in which it is or

18 would be entitled to provide service under the law in effect

19 immediately prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act

20 of 1997, (iv) a retail customer to the extent that customer

21 obtains its electric power and energy from that customer's own

22 cogeneration or self-generation facilities, (v) an entity that

23 owns, operates, sells, or arranges for the installation of a

24 customer's own cogeneration or self-generation facilities, but

25 only to the extent the entity is engaged in owning, selling or

26 arranging for the installation of such facility, or operating

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1 the facility on behalf of such customer, provided however that

2 any such third party owner or operator of a facility built

3 after January 1, 1999, complies with the labor provisions of

4 Section 16-128(a) as though such third party were an

5 alternative retail electric supplier, or (vi) an industrial or

6 manufacturing customer that owns its own distribution

7 facilities, to the extent that the customer provides service

8 from that distribution system to a third-party contractor

9 located on the customer's premises that is integrally and

10 predominantly engaged in the customer's industrial or

11 manufacturing process; provided, that if the industrial or

12 manufacturing customer has elected delivery services, the

13 customer shall pay transition charges applicable to the

14 electric power and energy consumed by the third-party

15 contractor unless such charges are otherwise paid by the third

16 party contractor, which shall be calculated based on the usage

17 of, and the base rates or the contract rates applicable to, the

18 third-party contractor in accordance with Section 16-102.

19 An entity that furnishes the service of charging electric

20 vehicles does not and shall not be deemed to sell electricity

21 and is not and shall not be deemed an alternative retail

22 electric supplier, and is not subject to regulation as such

23 under this Act notwithstanding the basis on which the service

24 is provided or billed. If, however, the entity is otherwise

25 deemed an alternative retail electric supplier under this Act,

26 or is otherwise subject to regulation under this Act, then that

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1 entity is not exempt from and remains subject to the otherwise

2 applicable provisions of this Act. The installation,

3 maintenance, and repair of an electric vehicle charging station

4 shall comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section

5 16-128 and Section 16-128A of this Act.

6 For purposes of this Section, the term "electric vehicles"

7 has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 10 of the

8 Electric Vehicle Act.

9 "Base rates" means the rates for those tariffed services

10 that the electric utility is required to offer pursuant to

11 subsection (a) of Section 16-103 and that were identified in a

12 rate order for collection of the electric utility's base rate

13 revenue requirement, excluding (i) separate automatic rate

14 adjustment riders then in effect, (ii) special or negotiated

15 contract rates, (iii) delivery services tariffs filed pursuant

16 to Section 16-108, (iv) real-time pricing, or (v) tariffs that

17 were in effect prior to October 1, 1996 and that based charges

18 for services on an index or average of other utilities'

19 charges, but including (vi) any subsequent redesign of such

20 rates for tariffed services that is authorized by the

21 Commission after notice and hearing.

22 "Competitive service" includes (i) any service that has

23 been declared to be competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of

24 this Act, (ii) contract service, and (iii) services, other than

25 tariffed services, that are related to, but not necessary for,

26 the provision of electric power and energy or delivery

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1 services.

2 "Contract service" means (1) services, including the

3 provision of electric power and energy or other services, that

4 are provided by mutual agreement between an electric utility

5 and a retail customer that is located in the electric utility's

6 service area, provided that, delivery services shall not be a

7 contract service until such services are declared competitive

8 pursuant to Section 16-113; and also means (2) the provision of

9 electric power and energy by an electric utility to retail

10 customers outside the electric utility's service area pursuant

11 to Section 16-116. Provided, however, contract service does not

12 include electric utility services provided pursuant to (i)

13 contracts that retail customers are required to execute as a

14 condition of receiving tariffed services, or (ii) special or

15 negotiated rate contracts for electric utility services that

16 were entered into between an electric utility and a retail

17 customer prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of

18 1997 and filed with the Commission.

19 "Delivery services" means those services provided by the

20 electric utility that are necessary in order for the

21 transmission and distribution systems to function so that

22 retail customers located in the electric utility's service area

23 can receive electric power and energy from suppliers other than

24 the electric utility, and shall include, without limitation,

25 standard metering and billing services.

26 "Door-to-door sale" means a sale of retail electricity

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1 services, whether under single or multiple contracts, in which

2 the alternative retail electric supplier or a representative of

3 the alternative retail electric supplier personally solicits

4 the sale, including those in response to or following an

5 invitation by a residential or small commercial retail

6 customer, and the residential or small commercial retail

7 customer's agreement or offer to purchase is made at a place

8 other than the place of business of the alternative retail

9 electric supplier (such as sales at the residential or small

10 commercial retail customer's residence or at facilities rented

11 on a temporary or short-term basis, such as hotel or motel

12 rooms, convention centers, fairgrounds, and restaurants, or

13 sales at the residential or small commercial customer's

14 workplace or in dormitory lounges). "Door-to-door sale" does

15 not include a transaction conducted and consummated entirely by

16 web, mail, or telephone and without any other contact between

17 the residential or small commercial retail customer and the

18 alternative retail electric supplier or its representative

19 prior to delivery of the goods or performance of the services.

20 "Electric utility" means a public utility, as defined in

21 Section 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license,

22 permit or right to furnish or sell electricity to retail

23 customers within a service area.

24 "Mandatory transition period" means the period from the

25 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 through January

26 1, 2007.

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1 "Municipal system" shall have the meaning set forth in

2 Section 17-100.

3 "Real-time pricing" means tariffed retail charges for

4 delivered electric power and energy that vary hour-to-hour and

5 are determined from wholesale market prices using a methodology

6 approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

7 "Retail customer" means a single entity using electric

8 power or energy at a single premises and that (A) either (i) is

9 receiving or is eligible to receive tariffed services from an

10 electric utility, or (ii) that is served by a municipal system

11 or electric cooperative within any area in which the municipal

12 system or electric cooperative is or would be entitled to

13 provide service under the law in effect immediately prior to

14 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or (B) an

15 entity which on the effective date of this Act was receiving

16 electric service from a public utility and (i) was engaged in

17 the practice of resale and redistribution of such electricity

18 within a building prior to January 2, 1957, or (ii) was

19 providing lighting services to tenants in a multi-occupancy

20 building, but only to the extent such resale, redistribution or

21 lighting service is authorized by the electric utility's

22 tariffs that were on file with the Commission on the effective

23 date of this Act.

24 "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which

25 an electric utility was lawfully entitled to provide electric

26 power and energy to retail customers as of the effective date

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1 of this amendatory Act of 1997, and includes (ii) the location

2 of any retail customer to which the electric utility was

3 lawfully providing electric utility services on such effective

4 date.

5 "Small commercial retail customer" means those

6 nonresidential retail customers of an electric utility

7 consuming 15,000 kilowatt-hours or less of electricity

8 annually in its service area.

9 "Tariffed service" means services provided to retail

10 customers by an electric utility as defined by its rates on

11 file with the Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article

12 IX of this Act, but shall not include competitive services.

13 "Transition charge" means a charge expressed in cents per

14 kilowatt-hour that is calculated for a customer or class of

15 customers as follows for each year in which an electric utility

16 is entitled to recover transition charges as provided in

17 Section 16-108:

18 (1) the amount of revenue that an electric utility

19 would receive from the retail customer or customers if it

20 were serving such customers' electric power and energy

21 requirements as a tariffed service based on (A) all of the

22 customers' actual usage during the 3 years ending 90 days

23 prior to the date on which such customers were first

24 eligible for delivery services pursuant to Section 16-104,

25 and (B) on (i) the base rates in effect on October 1, 1996

26 (adjusted for the reductions required by subsection (b) of

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1 Section 16-111, for any reduction resulting from a rate

2 decrease under Section 16-101(b), for any restatement of

3 base rates made in conjunction with an elimination of the

4 fuel adjustment clause pursuant to subsection (b), (d), or

5 (f) of Section 9-220 and for any removal of decommissioning

6 costs from base rates pursuant to Section 16-114) and any

7 separate automatic rate adjustment riders (other than a

8 decommissioning rate as defined in Section 16-114) under

9 which the customers were receiving or, had they been

10 customers, would have received electric power and energy

11 from the electric utility during the year immediately

12 preceding the date on which such customers were first

13 eligible for delivery service pursuant to Section 16-104,

14 or (ii) to the extent applicable, any contract rates,

15 including contracts or rates for consolidated or

16 aggregated billing, under which such customers were

17 receiving electric power and energy from the electric

18 utility during such year;

19 (2) less the amount of revenue, other than revenue from

20 transition charges and decommissioning rates, that the

21 electric utility would receive from such retail customers

22 for delivery services provided by the electric utility,

23 assuming such customers were taking delivery services for

24 all of their usage, based on the delivery services tariffs

25 in effect during the year for which the transition charge

26 is being calculated and on the usage identified in

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1 paragraph (1);

2 (3) less the market value for the electric power and

3 energy that the electric utility would have used to supply

4 all of such customers' electric power and energy

5 requirements, as a tariffed service, based on the usage

6 identified in paragraph (1), with such market value

7 determined in accordance with Section 16-112 of this Act;

8 (4) less the following amount which represents the

9 amount to be attributed to new revenue sources and cost

10 reductions by the electric utility through the end of the

11 period for which transition costs are recovered pursuant to

12 Section 16-108, referred to in this Article XVI as a

13 "mitigation factor":

14 (A) for nonresidential retail customers, an amount

15 equal to the greater of (i) 0.5 cents per kilowatt-hour

16 during the period October 1, 1999 through December 31,

17 2004, 0.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in calendar year

18 2005, and 0.9 cents per kilowatt-hour in calendar year

19 2006, multiplied in each year by the usage identified

20 in paragraph (1), or (ii) an amount equal to the

21 following percentages of the amount produced by

22 applying the applicable base rates (adjusted as

23 described in subparagraph (1)(B)) or contract rate to

24 the usage identified in paragraph (1): 8% for the

25 period October 1, 1999 through December 31, 2002, 10%

26 in calendar years 2003 and 2004, 11% in calendar year

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1 2005 and 12% in calendar year 2006; and

2 (B) for residential retail customers, an amount

3 equal to the following percentages of the amount

4 produced by applying the base rates in effect on

5 October 1, 1996 (adjusted as described in subparagraph

6 (1)(B)) to the usage identified in paragraph (1): (i)

7 6% from May 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002, (ii) 7%

8 in calendar years 2003 and 2004, (iii) 8% in calendar

9 year 2005, and (iv) 10% in calendar year 2006;

10 (5) divided by the usage of such customers identified

11 in paragraph (1),

12 provided that the transition charge shall never be less than

13 zero.

14 "Unbundled service" means a component or constituent part

15 of a tariffed service which the electric utility subsequently

16 offers separately to its customers.

17 (Source: P.A. 97-1128, eff. 8-28-12.)

18 (220 ILCS 5/16-115A)

19 Sec. 16-115A. Obligations of alternative retail electric

20 suppliers.

21 (a) An alternative retail electric supplier shall:

22 (i) comply with the requirements imposed on public

23 utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and

24 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have

25 application to the services being offered by the

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1 alternative retail electric supplier; and

2 (ii) continue to comply with the requirements for

3 certification stated in subsection (d) of Section 16-115.

4 (b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain

5 verifiable authorization from a customer, in a form or manner

6 approved by the Commission consistent with Section 2EE of the

7 Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, before the

8 customer is switched from another supplier.

9 (c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric

10 utility other than the electric utility in whose service area a

11 customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any

12 arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail

13 customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one

14 megawatt from having access to the services of the electric

15 utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii)

16 charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall

17 not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a

18 supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service,

19 notice period for terminating service and provisions governing

20 early termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by

21 Section 16-119, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

22 (d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is

23 certified to serve residential or small commercial retail

24 customers shall not:

25 (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers

26 nor establish any differences as to prices, terms,

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1 conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any

2 other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based

3 upon race, gender or income.

4 (2) deny service to a customer or group of customers

5 based on locality nor establish any unreasonable

6 difference as to prices, terms, conditions, services,

7 products, or facilities as between localities.

8 (e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply

9 with the following requirements with respect to the marketing,

10 offering and provision of products or services to residential

11 and small commercial retail customers:

12 (i) Any marketing materials which make statements

13 concerning prices, terms and conditions of service shall

14 contain information that adequately discloses the prices,

15 terms and conditions of the products or services that the

16 alternative retail electric supplier is offering or

17 selling to the customer.

18 (ii) Before any customer is switched from another

19 supplier, the alternative retail electric supplier shall

20 give the customer written information that adequately

21 discloses, in plain language, the prices, terms and

22 conditions of the products and services being offered and

23 sold to the customer.

24 (iii) An alternative retail electric supplier shall

25 provide documentation to the Commission and to customers

26 that substantiates any claims made by the alternative

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1 retail electric supplier regarding the technologies and

2 fuel types used to generate the electricity offered or sold

3 to customers.

4 (iv) The alternative retail electric supplier shall

5 provide to the customer (1) itemized billing statements

6 that describe the products and services provided to the

7 customer and their prices, ~~and~~ (2) the following~~an~~

8 ~~additional~~ statement on every bill: "Compare power prices

9 at www.pluginillinois.org or contact your retail electric

10 supplier for your own price comparison.", and (3) an

11 additional statement at least annually that adequately

12 discloses (A) the average monthly prices, (B) the total

13 electric power charge, and (C) ~~, at least annually, that~~

14 ~~adequately discloses the average monthly prices, and~~the

15 terms and conditions~~,~~of the products and services sold to

16 the customer. If an alternative retail electric supplier

17 uses the utility bill, the utility may collect all costs

18 necessary to expand character limits or programming costs

19 for the addition of the statement under item (2) of this

20 subdivision (iv).

21 (v) Upon request from a customer, the alternative

22 retail electric supplier shall provide:

23 (A) the price comparison history between the

24 alternative retail electric supplier's rate and the

25 individual customer's default electric utility's rate

26 for the previous month; and

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1 (B) a price comparison history between the

2 alternative retail electric supplier's monthly average

3 price and the customer's default electric utility

4 monthly average price for the previous 12 months or the

5 amount of time served under the contract, if less than

6 12 months, as charged by the alternative retail

7 electric supplier compared to the monthly average

8 utility price for the same term.

9 In addition, for variable rate contracts, the

10 information must include a conspicuous statement that the

11 customer has the right to terminate a variable price

12 contract without penalty if the monthly rate is 20% or more

13 above the rate offered by the applicable default electric

14 utility for that month.

15 (f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit the

16 overall size or availability of a service offering by

17 specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of

18 customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time

19 period during which the offering will be available, or other

20 comparable limitation, but not including the geographic

21 locations of customers within the area which the alternative

22 retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The

23 alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and

24 conditions of such service offering including the applicable

25 limitations with the Commission prior to making the service

26 offering available to customers.

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1 (g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as

2 preventing an alternative retail electric supplier, which is an

3 affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an industry or trade

4 organization or association, (ii) a membership organization or

5 association that exists for a purpose other than the purchase

6 of electricity, or (iii) another organization that meets

7 criteria established in a rule adopted by the Commission, from

8 offering through the organization or association services at

9 prices, terms and conditions that are available solely to the

10 members of the organization or association.

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

12 (220 ILCS 5/16-119)

13 Sec. 16-119. Switching suppliers.

14 (a)An electric utility or an alternative retail electric

15 supplier serving residential or small commercial retail

16 customersmay establish a term of service, notice period for

17 terminating service, and provisions governing early

18 termination through a tariff or contract. A customer may change

19 its supplier subject to tariff or contract terms and

20 conditions. Any notice provisions, ~~;~~ or provision for a fee,

21 charge,or penalty with early termination of a contract, ~~;~~ shall

22 be conspicuously disclosed in any tariff or contract. A

23 customer shall remain responsible for any unpaid charges owed

24 to an electric utility or alternative retail electric supplier

25 at the time it switches to another provider.

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1 (b) Any contract offered by an alternative retail electric

2 supplier to serve a residential or small commercial retail

3 customer executed or extended after the effective date of this

4 amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly that contains an

5 early termination clause shall disclose the amount of the early

6 termination fee. Contracts to serve residential or small

7 commercial retail customers executed, renewed, or extended

8 after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th

9 General Assembly shall not contain or impose an early

10 termination fee or penalty (1) in excess of $50 for contracts

11 with an initial term of 12 months or less, (2) in excess of $50

12 for contracts with an initial term exceeding 12 months when the

13 customer cancels within the first 12 months of the contract,

14 and (3) in excess of $100 for contracts with an initial term

15 exceeding 12 months when the customer cancels after the first

16 12 months.

17 (c) In any contract to serve a residential or small

18 commercial retail customer that contains an early termination

19 clause, an alternative retail electric supplier shall provide

20 the customer the opportunity to terminate the contract without

21 any termination fee or penalty up to and including the due date

22 for payment of the first bill issued to the customer for

23 products or services provided by the alternative retail

24 electric supplier. The contract shall disclose the opportunity

25 and provide a toll-free telephone number and website that the

26 customer may call or use to terminate the agreement.

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1 (d) No alternative retail electric supplier may impose a

2 termination fee or penalty to residential or small commercial

3 retail customers with variable rate contracts who elect early

4 termination when the supplier's monthly rate is 20% or more

5 above the rate offered by the applicable default electric

6 utility for that month. Variable rate contracts must provide a

7 conspicuous statement of this provision.

8 (e) No alternative retail electric supplier may charge any

9 early termination fee, charge, or penalty to residential or

10 small commercial retail customers who elect early termination

11 within the first 6 months after the date of enrollment under a

12 contract entered into with that supplier as a result of

13 door-to-door sales. For purposes of complying with this

14 subsection (e), an alternative retail electric supplier shall

15 keep records of the primary method by which it acquired or

16 obtained each of its customers, whether through door-to-door

17 sales or other methods.

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

19 (220 ILCS 5/19-105)

20 Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article,

21 the following terms shall be defined as set forth in this

22 Section.

23 "Alternative gas supplier" means every person,

24 cooperative, corporation, municipal corporation, company,

25 association, joint stock company or association, firm,

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1 partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees,

2 trustees, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, that

3 offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other value

4 received to one or more customers, or that engages in the

5 furnishing of gas to one or more customers, and shall include

6 affiliated interests of a gas utility, resellers, aggregators

7 and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas utilities (or any

8 agent of the gas utility to the extent the gas utility provides

9 tariffed services to customers through an agent); (ii) public

10 utilities that are owned and operated by any political

11 subdivision, public institution of higher education or

12 municipal corporation of this State, or public utilities that

13 are owned by a political subdivision, public institution of

14 higher education, or municipal corporation and operated by any

15 of its lessees or operating agents; (iii) natural gas

16 cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for

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

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

19 are consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership or

20 operation of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at

21 retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel and

22 the selling of compressed natural gas at retail to the public

23 for use only as a motor vehicle fuel.

24 "Door-to-door sale" means a sale of alternative gas

25 services, whether under single or multiple contracts, in which

26 the alternative gas supplier or a representative of the

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1 alternative gas supplier personally solicits the sale,

2 including those in response to or following an invitation by a

3 residential or small commercial retail customer, and the

4 residential or small commercial retail customer's agreement or

5 offer to purchase is made at a place other than the place of

6 business of the alternative gas supplier (such as sales at the

7 residential or small commercial retail customer's residence or

8 at facilities rented on a temporary or short-term basis, such

9 as hotel or motel rooms, convention centers, fairgrounds, and

10 restaurants, or sales at the residential or small commercial

11 customer's workplace or in dormitory lounges). "Door-to-door

12 sale" does not include a transaction conducted and consummated

13 entirely by web, mail, or telephone and without any other

14 contact between the residential or small commercial retail

15 customer and the alternative gas supplier or its representative

16 prior to delivery of the goods or performance of the services.

17 "Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section

18 3-105 of this Act, that has a franchise, license, permit, or

19 right to furnish or sell gas or transportation services to

20 customers within a service area.

21 "Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas

22 utility service for household purposes distributed to a

23 dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a

24 residential rate or gas utility service for household purposes

25 distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a

26 residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each

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1 dwelling unit.

2 "Sales agent" means any employee, agent, independent

3 contractor, consultant, or other person that is engaged by the

4 alternative gas supplier to solicit customers to purchase,

5 enroll in, or contract for alternative gas service on behalf of

6 an alternative gas supplier.

7 "Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which a

8 gas utility was lawfully entitled to provide gas to customers

9 as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd

10 General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of any customer

11 to which the gas utility was lawfully providing gas utility

12 services on such effective date.

13 "Single billing" means the combined billing of the services

14 provided by both a natural gas utility and an alternative gas

15 supplier to any customer who has enrolled in a customer choice

16 program.

17 "Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail

18 customer of a natural gas utility who consumed 5,000 or fewer

19 therms of natural gas during the previous year; provided that

20 any alternative gas supplier may remove the customer from

21 designation as a "small commercial customer" if the customer

22 consumes more than 5,000 therms of natural gas in any calendar

23 year after becoming a customer of the alternative gas supplier.

24 In determining whether a customer has consumed 5,000 or fewer

25 therms of natural gas during the previous year, usage by the

26 same commercial customer shall be aggregated to include usage

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1 at the same premises even if measured by more than one meter,

2 and to include usage at multiple premises. Nothing in this

3 Section creates an affirmative obligation on a gas utility to

4 monitor or inform customers or alternative gas suppliers as to

5 a customer's status as a small commercial customer as that term

6 is defined herein. Nothing in this Section relieves a gas

7 utility from any obligation to provide information upon request

8 to a customer, alternative gas supplier, the Commission, or

9 others necessary to determine whether a customer meets the

10 classification of small commercial customers as that term is

11 defined herein.

12 "Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers by

13 a gas utility as defined by its rates on file with the

14 Commission pursuant to the provisions of Article IX of this

15 Act.

16 "Transportation services" means those services provided by

17 the gas utility that are necessary in order for the storage,

18 transmission and distribution systems to function so that

19 customers located in the gas utility's service area can receive

20 gas from suppliers other than the gas utility and shall

21 include, without limitation, standard metering and billing

22 services.

23 (Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10;

24 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

25 (220 ILCS 5/19-115)

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1 Sec. 19-115. Obligations of alternative gas suppliers.

2 (a) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to

3 alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve

4 residential or small commercial customers and only to the

5 extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to

6 residential or small commercial customers.

7 (b) An alternative gas supplier shall:

8 (1) comply with the requirements imposed on public

9 utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301, 8-505 and

10 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have

11 application to the services being offered by the

12 alternative gas supplier;

13 (2) continue to comply with the requirements for

14 certification stated in Section 19-110;

15 (3) comply with complaint procedures established by

16 the Commission;

17 (4) except as provided in subsection (h) of this

18 Section, file with the Chief Clerk of the Commission,

19 within 20 business days after the effective date of this

20 amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, a copy of bill

21 formats, standard customer contract and customer complaint

22 and resolution procedures, and the name and telephone

23 number of the company representative whom Commission

24 employees may contact to resolve customer complaints and

25 other matters. In the case of a gas supplier that engages

26 in door-to-door solicitation, the company shall file with

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1 the Commission the consumer information disclosure

2 required by item (3) of subsection (c) of Section 2DDD of

3 the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and

4 shall file updated information within 10 business days

5 after changes in any of the documents or information

6 required to be filed by this item (4); and

7 (5) maintain a customer call center where customers can

8 reach a representative and receive current information. At

9 least once every 6 months, each alternative gas supplier

10 shall provide written information to customers explaining

11 how to contact the call center. The average answer time for

12 calls placed to the call center shall not exceed 60 seconds

13 where a representative or automated system is ready to

14 render assistance and/or accept information to process

15 calls. The abandon rate for calls placed to the call center

16 shall not exceed 10%. Each alternative gas supplier shall

17 maintain records of the call center's telephone answer time

18 performance and abandon call rate. These records shall be

19 kept for a minimum of 2 years and shall be made available

20 to Commission personnel upon request. In the event that

21 answer times and/or abandon rates exceed the limits

22 established above, the reporting alternative gas supplier

23 may provide the Commission or its personnel with

24 explanatory details. At a minimum, these records shall

25 contain the following information in monthly increments:

26 (A) total number of calls received;

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1 (B) number of calls answered;

2 (C) average answer time;

3 (D) number of abandoned calls; and

4 (E) abandon call rate.

5 Alternative gas suppliers that do not have electronic

6 answering capability that meets these requirements shall

7 notify the Manager of the Commission's Consumer Services

8 Division or its successor within 30 days following the

9 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General

10 Assembly and work with Staff to develop individualized

11 reporting requirements as to the call volume and responsiveness

12 of the call center.

13 On or before March 1 of every year, each entity shall file

14 a report with the Chief Clerk of the Commission for the

15 preceding calendar year on its answer time and abandon call

16 rate for its call center. A copy of the report shall be sent to

17 the Manager of the Consumer Services Division or its successor.

18 (c) An alternative gas supplier shall not submit or execute

19 a change in a customer's selection of a natural gas provider

20 unless and until (i) the alternative gas supplier first

21 discloses all material terms and conditions of the offer to the

22 customer; (ii) the alternative gas supplier has obtained the

23 customer's express agreement to accept the offer after the

24 disclosure of all material terms and conditions of the offer;

25 and (iii) the alternative gas supplier has confirmed the

26 request for a change in accordance with one of the following

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1 procedures:

2 (1) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the

3 customer's written or electronically signed authorization

4 in a form that meets the following requirements:

5 (A) An alternative gas supplier shall obtain any

6 necessary written or electronically signed

7 authorization from a customer for a change in natural

8 gas service by using a letter of agency as specified in

9 this Section. Any letter of agency that does not

10 conform with this Section is invalid.

11 (B) The letter of agency shall be a separate

12 document (or an easily separable document containing

13 only the authorization language described in item (E)

14 of this paragraph (1)) whose sole purpose is to

15 authorize a natural gas provider change. The letter of

16 agency must be signed and dated by the customer

17 requesting the natural gas provider change.

18 (C) The letter of agency shall not be combined with

19 inducements of any kind on the same document.

20 (D) Notwithstanding items (A) and (B) of this

21 paragraph (1), the letter of agency may be combined

22 with checks that contain only the required letter of

23 agency language prescribed in item (E) of this

24 paragraph (1) and the necessary information to make the

25 check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency

26 check shall not contain any promotional language or

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1 material. The letter of agency check shall contain in

2 easily readable, bold face type on the face of the

3 check a notice that the consumer is authorizing a

4 natural gas provider change by signing the check. The

5 letter of agency language also shall be placed near the

6 signature line on the back of the check.

7 (E) At a minimum, the letter of agency must be

8 printed with a print of sufficient size to be clearly

9 legible and must contain clear and unambiguous

10 language that confirms:

11 (i) the customer's billing name and address;

12 (ii) the decision to change the natural gas

13 provider from the current provider to the

14 prospective alternative gas supplier;

15 (iii) the terms, conditions, and nature of the

16 service to be provided to the customer, including,

17 but not limited to, the rates for the service

18 contracted for by the customer; and

19 (iv) that the customer understands that any

20 natural gas provider selection the customer

21 chooses may involve a charge to the customer for

22 changing the customer's natural gas provider.

23 (F) Letters of agency shall not suggest or require

24 that a customer take some action in order to retain the

25 customer's current natural gas provider.

26 (G) If any portion of a letter of agency is

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1 translated into another language, then all portions of

2 the letter of agency must be translated into that

3 language.

4 (2) An appropriately qualified independent third party

5 has obtained, in accordance with the procedures set forth

6 in this paragraph (2), the customer's oral authorization to

7 change natural gas providers that confirms and includes

8 appropriate verification data. The independent third party

9 must (i) not be owned, managed, controlled, or directed by

10 the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas

11 supplier's marketing agent; (ii) not have any financial

12 incentive to confirm provider change requests for the

13 alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's

14 marketing agent; and (iii) operate in a location physically

15 separate from the alternative gas supplier or the

16 alternative gas supplier's marketing agent. Automated

17 third-party verification systems and 3-way conference

18 calls may be used for verification purposes so long as the

19 other requirements of this paragraph (2) are satisfied. An

20 alternative gas supplier or alternative gas supplier's

21 sales representative initiating a 3-way conference call or

22 a call through an automated verification system must drop

23 off the call once the 3-way connection has been

24 established. All third-party verification methods shall

25 elicit, at a minimum, the following information:

26 (A) the identity of the customer;

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1 (B) confirmation that the person on the call is

2 authorized to make the provider change;

3 (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants

4 to make the provider change;

5 (D) the names of the providers affected by the

6 change;

7 (E) the service address of the service to be

8 switched; and

9 (F) the price of the service to be provided and the

10 material terms and conditions of the service being

11 offered, including whether any early termination fees

12 apply.

13 Third-party verifiers may not market the alternative

14 gas supplier's services by providing additional

15 information. All third-party verifications shall be

16 conducted in the same language that was used in the

17 underlying sales transaction and shall be recorded in their

18 entirety. Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall

19 maintain and preserve audio records of verification of

20 customer authorization for a minimum period of 2 years

21 after obtaining the verification. Automated systems must

22 provide customers with an option to speak with a live

23 person at any time during the call.

24 (3) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the

25 customer's authorization via an automated verification

26 system to change natural gas service via telephone. An

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1 automated verification system is an electronic system

2 that, through pre-recorded prompts, elicits voice

3 responses, touchtone responses, or both, from the customer

4 and records both the prompts and the customer's responses.

5 Such authorization must elicit the information in

6 paragraph (2)(A) through (F) of this subsection (c).

7 Alternative gas suppliers electing to confirm sales

8 electronically through an automated verification system

9 shall establish one or more toll-free telephone numbers

10 exclusively for that purpose. Calls to the number or

11 numbers shall connect a customer to a voice response unit,

12 or similar mechanism, that makes a date-stamped,

13 time-stamped recording of the required information

14 regarding the alternative gas supplier change.

15 The alternative gas supplier shall not use such

16 electronic authorization systems to market its services.

17 (4) When a consumer initiates the call to the

18 prospective alternative gas supplier, in order to enroll

19 the consumer as a customer, the prospective alternative gas

20 supplier must, with the consent of the customer, make a

21 date-stamped, time-stamped audio recording that elicits,

22 at a minimum, the following information:

23 (A) the identity of the customer;

24 (B) confirmation that the person on the call is

25 authorized to make the provider change;

26 (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants

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1 to make the provider change;

2 (D) the names of the providers affected by the

3 change;

4 (E) the service address of the service to be

5 switched; and

6 (F) the price of the service to be supplied and the

7 material terms and conditions of the service being

8 offered, including whether any early termination fees

9 apply.

10 Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall maintain

11 and preserve the audio records containing the information

12 set forth above for a minimum period of 2 years.

13 (5) In the event that a customer enrolls for service

14 from an alternative gas supplier via an Internet website,

15 the alternative gas supplier shall obtain an

16 electronically signed letter of agency in accordance with

17 paragraph (1) of this subsection (c) and any customer

18 information shall be protected in accordance with all

19 applicable statutes and regulations. In addition, an

20 alternative gas supplier shall provide the following when

21 marketing via an Internet website:

22 (A) The Internet enrollment website shall, at a

23 minimum, include:

24 (i) a copy of the alternative gas supplier's

25 customer contract that clearly and conspicuously

26 discloses all terms and conditions; and

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1 (ii) a conspicuous prompt for the customer to

2 print or save a copy of the contract.

3 (B) Any electronic version of the contract shall be

4 identified by version number, in order to ensure the

5 ability to verify the particular contract to which the

6 customer assents.

7 (C) Throughout the duration of the alternative gas

8 supplier's contract with a customer, the alternative

9 gas supplier shall retain and, within 3 business days

10 of the customer's request, provide to the customer an

11 e-mail, paper, or facsimile of the terms and conditions

12 of the numbered contract version to which the customer

13 assents.

14 (D) The alternative gas supplier shall provide a

15 mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of

16 the electronic letter of agency are recorded by time

17 and date.

18 (E) After the customer completes the electronic

19 letter of agency, the alternative gas supplier shall

20 disclose conspicuously through its website that the

21 customer has been enrolled, and the alternative gas

22 supplier shall provide the customer an enrollment

23 confirmation number.

24 (6) When a customer is solicited in person by the

25 alternative gas supplier's sales agent, the alternative

26 gas supplier may only obtain the customer's authorization

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1 to change natural gas service through the method provided

2 for in paragraph (2) of this subsection (c).

3 Alternative gas suppliers must be in compliance with this

4 subsection (c) within 90 days after the effective date of this

5 amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

6 (d) Complaints may be filed with the Commission under this

7 Section by a customer whose natural gas service has been

8 provided by an alternative gas supplier in a manner not in

9 compliance with subsection (c) of this Section. If, after

10 notice and hearing, the Commission finds that an alternative

11 gas supplier has violated subsection (c), then the Commission

12 may in its discretion do any one or more of the following:

13 (1) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to

14 refund the customer charges collected in excess of those

15 that would have been charged by the customer's authorized

16 natural gas provider.

17 (2) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to

18 pay to the customer's authorized natural gas provider the

19 amount the authorized natural gas provider would have

20 collected for natural gas service. The Commission is

21 authorized to reduce this payment by any amount already

22 paid by the violating alternative gas supplier to the

23 customer's authorized natural gas provider.

24 (3) Require the violating alternative gas supplier to

25 pay a fine of up to $1,000 into the Public Utility Fund for

26 each repeated and intentional violation of this Section.

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1 (4) Issue a cease and desist order.

2 (5) For a pattern of violation of this Section or for

3 intentionally violating a cease and desist order, revoke

4 the violating alternative gas supplier's certificate of

5 service authority.

6 (e) No alternative gas supplier shall:

7 (1) enter into or employ any arrangements which have

8 the effect of preventing any customer from having access to

9 the services of the gas utility in whose service area the

10 customer is located;

11 (2) charge customers for such access;

12 (3) bill for goods or services not authorized by the

13 customer; or

14 (4) bill for a disputed amount where the alternative

15 gas supplier has been provided notice of such dispute. The

16 supplier shall attempt to resolve a dispute with the

17 customer. When the dispute is not resolved to the

18 customer's satisfaction, the supplier shall inform the

19 customer of the right to file an informal complaint with

20 the Commission and provide contact information. While the

21 pending dispute is active at the Commission, an alternative

22 gas supplier may bill only for the undisputed amount until

23 the Commission has taken final action on the complaint.

24 (f) An alternative gas supplier that is certified to serve

25 residential or small commercial customers shall not:

26 (1) deny service to a customer or group of customers

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1 nor establish any differences as to prices, terms,

2 conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any

3 other respect, whereby such denial or differences are based

4 upon race, gender, or income;

5 (2) deny service based on locality, nor establish any

6 unreasonable difference as to prices, terms, conditions,

7 services, products, or facilities as between localities;

8 (3) include in any agreement a provision that obligates

9 a customer to the terms of the agreement if the customer

10 (i) moves outside the State of Illinois; (ii) moves to a

11 location without a transportation service program; or

12 (iii) moves to a location where the customer will not

13 require natural gas service, provided that nothing in this

14 subsection precludes an alternative gas supplier from

15 taking any action otherwise available to it to collect a

16 debt that arises out of service provided to the customer

17 before the customer moved; or

18 (4) assign the agreement to any alternative natural gas

19 supplier, unless:

20 (A) the supplier is an alternative gas supplier

21 certified by the Commission;

22 (B) the rates, terms, and conditions of the

23 agreement being assigned do not change during the

24 remainder of the time covered by the agreement;

25 (C) the customer is given no less than 30 days

26 prior written notice of the assignment and contact

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1 information for the new supplier; and

2 (D) the supplier assigning the contract provides

3 contact information that a customer can use to resolve

4 a dispute.

5 (g) An alternative gas supplier shall comply with the

6 following requirements with respect to the marketing,

7 offering, and provision of products or services:

8 (1) Any marketing materials which make statements

9 concerning prices, terms, and conditions of service shall

10 contain information that adequately discloses the prices,

11 terms and conditions of the products or services.

12 (2) Before any customer is switched from another

13 supplier, the alternative gas supplier shall give the

14 customer written information that clearly and

15 conspicuously discloses, in plain language, the prices,

16 terms, and conditions of the products and services being

17 offered and sold to the customer. Nothing in this paragraph

18 (2) may be read to relieve an alternative gas supplier from

19 the duties imposed on it by item (3) of subsection (c) of

20 Section 2DDD of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business

21 Practices Act.

22 (3) The alternative gas supplier shall provide to the

23 customer:

24 (A) accurate, timely, and itemized billing

25 statements that describe the products and services

26 provided to the customer and their prices and that

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1 specify the gas consumption amount and any service

2 charges and taxes; provided that this item (g)(3)(A)

3 does not apply to small commercial customers;

4 (B) billing statements that clearly and

5 conspicuously discloses the name and contact

6 information for the alternative gas supplier and

7 contain the following statement on every billing

8 statement: "Compare gas prices at

9 www.icc.illinois.gov/ags/products.aspx or contact your

10 retail gas supplier for your own price comparison."; if

11 an alternative gas supplier uses the utility bill, the

12 utility may collect all costs necessary to expand

13 character limits or programming costs for the addition

14 of this statement;

15 (C) an additional statement, at least annually,

16 that adequately discloses the average monthly prices,

17 and the terms and conditions, of the products and

18 services sold to the customer; provided that this item

19 (g)(3)(C) does not apply to small commercial

20 customers;

21 (D) refunds of any deposits with interest within 30

22 days after the date that the customer changes gas

23 suppliers or discontinues service if the customer has

24 satisfied all of his or her outstanding financial

25 obligations to the alternative gas supplier at an

26 interest rate set by the Commission which shall be the

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1 same as that required of gas utilities; and

2 (E) refunds, in a timely fashion, of all undisputed

3 overpayments upon the oral or written request of the

4 customer.

5 (3.5) Upon request from a customer, the alternative gas

6 supplier shall provide:

7 (A) a price comparison history between the

8 alternative gas supplier's rate and the customer's

9 default gas utility rate for the previous month; and

10 (B) a price comparison history between the

11 alternative gas supplier's monthly average price and

12 the customer's default gas utility monthly average

13 price for the previous 12 months or the amount of time

14 served under the contract if less than 12 months.

15 In addition, for variable rate contracts, the

16 information must include a conspicuous statement that the

17 customer has the right to terminate a variable price

18 contract without penalty if the monthly rate is 20% or more

19 above the rate offered by the applicable default gas

20 utility for that month.

21 (4) An alternative gas supplier and its sales agents

22 shall refrain from any direct marketing or soliciting to

23 consumers on the gas utility's "Do Not Contact List", which

24 the alternative gas supplier shall obtain on the 15th

25 calendar day of the month from the gas utility in whose

26 service area the consumer is provided with gas service. If

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1 the 15th calendar day is a non-business day, then the

2 alternative gas supplier shall obtain the list on the next

3 business day following the 15th calendar day of that month.

4 (5) Early Termination.

5 (A) Any agreement that contains an early

6 termination clause shall disclose the amount of the

7 early termination fee, provided that any early

8 termination fee or penalty shall not exceed $50 total,

9 regardless of whether or not the agreement is a

10 multiyear agreement.

11 (B) In any agreement that contains an early

12 termination clause, an alternative gas supplier shall

13 provide the customer the opportunity to terminate the

14 agreement without any termination fee or penalty up to

15 and including the due date for payment ~~within 10~~

16 ~~business days after the date~~ of the first bill issued

17 to the customer for products or services provided by

18 the alternative gas supplier. The agreement shall

19 disclose the opportunity and provide a toll-free phone

20 number that the customer may call in order to terminate

21 the agreement.

22 (C) No alternative gas supplier may impose a

23 termination fee or penalty to customers with variable

24 rate agreement who elect early termination when the

25 supplier's monthly rate is 20% or more above the rate

26 offered by the applicable gas utility for that month.

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1 Variable rate contracts must provide a conspicuous

2 statement of this provision.

3 (D) No alternative gas supplier may charge any

4 early termination fee, charge, or penalty to

5 residential or small commercial retail customers who

6 elect early termination within the first 6 months after

7 the date of enrollment under a contract entered into

8 with that supplier as a result of door-to-door sales.

9 For purposes of complying with this subparagraph (D),

10 an alternative gas supplier shall keep records of the

11 primary method by which it acquired or obtained each of

12 its customers, whether through door-to-door sales or

13 other methods.

14 (6) Within 2 business days after electronic receipt of

15 a customer switch from the alternative gas supplier and

16 confirmation of eligibility, the gas utility shall provide

17 the customer written notice confirming the switch. The gas

18 utility shall not switch the service until 10 business days

19 after the date on the notice to the customer.

20 (7) The alternative gas supplier shall provide each

21 customer the opportunity to rescind its agreement without

22 penalty within 10 business days after the date on the gas

23 utility notice to the customer. The alternative gas

24 supplier shall disclose all of the following:

25 (A) that the gas utility shall send a notice

26 confirming the switch;

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1 (B) that from the date the utility issues the

2 notice confirming the switch, the customer shall have

3 10 business days to rescind the switch without penalty;

4 (C) that the customer shall contact the gas utility

5 or the alternative gas supplier to rescind the switch;

6 and

7 (D) the contact information for the gas utility.

8 The alternative gas supplier disclosure shall be

9 included in its sales solicitations, contracts, and all

10 applicable sales verification scripts.

11 (h) An alternative gas supplier may limit the overall size

12 or availability of a service offering by specifying one or more

13 of the following:

14 (1) a maximum number of customers and maximum amount of

15 gas load to be served;

16 (2) time period during which the offering will be

17 available; or

18 (3) other comparable limitation, but not including the

19 geographic locations of customers within the area which the

20 alternative gas supplier is certificated to serve.

21 The alternative gas supplier shall file the terms and

22 conditions of such service offering including the applicable

23 limitations with the Commission prior to making the service

24 offering available to customers.

25 (i) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as

26 preventing an alternative gas supplier that is an affiliate of,

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1 or which contracts with, (i) an industry or trade organization

2 or association, (ii) a membership organization or association

3 that exists for a purpose other than the purchase of gas, or

4 (iii) another organization that meets criteria established in a

5 rule adopted by the Commission from offering through the

6 organization or association services at prices, terms and

7 conditions that are available solely to the members of the

8 organization or association.

9 (Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09.)

10 (220 ILCS 5/19-150 new)

11 Sec. 19-150. Purchase of receivables.

12 (a) For the purposes of this Section:

13 "Qualifying alternative gas supplier" means an alternative

14 gas supplier that (i) is certified under Section 19-110 of this

15 Act and (ii) includes its charges for gas sales made in a gas

16 utility's service area on that gas utility's bill pursuant to

17 Section 19-135 of this Act.

18 "Administrative costs" means all of the utility's costs

19 incurred in its administration of the purchase of receivables

20 program.

21 (b) Within 6 months after the effective date of this

22 amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, a gas utility with

23 at least 100,000 customers that offers transportation service

24 to residential customers and small commercial customers shall

25 file a tariff pursuant to Article IX of this Act that provides

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1 qualifying alternative gas suppliers and gas utilities other

2 than the gas utility in whose service area the retail customers

3 are located with the option to have the gas utility purchase

4 their receivables for power and energy service (1) to

5 residential customers and small commercial customers, as those

6 terms are defined in Section 19-105 of this Article, and (2)

7 charged on the gas utility's bill.

8 (c) Receivables for energy service of alternative gas

9 suppliers shall be purchased by the gas utility at a just and

10 reasonable discount rate to be reviewed and approved by the

11 Commission after notice and hearing. The discount rate shall be

12 designed to recover all start-up and ongoing costs, including

13 uncollectible amounts associated with the gas supply provided

14 by the ARGS to its customers, that are incrementally incurred

15 by the gas utility in providing the Purchase of Receivables

16 services provided for in this Section 19-150. The Commission

17 shall base the initial discount rates, to be established

18 separately for residential and commercial classes who receive

19 service from an alternative gas supplier but are not transport

20 customers, on: (1) the natural gas utility's historical bad

21 debt experience for a similar period and rate class; (2) any

22 working capital costs arising from the lag in collections of

23 receivables associated with the natural gas utility's purchase

24 of receivables; (3) estimated incremental start-up costs,

25 levelized as appropriate; and (4) administrative costs

26 associated with the natural gas utility's purchase of

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1 receivables. In subsequent discount rates, following the

2 setting of the initial discount rate, the Commission shall use

3 the average of the historical bad debt experience for all

4 participating alternative gas suppliers, without accounting

5 for the historical bad debt of the utility. The Commission

6 shall retain continuing jurisdiction and prescribe

7 reconciliation procedures to annually reconcile the natural

8 gas utility's actual bad debt experience limited to the

9 purchase of receivables program by residential and small

10 commercial customers within the program; actual incurred

11 incremental costs to provide purchase of receivables services

12 with the cost estimates employed in setting the initial or any

13 subsequent discount rate, implementing corresponding

14 adjustments to the discount rate as necessary to effect such

15 reconciliations or new costs related to the program which were

16 not part of the original approved costs. The gas utility shall

17 use similar processes for collection from alternative gas

18 supplier customers whose receivables are purchased as utility

19 customers.

20 (d) Reasonable start-up costs and administrative costs

21 associated with the gas utility's purchase of receivables shall

22 in the first instance be recovered from qualifying alternative

23 gas suppliers through the gas utility's discount rate assessed

24 by the gas utility on those qualifying alternative gas

25 suppliers who have the gas utility purchase their receivables.

26 In order to prevent barriers to suppliers' use of a purchase of

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1 receivables program and ensure full cost recovery for the gas

2 utility in a timely manner, a portion of the gas utility's

3 reasonable start-up costs, subject to reasonable carrying

4 charges as determined by the Commission, may be deferred for

5 later recovery from qualifying alternative gas suppliers who

6 have the gas utility purchase their receivables through the

7 discount rate or a monthly per bill fee, if such deferral is

8 deemed to be necessary by the Commission. A gas utility may

9 request capital costs recovery sufficient to recover the return

10 of and on the gas utility investment in a purchase of

11 receivables program. The gas utility retains the rights to (1)

12 impose the same terms on residential customers supplied by

13 qualifying alternative gas suppliers with respect to credit and

14 collection, including requests for deposits, and (2)

15 disconnect the customers, if it does not receive payment for

16 its tariffed services or purchased receivables, in the same

17 manner that it would be permitted to if the customers had

18 purchased gas supply service from the gas utility. Any

19 combination gas and electric utility serving more than

20 1,000,000 total customers shall be exempt from the requirements

21 of this Section unless and until the Commission approves a

22 proposed transportation program available to residential

23 customers and small commercial customers, as those terms are

24 defined in Section 19-105, that includes consolidated billing

25 and any associated cost recovery provisions for an exempt

26 utility. With regard to exempt utilities, the Commission may

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1 approve a small volume transportation tariff including

2 consolidated billing and associated cost recovery as part of a

3 general rate increase or other tariff filing.

4 (e) The tariff filed pursuant to this Section shall provide

5 for recovery of the prudently incurred costs associated with

6 the provision of this service pursuant to this Section and may

7 include other just and reasonable terms and conditions. Nothing

8 in this Section permits the double recovery of uncollectible

9 expenses from customers.

10 An alternative gas supplier shall not require a deposit or

11 credit assurance from a customer whose receivable is purchased

12 under this Section.

13 (220 ILCS 5/19-155 new)

14 Sec. 19-155. Aggregation of natural gas load by

15 municipalities, townships, and counties.

16 (a) The corporate authorities of a municipality, township

17 board of a township, or county board of a county may adopt an

18 ordinance under which it may aggregate in accordance with this

19 Section residential customers and small commercial customer

20 natural gas loads located, respectively, within the

21 municipality, the township, or the unincorporated areas of the

22 county and, for that purpose, may solicit bids and enter into

23 service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and

24 purchase of natural gas and related services and equipment.

25 The corporate authorities, township board, or county board

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1 may also exercise such authority jointly with any other

2 municipality, township, or county. Two or more municipalities,

3 townships, or counties, or a combination of any of them, may

4 initiate a process jointly to authorize aggregation by a

5 majority vote of each particular municipality, township, or

6 county as required by this Section.

7 If the corporate authorities, township board, or the county

8 board seek to operate the aggregation program as an opt-out

9 program for residential customers and small commercial

10 customers, then prior to the adoption of an ordinance with

11 respect to aggregation of residential customers and small

12 commercial customer natural gas loads, the corporate

13 authorities of a municipality, the township board, or the

14 county board of a county shall submit a referendum to its

15 residents to determine whether or not the aggregation program

16 shall operate as an opt-out program for residential customers

17 and small commercial customers.

18 In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the

19 general election law, notice of the referendum shall state

20 briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether

21 the corporate authorities, the township board, or the county

22 board shall adopt an opt-out aggregation program for

23 residential customers and small commercial customers shall be

24 submitted to the electors of the municipality, township, or

25 county at a regular election and approved by a majority of the

26 electors voting on the question. The corporate authorities,

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1 township board, or county board must certify to the proper

2 election authority, which must submit the question at an

3 election in accordance with the Election Code.

4 The election authority must submit the question in

5 substantially the following form:

6 "Shall the (municipality, township, or county in which

7 the question is being voted upon) have the authority to

8 arrange for the supply of natural gas for its residential

9 customers and small commercial customers who have not opted

10 out of such program?".

11 The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or

12 "No".

13 If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote

14 in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities, township

15 board, or county board may implement an opt-out aggregation

16 program for residential customers and small commercial

17 customers.

18 A referendum must pass in each particular municipality,

19 township, or county that is engaged in the aggregation program.

20 If the referendum fails, then the corporate authorities,

21 township board, or county board shall operate the aggregation

22 program as an opt-in program for residential customers and

23 small commercial customers.

24 An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the

25 aggregation shall occur only with the prior consent of each

26 person owning, occupying, controlling, or using a natural gas

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1 load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,

2 however, authorizes the aggregation of natural gas loads that

3 are served or authorized to be served by a municipality that

4 owns and operates its own gas distribution system. No

5 aggregation shall take effect unless approved by a majority of

6 the members of the corporate authority, township board, or

7 county board voting upon the ordinance. A governmental

8 aggregator under this Section is not a public utility, agent,

9 broker, consultant, or alternative retail gas supplier.

10 For purposes of this Section, "township" means the portion

11 of a township that is an unincorporated portion of a county

12 that is not otherwise a part of a municipality. In addition to

13 such other limitations as are included in this Section, a

14 township board shall only have authority to aggregate

15 residential customer and small commercial customer natural gas

16 loads in accordance with this Section if the county board of

17 the county in which the township is located (i) is not also

18 submitting a referendum to its residents at the same general

19 election that the township board proposes to submit a

20 referendum under this subsection (a), (ii) has not received

21 authorization through passage of a referendum to operate an

22 opt-out aggregation program for residential customers and

23 small commercial customers under this subsection (a), and (iii)

24 has not otherwise enacted an ordinance under this subsection

25 (a) authorizing the operation of an opt-in aggregation program

26 for residential customers and small commercial customers as

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1 described in this Section.

2 (b) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this

3 Section, the corporate authorities, the township board, or the

4 county board shall develop a plan of operation and governance

5 for the aggregation program so authorized. Before adopting a

6 plan under this Section, the corporate authorities, township

7 board, or county board shall hold at least 2 public hearings on

8 the plan. Before the first hearing, the corporate authorities,

9 township board, or county board shall publish notice of the

10 hearings once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of

11 general circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall

12 summarize the plan and state the date, time, and location of

13 each hearing. Any load aggregation plan established pursuant to

14 this Section shall:

15 (1) provide for universal access to all applicable

16 residential customers and equitable treatment of

17 applicable residential customers;

18 (2) describe demand management and energy efficiency

19 services to be provided to each class of customers;

20 (3) meet any requirements established by law

21 concerning aggregated service offered pursuant to this

22 Section; and

23 (4) clearly establish the processes that will be

24 followed in advance of the expiration of any agreement with

25 a service provider to either extend the agreement with the

26 incumbent service provider, select a new service provider

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1 through a competitive solicitation process, or terminate

2 the aggregation program.

3 (c) The corporate authorities, township board, or county

4 board shall utilize a formal and public process for selecting a

5 natural gas supplier and awarding proposed agreements for the

6 purchase of natural gas and other related services that shall

7 be conducted in the following order:

8 (1) First, the corporate authorities, township board,

9 or county board may solicit bids for natural gas and other

10 related services.

11 (2) The corporate authorities, township board, or

12 county board, or the designee thereof, shall request from

13 the natural gas utility a list of those residential

14 customers and small commercial customers within its

15 aggregate area either by zip code or zip codes or other

16 means as determined by the natural gas utility. The natural

17 gas utility shall then provide to the corporate

18 authorities, township board, county board, or the designee

19 thereof, a list of the residential customers and small

20 commercial customers, including the names and addresses of

21 residential customers and small commercial customers,

22 electronically. The corporate authorities, township board,

23 county board, or the designee thereof, shall be responsible

24 for authenticating the residential customers and small

25 commercial customers contained in this listing and

26 providing edits of the data to affirm, add, or delete the

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1 residential customers and small commercial customers

2 located within its jurisdiction.

3 (3) Then, notwithstanding Section 19-115 of this Act

4 and Section 2FFF of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive

5 Business Practices Act, a natural gas utility that provides

6 residential customers and small commercial customers

7 natural gas service in the aggregate area must, upon

8 request of the corporate authorities, township board, or

9 the county board in the aggregate area, submit to the

10 requesting party, in an electronic format, those account

11 numbers, names, and addresses of residential customers and

12 small commercial customers in the aggregate area that are

13 reflected in the natural gas utility's records and verified

14 as required under item (2) of this subsection at the time

15 of the request. Any corporate authority, township board, or

16 county board receiving customer information from a natural

17 gas utility shall be subject to the limitations on the

18 disclosure of the information described in Section 19-115

19 of this Act and Section 2FFF of the Consumer Fraud and

20 Deceptive Business Practices Act, and a natural gas utility

21 shall not be held liable for any claims arising out of the

22 provision of information pursuant to this item (3).

23 (d) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county

24 board operate under an opt-in program for residential customers

25 and small commercial customers, then:

26 (1) within 60 days after receiving the bids, the

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1 corporate authorities, township board, or county board

2 shall allow residential customers and small commercial

3 customers to commit to the terms and conditions of a bid

4 that has been selected by the corporate authorities,

5 township board, or county board; and

6 (2) if (A) the corporate authorities, township board,

7 or county board award proposed agreements for the purchase

8 of natural gas and other related services and (B) an

9 agreement is reached between the corporate authorities,

10 township board, or county board for those services, then

11 residential customers and small commercial customers

12 committed to the terms and conditions according to item (1)

13 of this subsection (d) shall be committed to the agreement.

14 (e) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county

15 board operate as an opt-out program for residential customers

16 and small commercial customers, then it shall be the duty of

17 the aggregated entity to fully inform all residential customers

18 and all small commercial customers in advance that they have

19 the right to opt out of the aggregation program. The disclosure

20 shall prominently state all charges to be made and shall

21 include full disclosure of the cost to obtain service pursuant

22 to Section 19-115 of this Act, how to access it, and the fact

23 that it is available to them without penalty, if they are

24 currently receiving service under that Section. Any notice sent

25 to consumers currently under contract with an alternative

26 retail gas supplier or an entity that provides services in

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1 competition with and similar to an alternative retail gas

2 supplier must disclose that those who wish to participate in

3 the aggregation program (1) shall not be automatically

4 enrolled, (2) must explicitly and affirmatively enroll in the

5 program, (3) that doing so may subject them to early

6 termination fees, and (4) to consult their current agreement.

7 (f) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules to

8 implement this Section, including, but not limited to, the

9 protection of customers already under contract with an

10 alternative retail gas supplier, gas utility processes for

11 enrollment of opt-out customers, and minimum opt-out

12 disclosure requirements for opt-out aggregation. The rules

13 adopted under this subsection (f) shall specifically state that

14 if a customer is currently under contract with an alternative

15 retail gas supplier or an entity that provides services in

16 competition with and similar to an alternative retail gas

17 supplier, the customer shall not be automatically enrolled in

18 the relevant municipal, township, or county opt-out program and

19 that the opt-out program shall not interfere with the existing

20 agreement between the customer and alternative retail gas

21 supplier or an entity that provides services in competition

22 with and similar to an alternative retail gas supplier. Nothing

23 shall prohibit a customer under contract with an alternative

24 retail gas supplier or an entity that provides services in

25 competition with and similar to an alternative retail gas

26 supplier from explicitly, in writing, affirmatively choosing

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1 to enter into the local municipality's, township's, or county's

2 opt-out program. The opt-out disclosure rules adopted under

3 this subsection shall, at a minimum, disclose the possibility

4 of a contract termination fee, subject to the terms of

5 paragraph (5) of subsection (g) of Section 19-115 of this Act,

6 for those customers under contract with alternative retail gas

7 suppliers or an entity that provides services in competition

8 with and similar to an alternative retail gas supplier.

9 (g) No municipality, township, or county shall implement,

10 in its plan of operation and governance, an opt-out program

11 that automatically enrolls a customer that is currently under

12 contract with an alternative retail gas supplier or an entity

13 that provides services in competition with and similar to an

14 alternative retail gas supplier into its municipal, township,

15 or county opt-out program. A customer that is currently under

16 contract with an alternative retail gas supplier or an entity

17 that provides services in competition with and similar to an

18 alternative retail gas supplier that seeks to enroll in an

19 opt-out program shall be required by the municipality,

20 township, or county, as applicable, to explicitly, in writing,

21 affirm the choice to enter into said opt-out program via a

22 process established in the plan of operation and governance.

23 (h) Nothing in this Section shall require a natural gas

24 public utility without a Commission-approved small volume

25 transportation program to accommodate aggregated load

26 switching for any natural gas customers.

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1 (220 ILCS 5/19-199 new)

2 Sec. 19-199. Repeal of Article. This Article is repealed

3 January 1, 2020.

4 Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business

5 Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2DDD as follows:

6 (815 ILCS 505/2DDD)

7 Sec. 2DDD. Alternative gas suppliers.

8 (a) Definitions.

9 (1) "Alternative gas supplier" has the same meaning as

10 in Section 19-105 of the Public Utilities Act.

11 (2) "Gas utility" has the same meaning as in Section

12 19-105 of the Public Utilities Act.

13 (b) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the

14 meaning of Section 2 of this Act for any person to violate any

15 provision of this Section.

16 (c) Solicitation.

17 (1) An alternative gas supplier shall not misrepresent

18 the affiliation of any alternative supplier with the gas

19 utility, governmental bodies, or consumer groups.

20 (2) If any sales solicitation, agreement, contract, or

21 verification is translated into another language and

22 provided to a customer, all of the documents must be

23 provided to the customer in that other language.

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1 (3) An alternative gas supplier shall clearly and

2 conspicuously disclose the following information to all

3 customers:

4 (A) the prices, terms, and conditions of the

5 products and services being sold to the customer;

6 (B) where the solicitation occurs in person,

7 including through door-to-door solicitation, the

8 salesperson's name;

9 (C) the alternative gas supplier's contact

10 information, including the address, phone number, and

11 website;

12 (D) contact information for the Illinois Commerce

13 Commission, including the toll-free number for

14 consumer complaints and website;

15 (E) a statement of the customer's right to rescind

16 the offer within 10 business days of the date on the

17 utility's notice confirming the customer's decision to

18 switch suppliers, as well as phone numbers for the

19 supplier and utility that the consumer may use to

20 rescind the contract; and

21 (F) the amount of the early termination fee, if

22 any.

23 (4) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this

24 subsection (c), an alternative gas supplier shall send the

25 information described in paragraph (3) of this subsection

26 (c) to all customers within one business day of the

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1 authorization of a switch.

2 (5) An alternative gas supplier engaging in

3 door-to-door solicitation of consumers shall provide the

4 information described in paragraph (3) of this subsection

5 (c) during all door-to-door solicitations that result in a

6 customer deciding to switch their supplier.

7 (d) Customer Authorization. An alternative gas supplier

8 shall not submit or execute a change in a customer's selection

9 of a natural gas provider unless and until (i) the alternative

10 gas supplier first discloses all material terms and conditions

11 of the offer to the customer; (ii) the alternative gas supplier

12 has obtained the customer's express agreement to accept the

13 offer after the disclosure of all material terms and conditions

14 of the offer; and (iii) the alternative gas supplier has

15 confirmed the request for a change in accordance with one of

16 the following procedures:

17 (1) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the

18 customer's written or electronically signed authorization

19 in a form that meets the following requirements:

20 (A) An alternative gas supplier shall obtain any

21 necessary written or electronically signed

22 authorization from a customer for a change in natural

23 gas service by using a letter of agency as specified in

24 this Section. Any letter of agency that does not

25 conform with this Section is invalid.

26 (B) The letter of agency shall be a separate

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1 document (or an easily separable document containing

2 only the authorization language described in item (E)

3 of this paragraph (1)) whose sole purpose is to

4 authorize a natural gas provider change. The letter of

5 agency must be signed and dated by the customer

6 requesting the natural gas provider change.

7 (C) The letter of agency shall not be combined with

8 inducements of any kind on the same document.

9 (D) Notwithstanding items (A) and (B) of this

10 paragraph (1), the letter of agency may be combined

11 with checks that contain only the required letter of

12 agency language prescribed in item (E) of this

13 paragraph (1) and the necessary information to make the

14 check a negotiable instrument. The letter of agency

15 check shall not contain any promotional language or

16 material. The letter of agency check shall contain in

17 easily readable, bold face type on the face of the

18 check, a notice that the consumer is authorizing a

19 natural gas provider change by signing the check. The

20 letter of agency language also shall be placed near the

21 signature line on the back of the check.

22 (E) At a minimum, the letter of agency must be

23 printed with a print of sufficient size to be clearly

24 legible, and must contain clear and unambiguous

25 language that confirms:

26 (i) the customer's billing name and address;

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1 (ii) the decision to change the natural gas

2 provider from the current provider to the

3 prospective alternative gas supplier;

4 (iii) the terms, conditions, and nature of the

5 service to be provided to the customer, including,

6 but not limited to, the rates for the service

7 contracted for by the customer; and

8 (iv) that the customer understands that any

9 natural gas provider selection the customer

10 chooses may involve a charge to the customer for

11 changing the customer's natural gas provider.

12 (F) Letters of agency shall not suggest or require

13 that a customer take some action in order to retain the

14 customer's current natural gas provider.

15 (G) If any portion of a letter of agency is

16 translated into another language, then all portions of

17 the letter of agency must be translated into that

18 language.

19 (2) An appropriately qualified independent third party

20 has obtained, in accordance with the procedures set forth

21 in this paragraph (2), the customer's oral authorization to

22 change natural gas providers that confirms and includes

23 appropriate verification data. The independent third party

24 must (i) not be owned, managed, controlled, or directed by

25 the alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas

26 supplier's marketing agent; (ii) not have any financial

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1 incentive to confirm provider change requests for the

2 alternative gas supplier or the alternative gas supplier's

3 marketing agent; and (iii) operate in a location physically

4 separate from the alternative gas supplier or the

5 alternative gas supplier's marketing agent. Automated

6 third-party verification systems and 3-way conference

7 calls may be used for verification purposes so long as the

8 other requirements of this paragraph (2) are satisfied. A

9 alternative gas supplier or alternative gas supplier's

10 sales representative initiating a 3-way conference call or

11 a call through an automated verification system must drop

12 off the call once the 3-way connection has been

13 established. All third-party verification methods shall

14 elicit, at a minimum, the following information:

15 (A) the identity of the customer;

16 (B) confirmation that the person on the call is

17 authorized to make the provider change;

18 (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants

19 to make the provider change;

20 (D) the names of the providers affected by the

21 change;

22 (E) the service address of the service to be

23 switched; and

24 (F) the price of the service to be provided and the

25 material terms and conditions of the service being

26 offered, including whether any early termination fees

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1 apply.

2 Third-party verifiers may not market the alternative

3 gas supplier's services. All third-party verifications

4 shall be conducted in the same language that was used in

5 the underlying sales transaction and shall be recorded in

6 their entirety. Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall

7 maintain and preserve audio records of verification of

8 customer authorization for a minimum period of 2 years

9 after obtaining the verification. Automated systems must

10 provide customers with an option to speak with a live

11 person at any time during the call.

12 (3) The alternative gas supplier has obtained the

13 customer's electronic authorization to change natural gas

14 service via telephone. Such authorization must elicit the

15 information in paragraph (2)(A) through (F) of this

16 subsection (d). Alternative gas suppliers electing to

17 confirm sales electronically shall establish one or more

18 toll-free telephone numbers exclusively for that purpose.

19 Calls to the number or numbers shall connect a customer to

20 a voice response unit, or similar mechanism, that makes a

21 date-stamped, time-stamped recording of the required

22 information regarding the alternative gas supplier change.

23 The alternative gas supplier shall not use such

24 electronic authorization systems to market its services.

25 (4) When a consumer initiates the call to the

26 prospective alternative gas supplier, in order to enroll

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1 the consumer as a customer, the prospective alternative gas

2 supplier must, with the consent of the customer, make a

3 date-stamped, time-stamped audio recording that elicits,

4 at a minimum, the following information:

5 (A) the identity of the customer;

6 (B) confirmation that the person on the call is

7 authorized to make the provider change;

8 (C) confirmation that the person on the call wants

9 to make the provider change;

10 (D) the names of the providers affected by the

11 change;

12 (E) the service address of the service to be

13 switched; and

14 (F) the price of the service to be supplied and the

15 material terms and conditions of the service being

16 offered, including whether any early termination fees

17 apply.

18 Submitting alternative gas suppliers shall maintain

19 and preserve the audio records containing the information

20 set forth above for a minimum period of 2 years.

21 (5) In the event that a customer enrolls for service

22 from an alternative gas supplier via an Internet website,

23 the alternative gas supplier shall obtain an

24 electronically signed letter of agency in accordance with

25 paragraph (1) of this subsection (d) and any customer

26 information shall be protected in accordance with all

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1 applicable statutes and rules. In addition, an alternative

2 gas supplier shall provide the following when marketing via

3 an Internet website:

4 (A) The Internet enrollment website shall, at a

5 minimum, include:

6 (i) a copy of the alternative gas supplier's

7 customer contract, which clearly and conspicuously

8 discloses all terms and conditions; and

9 (ii) a conspicuous prompt for the customer to

10 print or save a copy of the contract.

11 (B) Any electronic version of the contract shall be

12 identified by version number, in order to ensure the

13 ability to verify the particular contract to which the

14 customer assents.

15 (C) Throughout the duration of the alternative gas

16 supplier's contract with a customer, the alternative

17 gas supplier shall retain and, within 3 business days

18 of the customer's request, provide to the customer an

19 e-mail, paper, or facsimile of the terms and conditions

20 of the numbered contract version to which the customer

21 assents.

22 (D) The alternative gas supplier shall provide a

23 mechanism by which both the submission and receipt of

24 the electronic letter of agency are recorded by time

25 and date.

26 (E) After the customer completes the electronic

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1 letter of agency, the alternative gas supplier shall

2 disclose conspicuously through its website that the

3 customer has been enrolled and the alternative gas

4 supplier shall provide the customer an enrollment

5 confirmation number.

6 (6) When a customer is solicited in person by the

7 alternative gas supplier's sales agent, the alternative

8 gas supplier may only obtain the customer's authorization

9 to change natural gas service through the method provided

10 for in paragraph (2) of this subsection (d).

11 Alternative gas suppliers must be in compliance with the

12 provisions of this subsection (d) within 90 days after the

13 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General

14 Assembly.

15 (e) Early Termination.

16 (1) Any agreement that contains an early termination

17 clause shall disclose the amount of the early termination

18 fee, provided that any early termination fee or penalty

19 shall not exceed $50 total, regardless of whether or not

20 the agreement is a multiyear agreement.

21 (2) In any agreement that contains an early termination

22 clause, an alternative gas supplier shall provide the

23 customer the opportunity to terminate the agreement

24 without any termination fee or penalty until the due ~~within~~

25 ~~10 business days after the~~ date of the first bill issued to

26 the customer for products or services provided by the

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1 alternative gas supplier. The agreement shall disclose the

2 opportunity and provide a toll-free phone number that the

3 customer may call in order to terminate the agreement.

4 (f) The alternative gas supplier shall provide each

5 customer the opportunity to rescind its agreement without

6 penalty within 10 business days after the date on the gas

7 utility notice to the customer. The alternative gas supplier

8 shall disclose to the customer all of the following:

9 (1) that the gas utility shall send a notice confirming

10 the switch;

11 (2) that from the date the utility issues the notice

12 confirming the switch, the customer shall have 10 business

13 days before the switch will become effective;

14 (3) that the customer may contact the gas utility or

15 the alternative gas supplier to rescind the switch within

16 10 business days; and

17 (4) the contact information for the gas utility and the

18 alternative gas supplier.

19 The alternative gas supplier disclosure shall be included

20 in its sales solicitations, contracts, and all applicable sales

21 verification scripts.

22 (g) The provisions of this Section shall apply only to

23 alternative gas suppliers serving or seeking to serve

24 residential and small commercial customers and only to the

25 extent such alternative gas suppliers provide services to

26 residential and small commercial customers.

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1 (Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)

2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

3 becoming law.".