Bill Amendment: IL HB4514 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: GENERAL RATE INCREASE HEARINGS

Status: 2026-06-26 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0493 [HB4514 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB4514-House_Amendment_003.html

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Rep. Nabeela Syed

Filed: 4/15/2026

 

 

 

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4514
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4514, AS AMENDED,
by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
following:
"Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
changing Section 8-306 and by adding Section 9-226.5 as
follows:
(220 ILCS 5/8-306)
Sec. 8-306. Special provisions relating to water and sewer
utilities.
(a) No later than 120 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the Commission
shall prepare, make available to customers upon request, and
post on its Internet web site information concerning the
service obligations of water and sewer utilities and remedies
that a customer may pursue for a violation of the customer's

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rights. The information shall specifically address the rights
of a customer of a water or sewer utility in the following
situations:
(1) The customer's water meter is replaced.
(2) The customer's bill increases by more than 50%
within one billing period.
(3) The customer's water service is terminated.
(4) The customer wishes to complain after receiving a
termination of service notice.
(5) The customer is unable to make payment on a
billing statement.
(6) A rate is filed, including without limitation a
surcharge or annual reconciliation filing, that will
increase the amount billed to the customer.
(7) The customer is billed for services provided prior
to the date covered by the billing statement.
(8) The customer is due to receive a credit.
Each billing statement issued by a water or sewer utility
shall include an Internet web site address where the customer
can view the information required under this subsection (a)
and a telephone number that the customer may call to request a
copy of the information.
(b) A water or sewer utility may discontinue service only
after it has mailed or delivered by other means a written
notice of discontinuance substantially in the form of Appendix
A of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280. The notice must include the

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Internet web site address where the customer can view the
information required under subsection (a) and a telephone
number that the customer may call to request a copy of the
information. Any notice required to be delivered or mailed to
a customer prior to discontinuance of service shall be
delivered or mailed separately from any bill. Service shall
not be discontinued until at least 5 days after delivery or 8
days after the mailing of this notice. Service shall not be
discontinued and shall be restored if discontinued for the
reason which is the subject of a dispute or complaint during
the pendency of informal or formal complaint procedures of the
Illinois Commerce Commission under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.160
or 280.170, where the customer has complied with those rules.
Service shall not be discontinued and shall be restored if
discontinued where a customer has established a deferred
payment agreement pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.110 and
has not defaulted on such agreement. Residential customers who
are indebted to a utility for past due utility service shall
have the opportunity to make arrangements with the utility to
retire the debt by periodic payments, referred to as a
deferred payment agreement, unless this customer has failed to
make payment under such a plan during the past 12 months. The
terms and conditions of a reasonable deferred payment
agreement shall be determined by the utility after
consideration of the following factors, based upon information
available from current utility records or provided by the

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customer or applicant:
(1) size of the past due account;
(2) customer or applicant's ability to pay;
(3) customer or applicant's payment history;
(4) reason for the outstanding indebtedness; and
(5) any other relevant factors relating to the
circumstances of the customer or applicant's service.
A residential customer shall pay a maximum of one-fourth of
the amount past due and owing at the time of entering into the
deferred payment agreement, and the water or sewer utility
shall allow a minimum of 2 months from the date of the
agreement and a maximum of 12 months for payment to be made
under a deferred payment agreement. Late payment charges may
be assessed against the amount owing that is the subject of a
deferred payment agreement.
(c) A water or sewer utility shall provide notice as
required by subsection (a) of Section 9-201 after the filing
of each information sheet under a purchased water surcharge,
purchased sewage treatment surcharge, or qualifying
infrastructure plant surcharge. The utility also shall post
notice of the filing in accordance with the requirements of 83
Ill. Adm. Code 255. Unless filed as part of a general rate
increase, notice of the filing of a purchased water surcharge
rider, purchased sewage treatment surcharge rider, or
qualifying infrastructure plant surcharge rider also shall be
given in the manner required by this subsection (c) for the

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filing of information sheets.
(d) Commission rules pertaining to formal and informal
complaints against public utilities shall apply with full and
equal force to water and sewer utilities and their customers,
including provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.170, and the
Commission shall respond to each complaint by providing the
consumer with a copy of the utility's response to the
complaint and a copy of the Commission's review of the
complaint and its findings. The Commission shall also provide
the consumer with all available options for recourse.
(e) Any refund shown on the billing statement of a
customer of a water or sewer utility must be itemized and must
state if the refund is an adjustment or credit.
(f) Water service for building construction purposes. At
the request of any municipality or township within the service
area of a public utility that provides water service to
customers within the municipality or township, a public
utility must (1) require all water service used for building
construction purposes to be measured by meter and subject to
approved rates and charges for metered water service and (2)
prohibit the unauthorized use of water taken from hydrants or
service lines installed at construction sites.
(g) Water meters.
(1) Periodic testing. Unless otherwise approved by the
Commission, each service water meter shall be periodically
inspected and tested in accordance with the schedule

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specified in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 600.340, or more frequently
as the results may warrant, to insure that the meter
accuracy is maintained within the limits set out in 83
Ill. Adm. Code 600.310.
(2) Meter tests requested by customer.
(A) Each utility furnishing metered water service
shall, without charge, test the accuracy of any meter
upon request by the customer served by such meter,
provided that the meter in question has not been
tested by the utility or by the Commission within 2
years previous to such request. The customer or his or
her representatives shall have the privilege of
witnessing the test at the option of the customer. A
written report, giving the results of the test, shall
be made to the customer.
(B) When a meter that has been in service less than
2 years since its last test is found to be accurate
within the limits specified in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
600.310, the customer shall pay a fee to the utility
not to exceed the amounts specified in 83 Ill. Adm.
Code 600.350(b). Fees for testing meters not included
in this Section or so located that the cost will be out
of proportion to the fee specified will be determined
by the Commission upon receipt of a complete
description of the case.
(3) Commission referee tests. Upon written application

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to the Commission by any customer, a test will be made of
the customer's meter by a representative of the
Commission. For such a test, a fee as provided for in
subsection (g)(2) shall accompany the application. If the
meter is found to be registering more than 1.5% fast on the
average when tested as prescribed in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
600.310, the utility shall refund to the customer the
amount of the fee. The utility shall in no way disturb the
meter after a customer has made an application for a
referee test until authority to do so is given by the
Commission or the customer in writing.
(h) Water and sewer utilities; low usage. Each public
utility that provides water and sewer service must establish a
unit sewer rate, subject to review by the Commission, that
applies only to those customers who use less than 1,000
gallons of water in any billing period.
(i) Water and sewer utilities; separate meters. Each
public utility that provides water and sewer service must
offer separate rates for water and sewer service to any
commercial or residential customer who uses separate meters to
measure each of those services. In order for the separate rate
to apply, a combination of meters must be used to measure the
amount of water that reaches the sewer system and the amount of
water that does not reach the sewer system.
(j) Each water or sewer public utility must disclose on
each billing statement any amount billed that is for service

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provided prior to the date covered by the billing statement.
The disclosure must include the dates for which the prior
service is being billed. Each billing statement that includes
an amount billed for service provided prior to the date
covered by the billing statement must disclose the dates for
which that amount is billed and must include a copy of the
document created under subsection (a) and a statement of
current Commission rules concerning unbilled or misbilled
service.
(k) When the customer is due a refund resulting from
payment of an overcharge, the utility shall credit the
customer in the amount of overpayment with interest from the
date of overpayment by the customer. The rate for interest
shall be at the appropriate rate determined by the Commission
under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70.
(l) Water and sewer public utilities; subcontractors. The
Commission shall adopt rules for water and sewer public
utilities to provide notice to the customers of the proper
kind of identification that a subcontractor must present to
the customer, to prohibit a subcontractor from soliciting or
receiving payment of any kind for any service provided by the
water or sewer public utility or the subcontractor, and to
establish sanctions for violations.
(m) Water and sewer public utilities; unaccounted-for
water. By December 31, 2006, each water public utility shall
file tariffs with the Commission to establish the maximum

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percentage of unaccounted-for water that would be considered
in the determination of any rates or surcharges. The rates or
surcharges approved for a water public utility shall not
include charges for unaccounted-for water in excess of this
maximum percentage without well-documented support and
justification for the Commission to consider in any request to
recover charges in excess of the tariffed maximum percentage.
(n) (Blank). Rate increases; public forums. When any
public utility providing water or sewer service proposes a
general rate increase, in addition to other notice
requirements, the water or sewer public utility must notify
its customers of their right to request a public forum. A
customer or group of customers must make written request to
the Commission for a public forum and must also provide
written notification of the request to the customer's
municipal or, for unincorporated areas, township government.
The Commission, at its discretion, may schedule the public
forum. If it is determined that public forums are required for
multiple municipalities or townships, the Commission shall
schedule these public forums, in locations within
approximately 45 minutes drive time of the municipalities or
townships for which the public forums have been scheduled. The
public utility must provide advance notice of 30 days for each
public forum to the governing bodies of those units of local
government affected by the increase. The day of each public
forum shall be selected so as to encourage the greatest public

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participation. Each public forum will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Reports and comments made during or as a result of each public
forum must be made available to the hearing officials and
reviewed when drafting a recommended or tentative decision,
finding or order pursuant to Section 10-111 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 94-950, eff. 6-27-06.)
(220 ILCS 5/9-226.5 new)
Sec. 9-226.5. General rate increases; public forums. When
any public utility providing electric, gas, water, or sewer
service proposes a general rate increase, in addition to other
notice requirements, the public utility must notify its
customers of their right to request a public forum. A customer
or group of customers must make a written request to the
Commission for the public forum. The Commission, at its
discretion, shall schedule the public forum unless it is
determined that the Commission does not have adequate staff or
financial resources or that the public forum cannot be
convened in a timely manner. The public utility must, to the
best of the public utility's ability, provide advance notice
of 30 days for each public forum to the governing bodies of any
units of local government affected by the proposed general
rate increase. The day and location of each public forum shall
be selected so as to encourage the greatest public
participation. Reports and comments made during or as a result
of each public forum must be made available to the hearing

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officials and reviewed when drafting a recommended or
tentative decision, finding, or order. Failure to comply with
this Section shall not render invalid or otherwise affect the
validity of any order entered by the Commission in a general
rate proceeding.
This Section does not apply to a public utility providing
electric, gas, water, or sewer service to less than 15,000
customers as of January 1, 2026.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
January 1, 2027.".