Bill Text: IL HB3324 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that no construction shall commence on any new commercial scale nuclear power plants (rather than new nuclear power plants) that are to be located in the State, and no certificate of public convenience and necessity or other authorization shall be issued therefor by the Commission unless the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency finds that the United States Government, through its authorized agency, has identified and approved a demonstrable technology or means for the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such construction has been specifically approved by a statute enacted by the General Assembly. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission may issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity and provide any other authorizations necessary to allow operating nuclear power plants to install pilot-scale projects and technologies designed to reduce waste and increase safety and having an output not exceeding 160 megawatts. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB3324 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB3324-Introduced.html

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98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 HB3324 Introduced , by Rep. Mike Fortner SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
220 ILCS 5/8-406 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that no construction shall commence on any new commercial scale nuclear power plants (rather than new nuclear power plants) that are to be located in the State, and no certificate of public convenience and necessity or other authorization shall be issued therefor by the Commission unless the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency finds that the United States Government, through its authorized agency, has identified and approved a demonstrable technology or means for the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until such construction has been specifically approved by a statute enacted by the General Assembly. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission may issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity and provide any other authorizations necessary to allow operating nuclear power plants to install pilot-scale projects and technologies designed to reduce waste and increase safety and having an output not exceeding 160 megawatts. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
Section 8-406 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/8-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-406)
Sec. 8-406. Certificate of public convenience and
necessity.
(a) No public utility not owning any city or village
franchise nor engaged in performing any public service or in
furnishing any product or commodity within this State as of
July 1, 1921 and not possessing a certificate of public
convenience and necessity from the Illinois Commerce
Commission, the State Public Utilities Commission or the Public
Utilities Commission, at the time this amendatory Act of 1985
goes into effect, shall transact any business in this State
until it shall have obtained a certificate from the Commission
that public convenience and necessity require the transaction
of such business.
(b) No public utility shall begin the construction of any
new plant, equipment, property or facility which is not in
substitution of any existing plant, equipment, property or
facility or any extension or alteration thereof or in addition

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thereto, unless and until it shall have obtained from the
Commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity
require such construction. Whenever after a hearing the
Commission determines that any new construction or the
transaction of any business by a public utility will promote
the public convenience and is necessary thereto, it shall have
the power to issue certificates of public convenience and
necessity. The Commission shall determine that proposed
construction will promote the public convenience and necessity
only if the utility demonstrates: (1) that the proposed
construction is necessary to provide adequate, reliable, and
efficient service to its customers and is the least-cost means
of satisfying the service needs of its customers or that the
proposed construction will promote the development of an
effectively competitive electricity market that operates
efficiently, is equitable to all customers, and is the least
cost means of satisfying those objectives; (2) that the utility
is capable of efficiently managing and supervising the
construction process and has taken sufficient action to ensure
adequate and efficient construction and supervision thereof;
and (3) that the utility is capable of financing the proposed
construction without significant adverse financial
consequences for the utility or its customers.
(c) No After the effective date of this amendatory Act of
1987, no construction shall commence on any new commercial
scale nuclear power plant to be located within this State, and

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no certificate of public convenience and necessity or other
authorization shall be issued therefor by the Commission, until
the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
finds that the United States Government, through its authorized
agency, has identified and approved a demonstrable technology
or means for the disposal of high level nuclear waste, or until
such construction has been specifically approved by a statute
enacted by the General Assembly.
The Commission may issue a certificate of public
convenience and necessity and provide any other authorizations
necessary to allow operating nuclear power plants to install
pilot-scale projects and technologies designed to reduce waste
and increase safety, provided that the output of these programs
does not exceed 160 megawatts.
As used in this Section, "high level nuclear waste" means
those aqueous wastes resulting from the operation of the first
cycle of the solvent extraction system or equivalent and the
concentrated wastes of the subsequent extraction cycles or
equivalent in a facility for reprocessing irradiated reactor
fuel and shall include spent fuel assemblies prior to fuel
reprocessing.
(d) In making its determination, the Commission shall
attach primary weight to the cost or cost savings to the
customers of the utility. The Commission may consider any or
all factors which will or may affect such cost or cost savings,
including the public utility's engineering judgment regarding

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the materials used for construction.
(e) The Commission may issue a temporary certificate which
shall remain in force not to exceed one year in cases of
emergency, to assure maintenance of adequate service or to
serve particular customers, without notice or hearing, pending
the determination of an application for a certificate, and may
by regulation exempt from the requirements of this Section
temporary acts or operations for which the issuance of a
certificate will not be required in the public interest.
A public utility shall not be required to obtain but may
apply for and obtain a certificate of public convenience and
necessity pursuant to this Section with respect to any matter
as to which it has received the authorization or order of the
Commission under the Electric Supplier Act, and any such
authorization or order granted a public utility by the
Commission under that Act shall as between public utilities be
deemed to be, and shall have except as provided in that Act the
same force and effect as, a certificate of public convenience
and necessity issued pursuant to this Section.
No electric cooperative shall be made or shall become a
party to or shall be entitled to be heard or to otherwise
appear or participate in any proceeding initiated under this
Section for authorization of power plant construction and as to
matters as to which a remedy is available under The Electric
Supplier Act.
(f) Such certificates may be altered or modified by the

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Commission, upon its own motion or upon application by the
person or corporation affected. Unless exercised within a
period of 2 years from the grant thereof authority conferred by
a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the
Commission shall be null and void.
No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be
construed as granting a monopoly or an exclusive privilege,
immunity or franchise.
(g) A public utility that undertakes any of the actions
described in items (1) through (3) of this subsection (g) or
that has obtained approval pursuant to Section 8-406.1 of this
Act shall not be required to comply with the requirements of
this Section to the extent such requirements otherwise would
apply. For purposes of this Section and Section 8-406.1 of this
Act, "high voltage electric service line" means an electric
line having a design voltage of 100,000 or more. For purposes
of this subsection (g), a public utility may do any of the
following:
(1) replace or upgrade any existing high voltage
electric service line and related facilities,
notwithstanding its length;
(2) relocate any existing high voltage electric
service line and related facilities, notwithstanding its
length, to accommodate construction or expansion of a
roadway or other transportation infrastructure; or
(3) construct a high voltage electric service line and

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related facilities that is constructed solely to serve a
single customer's premises or to provide a generator
interconnection to the public utility's transmission
system and that will pass under or over the premises owned
by the customer or generator to be served or under or over
premises for which the customer or generator has secured
the necessary right of way.
(Source: P.A. 95-700, eff. 11-9-07; 96-1348, eff. 7-28-10.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.