Bill Text: IL HB4382 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Enrolled

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 during the month of June (rather than October) of each year, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall make specified determinations with respect to moneys deposited into the Public Utility Fund during the next (rather than current) fiscal year and the moneys expected to be expended or obligated against appropriations made from the Fund during the next (rather than current) fiscal year. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-05-27 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 102-0931 [HB4382 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB4382-Enrolled.html

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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
Sections 2-202, 8-406, and 8-406.1 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.
(a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State
that in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation
of public utilities under this Act in the interests of the
People of the State of Illinois and the public utilities as
well, the public utilities subject to regulation under this
Act and which enjoy the privilege of operating as public
utilities in this State, shall bear the expense of
administering this Act by means of a tax on such privilege
measured by the annual gross revenue of such public utilities
in the manner provided in this Section. For purposes of this
Section, "expense of administering this Act" includes any
costs incident to studies, whether made by the Commission or
under contract entered into by the Commission, concerning
environmental pollution problems caused or contributed to by
public utilities and the means for eliminating or abating
those problems. Such proceeds shall be deposited in the Public

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Utility Fund in the State treasury.
(b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be
paid out of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of
the members of the Commission which shall be paid from the
General Revenue Fund. Notwithstanding other provisions of this
Act to the contrary, the ordinary and contingent expenses of
the Commission incident to the administration of the Illinois
Commercial Transportation Law may be paid from appropriations
from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal year
1986.
(c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to
the provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue
for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year
beginning January 1, 1982, except that the Commission may, by
rule, establish a different rate no greater than 0.1%. For
purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include
revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale,
delivery, or furnishing of electricity. "Gross revenue" shall
not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers under
the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
(d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in
accordance with paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this
subsection (d), on or before January 10 of each year each
public utility subject to the provisions of this Act shall

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file with the Commission an estimated annual gross revenue
return containing an estimate of the amount of its gross
revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said
year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said
calendar year on the basis of that estimate. Public
utilities may also file revised returns containing updated
estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the
calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form
the basis for quarterly payments due during the remainder
of the calendar year. In addition, on or before March 31 of
each year, each public utility shall file an amended
return showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown
by the company's books and records as of December 31 of the
previous year. Forms and instructions for such estimated,
revised, and amended returns shall be devised and supplied
by the Commission.
(2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002,
the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d)
shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year
for which the total tax the public utility owes under this
Section is less than $10,000. For such public utilities
with respect to such years, the public utility shall file
with the Commission, on or before March 31 of the
following year, an annual gross revenue return for the
year and a statement of the amount of tax due for that year
on the basis of such a return. Forms and instructions for

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such returns and corrected returns shall be devised and
supplied by the Commission.
(e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public
utility as provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d)
of this Section shall contain or be verified by a written
declaration by an appropriate officer of the public utility
that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The
Commission may audit each such return submitted and may, under
the provisions of Section 5-101 of this Act, take such
measures as are necessary to ascertain the correctness of the
returns submitted. The Commission has the power to direct the
filing of a corrected return by any utility which has filed an
incorrect return and to direct the filing of a return by any
utility which has failed to submit a return. A taxpayer's
signing a fraudulent return under this Section is perjury, as
defined in Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
(f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1)
of subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of
tax due under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on
or before the tenth day of January, April, July, and October of
the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an
adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under
subsection (d) or subsection (e) of this Section, the amount
of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility together
with the amended or corrected return and the amount of any

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excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the
public utility, be returned to the public utility in the form
of a credit memorandum in the amount of such excess or be
refunded to the public utility in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such
deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility
need not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.
(2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of
subsection (d) shall pay the amount of tax due under
subsection (c) on or before March 31 next following the end of
the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an
adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
result of the filing of a corrected return under subsection
(e), the amount of any deficiency shall be paid by the public
utility at the time the corrected return is filed. Any excess
tax payment by the public utility shall be returned to it after
the filing of a claim for credit, in the form of a credit
memorandum in the amount of the excess. However, if such
deficiency or excess is less than $1, the public utility need
not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.
(g) Each installment or required payment of the tax
imposed by subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of
the date that it is due. Failure to make a payment as required
by this Section shall result in the imposition of a late
payment penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both, as
provided by this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be

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the greater of:
(1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the
installment or required payment is unpaid or
(2) an amount equal to the difference between what
should have been paid on the due date, based upon the most
recently filed estimated, annual, or amended return, and
what was actually paid, times 1%, for each month or
portion of a month that the installment or required
payment goes unpaid. This penalty may be assessed as soon
as the installment or required payment becomes delinquent.
The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public
utilities subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall
be calculated after the filing of the amended return. It shall
be imposed if the amount actually paid on any of the dates
specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least
one-fourth of the amount actually due for the year, and shall
equal the greater of:
(1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the
amount due is unpaid or
(2) an amount equal to the difference between what
should have been paid, based on the amended return, and
what was actually paid as of the date specified in
subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the
sum of 10% and the percentage most recently established by
the Commission for interest to be paid on customer
deposits under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70(e)(1), for each

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month or portion of a month that the amount due goes
unpaid, except that no underestimation penalty shall be
assessed if the amount actually paid on or before each of
the dates specified in subsection (f) was based on an
estimate of gross revenues at least equal to the actual
gross revenues for the previous year. The Commission may
enforce the collection of any delinquent installment or
payment, or portion thereof by legal action or in any
other manner by which the collection of debts due the
State of Illinois may be enforced under the laws of this
State. The executive director or his designee may excuse
the payment of an assessed penalty or a portion of an
assessed penalty if he determines that enforced collection
of the penalty as assessed would be unjust.
(h) All sums collected by the Commission under the
provisions of this Section shall be paid promptly after the
receipt of the same, accompanied by a detailed statement
thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.
(i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year
the Commission shall:
(1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in
the Public Utility Fund during the preceding fiscal
biennium plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the
beginning of that biennium;
(2) determine the sum total of the following items:
(A) all moneys expended or obligated against

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appropriations made from the Public Utility Fund during
the preceding fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the
credit memoranda then outstanding against the Public
Utility Fund, if any; and
(3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum
determined as provided in item (1) exceeds the amount
determined as provided in item (2).
If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this
subsection exceeds 50% of the previous fiscal year's
appropriation level, the Commission shall then compute the
proportionate amount, if any, which (x) the tax paid hereunder
by each utility during the preceding biennium, and (y) the
amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the preceding
biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Sections 2-9
and 2-11 of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears to the
difference between the amount determined as provided in item
(3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal
year's appropriation level. The Commission shall cause the
proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made
under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be transferred into
the General Revenue Fund in the State Treasury, and notify
each public utility that it may file during the 3 month period
after the date of notification a claim for credit for the
proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made
hereunder by the public utility. If the proportionate amount
is less than $10, no notification will be sent by the

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Commission, and no right to a claim exists as to that amount.
Upon the filing of a claim for credit within the period
provided, the Commission shall issue a credit memorandum in
such amount to such public utility. Any claim for credit filed
after the period provided for in this Section is void.
(i-5) During the month of June October of each year the
Commission shall:
(1) determine the amount of all moneys expected to be
deposited in the Public Utility Fund during the next
current fiscal year, plus the balance, if any, in that
fund at the beginning of that year;
(2) determine the total of all moneys expected to be
expended or obligated against appropriations made from the
Public Utility Fund during the next current fiscal year;
and
(3) determine the amount, if any, by which the amount
determined in paragraph (2) exceeds the amount determined
as provided in paragraph (1).
If the amount determined as provided in paragraph (3) of
this subsection (i-5) results in a deficit, the Commission may
assess electric utilities and gas utilities for the difference
between the amount appropriated for the ordinary and
contingent expenses of the Commission and the amount derived
under paragraph (1) of this subsection (i-5). Such proceeds
shall be deposited in the Public Utility Fund in the State
treasury. The Commission shall apportion that difference among

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those public utilities on the basis of each utility's share of
the total intrastate gross revenues of the utilities subject
to this subsection (i-5). Payments required under this
subsection (i-5) shall be made in the time and manner directed
by the Commission. The Commission shall permit utilities to
recover Illinois Commerce Commission assessments effective
pursuant to this subsection through an automatic adjustment
mechanism that is incorporated into an existing tariff that
recovers costs associated with this Section, or through a
supplemental customer charge.
Within 6 months after the first time assessments are made
under this subsection (i-5), the Commission shall initiate a
docketed proceeding in which it shall consider, in addition to
assessments from electric and gas utilities subject to this
subsection, the raising of assessments from, or the payment of
fees by, water and sewer utilities, entities possessing
certificates of service authority as alternative retail
electric suppliers under Section 16-115 of this Act, entities
possessing certificates of service authority as alternative
gas suppliers under Section 19-110 of this Act, and
telecommunications carriers providing local exchange
telecommunications service or interexchange
telecommunications service under Sections 13-204 or 13-205 of
this Act. The amounts so determined shall be based on the costs
to the agency of the exercise of its regulatory and
supervisory functions with regard to the different industries

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and service providers subject to the proceeding. No less often
than every 3 years after the end of a proceeding under this
subsection (i-5), the Commission shall initiate another
proceeding for that purpose.
The Commission may use this apportionment method until the
docketed proceeding in which the Commission considers the
raising of assessments from other entities subject to its
jurisdiction under this Act has concluded. No credit memoranda
shall be issued pursuant to subsection (i) if the amount
determined as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection
(i-5) results in a deficit.
(j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f) and
credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant
to subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the
date of issuance, against the payment of any amount due during
that period under the tax imposed by subsection (c), or,
subject to reasonable rule of the Commission including
requirement of notification, may be assigned to any other
public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any
application of credit memoranda after the period provided for
in this Section is void.
(k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of
fees, taxes or other charges whenever he shall determine that
the person or public utility will not be liable for payment of
such fees, taxes or charges during the next 24 months and he
determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum would be

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unjust.
(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)
(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 Public Act 84-617
this amendatory Act of 1985 goes into effect (January 1,
1986), 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. A certificate of public convenience and
necessity requiring the transaction of public utility business
in any area of this State shall include authorization to the
public utility receiving the certificate of public convenience
and necessity to construct such plant, equipment, property, or
facility as is provided for under the terms and conditions of
its tariff and as is necessary to provide utility service and
carry out the transaction of public utility business by the
public utility in the designated area.

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(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 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

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consequences for the utility or its customers.
(b-5) As used in this subsection (b-5):
"Qualifying direct current applicant" means an entity that
seeks to provide direct current bulk transmission service for
the purpose of transporting electric energy in interstate
commerce.
"Qualifying direct current project" means a high voltage
direct current electric service line that crosses at least one
Illinois border, the Illinois portion of which is physically
located within the region of the Midcontinent Independent
System Operator, Inc., or its successor organization, and runs
through the counties of Pike, Scott, Greene, Macoupin,
Montgomery, Christian, Shelby, Cumberland, and Clark, is
capable of transmitting electricity at voltages of 345
kilovolts 345kv or above, and may also include associated
interconnected alternating current interconnection facilities
in this State that are part of the proposed project and
reasonably necessary to connect the project with other
portions of the grid.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a
qualifying direct current applicant that does not own,
control, operate, or manage, within this State, any plant,
equipment, or property used or to be used for the transmission
of electricity at the time of its application or of the
Commission's order may file an application on or before
December 31, 2023 with the Commission pursuant to this Section

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or Section 8-406.1 for, and the Commission may grant, a
certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct,
operate, and maintain a qualifying direct current project. The
qualifying direct current applicant may also include in the
application requests for authority under Section 8-503. The
Commission shall grant the application for a certificate of
public convenience and necessity and requests for authority
under Section 8-503 if it finds that the qualifying direct
current applicant and the proposed qualifying direct current
project satisfy the requirements of this subsection and
otherwise satisfy the criteria of this Section or Section
8-406.1 and the criteria of Section 8-503, as applicable to
the application and to the extent such criteria are not
superseded by the provisions of this subsection. The
Commission's order on the application for the certificate of
public convenience and necessity shall also include the
Commission's findings and determinations on the request or
requests for authority pursuant to Section 8-503. Prior to
filing its application under either this Section or Section
8-406.1, the qualifying direct current applicant shall conduct
3 public meetings in accordance with subsection (h) of this
Section. If the qualifying direct current applicant
demonstrates in its application that the proposed qualifying
direct current project is designed to deliver electricity to a
point or points on the electric transmission grid in either or
both the PJM Interconnection, LLC or the Midcontinent

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Independent System Operator, Inc., or their respective
successor organizations, the proposed qualifying direct
current project shall be deemed to be, and the Commission
shall find it to be, for public use. If the qualifying direct
current applicant further demonstrates in its application that
the proposed transmission project has a capacity of 1,000
megawatts or larger and a voltage level of 345 kilovolts or
greater, the proposed transmission project shall be deemed to
satisfy, and the Commission shall find that it satisfies, the
criteria stated in item (1) of subsection (b) of this Section
or in paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of Section 8-406.1, as
applicable to the application, without the taking of
additional evidence on these criteria. Prior to the transfer
of functional control of any transmission assets to a regional
transmission organization, a qualifying direct current
applicant shall request Commission approval to join a regional
transmission organization in an application filed pursuant to
this subsection (b-5) or separately pursuant to Section 7-102
of this Act. The Commission may grant permission to a
qualifying direct current applicant to join a regional
transmission organization if it finds that the membership, and
associated transfer of functional control of transmission
assets, benefits Illinois customers in light of the attendant
costs and is otherwise in the public interest. Nothing in this
subsection (b-5) requires a qualifying direct current
applicant to join a regional transmission organization.

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Nothing in this subsection (b-5) requires the owner or
operator of a high voltage direct current transmission line
that is not a qualifying direct current project to obtain a
certificate of public convenience and necessity to the extent
it is not otherwise required by this Section 8-406 or any other
provision of this Act.
(c) After September 11, 1987 (the effective date of Public
Act 85-377) this amendatory Act of 1987, no construction shall
commence on any new nuclear power plant to be located within
this State, and 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.
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 under subsection (b) of

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this Section, 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 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

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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
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;

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(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
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.
(h) A public utility seeking to construct a high-voltage
electric service line and related facilities (Project) must
show that the utility has held a minimum of 2 pre-filing public
meetings to receive public comment concerning the Project in
each county where the Project is to be located, no earlier than
6 months prior to filing an application for a certificate of
public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Notice
of the public meeting shall be published in a newspaper of
general circulation within the affected county once a week for
3 consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month prior
to the first public meeting. If the Project traverses 2
contiguous counties and where in one county the transmission
line mileage and number of landowners over whose property the
proposed route traverses is one-fifth or less of the

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transmission line mileage and number of such landowners of the
other county, then the utility may combine the 2 pre-filing
meetings in the county with the greater transmission line
mileage and affected landowners. All other requirements
regarding pre-filing meetings shall apply in both counties.
Notice of the public meeting, including a description of the
Project, must be provided in writing to the clerk of each
county where the Project is to be located. A representative of
the Commission shall be invited to each pre-filing public
meeting.
(i) For applications filed after August 18, 2015 (the
effective date of Public Act 99-399) this amendatory Act of
the 99th General Assembly, the Commission shall, by certified
mail, registered mail notify each owner of record of land, as
identified in the records of the relevant county tax assessor,
included in the right-of-way over which the utility seeks in
its application to construct a high-voltage electric line of
the time and place scheduled for the initial hearing on the
public utility's application. The utility shall reimburse the
Commission for the cost of the postage and supplies incurred
for mailing the notice.
(Source: P.A. 102-609, eff. 8-27-21; 102-662, eff. 9-15-21;
revised 10-21-21.)
(220 ILCS 5/8-406.1)
Sec. 8-406.1. Certificate of public convenience and

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necessity; expedited procedure.
(a) A public utility may apply for a certificate of public
convenience and necessity pursuant to this Section for the
construction of any new high voltage electric service line and
related facilities (Project). To facilitate the expedited
review process of an application filed pursuant to this
Section, an application shall include all of the following:
(1) Information in support of the application that
shall include the following:
(A) A detailed description of the Project,
including location maps and plot plans to scale
showing all major components.
(B) The following engineering data:
(i) a detailed Project description including:
(I) name and destination of the Project;
(II) design voltage rating (kV);
(III) operating voltage rating (kV); and
(IV) normal peak operating current rating;
(ii) a conductor, structures, and substations
description including:
(I) conductor size and type;
(II) type of structures;
(III) height of typical structures;
(IV) an explanation why these structures
were selected;
(V) dimensional drawings of the typical

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structures to be used in the Project; and
(VI) a list of the names of all new (and
existing if applicable) substations or
switching stations that will be associated
with the proposed new high voltage electric
service line;
(iii) the location of the site and
right-of-way including:
(I) miles of right-of-way;
(II) miles of circuit;
(III) width of the right-of-way; and
(IV) a brief description of the area
traversed by the proposed high voltage
electric service line, including a description
of the general land uses in the area and the
type of terrain crossed by the proposed line;
(iv) assumptions, bases, formulae, and methods
used in the development and preparation of the
diagrams and accompanying data, and a technical
description providing the following information:
(I) number of circuits, with
identification as to whether the circuit is
overhead or underground;
(II) the operating voltage and frequency;
and
(III) conductor size and type and number

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of conductors per phase;
(v) if the proposed interconnection is an
overhead line, the following additional
information also must be provided:
(I) the wind and ice loading design
parameters;
(II) a full description and drawing of a
typical supporting structure, including
strength specifications;
(III) structure spacing with typical
ruling and maximum spans;
(IV) conductor (phase) spacing; and
(V) the designed line-to-ground and
conductor-side clearances;
(vi) if an underground or underwater
interconnection is proposed, the following
additional information also must be provided:
(I) burial depth;
(II) type of cable and a description of
any required supporting equipment, such as
insulation medium pressurizing or forced
cooling;
(III) cathodic protection scheme; and
(IV) type of dielectric fluid and
safeguards used to limit potential spills in
waterways;

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(vii) technical diagrams that provide
clarification of any item under this item (1)
should be included; and
(viii) applicant shall provide and identify a
primary right-of-way and one or more alternate
rights-of-way for the Project as part of the
filing. To the extent applicable, for each
right-of-way, an applicant shall provide the
information described in this subsection (a). Upon
a showing of good cause in its filing, an
applicant may be excused from providing and
identifying alternate rights-of-way.
(2) An application fee of $100,000, which shall be
paid into the Public Utility Fund at the time the Chief
Clerk of the Commission deems it complete and accepts the
filing.
(3) Information showing that the utility has held a
minimum of 3 pre-filing public meetings to receive public
comment concerning the Project in each county where the
Project is to be located, no earlier than 6 months prior to
the filing of the application. Notice of the public
meeting shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation within the affected county once a week for 3
consecutive weeks, beginning no earlier than one month
prior to the first public meeting. If the Project
traverses 2 contiguous counties and where in one county

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the transmission line mileage and number of landowners
over whose property the proposed route traverses is 1/5 or
less of the transmission line mileage and number of such
landowners of the other county, then the utility may
combine the 3 pre-filing meetings in the county with the
greater transmission line mileage and affected landowners.
All other requirements regarding pre-filing meetings shall
apply in both counties. Notice of the public meeting,
including a description of the Project, must be provided
in writing to the clerk of each county where the Project is
to be located. A representative of the Commission shall be
invited to each pre-filing public meeting.
For applications filed after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the Commission
shall, by certified mail, registered mail notify each owner of
record of the land, as identified in the records of the
relevant county tax assessor, included in the primary or
alternate rights-of-way identified in the utility's
application of the time and place scheduled for the initial
hearing upon the public utility's application. The utility
shall reimburse the Commission for the cost of the postage and
supplies incurred for mailing the notice.
(b) At the first status hearing the administrative law
judge shall set a schedule for discovery that shall take into
consideration the expedited nature of the proceeding.
(c) Nothing in this Section prohibits a utility from

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requesting, or the Commission from approving, protection of
confidential or proprietary information under applicable law.
The public utility may seek confidential protection of any of
the information provided pursuant to this Section, subject to
Commission approval.
(d) The public utility shall publish notice of its
application in the official State newspaper within 10 days
following the date of the application's filing.
(e) The public utility shall establish a dedicated website
for the Project 3 weeks prior to the first public meeting and
maintain the website until construction of the Project is
complete. The website address shall be included in all public
notices.
(f) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, grant
a certificate of public convenience and necessity filed in
accordance with the requirements of this Section if, based
upon the application filed with the Commission and the
evidentiary record, it finds the Project will promote the
public convenience and necessity and that all of the following
criteria are satisfied:
(1) That the Project is necessary to provide adequate,
reliable, and efficient service to the public utility's
customers and is the least-cost means of satisfying the
service needs of the public utility's customers or that
the Project will promote the development of an effectively
competitive electricity market that operates efficiently,

HB4382 Enrolled - 28 - LRB102 21886 SPS 31007 b
is equitable to all customers, and is the least cost means
of satisfying those objectives.
(2) That the public utility is capable of efficiently
managing and supervising the construction process and has
taken sufficient action to ensure adequate and efficient
construction and supervision of the construction.
(3) That the public utility is capable of financing
the proposed construction without significant adverse
financial consequences for the utility or its customers.
(g) The Commission shall issue its decision with findings
of fact and conclusions of law granting or denying the
application no later than 150 days after the application is
filed. The Commission may extend the 150-day deadline upon
notice by an additional 75 days if, on or before the 30th day
after the filing of the application, the Commission finds that
good cause exists to extend the 150-day period.
(h) In the event the Commission grants a public utility's
application for a certificate pursuant to this Section, the
public utility shall pay a one-time construction fee to each
county in which the Project is constructed within 30 days
after the completion of construction. The construction fee
shall be $20,000 per mile of high voltage electric service
line constructed in that county, or a proportionate fraction
of that fee. The fee shall be in lieu of any permitting fees
that otherwise would be imposed by a county. Counties
receiving a payment under this subsection (h) may distribute

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all or portions of the fee to local taxing districts in that
county.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, a
decision granting a certificate under this Section shall
include an order pursuant to Section 8-503 of this Act
authorizing or directing the construction of the high voltage
electric service line and related facilities as approved by
the Commission, in the manner and within the time specified in
said order.
(Source: P.A. 99-399, eff. 8-18-15.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.