Bill Text: IL SB1879 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes: Further amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that an alternative retail electric supplier that is certified to serve residential or small commercial retail customers shall not warrant that it has a residential customer or small commercial retail customer's express consent agreement to access interval data unless the alternative retail electric supplier has taken specified actions or release, sell, license, or otherwise disclose any specified customer interval data obtained. Provides that an alternative retail electric supplier shall be strictly liable under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Public Utilities Act, and any other applicable law for any improper or unauthorized disclosure of customer interval data by it or any entity to which it discloses such customer interval data, regardless of whether such data was disclosed under specified terms. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-30 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0237 [SB1879 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1879-Engrossed.html

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SB1879 Engrossed LRB103 25115 AMQ 51452 b
AN ACT concerning utilities.
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 16-115A and 16-122 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/16-115A)
Sec. 16-115A. Obligations of alternative retail electric
suppliers.
(a) An alternative retail electric supplier:
(i) shall comply with the requirements imposed on
public utilities by Sections 8-201 through 8-207, 8-301,
8-505 and 8-507 of this Act, to the extent that these
Sections have application to the services being offered by
the alternative retail electric supplier;
(ii) shall continue to comply with the requirements
for certification stated in subsection (d) of Section
16-115;
(iii) by May 31, 2020 and every June 30 thereafter,
shall submit to the Commission and the Office of the
Attorney General the rates the retail electric supplier
charged to residential customers in the prior year,
including each distinct rate charged and whether the rate
was a fixed or variable rate, the basis for the variable

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rate, and any fees charged in addition to the supply rate,
including monthly fees, flat fees, or other service
charges; and
(iv) shall make publicly available on its website,
without the need for a customer login, rate information
for all of its variable, time-of-use, and fixed rate
contracts currently available to residential customers,
including, but not limited to, fixed monthly charges,
early termination fees, and kilowatt-hour charges.
(b) An alternative retail electric supplier shall obtain
verifiable authorization from a customer, in a form or manner
approved by the Commission consistent with Section 2EE of the
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, before
the customer is switched from another supplier.
(c) No alternative retail electric supplier, or electric
utility other than the electric utility in whose service area
a customer is located, shall (i) enter into or employ any
arrangements which have the effect of preventing a retail
customer with a maximum electrical demand of less than one
megawatt from having access to the services of the electric
utility in whose service area the customer is located or (ii)
charge retail customers for such access. This subsection shall
not be construed to prevent an arms-length agreement between a
supplier and a retail customer that sets a term of service,
notice period for terminating service and provisions governing
early termination through a tariff or contract as allowed by

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Section 16-119.
(d) An alternative retail electric supplier that is
certified to serve residential or small commercial retail
customers shall not:
(1) deny service to a customer or group of customers
nor establish any differences as to prices, terms,
conditions, services, products, facilities, or in any
other respect, whereby such denial or differences are
based upon race, gender or income, except as provided in
Section 16-115E.
(2) deny service to a customer or group of customers
based on locality nor establish any unreasonable
difference as to prices, terms, conditions, services,
products, or facilities as between localities.
(3) warrant that it has a residential customer or
small commercial retail customer's express consent
agreement to access interval data as described in
subsection (b) of Section 16-122, unless the alternative
retail electric supplier has:
(A) disclosed to the consumer at the outset of the
offer that the alternative retail electric supplier
will access the consumer's interval data from the
consumer's utility with the consumer's express
agreement and the consumer's option to refuse to
provide express agreement to access the consumer's
interval data; and

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(B) obtained the consumer's express agreement for
the alternative retail electric supplier to access the
consumer's interval data from the consumer's utility
in a separate letter of agency, a distinct response to
a third-party verification, or as a separate
affirmative consent during a recorded enrollment
initiated by the consumer. The disclosure by the
alternative retail electric supplier to the consumer
in this Section shall be conducted in, translated
into, and provided in a language in which the consumer
subject to the disclosure is able to understand and
communicate.
(4) release, sell, license, or otherwise disclose any
customer interval data obtained under Section 16-122 to
any third person except as provided for in Section 16-122
and paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d-5) of
Section 2EE of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act.
(e) An alternative retail electric supplier shall comply
with the following requirements with respect to the marketing,
offering and provision of products or services to residential
and small commercial retail customers:
(i) All marketing materials, including, but not
limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person
solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall contain
information that adequately discloses the prices, terms,

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and conditions of the products or services that the
alternative retail electric supplier is offering or
selling to the customer and shall disclose the current
utility electric supply price to compare applicable at the
time the alternative retail electric supplier is offering
or selling the products or services to the customer and
shall disclose the date on which the utility electric
supply price to compare became effective and the date on
which it will expire. The utility electric supply price to
compare shall be the sum of the electric supply charge and
the transmission services charge and shall not include the
purchased electricity adjustment. The disclosure shall
include a statement that the price to compare does not
include the purchased electricity adjustment, and, if
applicable, the range of the purchased electricity
adjustment. All marketing materials, including, but not
limited to, electronic marketing materials, in-person
solicitations, and telephone solicitations, shall include
the following statement:
"(Name of the alternative retail electric
supplier) is not the same entity as your electric
delivery company. You are not required to enroll with
(name of alternative retail electric supplier).
Beginning on (effective date), the electric supply
price to compare is (price in cents per kilowatt
hour). The electric utility electric supply price will

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expire on (expiration date). The utility electric
supply price to compare does not include the purchased
electricity adjustment factor. For more information go
to the Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at
www.pluginillinois.org.".
If applicable, the statement shall also include the
following statement:
"The purchased electricity adjustment factor may
range between +.5 cents and -.5 cents per kilowatt
hour.".
This paragraph (i) does not apply to goodwill or
institutional advertising.
(ii) Before any customer is switched from another
supplier, the alternative retail electric supplier shall
give the customer written information that adequately
discloses, in plain language, the prices, terms and
conditions of the products and services being offered and
sold to the customer. This written information shall be
provided in a language in which the customer subject to
the marketing or solicitation is able to understand and
communicate, and the alternative retail electric supplier
shall not switch a customer who is unable to understand
and communicate in a language in which the marketing or
solicitation was conducted. The alternative retail
electric supplier shall comply with Section 2N of the
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

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(iii) An alternative retail electric supplier shall
provide documentation to the Commission and to customers
that substantiates any claims made by the alternative
retail electric supplier regarding the technologies and
fuel types used to generate the electricity offered or
sold to customers.
(iv) The alternative retail electric supplier shall
provide to the customer (1) itemized billing statements
that describe the products and services provided to the
customer and their prices, and (2) an additional
statement, at least annually, that adequately discloses
the average monthly prices, and the terms and conditions,
of the products and services sold to the customer.
(v) All in-person and telephone solicitations shall be
conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language
in which the consumer subject to the marketing or
solicitation is able to understand and communicate. An
alternative retail electric supplier shall terminate a
solicitation if the consumer subject to the marketing or
communication is unable to understand and communicate in
the language in which the marketing or solicitation is
being conducted. An alternative retail electric supplier
shall comply with Section 2N of the Consumer Fraud and
Deceptive Business Practices Act.
(vi) Each alternative retail electric supplier shall
conduct training for individual representatives engaged in

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in-person solicitation and telemarketing to residential
customers on behalf of that alternative retail electric
supplier prior to conducting any such solicitations on the
alternative retail electric supplier's behalf. Each
alternative retail electric supplier shall submit a copy
of its training material to the Commission on an annual
basis and the Commission shall have the right to review
and require updates to the material. After initial
training, each alternative retail electric supplier shall
be required to conduct refresher training for its
individual representatives every 6 months.
(f) An alternative retail electric supplier may limit the
overall size or availability of a service offering by
specifying one or more of the following: a maximum number of
customers, maximum amount of electric load to be served, time
period during which the offering will be available, or other
comparable limitation, but not including the geographic
locations of customers within the area which the alternative
retail electric supplier is certificated to serve. The
alternative retail electric supplier shall file the terms and
conditions of such service offering including the applicable
limitations with the Commission prior to making the service
offering available to customers.
(g) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as
preventing an alternative retail electric supplier, which is
an affiliate of, or which contracts with, (i) an industry or

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trade organization or association, (ii) a membership
organization or association that exists for a purpose other
than the purchase of electricity, or (iii) another
organization that meets criteria established in a rule adopted
by the Commission, from offering through the organization or
association services at prices, terms and conditions that are
available solely to the members of the organization or
association.
(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-459, eff. 8-20-21.)
(220 ILCS 5/16-122)
Sec. 16-122. Customer information.
(a) Upon the request of a retail customer, or a person who
presents verifiable authorization and is acting as the
customer's agent, and payment of a reasonable fee, electric
utilities shall provide to the customer or its authorized
agent the customer's billing and usage data.
(b) Upon request from any alternative retail electric
supplier and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility
serving retail customers in its service area shall make
available generic information concerning the usage, load shape
curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate
classification. Provided however, no customer specific
billing, usage or load shape data shall be provided under this
subsection unless authorization to provide such information is
provided by the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this

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Section.
Notwithstanding the requirements of this Section, if an
alternative retail electric supplier warrants to an electric
utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers that the
alternative retail electric supplier's customer has provided
consent as described in subsection (d-5) of Section 2EE of the
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, then
until either the customer contacts the alternative retail
electric supplier to opt out or the customer is no longer
served by the alternative retail electric supplier:
(1) An electric utility serving more than 500,000
retail customers shall electronically transmit interval
meter usage data at the end of each monthly billing period
for each residential retail customer for which the
alternative retail electric supplier is providing electric
power and energy supply service, for which the alternative
retail electric supplier has requested such information,
and for which the electric utility meters the residential
customer using automated metering infrastructure
equipment. Such data transmission shall occur no later
than one business day after the electric utility serving
more than 500,000 retail customers validates the interval
meter usage data with the monthly billing period for such
residential retail customer through an electronic data
interchange or secure interface for which the alternative
retail electric supplier has requested such information

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and upon payment of a reasonable and amortized fee to
recover the utility's prudently and reasonably incurred
costs, approved by the Commission after notice and
hearing, to provide this service. The interval meter usage
data shall be provided at a minimum on an hourly basis or
on a 30-minute basis. In addition, not later than the
following day, the electric utility shall provide
unverified interval data through an electronic data
interchange or secure interface for which the alternative
retail electric supplier has requested such information
and upon payment of a reasonable and amortized fee to
recover the utility's prudently and reasonably incurred
costs, approved by the Commission after notice and
hearing, to provide this service. The unverified interval
meter usage data shall be provided at a minimum on an
hourly basis or on a 30-minute basis. The same processes
shall apply for nonresidential retail customers.
(2) An electric utility serving more than 500,000
retail customers shall submit tariffs to the Commission
for approval within 120 days of the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly to meet the
minimum requirements of paragraph (1) and provide such
services no later than June 1, 2025. The Commission shall
issue an order approving, or approving with modification
to ensure compliance with this Section, the tariff no
later than 240 days after such filing of the tariffs filed

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as described in this Section.
(3) Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 103rd
General Assembly prohibits such utility proposing new
tariffs as described in Article IX to the extent such
tariffs are consistent with the requirements of this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. Nothing in
this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall
require such electric utility to alter its tariffs or
practices to the extent that they: (i) provide interval
data with shorter intervals; (ii) provide interval data
more frequently than monthly; or (iii) provide other
enhancements beyond the minimum standards required by
paragraph (1).
(4) An alternative retail electric supplier shall use
such interval meter usage data exclusively for the
development, marketing, and provision of current and
future products and services to enable such customers to
more easily and effectively manage their energy
consumption, including, but not limited to, time-of-use
pricing, demand response, energy efficiency or management,
beneficial electrification, on-site or community
generation, or any other electricity-related products or
services or customer billing or as otherwise authorized by
the Commission.
(5) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
sell interval data obtained under this Section. An

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alternative retail electric supplier shall not provide,
share, or otherwise disclose a consumer's interval meter
data obtained under this Section, except an alternative
retail electric supplier may license or disclose a
customer's interval meter data obtained under this Section
if the following conditions are met: (i) the license or
disclosure is made to an alternative retail electric
supplier's affiliate or a third party with which the
alternative retail electric supplier has a contract; (ii)
the disclosure of a customer's interval meter data is made
only to perform the following functions on behalf of the
alternative retail electric supplier: billing and
invoicing, administration of the product or service
provided to the customer, or pricing products and services
for the customer; and (iii) the alternative retail
electric supplier maintains responsibility for ensuring
that its affiliates and contracted third parties purge
such data upon termination of their contract, ownership,
affiliation, or license or other agreement, or to the
extent that the customer interval data is no longer
necessary for the affiliate or contracted third party to
perform the function for which the customer interval data
was provided. An alternative retail electric supplier may
not provide a customer's interval meter data obtained
under this Section to a sales agent, broker, or consultant
for the purpose of marketing to that specific customer. An

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alternative retail electric supplier shall be strictly
liable under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act, this Act, and any other applicable law for
any improper or unauthorized disclosure of customer
interval data by it or any entity to which it discloses
such customer interval data, regardless of whether such
data was disclosed under the terms of this Section.
(6) Nothing in this Section prohibits an electric
utility serving more than 500,000 retail customers from
providing interval metering data to an alternative retail
electric supplier as otherwise authorized by law or order
of the Commission.
(7) The Commission shall set such fee, after notice
and hearing pursuant to paragraph (1) and cost recovery to
provide data or services, including any and all data or
services provided or proposed under paragraphs (1) through
(3) or otherwise authorized by this amendatory Act of the
103rd General Assembly, which shall be designed to obtain
cost recovery solely from alternative retail electric
suppliers. The fee shall be paid by all alternative retail
electric suppliers that are authorized to provide service
to residential customers in the electric utility's service
territory on a periodic basis as set forth in the tariff.
The Commission shall not establish a fee that is so high as
to deter competition or competitive supply offerings in
the State, or deny a utility a reasonable opportunity to

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recover its cost of providing public utility service
pursuant to this Act. The Commission may at any time
review the reasonableness of the fee established pursuant
to this Section upon its own motion or petition of an
interested party.
(c) Upon request from a unit of local government and
payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility shall make
available information concerning the usage, load shape curves,
and other characteristics of customers by customer
classification and location within the boundaries of the unit
of local government, however, no customer specific billing,
usage, or load shape data shall be provided under this
subsection unless authorization to provide that information is
provided by the customer. This subsection (c) does not
prohibit an electric utility from providing a unit of local
government or its designated auditor the materials delineated
in Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code for the
purposes of an audit under that Section.
(d) All such customer information shall be made available
in a timely fashion in an electronic format, if available.
(Source: P.A. 102-1144, eff. 3-17-23.)
Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2EE as follows:
(815 ILCS 505/2EE)

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Sec. 2EE. Alternative retail electric supplier selection.
(a) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
submit or execute a change in a consumer's selection of a
provider of electric service unless and until:
(i) the alternative retail electric supplier first
discloses all material terms and conditions of the offer
to the consumer;
(ii) if the consumer is a small commercial retail
customer as that term is defined in subsection (c) of this
Section or a residential consumer, the alternative retail
electric supplier discloses the utility electric supply
price to compare, which shall be the sum of the electric
supply charge and the transmission services charge, and
shall not include the purchased electricity adjustment,
applicable at the time the offer is made to the consumer;
(iii) if the consumer is a small commercial retail
customer as that term is defined in subsection (c) of this
Section or a residential consumer, the alternative retail
electric provider discloses the following statement:
"(Name of the alternative retail electric
supplier) is not the same entity as your electric
delivery company. You are not required to enroll with
(name of alternative retail electric supplier). As of
(effective date), the electric supply price to compare
is currently (price in cents per kilowatt hour). The
electric utility electric supply price will expire on

SB1879 Engrossed - 17 - LRB103 25115 AMQ 51452 b
(expiration date). The utility electric supply price
to compare does not include the purchased electricity
adjustment factor. For more information go to the
Illinois Commerce Commission's free website at
www.pluginillinois.org.".
If applicable, the statement shall include the
following statement:
"The purchased electricity adjustment factor may
range between +.5 cents and -.5 cents per kilowatt
hour.";
(iv) the alternative retail electric supplier has
obtained the consumer's express agreement to accept the
offer after the disclosure of all material terms and
conditions of the offer; and
(v) the alternative retail electric supplier has
confirmed the request for a change in accordance with one
of the following procedures:
(A) The new alternative retail electric supplier
has obtained the consumer's written or electronically
signed authorization in a form that meets the
following requirements:
(1) An alternative retail electric supplier
shall obtain any necessary written or
electronically signed authorization from a
consumer for a change in electric service by using
a letter of agency as specified in this Section.

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Any letter of agency that does not conform with
this Section is invalid.
(2) The letter of agency shall be a separate
document (an easily separable document containing
only the authorization language described in
subparagraph (5)) whose sole purpose is to
authorize an electric service provider change. The
letter of agency must be signed and dated by the
consumer requesting the electric service provider
change.
(3) The letter of agency shall not be combined
with inducements of any kind on the same document.
(4) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (1) and (2),
the letter of agency may be combined with checks
that contain only the required letter of agency
language prescribed in subparagraph (5) and the
necessary information to make the check a
negotiable instrument. The letter of agency check
shall not contain any promotional language or
material. The letter of agency check shall contain
in easily readable, bold-face type on the face of
the check, a notice that the consumer is
authorizing an electric service provider change by
signing the check. The letter of agency language
also shall be placed near the signature line on
the back of the check.

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(5) At a minimum, the letter of agency must be
printed with a print of sufficient size to be
clearly legible, and must contain clear and
unambiguous language that confirms:
(i) The consumer's billing name and
address;
(ii) The decision to change the electric
service provider from the current provider to
the prospective provider;
(iii) The terms, conditions, and nature of
the service to be provided to the consumer
must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed,
in writing, and an alternative retail electric
supplier must directly establish the rates for
the service contracted for by the consumer;
and
(iv) That the consumer understand that any
alternative retail electric supplier selection
the consumer chooses may involve a charge to
the consumer for changing the consumer's
electric service provider.
(6) Letters of agency shall not suggest or
require that a consumer take some action in order
to retain the consumer's current electric service
provider.
(7) If any portion of a letter of agency is

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translated into another language, then all
portions of the letter of agency must be
translated into that language.
(B) An appropriately qualified independent third
party has obtained, in accordance with the procedures
set forth in this subsection (b), the consumer's oral
authorization to change electric suppliers that
confirms and includes appropriate verification data.
The independent third party (i) must not be owned,
managed, controlled, or directed by the supplier or
the supplier's marketing agent; (ii) must not have any
financial incentive to confirm supplier change
requests for the supplier or the supplier's marketing
agent; and (iii) must operate in a location physically
separate from the supplier or the supplier's marketing
agent.
Automated third-party verification systems and
3-way conference calls may be used for verification
purposes so long as the other requirements of this
subsection (b) are satisfied.
A supplier or supplier's sales representative
initiating a 3-way conference call or a call through
an automated verification system must drop off the
call once the 3-way connection has been established.
All third-party verification methods shall elicit,
at a minimum, the following information: (i) the

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identity of the consumer; (ii) confirmation that the
person on the call is the account holder, has been
specifically and explicitly authorized by the account
holder, or possesses lawful authority to make the
supplier change; (iii) confirmation that the person on
the call wants to make the supplier change; (iv) the
names of the suppliers affected by the change; (v) the
service address of the supply to be switched; and (vi)
the price of the service to be supplied and the
material terms and conditions of the service being
offered, including whether any early termination fees
apply. Third-party verifiers may not market the
supplier's services by providing additional
information, including information regarding
procedures to block or otherwise freeze an account
against further changes.
All third-party verifications shall be conducted
in the same language that was used in the underlying
sales transaction and shall be recorded in their
entirety. Submitting suppliers shall maintain and
preserve audio records of verification of subscriber
authorization for a minimum period of 2 years after
obtaining the verification. Automated systems must
provide consumers with an option to speak with a live
person at any time during the call. Each disclosure
made during the third-party verification must be made

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individually to obtain clear acknowledgment of each
disclosure. The alternative retail electric supplier
must be in a location where he or she cannot hear the
customer while the third-party verification is
conducted. The alternative retail electric supplier
shall not contact the customer after the third-party
verification for a period of 24 hours unless the
customer initiates the contact.
(C) When a consumer initiates the call to the
prospective alternative retail electric supplier, in
order to enroll the consumer as a customer, the
prospective alternative retail electric supplier must,
with the consent of the customer, make a date-stamped,
time-stamped audio recording that elicits, at a
minimum, the following information:
(1) the identity of the customer;
(2) confirmation that the person on the call
is authorized to make the supplier change;
(3) confirmation that the person on the call
wants to make the supplier change;
(4) the names of the suppliers affected by the
change;
(5) the service address of the supply to be
switched; and
(6) the price of the service to be supplied
and the material terms and conditions of the

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service being offered, including whether any early
termination fees apply.
Submitting suppliers shall maintain and preserve
the audio records containing the information set forth
above for a minimum period of 2 years.
(b)(1) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
utilize the name of a public utility in any manner that is
deceptive or misleading, including, but not limited to,
implying or otherwise leading a consumer to believe that an
alternative retail electric supplier is soliciting on behalf
of or is an agent of a utility. An alternative retail electric
supplier shall not utilize the name, or any other identifying
insignia, graphics, or wording that has been used at any time
to represent a public utility company or its services, to
identify, label, or define any of its electric power and
energy service offers. An alternative retail electric supplier
may state the name of a public electric utility in order to
accurately describe the electric utility service territories
in which the supplier is currently offering an electric power
and energy service. An alternative retail electric supplier
that is the affiliate of an Illinois public utility and that
was doing business in Illinois providing alternative retail
electric service on January 1, 2016 may continue to use that
public utility's name, logo, identifying insignia, graphics,
or wording in its business operations occurring outside the
service territory of the public utility with which it is

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affiliated.
(2) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
state or otherwise imply that the alternative retail electric
supplier is employed by, representing, endorsed by, or acting
on behalf of a utility or utility program, a consumer group or
consumer group program, or a governmental body, unless the
alternative retail electric supplier has entered into a
contractual arrangement with the governmental body and has
been authorized by the governmental body to make the
statements.
(c) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
submit or execute a change in a consumer's selection of a
provider of electric service unless the alternative retail
electric supplier complies with the following requirements of
this subsection (c). It is a violation of this Section for an
alternative retail electric supplier to fail to comply with
this subsection (c). The requirements of this subsection (c)
shall only apply to residential and small commercial retail
customers. For purposes of this subsection (c) only, "small
commercial retail customer" has the meaning given to that term
in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
(1) During a solicitation an alternative retail
electric supplier shall state that he or represents an
independent seller of electric power and energy service
certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission and that he
or she is not employed by, representing, endorsed by, or

SB1879 Engrossed - 25 - LRB103 25115 AMQ 51452 b
acting on behalf of, a utility, or a utility program, a
consumer group or consumer group program, or a
governmental body, unless the alternative retail electric
supplier has entered into a contractual arrangement with
the governmental body and has been authorized with the
governmental body to make the statements.
(2) Alternative retail electric suppliers who engage
in in-person solicitation for the purpose of selling
electric power and energy service offered by the
alternative retail electric supplier shall display
identification on an outer garment. This identification
shall be visible at all times and prominently display the
following: (i) the alternative retail electric supplier
agent's full name in reasonable size font; (ii) an agent
identification number; (iii) a photograph of the
alternative retail electric supplier agent; and (iv) the
trade name and logo of the alternative retail electric
supplier the agent is representing. If the agent is
selling electric power and energy services from multiple
alternative retail electric suppliers to the consumer, the
identification shall display the trade name and logo of
the agent, broker, or consultant entity as that entity is
defined in Section 16-115C of the Public Utilities Act. An
alternative retail electric supplier shall leave the
premises at the consumer's, owner's, or occupant's
request. A copy of the Uniform Disclosure Statement

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described in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 412.115 and 412.Appendix A
is to be left with the consumer, at the conclusion of the
visit unless the consumer refuses to accept a copy. An
alternative retail electric supplier may provide the
Uniform Disclosure Statement electronically instead of in
paper form to a consumer upon that customer's request. The
alternative retail electric supplier shall also offer to
the consumer, at the time of the initiation of the
solicitation, a business card or other material that lists
the agent's name, identification number and title, and the
alternative retail electric supplier's name and contact
information, including phone number. The alternative
retail electric supplier shall not conduct any in-person
solicitations of consumers at any building or premises
where any sign, notice, or declaration of any description
whatsoever is posted that prohibits sales, marketing, or
solicitations. The alternative retail electric supplier
shall obtain consent to enter multi-unit residential
dwellings. Consent obtained to enter a multi-unit dwelling
from one prospective customer or occupant of the dwelling
shall not constitute consent to market to any other
prospective consumers without separate consent.
(3) An alternative retail electric supplier who
contacts consumers by telephone for the purpose of selling
electric power and energy service shall provide the
agent's name and identification number. Any telemarketing

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solicitations that lead to a telephone enrollment of a
consumer must be recorded and retained for a minimum of 2
years. All telemarketing calls of consumers that do not
lead to a telephone enrollment, but last at least 2
minutes, shall be recorded and retained for a minimum of 6
months.
(4) During an inbound enrollment call, an alternative
retail electric supplier shall state that he or she
represents an independent seller of electric power and
energy service certified by the Illinois Commerce
Commission. All inbound enrollment calls that lead to an
enrollment shall be recorded, and the recordings shall be
retained for a minimum of 2 years. An inbound enrollment
call that does not lead to an enrollment, but lasts at
least 2 minutes, shall be retained for a minimum of 6
months. The alternative retail electric supplier shall
send the Uniform Disclosure Statement and contract to the
customer within 3 business days after the electric
utility's confirmation to the alternative retail electric
supplier of an accepted enrollment.
(5) If a direct mail solicitation to a consumer
includes a written letter of agency, it shall include the
Uniform Disclosure Statement described in 83 Ill. Adm.
Code 412.115 and 412.Appendix A. The Uniform Disclosure
Statement shall be provided on a separate page from the
other marketing materials included in the direct mail

SB1879 Engrossed - 28 - LRB103 25115 AMQ 51452 b
solicitation. If a written letter of agency is being used
to authorize a consumer's enrollment, the written letter
of agency shall comply with this Section. A copy of the
contract must be sent to the consumer within 3 business
days after the electric utility's confirmation to the
alternative retail electric supplier of an accepted
enrollment.
(6) Online Solicitation.
(A) Each alternative retail electric supplier
offering electric power and energy service to
consumers online shall clearly and conspicuously make
all disclosures for any services offered through
online enrollment before requiring the consumer to
enter any personal information other than zip code,
electric utility service territory, or type of service
sought.
(B) Notwithstanding any requirements in this
Section to the contrary, an alternative retail
electric supplier may secure consent from the consumer
to obtain customer-specific billing and usage
information for the sole purpose of determining and
pricing a product through a letter of agency or method
approved through an Illinois Commerce Commission
docket before making all disclosure for services
offered through online enrollment. It is a violation
of this Act for an alternative retail electric

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supplier to use a consumer's utility account number to
execute or change a consumer's enrollment unless the
consumer expressly consents to that enrollment as
required by law.
(C) The enrollment website of the alternative
retail electric supplier shall, at a minimum, include:
(i) disclosure of all material terms and conditions of
the offer; (ii) a statement that electronic acceptance
of the terms and conditions is an agreement to
initiate service and begin enrollment; (iii) a
statement that the consumer shall review the contract
or contact the current supplier to learn if any early
termination fees are applicable; and (iv) an email
address and toll-free phone number of the alternative
retail electric supplier where the customer can
express a decision to rescind the contract.
(7)(A) Beginning January 1, 2020, an alternative
retail electric supplier shall not sell or offer to sell
any products or services to a consumer pursuant to a
contract in which the contract automatically renews,
unless an alternative retail electric supplier provides to
the consumer at the outset of the offer, in addition to
other disclosures required by law, a separate written
statement titled "Automatic Contract Renewal" that clearly
and conspicuously discloses in bold lettering in at least
12-point font the terms and conditions of the automatic

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contract renewal provision, including: (i) the estimated
bill cycle on which the initial contract term expires and
a statement that it could be later based on when the
utility accepts the initial enrollment; (ii) the estimated
bill cycle on which the new contract term begins and a
statement that it will immediately follow the last billing
cycle of the current term; (iii) the procedure to
terminate the contract before the new contract term
applies; and (iv) the cancellation procedure. If the
alternative retail electric supplier sells or offers to
sell the products or services to a consumer during an
in-person solicitation or telemarketing solicitation, the
disclosures described in this subparagraph (A) shall also
be made to the consumer verbally during the solicitation.
Nothing in this subparagraph (A) shall be construed to
apply to contracts entered into before January 1, 2020.
(B) At least 30 days before, but not more than 60
days prior, to the end of the initial contract term, in
any and all contracts that automatically renew after
the initial term, the alternative retail electric
supplier shall send, in addition to other disclosures
required by law, a separate written notice of the
contract renewal to the consumer that clearly and
conspicuously discloses the following:
(i) a statement printed or visible from the
outside of the envelope or in the subject line of

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the email, if the customer has agreed to receive
official documents by email, that states "Contract
Renewal Notice";
(ii) a statement in bold lettering, in at
least 12-point font, that the contract will
automatically renew unless the customer cancels
it;
(iii) the billing cycle in which service under
the current term will expire;
(iv) the billing cycle in which service under
the new term will begin;
(v) the process and options available to the
consumer to reject the new contract terms;
(vi) the cancellation process if the
consumer's contract automatically renews before
the consumer rejects the new contract terms;
(vii) the terms and conditions of the new
contract term;
(viii) for a fixed rate contract, a
side-by-side comparison of the current price and
the new price; for a variable rate contract or
time-of-use product in which the first month's
renewal price can be determined, a side-by-side
comparison of the current price and the price for
the first month of the new variable or time-of-use
price; or for a variable or time-of-use contract

SB1879 Engrossed - 32 - LRB103 25115 AMQ 51452 b
based on a publicly available index, a
side-by-side comparison of the current formula and
the new formula; and
(ix) the phone number and Internet address to
submit a consumer inquiry or complaint to the
Illinois Commerce Commission and the Office of the
Attorney General.
(C) An alternative retail electric supplier shall
not automatically renew a consumer's enrollment after
the current term of the contract expires when the
current term of the contract provides that the
consumer will be charged a fixed rate and the renewed
contract provides that the consumer will be charged a
variable rate, unless: (i) the alternative retail
electric supplier complies with subparagraphs (A) and
(B); and (ii) the customer expressly consents to the
contract renewal in writing or by electronic signature
at least 30 days, but no more than 60 days, before the
contract expires.
(D) This paragraph (7) does not apply to customers
enrolled in a municipal aggregation program pursuant
to Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.
(8) All in-person and telephone solicitations shall be
conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language
in which the consumer subject to the marketing or
solicitation is able to understand and communicate. An

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alternative retail electric supplier shall terminate a
solicitation if the consumer subject to the marketing or
communication is unable to understand and communicate in
the language in which the marketing or solicitation is
being conducted. An alternative retail electric supplier
shall comply with Section 2N of this Act.
(9) Beginning January 1, 2020, consumers shall have
the right to terminate their contract with the alternative
retail electric supplier at any time without any
termination fees or penalties.
(10) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
submit a change to a customer's electric service provider
in violation of Section 16-115E of the Public Utilities
Act.
(d) Complaints may be filed with the Illinois Commerce
Commission under this Section by a consumer whose electric
service has been provided by an alternative retail electric
supplier in a manner not in compliance with this Section or by
the Illinois Commerce Commission on its own motion when it
appears to the Commission that an alternative retail electric
supplier has provided service in a manner not in compliance
with this Section. If, after notice and hearing, the
Commission finds that an alternative retail electric supplier
has violated this Section, the Commission may in its
discretion do any one or more of the following:
(1) Require the violating alternative retail electric

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supplier to refund to the consumer charges collected in
excess of those that would have been charged by the
consumer's authorized electric service provider.
(2) Require the violating alternative retail electric
supplier to pay to the consumer's authorized electric
service provider the amount the authorized electric
service provider would have collected for the electric
service. The Commission is authorized to reduce this
payment by any amount already paid by the violating
alternative retail electric supplier to the consumer's
authorized provider for electric service.
(3) Require the violating alternative retail electric
supplier to pay a fine of up to $10,000 into the Public
Utility Fund for each violation of this Section.
(4) Issue a cease and desist order.
(5) For a pattern of violation of this Section or for
violations that continue after a cease and desist order,
revoke the violating alternative retail electric
supplier's certificate of service authority.
(d-5)(1) Before an alternative retail electric supplier
may warrant that it has a residential customer or small
commercial retail customer's express consent agreement to
access interval data as described in subsection (b) of Section
16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, the alternative retail
electric supplier shall: (i) disclose to the consumer at the
outset of the offer that the alternative retail electric

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supplier will access the consumer's interval data from the
consumer's utility with the consumer's express agreement, and
the consumer's option to refuse to provide express agreement
to access the consumer's interval data; and (ii) obtain the
consumer's express agreement for the alternative retail
electric supplier to access the consumer's interval data from
the consumer's utility in a separate letter of agency, a
distinct response to a third-party verification, or during a
recorded enrollment initiated by the consumer with the
consumer's consent. The disclosure by the alternative retail
electric supplier to the consumer in this Section shall be
conducted in, translated into, and provided in a language in
which the consumer subject to the disclosure is able to
understand and communicate.
(2) Before an alternative retail electric supplier may
warrant to an electric utility that it has an express
agreement from a residential customer or small commercial
retail customer who was enrolled with the alternative retail
electric supplier prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly to access the
consumer's interval data as described in subsection (b)of
Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, an alternative
retail electric supplier shall: (i) disclose to the consumer
that the alternative retail electric supplier will access the
consumer's interval data from the consumer's utility with the
consumer's express agreement, which is a material change to

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the consumer's existing contract terms, and the consumer's
option to refuse to provide express agreement to access the
consumer's interval data; and (ii) obtain the consumer's
express agreement for the alternative retail electric supplier
to change the consumer's material contract terms to access the
consumer's interval data from the consumer's utility in a
separate letter of agency, a distinct response to a
third-party verification, or during a recorded enrollment
initiated by the consumer with the consumer's consent. The
disclosure by the alternative retail electric supplier to the
consumer in this Section shall be conducted in, translated
into, and provided in a language in which the consumer subject
to the disclosure is able to understand and communicate.
(3) An alternative retail electric supplier may refuse to
enroll or may disenroll a residential customer or small
commercial retail customer in a product or service as
described in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Section 16-122
of the Public Utilities Act if the residential customer or
small commercial retail customer does not provide or revokes
consent under this subsection.
(4) An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
warrant that it has a non residential customer's, other than a
small commercial retail customer, consent to access interval
data as described in subsection (b) of Section 16-122 of the
Public Utilities Act unless the contract between the
alternative retail electric supplier and the customer

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explicitly provides the alternative retail electric supplier
with permission to access the customer's interval meter usage
data. An alternative retail electric supplier shall not
release, sell, license, or otherwise disclose any customer
interval data obtained under Section 16-122 of the Public
Utilities Act to any third person except as provided for in
Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act.
(e) For purposes of this Section:
"Electric service provider" shall have the meaning given
that phrase in Section 6.5 of the Attorney General Act.
"Alternative retail electric supplier" has the meaning
given to that term in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities
Act.
(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20; 102-958, eff. 1-1-23;
revised 12-13-22.)