Bill Text: IL SB3170 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Chaptered

---

Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that township boards may adopt ordinances under which they may aggregate residential and small commercial retail electrical loads located within the township. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)

Status: (Passed) 2012-07-18 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0823 [SB3170 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB3170-Chaptered.html

---

Public Act 097-0823
SB3170 Enrolled LRB097 17604 CEL 62811 b
AN ACT concerning utilities.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
changing Section 1-92 as follows:
(20 ILCS 3855/1-92)
Sec. 1-92. Aggregation of electrical load by
municipalities, townships, and counties.
(a) The corporate authorities of a municipality, township
board, or county board of a county may adopt an ordinance under
which it may aggregate in accordance with this Section
residential and small commercial retail electrical loads
located, respectively, within the municipality, the township,
or the unincorporated areas of the county and, for that
purpose, may solicit bids and enter into service agreements to
facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity
and related services and equipment.
The corporate authorities, township board, or county board
may also exercise such authority jointly with any other
municipality, township, or county. Two or more municipalities,
townships, or counties, or a combination of both, may initiate
a process jointly to authorize aggregation by a majority vote
of each particular municipality, township, or county as

required by this Section.
If the corporate authorities, township board, or the county
board seek to operate the aggregation program as an opt-out
program for residential and small commercial retail customers,
then prior to the adoption of an ordinance with respect to
aggregation of residential and small commercial retail
electric loads, the corporate authorities of a municipality,
the township board, or the county board of a county shall
submit a referendum to its residents to determine whether or
not the aggregation program shall operate as an opt-out program
for residential and small commercial retail customers.
In addition to the notice and conduct requirements of the
general election law, notice of the referendum shall state
briefly the purpose of the referendum. The question of whether
the corporate authorities, the township board, or the county
board shall adopt an opt-out aggregation program for
residential and small commercial retail customers shall be
submitted to the electors of the municipality, township board,
or county board at a regular election and approved by a
majority of the electors voting on the question. The corporate
authorities, township board, or county board must certify to
the proper election authority, which must submit the question
at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
The election authority must submit the question in
substantially the following form:
Shall the (municipality, township, or county in which

the question is being voted upon) have the authority to
arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential
and small commercial retail customers who have not opted
out of such program?
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then the corporate authorities, township
board, or county board may implement an opt-out aggregation
program for residential and small commercial retail customers.
A referendum must pass in each particular municipality,
township, or county that is engaged in the aggregation program.
If the referendum fails, then the corporate authorities,
township board, or county board shall operate the aggregation
program as an opt-in program for residential and small
commercial retail customers.
An ordinance under this Section shall specify whether the
aggregation will occur only with the prior consent of each
person owning, occupying, controlling, or using an electric
load center proposed to be aggregated. Nothing in this Section,
however, authorizes the aggregation of electric loads that are
served or authorized to be served by an electric cooperative as
defined by and pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act or loads
served by a municipality that owns and operates its own
electric distribution system. No aggregation shall take effect
unless approved by a majority of the members of the corporate
authority, township board, or county board voting upon the

ordinance.
A governmental aggregator under this Section is not a
public utility or an alternative retail electric supplier.
For purposes of this Section, "township" means the portion
of a township that is an unincorporated portion of a county
that is not otherwise a part of a municipality. In addition to
such other limitations as are included in this Section, a
township board shall only have authority to aggregate
residential and small commercial customer loads in accordance
with this Section if the county board of the county in which
the township is located (i) is not also submitting a referendum
to its residents at the same general election that the township
board proposes to submit a referendum under this subsection
(a), (ii) has not received authorization through passage of a
referendum to operate an opt-out aggregation program for
residential and small commercial retail customers under this
subsection (a), and (iii) has not otherwise enacted an
ordinance under this subsection (a) authorizing the operation
of an opt-in aggregation program for residential and small
commercial retail customers as described in this Section.
(b) Upon the applicable requisite authority under this
Section, the corporate authorities, the township board, or the
county board, with assistance from the Illinois Power Agency,
shall develop a plan of operation and governance for the
aggregation program so authorized. Before adopting a plan under
this Section, the corporate authorities, township board, or

county board shall hold at least 2 public hearings on the plan.
Before the first hearing, the corporate authorities, township
board, or county board shall publish notice of the hearings
once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the
plan and state the date, time, and location of each hearing.
Any load aggregation plan established pursuant to this Section
shall:
(1) provide for universal access to all applicable
residential customers and equitable treatment of
applicable residential customers;
(2) describe demand management and energy efficiency
services to be provided to each class of customers; and
(3) meet any requirements established by law
concerning aggregated service offered pursuant to this
Section.
(c) The process for soliciting bids for electricity and
other related services and awarding proposed agreements for the
purchase of electricity and other related services shall be
conducted in the following order:
(1) The corporate authorities, township board, or
county board may solicit bids for electricity and other
related services.
(1.5) A township board shall request from the electric
utility those residential and small commercial customers
within their aggregate area either by zip code or zip codes

or other means as determined by the electric utility. The
electric utility shall then provide to the township board
the residential and small commercial customers, including
the names and addresses of residential and small commercial
customers, electronically. The township board shall be
responsible for authenticating the residential and small
commercial customers contained in this listing and
providing edits of the data to affirm, add, or delete the
residential and small commercial customers located within
its jurisdiction. The township board shall provide the
edited list to the electric utility in an electronic format
or other means selected by the electric utility and certify
that the information is accurate.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 16-122 of the Public
Utilities Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and
Deceptive Business Practices Act, an electric utility that
provides residential and small commercial retail electric
service in the aggregate area must, upon request of the
corporate authorities, township board, or the county board
in the aggregate area, submit to the requesting party, in
an electronic format, those account numbers, names, and
addresses of residential and small commercial retail
customers in the aggregate area that are reflected in the
electric utility's records at the time of the request;
provided, however, that any township board has first
provided an accurate customer list to the electric utility

as provided for herein.
Any corporate authority, township board, or county board
receiving customer information from an electric utility shall
be subject to the limitations on the disclosure of the
information described in Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities
Act and Section 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
Business Practices Act, and an electric utility shall not be
held liable for any claims arising out of the provision of
information pursuant to this item (2).
(d) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
board operate under an opt-in program for residential and small
commercial retail customers, then the corporate authorities,
township board, or county board shall comply with all of the
following:
(1) Within 60 days after receiving the bids, the
corporate authorities, township board, or county board
shall allow residential and small commercial retail
customers to commit to the terms and conditions of a bid
that has been selected by the corporate authorities,
township board, or county board.
(2) If (A) the corporate authorities, township board,
or county board award proposed agreements for the purchase
of electricity and other related services and (B) an
agreement is reached between the corporate authorities,
township board, or county board for those services, then
customers committed to the terms and conditions according

to item (1) of this subsection (d) shall be committed to
the agreement.
(e) If the corporate authorities, township board, or county
board operate as an opt-out program for residential and small
commercial retail customers, then it shall be the duty of the
aggregated entity to fully inform residential and small
commercial retail customers in advance that they have the right
to opt out of the aggregation program. The disclosure shall
prominently state all charges to be made and shall include full
disclosure of the cost to obtain service pursuant to Section
16-103 of the Public Utilities Act, how to access it, and the
fact that it is available to them without penalty, if they are
currently receiving service under that Section. The Illinois
Power Agency shall furnish, without charge, to any citizen a
list of all supply options available to them in a format that
allows comparison of prices and products.
The Illinois Power Agency shall provide assistance to
municipalities, townships, counties, or associations working
with municipalities to help complete the plan and bidding
process.
This Section does not prohibit municipalities or counties
from entering into an intergovernmental agreement to aggregate
residential and small commercial retail electric loads.
(Source: P.A. 96-176, eff. 1-1-10; 97-338, eff. 8-12-11.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.