220 ILCS 5/7-106 — Illinois Code / Chapter 220 / Act 5 / Section 7-106
Section 7-106
Status: in_force

(220 ILCS 5/7-106) Sec. 7-106. (a) Subject to the limitations contained in this Section 7-106, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 6-103 and items (f), (g), and (h) of subsection (A) of Section 7-102 of this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated by the Commission under this Act, a public utility that has filed, pursuant to Section 7-105(d) of this Act, the information described in Section 7-204A(a) of this Act, may, without the approval or consent of, or other prior filing with, the Commission, form, invest moneys denominated in United States dollars in, and guarantee contractual obligations of a subsidiary which engages in any business that provides to persons, corporations, municipal corporations, or other entities that are customers or potential customers of the public utility (i) heating, cooling, or lighting services; (ii) energy management services; or (iii) design, development, construction, engineering, financial, maintenance, management, or consulting services for owners, lessees, managers, or operators of facilities for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity; each such subsidiary is referred to in this Act as a "Section 7-106 subsidiary". (b) Prior to investing in or guaranteeing any contractual obligations of a Section 7-106 subsidiary, the utility shall file with the Commission a statement identifying all public utility assets or information in existence, such as customer lists, which the utility plans to transfer to or permit the Section 7-106 subsidiary or any associate or affiliate of the subsidiary to use, which statement shall include a description of the proposed terms and conditions under which the assets or information will be transferred or used. (c) In any proceeding pending before the Commission to determine the rates to be charged for electric service by a public utility which has a Section 7-106 subsidiary, or which is a subsidiary of a holding company formed under Section 7-105 of this Act, the Commission shall reduce the public utility's rates to reflect the additional amount of revenue it would have earned during the test year if the Section 7-106 subsidiary, such holding company, or any other subsidiary company of such holding company had not provided the customer with the services described in items (i), (ii), and (iii) of subsection (a) of this Section. The Commission shall not reduce the revenues of the public utility unless it finds that there was no reasonable probability that the customer would have obtained the services described in items (i), (ii), and (iii) of subsection (a) of this Section from another source (including the customer), if such subsidiary, holding company, or other subsidiary company had not entered into a contract or arrangement with the customer. A written statement by an employee or authorized agent of the customer that such services are available from other sources (including the customer) and that such agent or employee believes that there was a reasonable probability that the customer would have so obtained such services from another source (including the customer) shall constitute prima facie evidence of such reasonable probability. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as limiting the authority of the Commission with respect to rates under any other Section of this Act. (d) The aggregate amount of a public utility's investments in, and guarantees of, the contractual obligations of Section 7-106 subsidiaries without the approval or consent of, or prior filing with, the Commission, outstanding at the time of and after giving effect to any such investment or guarantee, shall not exceed as of the date of such investment or guarantee an amount equal to the lesser of $170,000,000 or 20% of the retained earnings of the public utility as reported on its most recent annual report to the Commission. The amount of each such guarantee shall be limited to a maximum dollar amount which shall be specified in such guarantee. The terms of each such guarantee shall provide that it shall terminate, and it shall terminate, at the time that the public utility liquidates or transfers to any entity or person, the interest and investment of such public utility in the Section 7-106 subsidiary whose obligations are subject to such guarantee. The authority of a public utility to invest in and guarantee the contractual obligations of a Section 7-106 subsidiary without the approval or consent of, or prior filing with, the Commission, as permitted by this Section 7-106, shall expire on the date such public utility liquidates or transfers its interest and investment in such Section 7-106 subsidiary. (e) The Commission shall not consider the investment of a public utility in or its obligation to make an investment in a Section 7-106 subsidiary, or the guarantee by a public utility of contractual obligations of its Section 7-106 subsidiaries, in considering the amount or terms of any reparations or refunds to be made by such public utility to its customers. (f) On the date that a public utility becomes a subsidiary company of a holding company pursuant to Section 7-105 of this Act, such public utility shall either: (i) liquidate or transfer its interest and investment in its Section 7-106 subsidiaries