220 ILCS 5/16-114.1
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 220 - UTILITIES|220 ILCS 5/ - Public Utilities Act.|Article XVI - Electric Service Customer Choice And Rate Relief Law Of 1997

Sec. 16-114.1.         Recovery of decommissioning costs in connection with  nuclear power plant sale agreement.(a) An electric utility owning a single-unit nuclear power plant located in  this State which enters into an agreement to sell the nuclear power plant and  as  part of such agreement agrees:  (i) to make contributions to a tax-qualified  decommissioning trust or  non-tax qualified decommissioning trust, or both, as defined in Section  8-508.1 for the nuclear power plant, in specified amounts or for a specified  period of time, after the sale is consummated, or (ii) to purchase an  insurance instrument which provides for the payment of  all or a specified amount of the decommissioning costs of the nuclear power  plant,  shall be entitled, in the case of item (i), to maintain such  decommissioning trusts for the purpose of receiving such contributions  after the consummation of the sale, to implement revisions to its  decommissioning rate in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section, and to  transfer such decommissioning trusts, or the balance in the trusts,  to the buyer of the nuclear power plant in accordance with the agreement  of sale, and in the case of item (ii), to implement revisions to its  decommissioning rate in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section.(b) An electric utility entering into an agreement of sale described in  subsection (a)(i) of this Section shall be entitled to file a petition with the  Commission for entry of an order authorizing the electric utility (i) to  amortize its liability for decommissioning costs pursuant to the agreement of  sale over the period of time in which the electric utility is required by such  agreement to make  additional contributions to the tax-qualified decommissioning trust, the  non-tax qualified decommissioning trust, or both, and (ii) to revise its  decommissioning  rate to a level that will recover, over the time period specified in the  agreement of sale, an annual amount equal to the electric utility's annual  contributions to the decommissioning trusts which are required by the  agreement of sale multiplied by the percentage of the output of the nuclear  power plant which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to  purchase in each such year.(c) An electric utility entering into an agreement of sale described in  subsection (a)(ii) shall be entitled to file a petition with the Commission for  entry of an order authorizing the electric utility to revise its  decommissioning rate to a level that will recover, over 5 years, the electric  utility's cost of purchasing the insurance instrument multiplied by the  percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which the agreement of sale  obligates the electric utility to purchase in each such year.(d) An electric utility's petition pursuant to subsection (b) or subsection  (c) shall state the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant which  the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase from the new  owner of the nuclear power plant in each of the years for which the electric  utility is seeking to implement a revised decommissioning rate.  The electric utility's petition shall also state that the electric utility  agrees, as conditions of the Commission's order and the implementation of  the revised decommissioning rate, (i) to file revisions, pursuant to Section  16-111(f), to its base rate tariffs applicable to retail customers subject to  the electric utility's decommissioning rate reducing such tariffs, and (ii) to  file revisions to its transition charge tariffs applicable to retail customers  subject to the electric utility's decommissioning rate incorporating a  credit into the calculation of the electric utility's transition charges in  accordance with this subsection.  The reduction and the credit  shall be in an amount per kilowatt-hour of electricity  sold or delivered to retail customers equal to (i) the electric utility's  decommissioning rate authorized by the Commission's order in accordance with  subsection (b)(ii) or (c), as applicable, less (ii) the product of the electric  utility's decommissioning rate in effect immediately prior to the agreement of  sale multiplied by the percentage of the output of the nuclear power plant  which the agreement of sale obligates the electric utility to purchase from the  new owner of the nuclear power plant.  The Commission shall issue an order  granting the petition within 30 days after the petition is filed.  The Commission's order shall state the aggregate total amount which the  order  is authorizing the electric utility to collect through its decommissioning  rate.  The  Commission's order shall state that the effectiveness of the revisions to the  electric utility's decommissioning rate shall be conditioned on the filing by  the electric utility of the revisions reducing its base rate tariffs and  providing for credits to its transition charge tariffs as specified in this  subsection.  Upon completion of the collection of the total amount which the Commission's  order authorizes the electric utility to collect through its decommissioning  rate, the electric utility shall not be entitled to collect any further amounts  of decommissioning costs for its nuclear power plant through a decommissioning  rate.  Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit an increase in the overall  tariffed rates and charges paid by the electric utility's customers.(e) In addition to the uses of the  proceeds of the sale and issuance of transitional funding instruments  authorized by Section 18-103(d)(1), an electric utility which has entered into  an agreement to sell a nuclear power plant may use the proceeds from the sale  and issuance of transitional funding instruments to make contributions, or to  reimburse itself for contributions which the electric utility has made, to  decommissioning trusts in accordance with the agreement of sale, in an  amount not to exceed 20% of the aggregate principal amount of  transitional funding instruments which the electric utility was authorized to  cause to have issued pursuant to Section 18-103(d)(6), including for purposes  of this calculation the amount of any transitional funding instruments which  the electric utility caused to be issued prior to the date of this amendatory  Act of  1999.  The use of proceeds authorized by this subsection shall not be subject  to Section 18-103(d)(1)(B) and shall not be considered in determining if the  percentage limitations on the use of proceeds set forth in the proviso  following Section 18-103(d)(1)(E) have been complied with.(f) None of the authorizations permitted by this Section may be exercised  if the sale of the nuclear power plant is disapproved by the Commission.    (Source: P.A. 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)