220 ILCS 5/16-115
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. 16-115. Certification of alternative retail  electric suppliers.(a) Any alternative retail electric supplier must obtain  a certificate of service authority from the Commission in  accordance with this Section before serving any retail  customer or other user located in this State.  An alternative  retail electric supplier may request, and the Commission may  grant, a certificate of service authority for the entire State  or for a specified geographic area of the State.(b) An alternative retail electric supplier seeking a  certificate of service authority shall file with the  Commission a verified application containing information  showing that the applicant meets the requirements of this  Section.  The alternative retail electric supplier shall  publish notice of its application in the official State  newspaper within 10 days following the date of its filing.  No  later than 45 days after the application is properly filed  with the Commission, and such notice is published, the  Commission shall issue its order granting or denying the  application.(c) An application for a certificate of service  authority shall identify the area or areas in which the  applicant intends to offer service and the types of services  it intends to offer.  Applicants that seek to serve  residential or small commercial retail customers within a  geographic area that is smaller than an electric utility's  service area shall submit evidence demonstrating that the  designation of this smaller area does not violate Section 16-115A. An applicant  that seeks to serve residential or small  commercial retail customers may state in its application for  certification any limitations that will be imposed on the  number of customers or maximum load to be served.(d) The Commission shall grant the application for a  certificate of service authority if it makes the findings set  forth in this subsection  based on the verified  application and such other information as the applicant may  submit:(1) That the applicant possesses sufficient     technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities to provide the service for which it seeks a certificate of service authority.  In determining the level of technical, financial and managerial resources and abilities which the applicant must demonstrate, the Commission shall consider (i) the characteristics, including the size and financial sophistication, of the customers that the applicant seeks to serve, and (ii) whether the applicant seeks to provide electric power and energy using property, plant and equipment which it owns, controls or operates;(2) That the applicant will comply with all     applicable federal, State, regional and industry rules, policies, practices and procedures for the use, operation, and maintenance of the safety, integrity and reliability, of the interconnected electric transmission system;(3) That the applicant will only provide service to     retail customers in an electric utility's service area that are eligible to take delivery services under this Act;(4) That the applicant will comply with such     informational or reporting requirements as the Commission may by rule establish and provide the information required by Section 16-112. Any data related to contracts for the purchase and sale of electric power and energy shall be made available for review by the Staff of the Commission on a confidential and proprietary basis and only to the extent and for the purposes which the Commission determines are reasonably necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this Act;(5) That the applicant will procure renewable energy     resources in accordance with Section 16-115D of this Act, and will source electricity from clean coal facilities, as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, in amounts at least equal to the percentages set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.  For purposes of this Section:(i) (blank);(ii) (blank);(iii) the required sourcing of electricity         generated by clean coal facilities, other than the initial clean coal facility, shall be limited to the amount of electricity that can be procured or sourced at a price at or below the benchmarks approved by the Commission each year in accordance with item (1) of subsection (c) and items (1) and (5)  of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act;(iv) all alternative retail electric suppliers         shall execute a sourcing agreement to source electricity from the initial clean coal facility, on the terms set forth in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, except that in lieu of the requirements in subparagraphs (A)(v), (B)(i), (C)(v), and (C)(vi) of paragraph (3)  of that subsection (d), the applicant shall execute one or more of the following:(1) if the sourcing agreement is a power             purchase agreement, a contract with the initial clean coal facility to purchase in each hour an amount of electricity equal to all clean coal energy made available from the initial clean coal facility during such hour, which the utilities are not required to procure under the terms of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the alternative retail electric supplier's retail market sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State during the prior calendar month and the denominator of which is the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative retail electric suppliers during such prior month that are subject to the requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus the total  sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their service areas during such prior month, pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act; or(2) if the sourcing agreement is a contract             for differences, a contract with the initial clean coal facility in each hour with respect to an amount of electricity equal to all clean coal energy made available from the initial clean coal facility during such hour,  which the utilities are not required to procure under the terms of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the alternative retail electric supplier's retail market sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State during the prior calendar month and the denominator of which is the total sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) in the State by alternative retail electric suppliers during such prior month that are subject to the requirements of this paragraph (5) of subsection (d) of this Section and subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act plus  the total  sales of electricity (expressed in kilowatthours sold) by utilities outside of their service areas during such prior month, pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 16-116 of this Act;(v)  if, in any year after the first year of         commercial operation, the owner of the clean coal facility fails to demonstrate  to the Commission that the initial clean coal facility captured and sequestered at least 50% of the total carbon emissions that the facility would otherwise emit or that sequestration of emissions from prior years has failed, resulting in the release of carbon into the atmosphere, the owner of the facility must offset excess emissions.  Any such carbon offsets must be permanent, additional, verifiable, real, located within the State of Illinois, and legally and practicably enforceable.  The costs of any such offsets that are not recoverable shall not exceed $15 million in any given year.  No costs of any such purchases of carbon offsets may be recovered from an alternative retail electric supplier or its customers.  All carbon offsets purchased for this purpose and any carbon emission credits associated with sequestration of carbon from the facility must be permanently retired.  The initial clean coal facility shall not forfeit its designation as a clean coal facility if the facility fails to fully comply with the applicable carbon sequestration requirements in any given year, provided the requisite offsets are purchased.  However, the Attorney General, on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois, may specifically enforce the facility's sequestration requirement and the other terms of this contract provision. Compliance with the sequestration requirements and offset purchase requirements that apply to the initial clean coal facility shall be reviewed annually by an independent expert retained by the owner of the initial clean coal facility, with the advance written approval of the Attorney General;(vi) The Commission shall, after notice and         hearing, revoke the certification of any alternative retail electric supplier that fails to execute a sourcing agreement with the initial clean coal facility as required by item (5) of subsection (d) of this Section. The sourcing agreements with this initial clean coal facility shall be subject to both approval of the initial clean coal facility by the General Assembly and satisfaction of the requirements of item (4) of subsection (d) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act, and shall be executed within 90 days after any such approval by the General Assembly. The Commission shall not accept an application for certification from an alternative retail electric supplier that has lost certification under this subsection (d), or any corporate affiliate thereof, for at least one year from the date of revocation;(6) With respect to an applicant that seeks to serve     residential or small commercial retail customers, that the area to be served by the applicant and any limitations it proposes on the number of customers or maximum amount of load to be served meet the provisions of Section 16-115A, provided, that the Commission can extend the time for considering such a certificate request by up to 90 days, and can schedule hearings on such a request;(7) That the applicant meets the requirements of     subsection (a) of Section 16-128;(8) That the applicant discloses whether the     applicant is the subject of any lawsuit filed in a court of law or formal complaint filed with a regulatory agency alleging fraud, deception, or unfair marketing practices or other similar allegations and, if the applicant is the subject of such lawsuit or formal complaint, the applicant shall identify the name, case number, and jurisdiction of each lawsuit or complaint. For the purpose of this item (8), "formal complaint" includes only those complaints that seek a binding determination from a State or federal regulatory body;(9) That the applicant shall continue to comply with     requirements for certification stated in this Section;(10) That the applicant shall execute and maintain a     license or permit bond issued by a qualifying surety or insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois in favor of the People of the State of Illinois. The amount of the bond shall equal $30,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt or more, $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only non-residential retail customers with annual electrical consumption greater than 15,000 kWh, or $500,000 if the applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. Applicants shall be required to submit an additional $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to residential customers using in-person solicitations. The bond shall be conditioned upon the full and faithful performance of all duties and obligations of the applicant as an alternative retail electric supplier and shall be valid for a period of not less than one year. The cost of the bond shall be paid by the applicant. The applicant shall file a copy of this bond, with a notarized verification page from the issuer, as part of its application for certification under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451; and(11) That the applicant will comply with all other     applicable laws and regulations.(d-3) The Commission may deny with prejudice an application in which the applicant fails to provide the Commission with information sufficient for the Commission to grant the application.(d-5)  (Blank).(e) A retail customer that owns a cogeneration or self-generation facility  and that seeks certification only to  provide electric power and energy from such facility to  retail customers at separate locations which customers are  both (i) owned by, or a subsidiary or other corporate  affiliate of, such applicant and  (ii) eligible for delivery services, shall be granted a  certificate of service authority upon filing an application  and notifying the Commission that it has entered into an  agreement with the relevant electric utilities pursuant to  Section 16-118.  Provided, however, that if the retail customer owning such cogeneration or  self-generation facility would not be charged a transition charge due to the  exemption provided under subsection (f) of Section 16-108 prior to the  certification, and the retail customers at separate locations are taking  delivery services in conjunction with purchasing power and energy from the  facility, the retail customer on whose premises the facility is located shall  not thereafter be required to pay transition charges on the power and energy  that such retail customer takes from the facility.(f) The Commission shall have the authority to  promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions  of this Section.  On or before May 1, 1999, the Commission  shall adopt a rule or rules applicable to the certification of  those alternative retail electric suppliers that seek to serve  only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical  demands of one megawatt or more which shall provide for (i)  expedited and streamlined procedures  for certification of such alternative  retail electric suppliers and (ii) specific criteria which,  if met by any such alternative retail electric supplier, shall  constitute the demonstration of technical, financial and  managerial resources and abilities to provide service required  by subsection (d) (1) of this Section, such as a requirement  to post a bond or letter of credit, from a responsible surety  or financial institution, of sufficient size for the nature  and scope of the services to be provided; demonstration of  adequate insurance for the scope and nature of the services to  be provided; and experience in providing similar services in  other jurisdictions.(g) An alternative retail electric supplier may seek confidential treatment for the following information by filing an affidavit with the Commission so long as the affidavit meets the requirements in this subsection (g):(1) the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and     sold by an alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers within each utility service territory and the total annual kilowatt-hours delivered and sold by an alternative retail electric supplier to retail customers in all utility service territories in the preceding calendar year as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.770;(2) the total peak demand supplied by an alternative     retail electric supplier during the previous year in each utility service territory as required by 83 Ill. Adm. Code 465.40;(3) a good faith estimate of the amount an     alternative retail electric supplier expects to be obliged to pay the utility under single billing tariffs during the next 12 months and the amount of any bond or letter of credit used to demonstrate an alternative retail electric supplier's credit worthiness to provide single billing services pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 451.510(a) and (b).The affidavit must be filed contemporaneously with the information for which confidential treatment is sought and  must clearly state that the affiant seeks confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (g) and the information for which confidential treatment is sought must be clearly identified on the confidential version of the document filed with the Commission. The affidavit must be accompanied by  a "confidential" and a "public" version of the document or documents containing the information for which confidential treatment is sought.If the alternative retail electric supplier has met the affidavit requirements of this subsection (g), then the Commission shall afford confidential treatment to the information identified in the affidavit for a period of 2 years after the date the affidavit is received by the Commission.Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an alternative retail electric supplier from filing a petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for information beyond that identified in this subsection (g) or for information contained in other reports or documents filed with the Commission.Nothing in this subsection (g) prevents the  Commission, on its own motion, or any party from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking to reconsider the conferring of confidential status on an item of information afforded confidential treatment pursuant to this subsection (g).The Commission, on its own motion, may at any time initiate a docketed proceeding to investigate the continued applicability of this subsection (g) to the information contained in items (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subsection (g).  If, at the end of such investigation, the Commission determines that a particular item of information should no longer be eligible for the affidavit-based process outlined in this subsection (g), the Commission may enter an order to remove that item from the list of items eligible for the process set forth in this subsection (g).   Notwithstanding any such order, in the event the Commission makes such a determination, nothing in this subsection (g) prevents an alternative retail electric supplier desiring confidential treatment for such information from filing a formal petition with the Commission seeking confidential treatment for such information.(Source: P.A. 101-590, eff. 1-1-20.)