220 ILCS 5/19-105
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 220 - UTILITIES|220 ILCS 5/ - Public Utilities Act.|Article XIX - Alternative Gas Supplier Law

Sec. 19-105. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, the following  terms shall be defined as set forth in this Section."Alternative gas supplier" means every person, cooperative, corporation,  municipal corporation, company, association, joint stock company or  association, firm,  partnership, individual, or other entity, their lessees, trustees, or receivers  appointed by  any court whatsoever, that offers gas for sale, lease, or in exchange for other  value  received to one or more customers, or that engages in the furnishing of gas to  one or  more customers, and shall include affiliated interests of a gas utility,  resellers,  aggregators and marketers, but shall not include (i) gas utilities (or any  agent of the gas  utility to the extent the gas utility provides tariffed services to customers  through an  agent); (ii) public utilities that are owned and operated by any political  subdivision, public institution of higher education or municipal corporation  of this State, or public utilities that are owned by a political  subdivision, public institution of higher education, or municipal corporation  and operated by any of its lessees or operating agents; (iii)  natural gas cooperatives that are not-for-profit corporations operated for  the purpose of administering, on a cooperative basis, the  furnishing of natural gas for the benefit of their members who  are  consumers of natural gas; and (iv) the ownership or operation  of a facility that sells compressed natural gas at retail to the public for use  only as a motor vehicle fuel and the selling of compressed natural gas at  retail to the public for use only as a motor vehicle fuel."Gas utility" means a public utility, as defined in Section 3-105 of this  Act,  that  has a franchise, license, permit, or right to furnish or sell gas  or transportation services to  customers within a service area."Residential customer" means a customer who receives gas utility service for  household purposes distributed to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is  billed under  a residential rate or gas utility service for household purposes distributed to  a dwelling  unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a  separate meter  for each dwelling unit."Sales agent" means any employee, agent, independent contractor, consultant, or other person that is engaged by the alternative gas supplier to solicit customers to purchase, enroll in, or contract for alternative gas service on behalf of an alternative gas supplier."Service area" means (i) the geographic area within which a gas utility was  lawfully entitled to provide gas to customers as of the effective date  of this  amendatory  Act of the 92nd General Assembly and includes (ii) the location of any  customer to  which the gas utility was lawfully providing gas utility services on such  effective date."Single billing" means the combined billing of the services provided by both a natural gas utility and an alternative gas supplier to any customer who has enrolled in a customer choice program."Small commercial customer" means a nonresidential retail customer of  a  natural gas utility  who consumed 5,000 or fewer therms of natural gas  during the previous year; provided that any alternative gas  supplier may remove the customer from designation as a "small  commercial customer" if the customer consumes more than 5,000 therms  of natural gas in any calendar year after becoming a customer of the  alternative gas supplier. In determining whether a customer has consumed 5,000 or fewer therms of natural gas during the previous year, usage by the same commercial customer shall be aggregated to include usage at the same premises even if measured by more than one meter, and to include usage at multiple premises.  Nothing in this Section creates an affirmative obligation on a gas utility to monitor or inform customers or alternative gas suppliers as to a customer's status as a small commercial customer as that term is defined herein.  Nothing in this Section relieves a gas utility from any obligation to provide information upon request to a customer, alternative gas supplier, the Commission, or others necessary to determine whether a customer meets the classification of small commercial customers as that term is defined herein."Tariffed service" means a service provided to customers by a gas  utility as  defined by its rates on file with the Commission pursuant to the provisions of  Article IX  of this Act."Transportation services" means those services provided by the gas utility  that  are necessary in order for the storage, transmission and distribution systems  to  function so that  customers located in the gas utility's service area can receive gas from  suppliers other  than the gas utility and shall include, without limitation, standard metering  and billing  services.    (Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)