Illinois Administrative Code › Title 83 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part 466 - ELECTRIC INTERCONNECTION OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILITIES › Section 466.130 - Disputes

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) It is the policy of
			 the Commission that applicants for interconnection and EDCs should, to the maximum
			 extent possible, endeavor to resolve interconnection disputes through negotiation
			 and without resorting to the processes of the Commission. A party shall attempt to
			 resolve all disputes regarding interconnection promptly and in a good faith manner.
			 A party shall provide prompt written notice of the existence of the dispute,
			 including sufficient detail to identify the scope of the dispute, to the other party
			 in order to attempt to resolve the dispute in a good faith manner.
b) An informal meeting between the parties shall
			 be held within 10 business days after receipt of the written notice. Persons with
			 decision-making authority from each party shall attend such meeting. In the event
			 said dispute involves technical issues, persons with sufficient technical expertise
			 and familiarity with the issue in dispute from each Party shall also attend the
			 informal meeting. If the parties agree, such a meeting may be conducted by
			 teleconference. The informal process between the parties shall extend 30 days after
			 the receipt of written notice, after which the dispute is deemed resolved and the
			 timeframes for decisions within the interconnection process resume, unless one of
			 the parties seeks resolution through non-binding arbitration procedures described in
			 subsection (c) or files a formal complaint at the Commission prior to the end of the
			 30-day period. If the negotiations do not resolve the dispute within 10 business
			 days after commencing, either party may proceed to subsection (c) upon providing
			 written notice to the other party.
c)
			 Ombudsman
1) If the parties are unable to resolve
			 the dispute through an informal meeting or meetings, either party may submit the
			 interconnection dispute to an Ombudsman for non-binding arbitration. The party
			 electing arbitration shall notify the other party of the request in
			 writing.
2) For purposes of this
			 Section, the Ombudsman, as that term in used in Section 16-107.5(h-5)(2) of the Act
			 for that dispute may be:
A) the American
			 Arbitration Association (AAA) or an individual arbitrator or team of arbitrators
			 selected by the parties pursuant to AAA rules;
B) Commission employees designated on the
			 Commission's website, as available; or
C) a third party selected by the
			 parties.
3) In designating
			 one or more of its employees as a potential Ombudsman for a dispute, the Commission
			 may identify an hourly fee for that individual's time spent on arbitration; the
			 Commission shall invoice and collect a fee equal to the hourly rate multiplied by
			 hours spent on the arbitration in equal shares from the parties to the
			 arbitration.
4) Each party shall bear
			 its own fees, costs, and expenses and an equal share of the expenses of the
			 non-binding arbitration.
5) The
			 non-binding arbitration process is limited to 60 days unless the parties and the
			 Ombudsman agree to a longer period.