Section 450.10  Definitions

 

            "Act" means the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5].

 

            "Affiliated interest" has the same meaning as in Section 7-101(2) of the Act.

 

            "Affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers" shall include affiliated alternative retail electric suppliers that provide services to customers within the service territory of the utility with which it is affiliated, as well as affiliated interests that broker, sell, or market electricity to customers within the service territory of the utility with which it is affiliated, or that provide consulting services directly related to the sale of electricity to the customers within the service territory of the utility with which it is affiliated.

 

            "Alternative retail electric supplier" or "ARES" has the same meaning as in Section 16-102 of the Act.

 

            "Competitive services" has the same meaning as in Section 16-102 of the Act.

 

            "Corporate support" means corporate oversight and governance involving administrative services (including travel administration, security, printing, graphics, custodial services, secretarial support, mail services, and records management), financial management services (including accounting, treasury, internal audit, tax, and financial reporting and planning), data processing, shareholder services, human resources, employee benefits, regulatory affairs, legal services, lobbying, and non-marketing research and development activities.  Corporate support also includes strategic planning.

 

            "Delivery services" has the same meaning as in Section 16-102 of the Act.

 

            "Electric utility" has the same meaning as in Section 16-102 of the Act.

 

            "Emergency support" means the temporary provision of personnel and other resources when consumer safety is at risk or to help maintain service during emergencies where interruption of service can only be avoided or reduced through the sharing of employees.

 

            "Unaffiliated entity" means any entity other than either the electric utility or any of the electric utility's affiliated interests.

 

Section 450.20  Non-Discrimination

 

a)         Electric utilities shall not provide affiliated interests or customers of affiliated interests preferential treatment or advantages relative to unaffiliated entities or their customers in connection with services provided under tariffs on file with the Illinois Commerce Commission (Commission). This provision applies broadly to all aspects of service, including, but not limited to, responsiveness to requests for service, the availability of firm versus interruptible services, the imposition of special metering requirements, and all terms and conditions and charges specified in the tariff.

 

b)         Except for corporate support transactions and services that have been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of the Act, transactions between an electric utility and one or more of its affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers that are not governed by tariff sheets on file with the Commission shall not discriminate in relation to unaffiliated alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

c)         Electric utilities and affiliated interests shall not notify potential or actual customers, either directly or indirectly, advertise to the public, or otherwise communicate that the electric utility provides any advantages relating to the scheduling, transmission or distribution of electricity to affiliated interests or their customers relative to unaffiliated entities and their customers.

 

d)         A utility shall process requests for similar services provided by the utility in the same manner and within the same time period for its affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers and for all similarly situated unaffiliated alternative retail electric suppliers and their respective customers.

 

e)         If discretion is permitted in application of a tariff provision, electric utilities shall maintain a log detailing each instance in which it exercised discretion, as required in Section 450.140(d).

 

f)         If an electric utility offers affiliated interests or customers of affiliated interests a discount, rebate, fee waiver or waivers of its ordinary terms and conditions for services provided under tariffs on file with the Commission, it shall contemporaneously offer the same discount, rebate, fee waiver or waivers of its ordinary terms and conditions to all unaffiliated entities and customers of unaffiliated entities, to the extent consistent with the tariffs, provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to billing experiments under Section 16-106 of the Act or competitive services under Sections 16-102 and 16-116(b) of the Act.  Electric utilities shall maintain a log of such instances, as required in Section 450.140(d).

 

g)         A customer's eligibility for participation in any billing experiments under Section 16-106 of the Act or contracts for competitive service under Sections 16-102 and 16-116(b) of the Act, except for those competitive services that have been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of the Act, shall not be conditioned on, nor tied to, the taking of any goods and services from the utility's affiliated interests.  Electric utilities shall inform customers of this prohibition in writing before customers begin taking such service.

 

h)         When providing delivery services as a component of any bundled service, an electric utility shall not offer affiliated interests or the customers of affiliated interests a discount, rebate, fee waiver or waivers of its ordinary terms and conditions for delivery services on file with the Commission unless delivery services have been declared competitive service pursuant to Section 16-113 of the Act or the electric utility contemporaneously offers the same discount, rebate, fee waiver or waivers of its ordinary terms and conditions to all unaffiliated entities and customers of unaffiliated entities.

 

Section 450.25  Marketing and Advertising

 

a)         An electric utility shall neither jointly advertise nor jointly market its services or products with those of an affiliated interest in competition with ARES.

 

b)         Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed as prohibiting an affiliated interest in competition with ARES from using the corporate name or logo of an electric utility or electric utility holding company.

 

Section 450.30  Non-Discrimination Concerning Services Provided Pursuant to Section 16-118 of the Public Utilities Act

 

In providing any service or engaging in any activity pursuant to Section 16-118 of the Act, whether such service or activity is governed by tariffs filed with the Commission or by other agreements, electric utilities shall not discriminate in favor of or provide preferential treatment to their affiliated interests.  Offers to provide service pursuant to Section 16-118 of the Act, whether through tariffs or agreements, shall be made concurrently to all similarly situated alternative retail electric suppliers or electric utilities other than the electric utility in whose service area retail customers are located.

 

Section 450.40  Tying

 

Electric utilities shall not tie, as defined by State and federal anti-trust laws, the provision of any delivery services to the taking of any goods and services from the electric utilities' affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

Section 450.50  Release, Assignment, Transfer, and Brokering of Capacity

 

Except to the extent as reserved to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), electric utilities shall not grant preferences regarding the release, assignment, transfer, or brokering of electric transmission system capacity to affiliated interests or their customers.

 

Section 450.60  Nondiscriminatory Provision of Information to Unaffiliated Entities

 

a)         Any ARES may submit, to an electric utility, a written standing request for information related to the electric  utility's transmission or distribution systems that is provided by the utility to the electric utility's affiliated interests. Standing requests made pursuant to this Section shall expire one year after being received by the utility unless renewed in writing by the ARES.

 

b)         Employees of the electric utility's affiliated interests shall not have preferential access to any information about the electric utility's transmission or distribution systems that is not contemporaneously and in the same form and manner available to an unaffiliated alternative retail electric supplier that has submitted a request pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.

 

Section 450.70  Customer Information

 

a)         Customer information shall be made available in accordance with Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act [220 ILCS 5/16-122], without preference to affiliated interests or their customers. Electric utilities shall not provide any preferences to affiliated interests in requesting authorization for the release of customer information.

 

b)         An unaffiliated ARES may submit, to an electric utility, a written standing request for any generic customer information concerning the usage, load shape curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate classification that the electric utility provides to its affiliated interests in competition with ARES.  A standing request made pursuant to this Section shall expire one year after being received by the utility unless renewed in writing by the ARES.

 

c)         The electric utility shall contemporaneously, and in the same form and manner, make available to any unaffiliated alternative retail electric suppliers that have submitted a standing request, pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section, any generic customer information concerning the usage, load shape curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate classification that the utility makes available to its affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

d)         Any unaffiliated ARES that receives generic customer information pursuant to a standing request made under this Section or any affiliated interest in competition with ARES that receives generic customer information concerning the usage, load shape curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate classification from the electric utility shall, in accordance with Section 16-122(b) of the Act, pay the electric utility a reasonable fee in each instance that such information is provided.

 

Section 450.80  Exception for Corporate Support Information

 

Except as proscribed by Sections 450.60 and 450.70, electric utilities may share information concerning corporate support with affiliated interests without being required to share such information with unaffiliated entities.

 

Section 450.85  Affiliate Information Sharing

 

The affiliated interests of an electric utility shall neither directly nor indirectly provide preferential access to information to any of the utility's affiliated interests in competition with ARES where the utility's direct sharing of such information with an affiliated interest in competition with ARES would violate any Section of the Public Utilities Act or any Section of this Part.

 

Section 450.90  Confidentiality of Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES) Information

 

Electric utilities shall treat all information obtained from an ARES as confidential information, and shall not provide such information to its affiliated interests or to unaffiliated entities unless the alternative retail electric supplier provides authorization to do so.

 

Section 450.100  Independent Functioning

 

Except in relation to corporate support and emergency support, electric utilities and affiliated interests in competition with ARES that provide services to customers within the utility's service territory shall function independently of each other and shall not share services or facilities.

 

Section 450.110  Employees

 

a)         Except in relation to corporate support and emergency support, electric utilities and their affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers shall not jointly employ or otherwise share the same employees.

 

b)         Electric utilities shall not jointly employ or otherwise share employees engaged in providing delivery services with their affiliated interests in competition with alternative retail electric suppliers.

 

c)         Subsections (a), (b) and (d) of this Section shall not apply to any employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement subject to federal labor law, including the Labor Management Relations Act and the National Labor Relations Act.

 

d)         Each electric utility that has an affiliated interest in competition with ARES shall maintain a log detailing the transfer of employees: from the utility to its affiliated interests in competition with ARES; from the utility to its other affiliated interests; and from the utility's other affiliated interests to its affiliated interests in competition with ARES. This subsection shall not apply to employee transfers to or from corporations that are affiliated interests of the electric utility solely because they share a common director. The log shall be made available to the Commission upon request.

 

Section 450.120  Transfer of Goods and Services

 

a)         Transactions between an electric utility and its affiliated interests shall not be allowed to subsidize the affiliated interests.

 

b)         In connection with an application for a certificate of service authority filed by an affiliated interest of an electric utility, pursuant to Section 16-115 of the Act, the affiliated interest shall provide a copy of a Commission approved services and facilities or affiliated interest agreement that explicitly addresses the cost allocation and valuation methodology to be applied to any transfer of goods and services:  between the electric utility and its affiliated interests in competition with ARES; between the utility and its other affiliated interests; and between the utility's other affiliated interests and its affiliated interests in competition with ARES. In the event that there is no Commission approved agreement addressing these issues, the applicant shall submit such an agreement for approval as part of its application.

 

c)         Costs associated with the transfer of goods and services between an electric utility and its affiliated interests, including affiliated interests in competition with ARES, shall be priced as specified in, and allocated pursuant to, the Commission approved services and facilities agreement or affiliated interests agreement presented in the affiliated ARES certification proceeding.  Any transfer of goods and services between an electric utility and its affiliated interests, including affiliated interests in competition with ARES, that is not explicitly addressed in a Commission approved services and facilities or affiliated interests agreement is prohibited unless the transfer has been otherwise specifically approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 7-101 of the Act or approval has been waived by statute or Commission rule.

 

Section 450.130  Lists of Affiliated Interests and ARES

 

a)         Each electric utility shall maintain an accurate list of all its affiliated interests.  Such list shall include the name and address of each affiliated interest and the name and business telephone number of at least one officer of each affiliated interest.  The electric utility shall make this list available to the public upon request.

 

b)         The electric utility shall file this list and any subsequent changes to the list with the Chief Clerk of the Commission.  The electric utility shall also send copies of the list and subsequent changes to the Director of the Accounting Department and the Manager of the Consumer Services Division of the Commission.  The Chief Clerk of the Commission shall make the most recent list of each electric utility available to the public upon request.

 

c)         All ARES, including any utility affiliated ARES, shall, upon certification, but prior to commencing marketing operations, provide to each electric utility in each area of the ARES' certification, notice of the ARES' certification, its trade name, local address and address for service of process, local telephone number and telephone number of its parent company, local fax number and fax number of its parent company and Internet address, if any, of it and its parent company.

 

d)         The electric utility shall receive and compile all information submitted under subsection (c) above and shall make this information available to the public upon request.

 

Section 450.140  Maintenance of Books and Records and Commission Access

 

a)         An electric utility shall maintain books, accounts, and records separate from those of its affiliated interests.

 

b)         In connection with an application for a certificate of service authority filed by an affiliated interest of an electric utility, pursuant to Section 16-115 of the Act, the affiliated interest shall provide a copy of a Commission approved services and facilities or affiliated interest agreement that explicitly sets forth both the cost allocation guidelines and the accounting conventions to be applied to any transactions:  between  the electric utility and its affiliated interests in competition with ARES; between the utility and its other affiliated interests; and between the utility's affiliated interests in competition with ARES and its other affiliated interests. In the event that there is no Commission approved agreement addressing cost allocation and accounting conventions, the applicant shall submit such an agreement for approval as part of its application.

 

c)         Upon the request of the Commission, electric utilities shall make personnel available who are competent to respond to the Commission's inquiries regarding the nature of any transactions that have taken place between the electric utility and its affiliated interests, including but not limited to the goods and services provided, the prices, terms and conditions, and other considerations given for the goods and services provided.

 

d)         Each electric utility shall maintain a log detailing:  each instance in which it exercised discretion in the application of tariff provisions; each instance in which it offered affiliated interests or customers of affiliated interests services not governed by tariffs, except for corporate support transactions and services that have been declared competitive pursuant to Section 16-113 of the Act; and each instance in which it offered affiliated interests or customers of affiliated interests a discount, rebate, fee waiver or waivers of the electric utility's ordinary terms and conditions in connection with services provided under tariffs on file with the Commission. The electric utility shall make such log available to the Commission upon request. The log shall contain the following information:

 

1)         the names of the affiliated interests and unaffiliated entities involved in the transaction;

 

2)         a description of the transaction;

 

3)         the time period over which the transaction applies; and

 

4)         the quantities and locations involved in the transaction.

 

Section 450.150  Internal Audits

 

a)         Electric utilities shall conduct biennial internal audits on transactions with affiliated interests. These audits shall test compliance with this Part, with any applicable Commission orders, with the electric utility's affiliated interest operating agreement(s) and/or guidelines, with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 415, and with 83 Ill. Adm. Code 420. The audits shall include written reports of conclusions and associated workpapers that shall be available to the Commission Staff for review. The audit reports shall be submitted to the Commission's Director of Accounting within 30 days after completion. Any audit performed pursuant to this Section may be designated as confidential with the Commission's Director of Accounting.

 

b)         The first such internal audit report shall be submitted on or before December 1, 1998. Succeeding audit reports shall be submitted on or before December 1 of each even numbered succeeding year.

 

c)         Subsections (a) and (b) of this Section shall not apply to transactions with corporations that are affiliated interests of the electric utility solely because they share a common director or transactions with individuals that are affiliated interests of the electric utility solely because they are an elective officer or director of the electric utility.

 

Section 450.160  Complaint Procedures

 

a)         Complaints alleging violations of this Part shall be filed pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200.

 

b)         Pursuant to Section 16-121 of the Act, after notice and hearing held on complaint or on the Commission's own motion, the Commission may:

 

1)         Order the affiliated alternative retail electric supplier to cease and desist, or correct, any violation of or non-conformance with the provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 450;

 

2)         Impose financial penalties for violations of or non-conformance with the provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 450, not to exceed $10,000 per occurrence or $30,000 per day for those violations or the non-conformance that continue after the Commission issues a cease-and-desist order; and

 

3)         Alter, modify or suspend the certificate of service authority of an electric utility's affiliated alternative retail electric supplier for substantial or repeated violations of or non-conformance with the provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 450.