§ 18-105 — Intangible transition property

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or other law, the Commission is hereby authorized, in accordance with the application for a transitional funding order, to create, establish and grant rights in, to and under intangible transition property in and to any grantee, electric utility, issuer or assignee, and such party shall be granted the power to levy general tariffs on retail customers of an electric utility or any other person required to pay an instrument funding charge in order to collect the instrument funding charges related to the intangible transition property in which such party has been granted rights and in order to facilitate the issuance of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, to, by or on behalf of electric utilities, grantees, issuers or assignees. The Commission shall be authorized to create, establish and grant such rights hereunder in and to such party with or without receiving consideration from such party. (b) The State pledges to and agrees with the holders of any transitional funding instruments who may enter into contracts with an electric utility, grantee, assignee or issuer pursuant to this Article XVIII that the State will not in any way limit, alter, impair or reduce the value of intangible transition property created by, or instrument funding charges approved by, a transitional funding order so as to impair the terms of any contract made by such electric utility, grantee, assignee or issuer with such holders or in any way impair the rights and remedies of such holders until the pertinent grantee instruments or, if the related transitional funding order does not provide for the issuance of grantee instruments, the pertinent transitional funding instruments and interest, premium and other fees, costs and charges related thereto, as the case may be, are fully paid and discharged. Electric utilities, grantees and issuers are authorized to include these pledges and agreements of the State in any contract with the holders of transitional funding instruments or with any assignees pursuant to this Article XVIII and any assignees are similarly authorized to include these pledges and agreements of the State in any contract with any issuer, holder or any other assignee. Nothing in this Article XVIII shall preclude the State of Illinois from requiring adjustments as may otherwise be allowed by law to the electric utility's base rates, transition charges, delivery services charges, or other charges for tariffed services, so long as any such adjustment does not directly affect or impair any instrument funding charges previously authorized by a transitional funding order issued by the Commission. (c) Transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, issued under this Article do not constitute debt or liability of the State or of any political subdivision thereof, and transitional funding orders authorizing such issuance do not constitute a pledge of the full faith and credit of the State or of any of its political subdivisions. The issuance of transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, under this Article shall not directly, indirectly or contingently obligate the State or any political subdivision thereof to levy or to pledge any form of taxation therefor or to make any appropriation for their payment, and any such transitional funding instruments and grantee instruments, if any, shall be payable solely from the intangible transition property or grantee instruments, as the case may be, or from such other proceeds or property as may be pledged therefor. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the State or any political subdivision thereof from owning any interest in a grantee, assignee or issuer or to prevent any electric utility, issuer, grantee or assignee from selling, pledging or assigning intangible transition property or grantee instruments, as the case may be, or from providing recourse or guarantees or any other third-party credit enhancement in connection with such sale, pledge or assignment.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)