§ 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.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 95-1051, eff. 4-10-09; 96-435, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)