§ 7-105

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Sections 6-103, 7-101, 7-102, 7-203, 7-204, and 7-204A of this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated by the Commission, a public utility providing electric service to more than 500,000 customers in this State may, within 550 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993 or any extension of time pursuant to Section 7-106 of this Act, without the approval or consent of, or prior filing for the approval or consent of, the Commission: (i) engage in only those transactions as are reasonably necessary to create a holding company and make the public utility a subsidiary company of the holding company; and (ii) loan to such holding company prior to the 60th day after the day on which such public utility becomes a subsidiary company of the holding company, amounts which, in the aggregate, do not exceed the lesser of $10,000,000 or 2.5% of the retained earnings of the public utility as reported on its most recent annual report to the Commission. (b) The terms of transactions authorized by Section 7-105(a)(i) shall require that the holding company pay, or reimburse the public utility for, all expenses incurred, services rendered, or facilities provided by the public utility engaging in such transactions. Such public utility shall incur no liabilities in or in connection with such transactions other than expenses incurred to effect such transactions. The terms of any loan authorized by Section 7-105(a)(ii) shall require that the loan (i) be repaid no later than the 240th day after the public utility becomes a subsidiary company of the holding company and (ii) bear interest at the rate of 10% per annum. Contracts or arrangements between the public utility and any of its affiliates, including the holding company, other than as authorized by Section 7-105(a), shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under Sections 7-101, 7-102, 7-204A(b), and other applicable provisions, if any, of this Act. (c) Costs incurred by a public utility in effecting or attempting to effect any transaction authorized by this Section 7-105 shall not be included in rate base or treated as allowable expenses for purposes of determining the rates to be charged by the public utility. (d) Not later than the earlier of (i) the 30th day after a public utility or a company which seeks to become a holding company of such public utility in accordance with this Section 7-105 files any registration statement or application with any federal regulatory agency seeking authority for a transaction in which such public utility would become a subsidiary of such holding company or (ii) the 180th day after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993, such public utility or holding company shall file with the Commission, for the information of the Commission and the public, the information, to the extent available to such public utility or company on such day, described in Section 7-204A(a) of this Act, and such public utility or company shall, until the day on which such public utility becomes a subsidiary of a holding company, file with the Commission all additional such information, and corrections, amendments, or supplements to all previously filed such information, as soon as practicable after it becomes available to such public utility or company; provided, that nothing in this Section 7-105 eliminates or restricts the Commission's authority, on timely motion of any person or corporation, to enter an order to protect confidential, proprietary, or trade secret data or information filed with the Commission. (e) As used in Sections 7-105 and 7-106 of this Act, "subsidiary company" and "holding company" mean a "subsidiary company" and a "holding company" as defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 88-83.)