SB1665 Summary

• Amends the Public Utilities Act to allow natural gas utilities to recover expenditures for infrastructure modernization through performance-based formula rates approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

• Requires participating utilities to invest an estimated $1.2 billion over 10 years (or $330 million for combination utilities) in gas transmission, distribution, and storage system upgrades, modernization, and compliance projects.

• Establishes performance metrics for participating utilities including reducing underground gas leaks by 10-20%, increasing system monitoring devices by 20%, reducing estimated bills by 50%, and creating job opportunities for minority-owned and female-owned businesses.

• Authorizes utilities to deploy Advanced Gas Metering Infrastructure (Gas AMI) across their service territories with cost recovery through tariffs, and requires utilities to file deployment plans within 180 days of implementing performance-based rates.

• Section becomes inoperative on December 31, 2023 for all participating utilities unless the average annual increase in residential customer bills attributable to delivery service charges does not exceed 2.5% (combination utilities) or 5% (other utilities) as calculated by June 2016.