UTILITY-GAS MAIN EXT COSTS

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall determine that proposed construction will promote the public convenience and necessity only if the utility demonstrates, among other requirements, that for construction serving a discrete area, existing customers will not be required to subsidize the cost of new facilities in excess of any refundable or nonrefundable payments by customers to be served by the new facilities. Provides that if any gas public utility connects an applicant or applicants to its gas distribution system, any costs associated with investments in plant addition in excess of any refundable payment or nonrefundable payment shall be excluded from any cost-recovery mechanism that allocates the excess cost among existing customers. Provides that no later than 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act, the Commission shall initiate a docketed investigation reviewing each gas public utility tariff that provides for gas main extensions without additional charge to new customers in excess of the default extensions without charge, and provides for other requirements pertaining to the investigation process. Provides that no later than 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding providing for rules establishing a uniform method by which natural gas public utilities determine the value of any gas main extensions provided to new customers without additional charge.