UTILITIES-ELECTRICITY RATES

Amends the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 in the Public Utilities Act. Changes the definition of "mandatory transition period" to include the period from the effective date of the amendatory Act through January 1, 2008 for residents with all electric residential service offered in the service areas of all electric utilities that, on December 31, 2005, served at least 100,000 customers. Requires the Commission to order certain utilities to file and implement tariffs to reinstate all residential rates paid by the electric utilities' residential customers with all electric residences on December 31, 2006 within 10 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Prohibits the Commission from taking certain actions prior to 2008 with respect to (i) initiating, authorizing, or ordering any change by way of increase or (ii) in approving an application for a merger, imposing a condition requiring any filing for an increase, decrease, or change in or other review of a utility's rates or enforcing such a condition. Provides that the Commission shall only declare the class of service to be competitive according to certain criteria (now, the Commission is required to declare the service to be competitive if the service or a reasonably equivalent substitute is available at a reasonable price from other providers other than the utility or an affiliate and the utility has lost or is reasonably likely to lose business for service to other providers). Makes other changes. Effective immediately.