A House amendment to Illinois bill SB0651, which has already passed the Senate, would prohibit all termination fees for mass market electric and natural gas customers

House Amendment 001 provides that, beginning January 1, 2020, residential and small commercial retail customers shall have a right to terminate their contracts with alternative retail electric suppliers at any time without any termination fees or penalties. A similar provision is included for residential and small commercial natural gas customers

House Amendment 001 also revises various provisions from the Senate bill concerning auto-renewal

As previously reported in EnergyChoiceMatters.com's exclusive analysis, the Senate version of the bill would prohibit automatic renewals for a rate that is higher than the current rate, or a switch from fixed to variable, and express consent would be required for such renewals.

House Amendment 001 would only prohibit auto-renewals from fixed to variable, and would allow other auto-renewals, including renewal onto a higher (non-variable) rate, but sets forth new disclosure requirements, including at the time of the initial contract, for a supplier to use an auto-renewal

House Amendment 001 provides that, beginning January 1, 2020, an alternative retail electric supplier shall not sell or offer to sell any products or services to a consumer pursuant to a contract in which the contract automatically renews, unless an alternative retail electric supplier provides to the consumer at the outset of the offer, in addition to other disclosures required by law, a separate written statement titled "Automatic Contract Renewal" that clearly and conspicuously discloses in bold lettering in at least 12-point font the terms and conditions of the automatic contract renewal provision, including: (i) the estimated bill cycle on which the initial contract term expires and a statement that it could be later based on when the utility accepts the initial enrollment; (ii) the estimated bill cycle on which the new contract term begins and a statement that it will immediately follow the last billing cycle of the current term; (iii) the procedure to terminate the contract before the new contract term applies; and (iv) the cancellation procedure.

If the alternative retail electric supplier sells or offers to sell the products or services to a consumer during an in-person solicitation or telemarketing solicitation, the disclosures described above shall also be made to the consumer verbally during the solicitation.

The amendment then further requires two renewal notices to be sent to customers before renewal, with various disclosures

Notably, the amendment requires side-by-side rate comparisons as follows:

• for a fixed rate contract, the renewal disclosure must include a side-by-side comparison of the current price and the new price

• for a variable rate contract or time-of-use product in which the first month's renewal price can be determined, a side-by-side comparison of the current price and the price for the first month of the new variable or time-of-use price must be provided

• for a variable or time-of-use contract based on a publicly available index, a side-by-side comparison of the current formula and the new formula must be provided

The amendment still provides that an alternative retail electric supplier shall not automatically renew a consumer's enrollment after the current term of the contract expires when the current term of the contract provides that the consumer will be charged a fixed rate and the renewed contract provides that the consumer will be charged a variable rate. The supplier must expressly consent to the contract renewal in writing or by electronic signature at least 30 days, but no more than 60 days, before the contract expires for such contract to be renewed

The House amendment also removes the ability for customers to request that the utility place a switch block on the customer's account

The amendment also includes higher supplier security requirements for suppliers serving residential customers and those using in-person solicitations.

Specifically, for electric suppliers, the amount of the bond required for licensure shall equal $30,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers with maximum electrical demands of one megawatt or more, $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only non-residential retail customers with annual electrical consumption greater than 15,000 kWh, or $500,000 if the applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. Applicants shall be required to submit an additional $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to residential customers using in-person solicitations.

For gas suppliers, the amount of a bond required for a supplier shall equal $150,000 if the applicant seeks to serve only nonresidential retail customers or $500,000 if the applicant seeks to serve all eligible customers. Applicants shall be required to submit an additional $500,000 bond if the applicant intends to market to residential customers using in-person solicitations.

Except as otherwise described above, the House Amendment 001 includes all of the other proposed restrictions and requirements for retail energy marketing contained in the bill as passed by the Senate, including a prohibition on service to assistance program customers, except where savings are guaranteed, or through a muni aggregation (see more details here)