Sen. Robert Peters

Filed: 3/15/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2123

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2123 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Equitable Energy Financing Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds
7that Illinois homes and businesses can contribute to the
8creation of a clean energy economy, conservation of natural
9resources, and reliability of the electricity grid through the
10installation of cost-effective renewable energy generation,
11energy efficiency, and energy storage systems. The General
12Assembly further finds that a large portion of Illinois
13residents and businesses that would benefit from the
14installation of energy efficiency, energy storage systems, and
15renewable energy generation systems are unable to purchase
16systems due to capital or credit barriers. The purpose of this

 

 

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1Act is to implement much needed modifications to the State's
2regulation of utilities that the General Assembly believes will
3enable many more Illinoisans to access the health,
4environmental, and financial benefits of new clean energy
5technology.
 
6    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Commission" means to the Illinois Commerce Commission.
8    "Energy project" means a renewable energy generation
9system, energy efficiency upgrades, energy storage systems, or
10any combination thereof.
11    "Program" refers to the Equitable Energy Financing Program
12established under this Act.
13    "Utility" means public utilities providing electric
14service to customers as provided under the Public Utilities
15Act, as well as municipal electricity aggregators and
16electricity cooperatives.
 
17    Section 15. Equitable Energy Financing Program.
18    (a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish a
19Program for all electric utilities in this State which permits
20customers to finance the construction of energy projects
21through an optional tariff payable directly through their
22utility bill, modeled after the PAYS or Pay as You Save program
23design. The Program model shall offer to make investments in
24energy projects to customer properties with low-cost capital

 

 

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1and use an opt-in tariff to recover the costs. This Program
2shall be referred to as the Equitable Energy Financing Program.
3The Program shall be designed to provide customers with
4financial savings if they choose to participate. The Program
5will allow residential electric utility customers that own the
6property, or renters that have a long-term lease on the
7property, for which they subscribe to utility service, to
8purchase an energy project. The Program will ensure the
9following:
10        (1) eligible projects do not require up-front
11    payments;
12        (2) eligible projects have an estimated life cycle
13    savings that exceeds the cost of the project;
14        (3) participants will finance the projects by paying
15    for the project through an optional tariff directly through
16    the participant's electricity bill, allowing participants
17    to invest in energy projects without traditional loans;
18        (4) accessibility by lower income residents and
19    environmental justice community residents; and
20        (5) administration is in coordination with the energy
21    efficiency on-bill financing program established in the
22    Public Utilities Act to maximize access and financial
23    savings by residents.
24    (b) In the design of the Equitable Energy Financing
25Program, the Commission shall:
26        (1) Within 60 days after the effective date of this

 

 

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1    Act, convene a workshop process during which interested
2    participants may discuss issues and submit comments
3    related to the Program.
4        (2) Establish Program guidelines that electric
5    utilities will abide by when designing their plan to
6    participate in the Program. Program guidelines established
7    by the Commission shall include the following elements:
8            (A) Capital funds. The Commission shall establish
9        conditions under which utilities secure capital to
10        fund the energy projects. The Commission may allow
11        utilities to raise capital independently, work with
12        third party lenders to secure the capital for
13        participants, or a combination thereof. Any process
14        the Commission approves must use a market mechanism to
15        identify the least costly sources of capital funds so
16        as to pass on maximum savings to participants. The
17        State of Illinois may also choose to provide capital
18        for this Program.
19            (B) Customer protections. Customer protection
20        guidelines should be designed based on the principles
21        established in Section 20.
22            (C) Energy project vendors. The Commission shall
23        establish conditions by which utilities may connect
24        Program participants to energy project vendors. In
25        setting conditions for connection, the Commission may
26        prioritize vendors that have a history of good

 

 

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1        relations with the State, including vendors which have
2        hired participants from State-created job training
3        programs.
4            (D) Financial savings guarantee. The guidelines
5        established by the Commission shall include a
6        guarantee of anticipated financial savings by Program
7        participants.
8    (c) Within 60 days after the Commission releases the
9Program conditions established under this Section, each
10utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall
11submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes
12its plan for implementing the provisions of this Act. If the
13Commission finds that the submission does not properly comply
14with the statutory or regulatory requirements of the Program,
15the Commission may require that the utility make modifications
16to their filing.
17    (d) An independent evaluation of the Program shall be
18conducted after 2 years of the Program's operation. An advisory
19council of stakeholders, including representation of low
20income and environment justice Community members, shall make
21recommendations in response to the findings of the independent
22evaluation.
 
23    Section 20. Customer protections; cost-effectiveness.
24    (a) The Equitable Energy Financing Program shall be
25designed to be cost-effective for customers to see guaranteed

 

 

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1savings in their utility bills. Only projects that are deemed
2to be cost-effective and can be reasonably expected to ensure
3customer savings are eligible for funding through the Program.
4Projects shall only be considered cost-effective if they
5deliver savings to the customer. Anticipated savings must be
6expected to be present (1) on a monthly or bill-cycle basis and
7(2) over the lifetime of the energy project.
8    (b) Eligible customers must be: (1) retail customers who
9are renters with a long-term lease; or (2) property owners.
10    (c) The calculation of cost-effectiveness must be
11conducted by an objective process established by the
12Commission. Factors that may be used to establish whether a
13project is cost-effective include, but are not limited to, the
14following:
15        (1) anticipated energy produced or conserved by a
16    potential energy project;
17        (2) historical and projected energy prices;
18        (3) participant access to net-metering rebates;
19        (4) a participant's ability to sell energy credits
20    created by the energy project in Illinois or other
21    jurisdictions; and
22        (5) a participant's history of energy use and bill
23    costs.
24    A project shall be considered cost-effective only if the
25projected customer reduces his or her payment amount by at
26least 5% over his or her projected costs without the energy

 

 

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1project. The Commission may establish guidelines by which this
2required savings is measured.
3    (d) The Equitable Energy Financing Program should be
4modeled after the PAYS, or Pay As You Save, style system by
5which Program participants finance energy projects using the
6savings that the energy project creates with an on-bill
7financing program. Eligible projects shall not:
8        (1) create personal debt for the customer;
9        (2) result in a lien in the event of nonpayment by
10    customers; or
11        (3) require customers to pay for defective energy
12    projects.
13    (e) Any energy project that is defective or damaged must be
14either replaced or repaired with parts that meet industry
15standards. The Commission may establish, increase, or replace
16the requirements imposed by this subsection (e).
17    (f) The Commission shall establish conditions in the event
18of nonpayment by customers.
 
19    Section 25. Utility participation in the Program.
20    (a) All electric utilities in this State shall be required
21to participate in the Program. Utilities shall not discriminate
22against customers on the basis of their energy supplier.
23    (b) Utilities shall endeavor to inform customers about the
24availability of the Program, their potential eligibility for
25participation in the Program, as well as to whether they are

 

 

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1likely to save money on the basis of an estimate conducted
2using variables consistent with the Program that the utility
3has at its disposal. The Commission may establish guidelines by
4which utilities must abide by this directive.
5    (c) Subject to Commission specifications established in
6Section 15, each utility shall work with certified project
7vendors selected under a request for proposal process to
8establish the terms and processes under which a participant can
9purchase eligible renewable energy generation and energy
10storage systems using the financing obtained from the lender
11through a program designed to fit the Equitable Energy
12Financing Program model. The certified project vendor shall
13explain and offer the approved financing packaging to customers
14and shall assist customers in applying for financing through
15the Equitable Energy Financing Program. As part of the process,
16vendors shall also provide participants with information about
17any other relevant incentives that may be available.
18    (d) An electric utility shall recover all of the prudently
19incurred costs of offering a program approved by the Commission
20under this Section.
21    (e) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt all rules
22necessary for the administration of this Section.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.".