220 ILCS 5/16-202

(220 ILCS 5/16-202)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 16-202. Integrated resource plan review and approval.

(a) The Commission shall enter its order approving or approving with modifications an integrated resource plan within 180 days after the agencies filing the plan and any companion reports or other information. The Commission may extend the period of review of the plan for no more than an additional 180 days.

(b) The Commission may approve a plan or a modified plan and authorize its implementation only if, after notice and hearing, including the conduct of discovery and taking of evidence, it finds that the plan:

(1) addresses any resource adequacy challenges in the 5 years immediately following approval of the plan, while also taking into account the 10 years following the plan;

(2) prepares the State to best address issues of resource adequacy at the least amount of CO2e and copollutant emissions;

(3) considers the emissions' impacts on environmental justice communities while taking into account all applicable labor and equity standards;

(4) supports the provisioning of adequate, reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable electric service at the lowest total cost over time; and

(5) utilizes the expansion of renewable energy, energy storage, virtual power plants and distributed energy storage, energy efficiency, demand response, time-of-use rates or other mechanisms designed to manage peak load, transmission development, carbon mitigation credits or any other clean energy strategies to the maximum extent practicable to resolve any identified resource adequacy shortfall or reliability violation in a cost-effective, affordable, timely, and clean manner.

(c) The Commission may, as a part of its decision to approve a plan or modified plan and to the extent consistent with the uniform allocation of costs required under subsection (k) of Section 16-108, order changes to existing programs, direct specific actions within existing programs including the authorization to support the expansion of an existing program, including, but not limited to:

(1) any of the following plans or programs designed to increase the amount of generation and capacity available:

(i) the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, including programs and procurements authorized through that Plan, and to increase the limitations placed on the procurement of renewable energy resources established pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act in order to increase, direct, or adjust procurements of renewable energy resources to support new renewable energy projects;

(ii) the Energy Storage Resources Procurement Plan, including programs and procurements authorized through that Plan, and to increase the procurement of energy storage established pursuant to subsection (d-20) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act in order to increase or adjust procurements for new energy storage;

(iii) the carbon mitigation credit procurement plans established pursuant to subsection (d-10) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act in order to preserve existing carbon-free energy resources, including extending or expanding carbon mitigation credit contract awards in accordance with a new schedule of baseline costs;

(iv) the Illinois Power Agency's annual electricity procurement plans established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of Section 16-111.5, including modification of the products to be procured and allowing for costs associated with the purchase of new or additional products to be socialized across all retail customers or all load-serving entities, as applicable; and

(v) any additional programs designed to procure appropriate sources of new clean energy and capacity resources, including any associated clean attribute credits; and

(2) any of the following designed to manage energy demand, including, but not limited to:

(i) extending or expanding the energy efficiency programs implemented by electric utilities and the limitation on the amount of energy efficiency and demand-response measures implemented pursuant to Section 8-103B in order to gain increased load reductions; and

(ii) the Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plans implemented by electric utilities pursuant to Section 16-105.17 in order to extend or expand programs related to peak load management and reduction, including, but not limited to, virtual power plants, front of the meter distributed storage, demand response, and time-of-use rates.

(d) If all of the changes made to the programs pursuant to this Section would reasonably be insufficient to balance supply and demand and avoid a resource adequacy shortfall, then the Commission may delay, in whole or in part, the CO2e and copollutant emissions reductions requirements found in Section 9.15 of the Environmental Protection Act but only to the minimum extent and duration necessary to address the resource adequacy shortfall needs of the State. If the Commission finds that reducing or delaying the emissions reductions requirements is necessary, despite any or all of the changes made pursuant to this Section, then it shall also include in its final order recommendations to the General Assembly on what additional policies may be adopted that could avoid future modifications to the emissions reductions.

(e) Unless otherwise specified by the Commission, the order approving the plan or modified plan shall become effective January 1 of the calendar year immediately following the issuance of the order. The agencies, electric utilities, and any other impacted entities shall comply with any of the Commission's orders, and when required seek approval from the Commission and make any required modifications to their plans, programs, or related initiatives in a manner consistent with the process and timing for those changes as outlined in the approved plans or, if none is specified, as soon as practicable. If the integrated resource plan approved by the Commission contains recommendations that are outside the Commission's authority, the Commission shall communicate any such recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly.

(f) Given the critical and rapid actions required under this Section, the Commission may procure the services of any facilitator, expert, or consultant, including the procurement monitor retained by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section 16-111.5. Such procurement is exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code, pursuant to Section 20-10 of that Code.

(g) Costs that are prudently and reasonably incurred by electric utilities to comply with the requirements of this Section shall be recovered and shall be excluded from the calculation performed under paragraph (6) of subsection (f) of Section 16-108.18. Nothing in the Commission's order directing changes to a prior approved plan as enumerated in this Section shall be the sole basis for a finding of imprudence or unreasonableness or the lack of use or usefulness of any investment or expenditure.

(h) If the Commission's final order under this Section includes the approval of rate increases through the expansion of existing programs, the creation of new programs, or the increase of limitations placed on procurements as described under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c), the Commission shall submit notice to the General Assembly of the increases included in the final order, including the estimated monthly cost impact on customers and the expected costs savings or benefits of such actions. After receipt of a notice, any member of the General Assembly may introduce in the General Assembly a joint resolution stating that the General Assembly desires to suspend the rate increases, or suspend a portion of the rate increases, identified in the final order and specifying the rationale for the General Assembly's determination.

(1) If the General Assembly passes a joint resolution under this subsection (h) that takes effect prior to the effective date of the Commission's final order, the General Assembly shall send notice to the Commission of the resolution, and the Commission shall suspend its final order. Within 30 days of receipt of the General Assembly's notice, the Commission shall reopen the docket approving the plan or modified plan in order to take into account the General Assembly's reduction or elimination of the rate increases. The Commission shall approve the modified plan within 120 days of reopening the docket, including the conduct of discovery and the taking of evidence, and send notice to the General Assembly of its modified plan. The General Assembly may rescind its desire to suspend the rate increases, or suspend a portion of the rate increases, by adoption of a subsequent joint resolution by each chamber of the General Assembly within 30 days of receipt of the Commission's notice that would put into effect the Commission's original final order.

(2) If the General Assembly fails to pass a joint resolution under this subsection (h) prior to the effective date of the Commission's final order, the associated rate increases shall go into effect pursuant to the schedule specified in the Commission's final order approving the plan or modified plan.

(i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement the requirements of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 104-458, eff. 6-1-26.)