220 ILCS 5/ Public Utilities Act.

(220 ILCS 5/16-128B)

Sec. 16-128B. Qualified energy efficiency installers.

(a) Within 18 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing a process for entities installing energy efficiency measures to certify compliance with the requirements of this Section.

The process shall include an option to complete the certification electronically by completing forms on-line. An entity installing energy efficiency measures shall be permitted to complete the certification after the subject work has been completed.

The Commission shall maintain on its website a list of entities installing energy efficiency measures that have successfully completed the certification process.

(b) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission may:

(1) determine which entities are subject to certification under this Section;

(2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties;

(3) adopt disciplinary procedures;

(4) investigate any and all activities subject to this Section, including violations thereof;

(5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under this Act or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to this Section; and

(6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of this Section.

(c) An electric utility may not provide a retail customer with a rebate or other energy efficiency incentive for a measure that exceeds a minimal amount determined by the Commission unless the customer provides the electric utility with (1) a certification that the person installing the energy efficiency measure was a self-installer; or (2) evidence that the energy efficiency measure was installed by an entity certified under this Section that is also in good standing with the Commission.

(d) The Commission shall:

(1) require entities installing energy efficiency measures to be certified to do business and to be bonded in this State;

(2) ensure that entities installing energy efficiency measures have the requisite knowledge, skill, training, experience, and competence to perform functions in a safe and reliable manner as required under subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act;

(3) ensure that entities installing energy efficiency measures conform to applicable building and electrical codes;

(4) ensure that all entities installing energy efficiency measures meet recognized industry standards as the Commission deems appropriate;

(5) include any additional requirements that the Commission deems reasonable to ensure that entities installing energy efficiency measures meet adequate training, financial, and competency requirements;

(6) ensure that all entities installing energy efficiency measures obtain certificates of insurance in sufficient amounts and coverages that the Commission so determines; and

(7) identify and determine the training or other programs by which persons or entities may obtain the requisite training, skill, or experience necessary to achieve and maintain compliance with the requirements of this Section.

(e) Fees and penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Public Utility Fund and used to fund the Commission's compliance with the obligations imposed by this Section.

(f) The rules adopted under this Section shall specify the initial dates for compliance with the rules.

(g) For purposes of this Section, entities installing energy efficiency measures shall endeavor to support the diversity goals of this State by attracting, developing, retaining, and providing opportunities to employees of all backgrounds and by supporting female-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and small businesses.

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-129)

Sec. 16-129. Existing contracts not affected. Nothing in this Article XVI shall affect the right of an electric utility to continue to provide, or the right of the customer to continue to receive, service pursuant to a contract for electric service between the electric utility and the customer, in accordance with the prices, terms and conditions provided for in that contract. Either the electric utility or the customer may require compliance with the prices, terms and conditions of such contract.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-130)

Sec. 16-130. Annual reports.

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is necessary to have reliable and accurate information regarding the transition to a competitive electric industry. In addition to the annual report requirements pursuant to Section 5-109 of this Act, each electric utility shall file with the Commission a report on the following topics in accordance with the schedule set forth in subsection (b) of this Section:

(1) Data on each customer class of the electric utility in which delivery services have been elected, including:

(A) number of retail customers in each class that have elected delivery service;

(B) kilowatt hours consumed by the customers described in subparagraph (A);

(C) revenue loss experienced by the utility as a result of customers electing delivery services or market-based prices as compared to continued service under otherwise applicable tariffed rates;

(D) total amount of funds collected from each customer class pursuant to the transition charges authorized in Section 16-108;

(E) such other information as the Commission may by rule require.

(2) A description of any steps taken by the electric utility to mitigate and reduce its costs, including both a detailed description of steps taken during the preceding calendar year and a summary of steps taken since December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561), and including, to the extent practicable, quantification of the costs mitigated or reduced by specific actions taken by the electric utility.

(3) A description of actions taken under Sections 5-104, 7-204, 9-220, and 16-111 of this Act. This information shall include, but not be limited to:

(A) a description of the actions taken;

(B) the effective date of the action;

(C) the annual savings or additional charges realized by customers from actions taken, by customer class and total for each year;

(D) the accumulated impact on customers by customer class and total; and

(E) a summary of the method used to quantify the impact on customers.

(4) A summary of the electric utility's use of transitional funding instruments, including a description of the electric utility's use of the proceeds of any transitional funding instruments it has issued in accordance with Article XVIII of this Act.

(5) Kilowatt-hours consumed in the twelve months ending December 31, 1996 (which kilowatt-hours are hereby referred to as "base year sales") by customer class multiplied by the revenue per kilowatt hour, adjusted to remove charges added to customers' bills pursuant to Sections 9-221 and 9-222 of this Act, during the twelve months ending December 31, 1996, adjusted for the reductions required by subsection (b) of Section 16-111 and the mitigation factors contained in Section 16-102. This amount shall be stated for: (i) each calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b); and (ii) as a cumulative total of all calendar years beginning with 1998 and ending with the calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b).

(6) Calculations identical to those required by subparagraph (5) except that base year sales shall be adjusted for growth in the electric utility's service territory, in addition to the other adjustments specified by the first sentence of subparagraph (5).

(7) The electric utility's total revenue and net income for each calendar year beginning with 1997 through the calendar year preceding the year in which a report is required to be submitted pursuant to subsection (b) as reported in the electric utility's Form 1 report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(8) Any consideration in excess of the net book cost as of December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561) received by the electric utility during the year from a sale made subsequent to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561) to a non-affiliated third party of any generating plant that was owned by the electric utility on December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561).

(9) Any consideration received by the electric utility from sales or transfers during the year to an affiliated interest of generating plant, or other plant that represents an investment of $25,000,000 or more in terms of total depreciated original cost, which generating or other plant were owned by the electric utility prior to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561).

(10) Any consideration received by an affiliated interest of an electric utility from sales or transfers during the year to a non-affiliated third party of generating plant, but only if: (i) the electric utility had previously sold or transferred such plant to the affiliated interest subsequent to December 16, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-561); (ii) the affiliated interest sells or transfers such plant to a non-affiliated third party prior to December 31, 2006; and (iii) the affiliated interest receives consideration for the sale or transfer of such plant to the non-affiliated third party in an amount greater than the cost or price at which such plant was sold or transferred to the affiliated interest by the electric utility.

(11) A summary account of those expenditures made for projects, programs, and improvements relating to transmission and distribution including, without limitation, infrastructure expansion, repair and replacement, capital investments, operations and maintenance, and vegetation management, pursuant to a written commitment made under subsection (k) of Section 16-111.

(b) The information required by subsection (a) shall be filed by each electric utility on or before March 1 of each year 1999 through 2007 or through such additional years as the electric utility is collecting transition charges pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108, for the previous calendar year. The information required by subparagraph (6) of subsection (a) for calendar year 1997 shall be submitted by the electric utility on or before March 1, 1999.

(c) On or before May 15 of each year 1999 through 2006 or through such additional years as the electric utility is collecting transition charges pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 16-108, the Commission shall submit a report to the General Assembly which summarizes the information provided by each electric utility under this Section; provided, however, that proprietary or confidential information shall not be publicly disclosed.

(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/16-135)

Sec. 16-135. Energy Storage Program.

(a) The Illinois General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(1) Energy storage systems provide opportunities to:

(A) reduce costs to ratepayers directly or indirectly by avoiding or deferring the need for investment in new generation and for upgrades to systems for the transmission and distribution of electricity;

(B) reduce the use of fossil fuels for meeting demand during peak load periods;

(C) provide ancillary services such as frequency response, load following, and voltage support;

(D) assist electric utilities with integrating sources of renewable energy into the grid for the transmission and distribution of electricity, and with maintaining grid stability;

(E) support diversification of energy resources;

(F) enhance the resilience and reliability of the electric grid; and

(G) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants resulting from power generation, thereby minimizing public health impacts that result from power generation.

(2) There are significant barriers to obtaining the benefits of energy storage systems, including inadequate valuation of the services that energy storage can provide to the grid and the public.

(3) It is in the public interest to:

(A) develop a robust competitive market for existing and new providers of energy storage systems in order to leverage Illinois' position as a leader in advanced energy and to capture the potential for economic development;

(B) implement targets and programs to achieve deployment of energy storage systems; and

(C) modernize distributed energy resource programs and interconnection standards to lower costs and efficiently deploy energy storage systems in order to increase economic development and job creation within the state's clean energy economy.

(b) In this Section:

"Energy storage peak standard" means a percentage of annual retail electricity sales during peak hours that an electric utility must derive from electricity discharged from eligible energy storage systems.

"Deployment" means the installation of energy storage systems through a variety of mechanisms, including utility procurement, customer installation, or other processes.

"Electric utility" has the same meaning as provided in Section 16-102 of this Act.

"Energy storage system" means a technology that is capable of absorbing zero-carbon energy, storing it for a period of time, and redelivering that energy after it has been stored in order to provide direct or indirect benefits to the broader electricity system. The term includes, but is not limited to, electrochemical, thermal, and electromechanical technologies.

"Nonwires alternatives solicitation" means a utility solicitation for third-party-owned or utility-owned distributed energy resources that uses nontraditional solutions to defer or replace planned investment on the distribution or transmission system.

"Total peak demand" means the highest hourly electricity demand for an electric utility in a given year, measured in megawatts, from all of the electric utility's customers of distribution service.

(c) The Commission, in consultation with the Illinois Power Agency, shall initiate a proceeding to examine specific programs, mechanisms, and policies that could support the deployment of energy storage systems. The Illinois Commerce Commission shall engage a broad group of Illinois stakeholders, including electric utilities, the energy storage industry, the renewable energy industry, and others to inform the proceeding. The proceeding must, at minimum:

(1) develop a framework to identify and measure the potential costs, benefits, that deployment of energy storage could produce, as well as barriers to realizing such benefits, including, but not limited to:

(A) avoided cost and deferred investments in generation, transmission, and distribution facilities;

(B) reduced ancillary services costs;

(C) reduced transmission and distribution congestion;

(D) lower peak power costs and reduced capacity costs;

(E) reduced costs for emergency power supplies during outages;

(F) reduced curtailment of renewable energy generators;

(G) reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other criteria air pollutants;

(H) increased grid hosting capacity of renewable energy generators that produce energy on an intermittent basis;

(I) increased reliability and resilience of the electric grid;

(J) reduced line losses;

(K) increased resource diversification;

(L) increased economic development;

(2) analyze and estimate:

(A) the impact on the system's ability to integrate renewable resources;

(B) the benefits of addition of storage at specific locations, such as at existing peaking units or locations on the grid close to large load centers;

(C) the impact on grid reliability and power quality; and

(D) the effect on retail electric rates and supply rates over the useful life of a given energy storage system; and

(3) evaluate and identify cost-effective policies and programs to support the deployment of energy storage systems, including, but not limited to:

(A) incentive programs;

(B) energy storage peak standards;

(C) nonwires alternative solicitation;

(D) peak demand reduction programs for behind-the-meter storage for all customer classes;

(E) value of distributed energy resources programs;

(F) tax incentives;

(G) time-varying rates;

(H) updating of interconnection processes and metering standards; and

(I) procurement by the Illinois Power Agency of energy storage resources.

(d) The Commission shall, no later than May 31, 2022, submit to the General Assembly and the Governor any recommendations for additional legislative, regulatory, or executive actions based on the findings of the proceeding.

(e) At the conclusion of the proceeding required under subsection (c), the Commission shall consider and recommend to the Governor and General Assembly energy storage deployment targets, if any, for each electric utility that serves more than 200,000 customers to be achieved by December 31, 2032, including recommended interim targets.

(f) In setting recommendations for energy storage deployment targets, the Commission shall:

(1) take into account the costs and benefits of procuring energy storage according to the framework developed in the proceeding under subsection (c);

(2) consider establishing specific subcategories of deployment of systems by point of interconnection or application.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

(220 ILCS 5/Art. XVII heading) ARTICLE XVII. ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES AND MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS

(220 ILCS 5/17-100)

Sec. 17-100. Exemption from provisions of this amendatory Act of 1997. Electric cooperatives, as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and public utilities that are owned and operated by any political subdivision, or municipal corporation of this State, or owned by such an entity and operated by any lessee or any operating agent thereof, hereinafter referred to as municipal systems, shall not be subject to the provisions of this amendatory Act of 1997, except as hereinafter provided in this Article XVII.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-200)

Sec. 17-200. Election to provide existing or future customers access to alternative retail electric suppliers.

(a) An electric cooperative or municipal system each may, by appropriate action and at the sole discretion of the governing body of each, from time to time make one or more elections to cause one or more of the existing or future customers of each respective system to be eligible to take service from an alternative retail electric supplier for a specified period of time. Provided that, and subject to their authority to serve customers pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act with respect to electric cooperatives and pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code with respect to municipal systems, each shall continue to provide exclusive distribution facilities for any existing and future customers that the electric cooperative or municipal system are now or in the future otherwise entitled to serve and which customers are now or in the future receiving service provided by an alternative retail electric supplier.

(b) Notification of election to provide existing or future customers access to alternative retail electric suppliers. The election by an electric cooperative or municipal system authorizing access to alternative retail electric suppliers for existing or future customers shall be made by filing notice thereof with the Commission and shall be made effective only by such filing.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-300)

Sec. 17-300. Election to be an alternative retail electric supplier.

(a) An electric cooperative or municipal system may, by appropriate action, and at the sole discretion of the governing body of each, make an election to become an alternative retail electric supplier. A generation and transmission electric cooperative may not, as an alternative retail electric supplier, serve any present or future retail customers of a distribution electric cooperative not a member of that generation and transmission electric cooperative unless at least 30% of the total number of meters of the generation and transmission electric cooperative's member-cooperatives are eligible to obtain electric power and energy from an alternative retail electric supplier other than the generation and transmission electric cooperative or an electric utility due to member-cooperative elections pursuant to either Section 17-200 or 17-300.

(b) Commission authority over an electric cooperative or municipal system electing to be an alternative retail electric supplier. An electric cooperative or municipal system electing to be an alternative retail electric supplier shall provide those services in accordance with Sections 16-115A and 16-115B of this Act, to the extent that these Sections have application to the services being offered by the electric cooperative or municipal system as an alternative retail electric supplier. In no case shall these provisions apply to the existing or future customers taking delivery services from an electric cooperative or municipal system pursuant to their respective authority under the Electric Supplier Act or the Illinois Municipal Code.

(c) Notification of election to be an alternative retail electric supplier. Upon filing notice of intent by an electric cooperative or a municipal system to become an alternative retail electric supplier, the Commission shall issue within 45 days a certificate of service authority for the entire State or for a specified geographic area of the State, as specified in the notice. Issuance of a certificate of service authority shall constitute compliance with Section 16-115 of this Act.

(d) Delivery services provided by electric cooperatives or municipal systems. Municipal systems or electric cooperatives making an election under this Section shall be required to provide delivery services on their respective systems to the electric utility or utilities in whose service area or areas the proposed service will be offered. Such required delivery services to be provided by the electric cooperatives and municipal systems shall be reasonably comparable to the delivery services provided to the electric cooperative's and municipal system's own customers.

(e) Exclusive authority over distribution facilities. Provided that, and subject to their authority to serve customers pursuant to the Electric Supplier Act with respect to electric cooperatives and pursuant to the Illinois Municipal Code with respect to municipal systems, each shall continue to provide the exclusive distribution facilities for any existing and future customers that the electric cooperative or municipal system is now or in the future otherwise entitled to serve, and which customers are now or in the future receiving service provided by an alternative retail electric supplier.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97; 90-624, eff. 7-10-98.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-400)

Sec. 17-400. Conditions prohibiting municipal system participation. At no time shall a municipal system make an election under Sections 17-200 or 17-300 of this Article if such election places at risk:

(1) Any status held by the municipal system or municipal corporation or political subdivision which provides exemption from State or federal tax statutes; or

(2) Any debt, credit instrument or other contractual financial obligation held by, or on behalf of the municipal system which was entered into under an exemption from State or federal tax statutes.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/17-500)

Sec. 17-500. Jurisdiction. Except as provided in the Electric Supplier Act, the Illinois Municipal Code, and this Article XVII, the Commission, or any other agency or subdivision thereof of the State of Illinois or any private entity shall have no jurisdiction over any electric cooperative or municipal system regardless of whether any election or elections as provided for herein have been made, and all control regarding an electric cooperative or municipal system shall be vested in the electric cooperative's board of directors or trustees or the applicable governing body of the municipal system.

(Source: P.A. 90-561, eff. 12-16-97.)