SB2123sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Robert Peters

Filed: 3/15/2019

10100SB2123sam001 LRB101 09746 RJF 57877 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2123

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2123 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Equitable Energy Financing Act.

Section 5. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds that Illinois homes and businesses can contribute to the creation of a clean energy economy, conservation of natural resources, and reliability of the electricity grid through the installation of cost-effective renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, and energy storage systems. The General Assembly further finds that a large portion of Illinois residents and businesses that would benefit from the installation of energy efficiency, energy storage systems, and renewable energy generation systems are unable to purchase systems due to capital or credit barriers. The purpose of this Act is to implement much needed modifications to the State's regulation of utilities that the General Assembly believes will enable many more Illinoisans to access the health, environmental, and financial benefits of new clean energy technology.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Commission" means to the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Energy project" means a renewable energy generation system, energy efficiency upgrades, energy storage systems, or any combination thereof.

"Program" refers to the Equitable Energy Financing Program established under this Act.

"Utility" means public utilities providing electric service to customers as provided under the Public Utilities Act, as well as municipal electricity aggregators and electricity cooperatives.

Section 15. Equitable Energy Financing Program.

(a) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish a Program for all electric utilities in this State which permits customers to finance the construction of energy projects through an optional tariff payable directly through their utility bill, modeled after the PAYS or Pay as You Save program design. The Program model shall offer to make investments in energy projects to customer properties with low-cost capital and use an opt-in tariff to recover the costs. This Program shall be referred to as the Equitable Energy Financing Program. The Program shall be designed to provide customers with financial savings if they choose to participate. The Program will allow residential electric utility customers that own the property, or renters that have a long-term lease on the property, for which they subscribe to utility service, to purchase an energy project. The Program will ensure the following:

(1) eligible projects do not require up-front payments;

(2) eligible projects have an estimated life cycle savings that exceeds the cost of the project;

(3) participants will finance the projects by paying for the project through an optional tariff directly through the participant's electricity bill, allowing participants to invest in energy projects without traditional loans;

(4) accessibility by lower income residents and environmental justice community residents; and

(5) administration is in coordination with the energy efficiency on-bill financing program established in the Public Utilities Act to maximize access and financial savings by residents.

(b) In the design of the Equitable Energy Financing Program, the Commission shall:

(1) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, convene a workshop process during which interested participants may discuss issues and submit comments related to the Program.

(2) Establish Program guidelines that electric utilities will abide by when designing their plan to participate in the Program. Program guidelines established by the Commission shall include the following elements:

(A) Capital funds. The Commission shall establish conditions under which utilities secure capital to fund the energy projects. The Commission may allow utilities to raise capital independently, work with third party lenders to secure the capital for participants, or a combination thereof. Any process the Commission approves must use a market mechanism to identify the least costly sources of capital funds so as to pass on maximum savings to participants. The State of Illinois may also choose to provide capital for this Program.

(B) Customer protections. Customer protection guidelines should be designed based on the principles established in Section 20.

(C) Energy project vendors. The Commission shall establish conditions by which utilities may connect Program participants to energy project vendors. In setting conditions for connection, the Commission may prioritize vendors that have a history of good relations with the State, including vendors which have hired participants from State-created job training programs.

(D) Financial savings guarantee. The guidelines established by the Commission shall include a guarantee of anticipated financial savings by Program participants.

(c) Within 60 days after the Commission releases the Program conditions established under this Section, each utility subject to the requirements of this Section shall submit an informational filing to the Commission that describes its plan for implementing the provisions of this Act. If the Commission finds that the submission does not properly comply with the statutory or regulatory requirements of the Program, the Commission may require that the utility make modifications to their filing.

(d) An independent evaluation of the Program shall be conducted after 2 years of the Program's operation. An advisory council of stakeholders, including representation of low income and environment justice Community members, shall make recommendations in response to the findings of the independent evaluation.

Section 20. Customer protections; cost-effectiveness.

(a) The Equitable Energy Financing Program shall be designed to be cost-effective for customers to see guaranteed savings in their utility bills. Only projects that are deemed to be cost-effective and can be reasonably expected to ensure customer savings are eligible for funding through the Program. Projects shall only be considered cost-effective if they deliver savings to the customer. Anticipated savings must be expected to be present (1) on a monthly or bill-cycle basis and (2) over the lifetime of the energy project.

(b) Eligible customers must be: (1) retail customers who are renters with a long-term lease; or (2) property owners.

(c) The calculation of cost-effectiveness must be conducted by an objective process established by the Commission. Factors that may be used to establish whether a project is cost-effective include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) anticipated energy produced or conserved by a potential energy project;

(2) historical and projected energy prices;

(3) participant access to net-metering rebates;

(4) a participant's ability to sell energy credits created by the energy project in Illinois or other jurisdictions; and

(5) a participant's history of energy use and bill costs.

A project shall be considered cost-effective only if the projected customer reduces his or her payment amount by at least 5% over his or her projected costs without the energy project. The Commission may establish guidelines by which this required savings is measured.

(d) The Equitable Energy Financing Program should be modeled after the PAYS, or Pay As You Save, style system by which Program participants finance energy projects using the savings that the energy project creates with an on-bill financing program. Eligible projects shall not:

(1) create personal debt for the customer;

(2) result in a lien in the event of nonpayment by customers; or

(3) require customers to pay for defective energy projects.

(e) Any energy project that is defective or damaged must be either replaced or repaired with parts that meet industry standards. The Commission may establish, increase, or replace the requirements imposed by this subsection (e).

(f) The Commission shall establish conditions in the event of nonpayment by customers.

Section 25. Utility participation in the Program.

(a) All electric utilities in this State shall be required to participate in the Program. Utilities shall not discriminate against customers on the basis of their energy supplier.

(b) Utilities shall endeavor to inform customers about the availability of the Program, their potential eligibility for participation in the Program, as well as to whether they are likely to save money on the basis of an estimate conducted using variables consistent with the Program that the utility has at its disposal. The Commission may establish guidelines by which utilities must abide by this directive.

(c) Subject to Commission specifications established in Section 15, each utility shall work with certified project vendors selected under a request for proposal process to establish the terms and processes under which a participant can purchase eligible renewable energy generation and energy storage systems using the financing obtained from the lender through a program designed to fit the Equitable Energy Financing Program model. The certified project vendor shall explain and offer the approved financing packaging to customers and shall assist customers in applying for financing through the Equitable Energy Financing Program. As part of the process, vendors shall also provide participants with information about any other relevant incentives that may be available.

(d) An electric utility shall recover all of the prudently incurred costs of offering a program approved by the Commission under this Section.

(e) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt all rules necessary for the administration of this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".