Full Text of HB2427 98th General Assembly
HB2427enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public utilities.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 1-56 as follows: | 6 | | (20 ILCS 3855/1-56) | 7 | | Sec. 1-56. Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy | 8 | | Resources Fund. | 9 | | (a) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources | 10 | | Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. | 11 | | (b) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources | 12 | | Fund shall be administered by the Agency to procure renewable | 13 | | energy resources. Prior to June 1, 2011, resources procured | 14 | | pursuant to this Section shall be procured from facilities | 15 | | located in Illinois, provided the resources are available from | 16 | | those facilities. If resources are not available in Illinois, | 17 | | then they shall be procured in states that adjoin Illinois. If | 18 | | resources are not available in Illinois or in states that | 19 | | adjoin Illinois, then they may be purchased elsewhere. | 20 | | Beginning June 1, 2011, resources procured pursuant to this | 21 | | Section shall be procured from facilities located in Illinois | 22 | | or states that adjoin Illinois. If resources are not available | 23 | | in Illinois or in states that adjoin Illinois, then they may be |
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| 1 | | procured elsewhere. To the extent available, at least 75% of | 2 | | these renewable energy resources shall come from wind | 3 | | generation. Of the renewable energy resources procured | 4 | | pursuant to this Section at least the following specified | 5 | | percentages shall come from photovoltaics on the following | 6 | | schedule: 0.5% by June 1, 2012; 1.5% by June 1, 2013; 3% by | 7 | | June 1, 2014; and 6% by June 1, 2015 and thereafter. Of the | 8 | | renewable energy resources procured pursuant to this Section, | 9 | | at least the following percentages shall come from distributed | 10 | | renewable energy generation devices: 0.5% by June 1, 2013, | 11 | | 0.75% by June 1, 2014, and 1% by June 1, 2015 and thereafter. | 12 | | To the extent available, half of the renewable energy resources | 13 | | procured from distributed renewable energy generation shall | 14 | | come from devices of less than 25 kilowatts in nameplate | 15 | | capacity. Renewable energy resources procured from distributed | 16 | | generation devices may also count towards the required | 17 | | percentages for wind and solar photovoltaics. Procurement of | 18 | | renewable energy resources from distributed renewable energy | 19 | | generation devices shall be done on an annual basis through | 20 | | multi-year contracts of no less than 5 years, and shall consist | 21 | | solely of renewable energy credits. | 22 | | The Agency shall create credit requirements for suppliers | 23 | | of distributed renewable energy. In order to minimize the | 24 | | administrative burden on contracting entities, the Agency | 25 | | shall solicit the use of third-party organizations to aggregate | 26 | | distributed renewable energy into groups of no less than one |
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| 1 | | megawatt in installed capacity. These third-party | 2 | | organizations shall administer contracts with individual | 3 | | distributed renewable energy generation device owners. An | 4 | | individual distributed renewable energy generation device | 5 | | owner shall have the ability to measure the output of his or | 6 | | her distributed renewable energy generation device. | 7 | | (c) The Agency shall procure renewable energy resources at | 8 | | least once each year in conjunction with a procurement event | 9 | | for electric utilities required to comply with Section 1-75 of | 10 | | the Act and shall, whenever possible, enter into long-term | 11 | | contracts on an annual basis for a portion of the incremental | 12 | | requirement for the given procurement year. | 13 | | (d) The price paid to procure renewable energy credits | 14 | | using monies from the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy | 15 | | Resources Fund shall not exceed the winning bid prices paid for | 16 | | like resources procured for electric utilities required to | 17 | | comply with Section 1-75 of this Act. | 18 | | (e) All renewable energy credits procured using monies from | 19 | | the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund shall | 20 | | be permanently retired. | 21 | | (f) The procurement process described in this Section is | 22 | | exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code, | 23 | | pursuant to Section 20-10 of that Code. | 24 | | (g) All disbursements from the Illinois Power Agency | 25 | | Renewable Energy Resources Fund shall be made only upon | 26 | | warrants of the Comptroller drawn upon the Treasurer as |
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| 1 | | custodian of the Fund upon vouchers signed by the Director or | 2 | | by the person or persons designated by the Director for that | 3 | | purpose. The Comptroller is authorized to draw the warrant upon | 4 | | vouchers so signed. The Treasurer shall accept all warrants so | 5 | | signed and shall be released from liability for all payments | 6 | | made on those warrants. | 7 | | (h) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources | 8 | | Fund shall not be subject to sweeps, administrative charges, or | 9 | | chargebacks, including, but not limited to, those authorized | 10 | | under Section 8h of the State Finance Act, that would in any | 11 | | way result in the transfer of any funds from this Fund to any | 12 | | other fund of this State or in having any such funds utilized | 13 | | for any purpose other than the express purposes set forth in | 14 | | this Section.
| 15 | | (i) Supplemental procurement process. | 16 | | (1) Within 90 days after the effective date of this | 17 | | amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the Agency | 18 | | shall develop a one-time supplemental procurement plan | 19 | | limited to the procurement of renewable energy credits, if | 20 | | available, from new or existing photovoltaics, including, | 21 | | but not limited to, distributed photovoltaic generation. | 22 | | Nothing in this subsection (i) requires procurement of wind | 23 | | generation through the supplemental procurement. | 24 | | Renewable energy credits procured from new | 25 | | photovoltaics, including, but not limited to, distributed | 26 | | photovoltaic generation, under this subsection (i) must be |
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| 1 | | procured from devices installed by a qualified person. In | 2 | | its supplemental procurement plan, the Agency shall | 3 | | establish contractually enforceable mechanisms for | 4 | | ensuring that the installation of new photovoltaics is | 5 | | performed by a qualified person. | 6 | | For the purposes of this paragraph (1), "qualified | 7 | | person" means a person who performs installations of | 8 | | photovoltaics, including, but not limited to, distributed | 9 | | photovoltaic generation, and who: (A) has completed an | 10 | | apprenticeship as a journeyman electrician from a United | 11 | | States Department of Labor registered electrical | 12 | | apprenticeship and training program and received a | 13 | | certification of satisfactory completion; or (B) does not | 14 | | currently meet the criteria under clause (A) of this | 15 | | paragraph (1), but is enrolled in a United States | 16 | | Department of Labor registered electrical apprenticeship | 17 | | program, provided that the person is directly supervised by | 18 | | a person who meets the criteria under clause (A) of this | 19 | | paragraph (1); or (C) has obtained one of the following | 20 | | credentials in addition to attesting to satisfactory | 21 | | completion of at least 5 years or 8,000 hours of documented | 22 | | hands-on electrical experience: (i) a North American Board | 23 | | of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Installer | 24 | | Certificate for Solar PV; (ii) an Underwriters | 25 | | Laboratories (UL) PV Systems Installer Certificate; (iii) | 26 | | an Electronics Technicians Association, International |
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| 1 | | (ETAI) Level 3 PV Installer Certificate; or (iv) an | 2 | | Associate in Applied Science degree from an Illinois | 3 | | Community College Board approved community college program | 4 | | in renewable energy or a distributed generation | 5 | | technology. | 6 | | For the purposes of this paragraph (1), "directly | 7 | | supervised" means that there is a qualified person who | 8 | | meets the qualifications under clause (A) of this paragraph | 9 | | (1) and who is available for supervision and consultation | 10 | | regarding the work performed by persons under clause (B) of | 11 | | this paragraph (1), including a final inspection of the | 12 | | installation work that has been directly supervised to | 13 | | ensure safety and conformity with applicable codes. | 14 | | For the purposes of this paragraph (1), "install" means | 15 | | the major activities and actions required to connect, in | 16 | | accordance with applicable building and electrical codes, | 17 | | the conductors, connectors, and all associated fittings, | 18 | | devices, power outlets, or apparatuses mounted at the | 19 | | premises that are directly involved in delivering energy to | 20 | | the premises' electrical wiring from the photovoltaics, | 21 | | including, but not limited to, to distributed photovoltaic | 22 | | generation. | 23 | | The renewable energy credits procured pursuant to the | 24 | | supplemental procurement plan shall be procured using up to | 25 | | $30,000,000 from the Illinois Power Agency Renewable | 26 | | Energy Resources Fund. The Agency shall not plan to use |
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| 1 | | funds from the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy | 2 | | Resources Fund in excess of the monies on deposit in such | 3 | | fund or projected to be deposited into such fund. The | 4 | | supplemental procurement plan shall ensure adequate, | 5 | | reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally | 6 | | sustainable renewable energy resources (including credits) | 7 | | at the lowest total cost over time, taking into account any | 8 | | benefits of price stability. | 9 | | To the extent available, 50% of the renewable energy | 10 | | credits procured from distributed renewable energy | 11 | | generation shall come from devices of less than 25 | 12 | | kilowatts in nameplate capacity. Procurement of renewable | 13 | | energy credits from distributed renewable energy | 14 | | generation devices shall be done through multi-year | 15 | | contracts of no less than 5 years. The Agency shall create | 16 | | credit requirements for counterparties. In order to | 17 | | minimize the administrative burden on contracting | 18 | | entities, the Agency shall solicit the use of third parties | 19 | | to aggregate distributed renewable energy. These third | 20 | | parties shall enter into and administer contracts with | 21 | | individual distributed renewable energy generation device | 22 | | owners. An individual distributed renewable energy | 23 | | generation device owner shall
have the ability to measure | 24 | | the output of his or her distributed renewable energy | 25 | | generation device. | 26 | | In developing the supplemental procurement plan, the |
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| 1 | | Agency shall hold at least one workshop open to the public | 2 | | within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory | 3 | | Act of the 98th General Assembly and shall consider any | 4 | | comments made by stakeholders or the public. Upon | 5 | | development of the supplemental procurement plan within | 6 | | this 90-day period, copies of the supplemental procurement | 7 | | plan shall be posted and made publicly available on the | 8 | | Agency's and Commission's websites. All interested parties | 9 | | shall have 14 days following the date of posting to provide | 10 | | comment to the Agency on the supplemental procurement plan. | 11 | | All comments submitted to the Agency shall be specific, | 12 | | supported by data or other detailed analyses, and, if | 13 | | objecting to all or a portion of the supplemental | 14 | | procurement plan, accompanied by specific alternative | 15 | | wording or proposals. All comments shall be posted on the | 16 | | Agency's and Commission's websites. Within 14 days | 17 | | following the end of the 14-day review period, the Agency | 18 | | shall revise the supplemental procurement plan as | 19 | | necessary based on the comments received and file its | 20 | | revised supplemental procurement plan with the Commission | 21 | | for approval. | 22 | | (2) Within 5 days after the filing of the supplemental | 23 | | procurement plan at the Commission, any person objecting to | 24 | | the supplemental procurement plan shall file an objection | 25 | | with the Commission. Within 10 days after the filing, the | 26 | | Commission shall determine whether a hearing is necessary. |
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| 1 | | The Commission shall enter its order confirming or | 2 | | modifying the supplemental procurement plan within 90 days | 3 | | after the filing of the supplemental procurement plan by | 4 | | the Agency. | 5 | | (3) The Commission shall approve the supplemental | 6 | | procurement plan of renewable energy credits to be procured | 7 | | from new or existing photovoltaics, including, but not | 8 | | limited to, distributed photovoltaic generation, if the | 9 | | Commission determines that it will ensure adequate, | 10 | | reliable, affordable, efficient, and environmentally | 11 | | sustainable electric service in the form of renewable | 12 | | energy credits at the lowest total cost over time, taking | 13 | | into account any benefits of price stability. | 14 | | (4) The supplemental procurement process under this | 15 | | subsection (i) shall include each of the following | 16 | | components: | 17 | | (A) Procurement administrator. The Agency may | 18 | | retain a procurement administrator in the manner set | 19 | | forth in item (2) of subsection (a) of Section 1-75 of | 20 | | this Act to conduct the supplemental procurement or may | 21 | | elect to use the same procurement administrator | 22 | | administering the Agency's annual procurement under | 23 | | Section 1-75. | 24 | | (B) Procurement monitor. The procurement monitor | 25 | | retained by the Commission pursuant to Section | 26 | | 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act shall: |
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| 1 | | (i) monitor interactions among the procurement | 2 | | administrator and bidders and suppliers; | 3 | | (ii) monitor and report to the Commission on | 4 | | the progress of the supplemental procurement | 5 | | process; | 6 | | (iii) provide an independent confidential | 7 | | report to the Commission regarding the results of | 8 | | the procurement events; | 9 | | (iv) assess compliance with the procurement | 10 | | plan approved by the Commission for the | 11 | | supplemental procurement process; | 12 | | (v) preserve the confidentiality of supplier | 13 | | and bidding information in a manner consistent | 14 | | with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and | 15 | | tariffs; | 16 | | (vi) provide expert advice to the Commission | 17 | | and consult with the procurement administrator | 18 | | regarding issues related to procurement process | 19 | | design, rules, protocols, and policy-related | 20 | | matters; | 21 | | (vii) consult with the procurement | 22 | | administrator regarding the development and use of | 23 | | benchmark criteria, standard form contracts, | 24 | | credit policies, and bid documents; and | 25 | | (viii) perform, with respect to the | 26 | | supplemental procurement process, any other |
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| 1 | | procurement monitor duties specifically delineated | 2 | | within subsection (i) of this Section. | 3 | | (C) Solicitation, pre-qualification, and | 4 | | registration of bidders. The procurement administrator | 5 | | shall disseminate information to potential bidders to | 6 | | promote a procurement event, notify potential bidders | 7 | | that the procurement administrator may enter into a | 8 | | post-bid price negotiation with bidders that meet the | 9 | | applicable benchmarks, provide supply requirements, | 10 | | and otherwise explain the competitive procurement | 11 | | process. In addition to such other publication as the | 12 | | procurement administrator determines is appropriate, | 13 | | this information shall be posted on the Agency's and | 14 | | the Commission's websites. The procurement | 15 | | administrator shall also administer the | 16 | | prequalification process, including evaluation of | 17 | | credit worthiness, compliance with procurement rules, | 18 | | and agreement to the standard form contract developed | 19 | | pursuant to item (D) of this paragraph (4). The | 20 | | procurement administrator shall then identify and | 21 | | register bidders to participate in the procurement | 22 | | event. | 23 | | (D) Standard contract forms and credit terms and | 24 | | instruments. The procurement administrator, in | 25 | | consultation with the Agency, the Commission, and | 26 | | other interested parties and subject to Commission |
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| 1 | | oversight, shall develop and provide standard contract | 2 | | forms for the supplier contracts that meet generally | 3 | | accepted industry practices as well as include any | 4 | | applicable State of Illinois terms and conditions that | 5 | | are required for contracts entered into by an agency of | 6 | | the State of Illinois. Standard credit terms and | 7 | | instruments that meet generally accepted industry | 8 | | practices shall be similarly developed. Contracts for | 9 | | new photovoltaics shall include a provision attesting | 10 | | that the supplier will use a qualified person for the | 11 | | installation of the device pursuant to paragraph (1) of | 12 | | subsection (i) of this Section. The procurement | 13 | | administrator shall make available to the Commission | 14 | | all written comments it receives on the contract forms,
| 15 | | credit terms, or instruments. If the procurement | 16 | | administrator cannot reach agreement with the parties | 17 | | as to the contract terms and conditions, the | 18 | | procurement administrator must notify the Commission | 19 | | of any disputed terms and the Commission shall resolve | 20 | | the dispute. The terms of the contracts shall not be | 21 | | subject to negotiation by winning bidders, and the | 22 | | bidders must agree to the terms of the contract in | 23 | | advance so that winning bids are selected solely on the | 24 | | basis of price. | 25 | | (E) Requests for proposals; competitive | 26 | | procurement process. The procurement administrator |
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| 1 | | shall design and issue requests for proposals to supply | 2 | | renewable energy credits in accordance with the | 3 | | supplemental procurement plan, as approved by the | 4 | | Commission. The requests for proposals shall set forth | 5 | | a procedure for sealed, binding commitment bidding | 6 | | with pay-as-bid settlement, and provision for | 7 | | selection of bids on the basis of price, provided, | 8 | | however, that no bid shall be accepted if it exceeds | 9 | | the benchmark developed pursuant to item (F) of this | 10 | | paragraph (4). | 11 | | (F) Benchmarks. Benchmarks for each product to be | 12 | | procured shall be developed by the procurement | 13 | | administrator in consultation with Commission staff, | 14 | | the Agency, and the procurement monitor for use in this | 15 | | supplemental procurement. | 16 | | (G) A plan for implementing contingencies in the | 17 | | event of supplier default, Commission rejection of | 18 | | results, or any other cause. | 19 | | (5) Within 2 business days after opening the sealed | 20 | | bids, the procurement administrator shall submit a | 21 | | confidential report to the Commission. The report shall | 22 | | contain the results of the bidding for each of the products | 23 | | along with the procurement administrator's recommendation | 24 | | for the acceptance and rejection of bids based on the price | 25 | | benchmark criteria and other factors observed in the | 26 | | process. The procurement monitor also shall submit a |
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| 1 | | confidential report to the Commission within 2 business | 2 | | days after opening the sealed bids. The report shall | 3 | | contain the procurement monitor's assessment of bidder | 4 | | behavior in the process as well as an assessment of the | 5 | | procurement administrator's compliance with the | 6 | | procurement process and rules. The Commission shall review | 7 | | the confidential reports submitted by the procurement | 8 | | administrator and procurement monitor and shall accept or | 9 | | reject the recommendations of the procurement | 10 | | administrator within 2 business days after receipt of the | 11 | | reports. | 12 | | (6) Within 3 business days after the Commission | 13 | | decision approving the results of a procurement event, the | 14 | | Agency shall enter into binding contractual arrangements | 15 | | with the winning suppliers using the standard form | 16 | | contracts. | 17 | | (7) The names of the successful bidders and the average | 18 | | of the winning bid prices for each contract type and for | 19 | | each contract term shall be made available to the public | 20 | | within 2 days after the supplemental procurement event. The | 21 | | Commission, the procurement monitor, the procurement | 22 | | administrator, the Agency, and all participants in the | 23 | | procurement process shall maintain the confidentiality of | 24 | | all other supplier and bidding information in a manner | 25 | | consistent with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, | 26 | | and tariffs. Confidential information, including the |
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| 1 | | confidential reports submitted by the procurement | 2 | | administrator and procurement monitor pursuant to this | 3 | | Section, shall not be made publicly available and shall not | 4 | | be discoverable by any party in any proceeding, absent a | 5 | | compelling demonstration of need, nor shall those reports | 6 | | be admissible in any proceeding other than one for law | 7 | | enforcement purposes. | 8 | | (8) The supplemental procurement provided in this | 9 | | subsection (i) shall not be subject to the requirements and | 10 | | limitations of subsections (c) and (d) of this Section. | 11 | | (9) Expenses incurred in connection with the | 12 | | procurement process held pursuant to this Section, | 13 | | including, but not limited to, the cost of developing the | 14 | | supplemental procurement plan, the procurement | 15 | | administrator, procurement monitor, and the cost of the | 16 | | retirement of renewable energy credits purchased pursuant | 17 | | to the supplemental procurement shall be paid for from the | 18 | | Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund. The | 19 | | Agency shall enter into an interagency agreement with the | 20 | | Commission to reimburse the Commission for its costs | 21 | | associated with the procurement monitor for the | 22 | | supplemental procurement process. | 23 | | (Source: P.A. 96-159, eff. 8-10-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; | 24 | | 96-1437, eff. 8-17-10; 97-616, eff. 10-26-11.)
| 25 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 26 | | becoming law.
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