Energy

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that, to assist and support the Illinois Commerce Commission in the development of renewable energy access plan updates, the Commission may retain the services of technical and policy experts with relevant expertise and experience. Provides that the procurement is exempt from the requirements of the Illinois Procurement Code. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code to make a conforming change. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Sets forth procedures for the processing of interconnection requests from applicants for distributed renewable generation projects on public school land. Provides that, for all net metering credits or other credits owed to a customer who has elected to install a distributed renewable generation project on public school land, all credits intended for the benefit of the consumer must be credited by the public utility or retail energy supplier within 90 days after the public utility or retail energy supplier determines that the criteria for the credit have been met. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt revisions to its standards for the interconnection of eligible renewable generating equipment and net metering credit rules to conform with the requirements of the provisions of the amendatory Act. In provisions concerning customer self-generation of electricity, provides that, for distributed renewable generation projects on public school land, any fees for interconnection applications charged by the electric cooperative or municipal system must be substantially similar to the fees charged by public utilities for the interconnection of the same or similar projects and must not exceed 150% of the cost of the base interconnection fees of the other public utilities. Effective immediately.

Creates the Illinois Appliance Standards Act. Directs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to adopt minimum efficiency standards for covered products. Provides for testing, certification, and labeling of covered products. Contains provisions concerning enforcement of the Act's requirements. Provides for administrative rulemaking by the Agency. Makes findings. Defines terms.

Creates the Electric Transmission Facilities Siting Act. Defines terms. Requires that, in the siting of new electric transmission facilities, available corridors be used in the following order of priority: (1) existing public utility corridors; (2) highway corridors; and (3) new corridors. Provides that a public utility or developer may construct, place, or maintain a high-voltage electric service line on a public right-of-way or along a highway if (i) the public utility or developer submits a colocation request for the high-voltage electric service line to the Secretary of Transportation and (ii) the Secretary reviews and approves the colocation request. Requires a public utility or developer to develop a constructability report in consultation with the Department of Transportation and requires the public utility or developer and the Department to follow the terms and conditions of the constructability report during the planning and approval process for the siting of a high-voltage electric service line. Sets forth requirements for the content of the constructability report. Amends the Public Utilities Act. In provisions concerning distributed generation rebates, provides that the owner or operator of distributed generation that, before January 1, 2025 (rather than before the threshold date), is eligible for net metering under the Act may apply for a base rebate for an associated energy storage device behind the same retail customer meter as the distributed generation, regardless of whether the distributed generation applies for a rebate for the distributed generation device. Provides that, after the threshold date, a stand-alone energy storage system that is neither paired with distributed generation nor with any electric load beyond the electric load that is used by the energy storage system itself (rather than a stand-alone energy storage system) shall be compensated with a rebate of $250 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity. Amends the Environmental Protection Act. In provisions concerning greenhouse gases, provides that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Power Agency shall file a plan to reduce or delay certain emissions reductions requirements with the Illinois Commerce Commission for review in conjunction with the integrated resource plan under certain provisions of the Public Utilities Act. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Energy Transition Act. Provides that the Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program shall recruit, prescreen, and provide pre-apprenticeship training relevant to clean energy apprenticeships in the construction and building trades and that the Program shall meet certain requirements regarding applicant placements (rather than requiring each Climate Works Hub that receives funding from the Energy Transition Assistance Fund to perform certain actions).