220 ILCS 5/16-135
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 220 - UTILITIES|220 ILCS 5/ - Public Utilities Act.|Article XVI - Electric Service Customer Choice And Rate Relief Law Of 1997

(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.)