Bill Amendment: IL HB5610 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: POWERING UP ILLINOIS ACT

Status: 2025-01-07 - Session Sine Die [HB5610 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5610-House_Amendment_002.html

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Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II

Filed: 4/17/2024

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5610
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5610, AS AMENDED,
by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Powering Up Illinois Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Electrification" means any new use of electricity,
expanded use of electricity, or change in use of electricity,
including, but not limited to, any change in the use of
electricity in the industrial, commercial, agricultural,
housing, or transportation sectors.
"Electric Utility" means an electric utility serving more
than 200,000 customers in this State.
"Energization" and "energize" means the connection of new
customers to the electrical grid, the establishment of

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adequate electrical capacity to provide service for a new
customer, or upgrading electrical capacity to provide adequate
service to an existing customer. The terms "energization" and
"energize" do not include activities related to connecting
electricity supply resources.
"Energization time period" means the period of time that
begins when the electric utility receives a substantially
complete energization project application and ends when the
electric service associated with the project is installed and
energized, consistent with the service obligations set forth
in the Section 8-101 of the Public Utilities Act.
Section 10. Findings. The General Assembly finds and
declares all of the following:
(1) It is the policy of the State to increase the use
of electric vehicles in the State to 1,000,000 by 2030.
That expanded infrastructure investment will help Illinois
more rapidly decarbonize the transportation sector.
Widespread use of electric vehicles and charging equipment
has the potential to provide customers with fuel cost
savings and provide electric utility customers with
cost-saving benefits. Widespread use of electric vehicles
stimulates innovation, competition, and increased choices
in charging equipment and networks and also attracts
private capital investments and creates high-quality jobs
in Illinois. Accelerating the adoption of electric

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vehicles will drive the decarbonization of Illinois'
transportation sector. To meet these goals and federal,
State, regional, and local air quality and decarbonization
standards, plans, and regulations, a large increase in
both the quantity of electricity used and the functions
for which electricity will be used is needed.
(2) To meet these decarbonization goals as well as
federal, State, regional, and local air quality and
decarbonization standards, plans, and regulations:
(A) the State's electrical distribution systems
must be substantially upgraded;
(B) new customers must promptly connect to the
electrical distribution system; and
(C) existing customers must have their service
level promptly upgraded.
(3) There are many reports of large housing
developments that are unable to be energized promptly. The
State has an urgent need to increase its supply of
housing, requiring both new electrical distribution
capacity and the prompt energization of new housing.
(4) There are many reports of individual customers who
are unable to have their electrical service promptly
upgraded or energized and charging stations for
light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and
off-road vehicles, vessels, trains, and equipment that are
unable to be energized promptly. These delays may inhibit

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the State's ability to meet its decarbonization goals and
federal, State, regional, and local air quality and
decarbonization standards, plans, and regulations.
(5) To improve the speed at which energization and
service upgrades are performed, electric utilities that
distribute electricity must do both of the following:
(A) accelerate their advance planning,
engineering, and construction of increased
distribution and transmission system capacity; and
(B) advance order transformers, switchgear, and
other needed equipment to support acceleration of
activities in subparagraph (A).
(6) Electrifying transportation and buildings can put
downward pressure on rates by spreading fixed costs over
more kilowatt-hours of usage.
(7) Delays in energization, including service
upgrades, are costly both to the customers awaiting
service and to other customers who are deprived of the
downward pressure on rates.
(8) To carry out the planning, engineering, and
construction of electrical distribution systems needed to
promptly serve customers, electric utilities that
distribute electricity must recruit, train, and retain an
adequately sized, qualified workforce.
(9) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish
target deadlines for utilities that distribute electricity

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to energize new customers and upgrade the service of
existing customers.
(10) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish
reporting requirements for electric utilities that
distribute electricity to report the extent to which they
comply with the target deadlines and the reasons for any
noncompliance.
Section 15. Electrical distribution system upgrades. To
fulfill the service obligations specified in Section 8-101 of
the Public Utilities Act, an electric utility that operates
within the State shall:
(1) upgrade the State's electrical distribution
systems as needed and in time to achieve the State's
decarbonization goals, and implement federal, State,
regional, and local air quality and decarbonization
standards, plans, and regulations;
(2) conduct sufficient advance planning, engineering,
and construction of increased distribution of system
capacity and by advance ordering transformers and other
needed equipment so that customers can be energized
without substantial delay;
(3) promptly energize new customers, including by
ensuring that new housing, new businesses, and new
charging for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty
vehicles and off-road vehicles, vessels, trains, and

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equipment can be used without delay caused by a failure of
the utility to implement energization projects;
(4) promptly upgrade service when needed by customers;
(5) allow customers seeking energization to elect an
optional flexible connection agreement, meaning a
tariffed, voluntary utility offering that requires
customers to agree to specified service levels as a
requirement of energization or interconnection, through
the use of demand response technology that limits the net
import and export of electricity at the point of common
coupling to remain within the rated capacity limits of a
customer's existing service connection or distribution
circuit, either on a permanent basis or to allow for
immediate project operations before service or
distribution system upgrades are completed; and
(6) recruit, train, and retain an adequately sized and
qualified workforce to carry out the planning,
engineering, and construction of electrical distribution
systems needed to promptly serve customers seeking
energization and service upgrades without sacrificing
other necessary activities of the workforce.
Section 20. Illinois Commerce Commission requirements.
(a) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act,
the Illinois Commerce Commission shall adopt rules that meet
all of the following requirements:

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(1) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish
reasonable average and maximum target energization time
periods. The targets shall ensure that work is completed
in a safe and reliable manner that minimizes delay in
meeting the date requested by the customer for completion
of the project to the greatest extent possible and
prioritizes work in a manner consistent with Sections 10
and 15 of this Act. The targets may vary depending on the
complexity and magnitude of the work required and
uncertainties regarding the readiness of the customer
project needing energization. The targets may also
recognize any factors beyond the electric utility's
control.
(2) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish
requirements for an electric utility to report to the
Commission, at least annually, in order to track and
improve electric utility performance. The report shall
include the average, median, and standard deviation time
between receiving an application for electrical service
and energizing the electrical service, explanations for
energization time periods that exceed the target maximum
for energization projects, constraints and obstacles to
each type of energization, including, but not limited to,
funding limitations, qualified staffing availability, or
equipment availability, and any other information
requested by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

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(3) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish a
procedure for customers to report energization delays to
the Illinois Commerce Commission.
(b) If energization time periods exceed the Commission's
target averages or if the electric utility has a substantial
number of energization projects that exceed the Commission's
target maximums, the electric utility shall include in its
report under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) a strategy for
meeting the targets in the future. The Commission may request
modification of the electric utility's strategy to ensure that
the electric utility meets targets promptly and consistent
with the policies set forth in Section 10.
(c) Data reported by electric utilities shall be
anonymized or aggregated to the extent necessary to prevent
identifying individual customers. The Commission shall require
all reports to be publicly available.
(d) The Commission shall require the electric utility to
take any remedial actions necessary to achieve the
Commission's targets, including the use of incentives or
penalties.
Section 25. Electrification team; staffing.
(a) The Commission shall require each electric utility to
establish a dedicated electrification team that shall, at a
minimum, do the following:
(1) serve as a single point of contact for customers

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throughout the entire energization process;
(2) proactively engage with customers to understand
and support electrification plans; and
(3) provide customers with consolidated and
coordinated access to all beneficial electrification
customer programs, accounts and relevant information to
support electrification and the energization process.
(b) The Commission shall require each electric utility to
have adequate qualified staffing needed for the
electrification team to be consistent with the findings and
achieve the policies and requirements of this Act.
(c) For job classifications that have apprentice training
requirements, the Commission shall require each electric
utility to maintain a pipeline of apprentices sufficient to
meet future qualified staffing needs, subject to any
limitations based on safe staffing ratios.
(d) As part of each report required pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subsection (a) of Section 20, and in each general rate
case application, each electric utility shall include a
detailed analysis of its current qualified staffing level and
future required qualified staffing level for each job
classification needed to achieve the policies and requirements
of this Act.
Section 30. Electric utility requirements. The Illinois
Commerce Commission shall require an electric utility to do

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the following:
(1) consider, in its internal distribution planning
process and in the development of the Multi-Year
Integrated Grid Plans required by Section 16-105.17 of the
Public Utilities Act, all of the following:
(A) federal, State, regional, and local air
quality and decarbonization standards, plans, and
regulations;
(B) the transportation and building
electrification policies of State law;
(C) State agency, local agency, and local
government plans and requirements related to housing,
economic development, critical facilities,
transportation, and building electrification; and
(D) load and electrification forecasts that
include the following:
(I) known load and projections of load
conducted by State agencies, and projections of
load that exceed forecasts conducted by State
agencies;
(II) a minimum of 3 time horizons, including
short-term (1 to 2 years), medium-term (3 to 5
years), and long-term (6 to 10 years) time
horizons;
(III) scenarios that are consistent with
implementing the laws, standards, plans, and

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regulations described in subsections (A), (B), and
(C) of this Section;
(IV) forecasts of peak demand at the
feeder-level; and
(V) a consideration of the impact of
distributed energy resource forecasts and,
specifically, local generation;
(2) consider, in its site evaluation and design
process, all of the following:
(A) automated load management, managed charging,
and distributed energy resources to defer or mitigate
energization-related grid upgrades; and
(B) if the above solutions cannot defer or
mitigate an upgrade, the electric utility shall
evaluate traditional system upgrades;
(3) adopt and implement rules to satisfy the policies
set forth in Section 20 and to meet the energization time
periods established under paragraph (1) of subsection (a)
of Section 20; and
(4) submit supplemental applications between the
4-year cycles specified for the submission of the
Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plans required by Section
16-105.17 of the Public Utilities Act, as needed to comply
with the energization time periods established under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 20 and to
accommodate the load growth necessary to implement the

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laws, standards, plans, and regulations described in
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) of this
Section.
Section 35. Recovery of costs. The Commission shall ensure
that electric utilities have sufficient and timely recovery of
costs to be consistent with the findings and achieve the
policies and requirements of this Act.
Section 36. Safety. To ensure the safety and reliability
of electrical infrastructure associated with charging electric
vehicles:
(1) The Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency, and Illinois Department
of Transportation shall require that all electric vehicle
charging infrastructure and equipment located on the
customer side of the electrical meter that is funded or
authorized, in whole or in part, by those State entities
shall be installed by a licensed, bonded, and insured
electrical contractor registered in the municipality where
work is to be performed, and who has at least one
electrician on each crew, at any given time, who holds an
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program
certification.
(2) The Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency, and Illinois Department

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of Transportation shall require the projects that are
funded or authorized, in whole or in part by those State
entities and that install a charging port supplying 25
kilowatts or more to a vehicle to have at least 25% of the
total electricians working on the crew for the project, at
any given time, who hold Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
Training Program certification.
(3) One member of each crew may be both the contractor
and an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program
certified electrician.
(4) Subdivision (1) does not apply to:
(A) electric vehicle charging infrastructure
installed by employees of an electric utility or local
publicly owned electric utility; or
(B) single-family home residential electric
vehicle chargers.
(5) A United States Department of Labor registered
electrical apprenticeship program that provides training
to apprentices and continuing education to journey-level
workers may provide Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
Training Program training with their own Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure Training Program certified instructors. The
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program
certification exam shall be administered by the Electric
Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program.

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