HB3349 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 10938 AAS 21020 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3349

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Powering Up Illinois Act. Defines terms. Sets forth findings. Requires an electric utility that operates within the State to (i) 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, (ii) conduct sufficient advance planning, engineering, and construction of increased distribution of system capacity by advance ordering transformers and other needed equipment so that customers can be energized without substantial delay, (iii) 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 equipment can be used without delay caused by a failure of the utility to implement energization projects, (iv) promptly upgrade service when needed by customers, (v) allow customers seeking energization to choose an optional flexible connection agreement, which shall provide 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 (vi) 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. Sets forth provisions concerning: the staffing of an electrification team; electric utility requirements; recovery of costs; and safety standards. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Powering Up Illinois Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Electric utility" means an electric utility serving more than 200,000 customers in this State.

"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.

"Energization" and "energize" means the connection of new customers to the electrical grid, the establishment of adequate electrical capacity to provide service for a new customer, or upgrading electrical capacity to provide adequate service to an existing customer. "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 the following:

(1) It is the policy of the State to increase the amount of electric vehicles used 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, attracts private capital investments to the State, and creates high-quality jobs in the State. Accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles will drive the decarbonization of the States' 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, the following must occur:

(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 the customer's 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 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 need to do both of the following:

(A) accelerate the utility's 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 need to recruit, train, and retain an adequately sized, qualified workforce.

(9) The Illinois Commerce Commission needs to establish target deadlines for utilities that distribute electricity to energize new customers and upgrade the service of existing customers.

(10) The Illinois Commerce Commission needs to 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 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 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 choose an optional flexible connection agreement, which shall provide 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. Commission requirements.

(a) Within 180 days after the effective date of this Act, the Commission shall adopt rules that meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Rules that 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 25 and 30. 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) Rules that 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 Commission.

(3) Rules that 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 pursuant to rules adopted 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 25.

(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 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 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 rules adopted under 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 Commission shall require an electric utility to do 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 (one 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 regulations described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1);

(IV) forecasts of peak demand at the federal-level; and

(V) a consideration of the impact of distributed energy resource forecasts and, specifically, local generation;

(2) consider all of the following in its site evaluation and design process:

(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 laws, standards, plans, and regulations described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1).

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 and Section 16-105.17 of the Public Utilities Act.

Section 40. Safety. To ensure the safety and reliability of electrical infrastructure associated with charging electric vehicles:

(1) The Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and 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 Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department 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, hold an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program certification.

(3) One member of each crew may be both the contractor and an electrician certified by Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program.

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following:

(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) An electrical apprenticeship program registered with United States Department of Labor that provides training to apprentices and continuing education to journey-level workers may provide Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program training with the apprenticeship program's own instructors certified by an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program certification exam shall be administered by the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program.

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