SB2473
UTIL-TIME-OF-USE PRICING
TL;DR
Illinois SB2473, introduced by Sen. Bill Cunningham, overhauls how municipal and cooperative electric utilities plan, procure power, and price electricity. It mandates integrated resource plans every 3 years, requires at least one market-based time-of-use rate option for retail customers, sets renewable energy targets (25% by 2026 rising to 40% by 2030, 100% by 2045), and forces retirement of coal and gas generation by 2045. Despite being tagged as AI-related, this is fundamentally an energy and utility governance bill with no AI-specific provisions.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, and municipal power agencies serving Illinois must file detailed integrated resource plans with the Illinois Power Agency by November 1, 2025 and every 3 years thereafter, covering generation, storage, transmission, and demand-side programs over a 20-year horizon.
Electric utilities serving more than 500,000 retail customers face accelerated energy savings targets, with cumulative persisting annual savings goals rising 0.9 percentage points per year after 2030 (up from 0.6).
Utilities with tariffs approved within one year of the Act must offer at least one market-based time-of-use rate option, which will change electricity cost structures for commercial and industrial customers who can shift load.
Renewable energy procurement mandates escalate quickly: 25% renewable by June 2026, 40% by 2030, and 100% renewable (with storage and demand-side programs) by 2045, with all coal and gas generation retired by January 1, 2045.
Utilities with $5M+ in retail electricity revenues must submit embedded cost-of-service studies every 3 years, and alternative electric suppliers must make capacity payments and transfer capacity credits to applicable utilities.
Electric cooperatives face new governance transparency rules including open meetings, mail-in ballot elections for directors, published conflict-of-interest and lobbying disclosures, and public posting of rates and financial audits.
Utilities planning generation retirements must include worker transition plans covering pensions, benefits, retraining, and local tax impacts, adding labor and community compliance obligations.
What Should You Do
Energy-intensive businesses (manufacturing, data centers, cold storage, industrial) should model the financial impact of shifting to time-of-use pricing and identify load-shifting opportunities before new tariffs take effect.
If your company procures power from an Illinois municipal utility or coop, request their integrated resource plan timeline and participate in the required stakeholder meetings to influence generation and pricing decisions.
Alternative electric suppliers operating in Illinois should have finance and operations review the new capacity payment, credit transfer, and reporting obligations to regional transmission organizations.
Companies with long-term power purchase agreements tied to coal or gas plants should stress-test contracts against the 2045 fossil retirement mandate and accelerated renewable targets.
Track this bill in Senate Assignments; if you rely on municipal or coop power, brief your procurement and sustainability teams and prepare public comments during the 60-day comment window that will follow IRP submissions.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
introduced
Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments
February 7, 2025