103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2970

 

Introduced 1/31/2024, by Sen. Jil Tracy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
20 ILCS 3855/1-129 new
30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new

    Creates the Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task Force Act. Sets forth findings of the General Assembly. Creates the Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall monitor the reliability of the Illinois power grid. Contains provisions concerning: the membership of the Task Force; duties of the Task Force; administrative support; and an annual report. Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that the Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury and shall be administered by the Illinois Power Agency. Provides that $10,000,000 shall be transferred from the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund to the Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund. Provides that the Agency shall award grants from the fund to carbon producing power plants for the construction of new carbon capture storage systems. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB2970LRB103 35578 CES 65650 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly hereby finds,
7determines, and declares the following:
8        (1) The reliability of the electricity grid of the
9    State is critically important to the consumers,
10    businesses, and residents of this State and should not be
11    compromised.
12        (2) The State has taken definitive steps toward
13    redefining the generation mix in this State.
14        (3) The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
15    ("MISO") is an independent, not-for-profit, member-based
16    organization responsible for operating the power grid
17    across 15 states and the Canadian province of Manitoba,
18    serving 42 million people.
19        (4) The PJM Interconnection LLC ("PJM"), is an
20    independent not-for-profit, member-based Regional
21    Transmission Organization ("RTO") that manages the
22    operations, supply, and movement of power across 13 states
23    and the District of Columbia, serving 65 million people.

 

 

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1        (5) The State is served by both PJM and MISO, which
2    collectively ensure that sufficient electric power
3    generation supply and transmission are available to meet
4    electric demand every minute of every day for over 107
5    million people across 28 states and 2 countries. Wholesale
6    electric power generation is regulated by the Federal
7    Energy Regulatory Commission due to the interstate and
8    international nature of the transmission grid operated by
9    PJM and MISO. As such, policy changes at the State level
10    can affect the reliability, availability, and cost of
11    power for seniors, families, businesses, municipalities,
12    universities, and hospitals across the region.
13        (6) When natural disasters occur, such as ice storms,
14    blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes, states participating
15    in PJM and MISO have provided support to each other
16    through power generation restoration missions. The
17    inability to deliver power generation in critical times
18    can have a huge economic impact and can also result in
19    death across the PJM and MISO regional transmission
20    organizations.
21        (7) PJM and MISO have multiple markets in which power
22    suppliers participate. The capacity market, day-ahead
23    energy market, and frequency market are markets that power
24    generators participate in to ensure over 107 million
25    people across 28 states and 2 countries receive the right
26    amount of electricity every minute of every day.

 

 

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1            (A) Capacity markets are used in wholesale
2        electricity markets to pay resources for being
3        available to meet peak electricity demand. Capacity is
4        not actual electricity but rather the ability to
5        produce electricity when called upon. Capacity is
6        procured sometimes multiple years in advance of when
7        it is needed, based on projections of future energy
8        needs using historical demand requirements.
9            (B) The day-ahead energy market lets market
10        participants commit to buy or sell wholesale
11        electricity one day before the power is needed, to
12        help avoid price volatility. The real-time energy
13        market balances the differences between day-ahead
14        commitments and the actual real-time demand for and
15        production of electricity.
16            (C) The power grid operates, and shall be
17        maintained, at a constant frequency of 60 hertz.
18        Significant deviation from this level can result in
19        catastrophic damage to the power grid as well as
20        household appliances. Frequency is maintained when
21        electric generators automatically add or remove power
22        from the grid. For example, a large power plant
23        suddenly tripping offline reduces the total amount of
24        available kinetic energy, leading the rotating
25        generators on the system to start rotating less
26        rapidly and thereby decreasing the alternating current

 

 

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1        frequency across the grid system. Since a generator
2        turbine's rotational velocity is directly coupled to
3        the grid frequency, the generator's control systems
4        can sense this frequency decline as an indicator of
5        insufficient energy provision. The control system
6        within each power plant, which usually has been in the
7        form of a governor, can then automatically increase
8        the plant's power output. This process is autonomous
9        because the governor does not have to wait for a
10        central dispatcher to send a signal, thus bypassing
11        communications system delays.
12        (8) The shifting generation mix in PJM and MISO will
13    require optimum performance and an increased focus on the
14    need to retain reliability as certain existing generators
15    shut down operations and new, intermittent generators are
16    added. Additionally, increased power generation
17    consumption due to increased electric vehicles and
18    charging stations, along with increased electrification of
19    building heating needs, will undoubtedly place greater
20    demand on the power system.
21        (9) The State has a responsibility to ensure that the
22    performance of State and regional power grids are safe,
23    reliable, and maintain the necessary capacity to meet the
24    power demands of residents of this State. Additionally,
25    the State has an obligation to do its part to ensure the
26    regional power grid is safe and reliable for its

 

 

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1    partnering states. As part of the regional power grid,
2    this State should be concerned that shuttered facilities
3    in this State will be replaced by higher cost, higher
4    emissions resources from other states.
 
5    Section 10. Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task
6Force.
7    (a) The Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task
8Force is created. The Task Force shall monitor the reliability
9of the power grid of this State. The Task Force should consider
10the present and future needs of consumers of this State while
11simultaneously addressing any issues related to the
12performance and reliability of power generation and
13transmission and being mindful of the ultimate cost to
14consumers.
15    (b) The duties and responsibilities of the Task Force
16include the following:
17        (1) identifying and assessing policies, rules, and
18    laws that have the potential to significantly affect the
19    reliability of the State and regional power grids;
20        (2) developing a set of standards and conditions that
21    will ensure optimal performance of the State and regional
22    power grids based on new and emerging technologies;
23        (3) identifying opportunities to improve the power
24    supply mix in this State through existing and new laws to
25    ensure continued power reliability at affordable rates for

 

 

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1    consumers of this State;
2        (4) compiling research and best practices from other
3    states and countries on how to deploy technology to
4    benefit the performance and reliability of the power grid;
5        (5) developing tools to assess the impact of proposed
6    policies and evaluate their costs and benefits on
7    families, employers, the public, this State, and other
8    states as part of the State and regional power grids;
9        (6) identifying data, reports, and relevant
10    information on the performance of the power grid to ensure
11    reliability and that pricing of power generation is in the
12    best interest of families, businesses, and communities in
13    this State;
14        (7) providing its findings and recommendations for
15    policy changes and any revisions to policies, rules, and
16    laws that will facilitate the stability and reliability of
17    the State and regional power grids on an annual basis to
18    the General Assembly; and
19        (8) developing and proposing legislative concepts to
20    ensure the future stability and reliability of the power
21    grid.
 
22    Section 15. Membership; meetings.
23    (a) The members of the Illinois Regional Generation
24Reliability Task Force shall be composed of the following:
25        (1) three Senators appointed by the President of the

 

 

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1    Senate, one of whom shall be designated by the President
2    as the co-chair of the Task Force;
3        (2) three Representatives appointed by the Speaker of
4    the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be
5    designated by the Speaker as the co-chair of the Task
6    Force;
7        (3) three Senators appointed by the Minority Leader of
8    the Senate;
9        (4) three Representatives appointed by the Minority
10    Leader of the House of Representatives;
11        (5) one member appointed by the Governor whose sole
12    role is dedicated to energy policy for the State;
13        (6) one member of a State or local labor organization
14    appointed by the President of the Senate;
15        (7) one member of a State or local labor organization
16    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
17        (8) one representative from PJM RTO, designated by
18    PJM;
19        (9) one representative from the PJM Independent Market
20    Monitor organization, designated by the PJM Independent
21    Market Monitor organization;
22        (10) one representative from MISO RTO, designated by
23    MISO;
24        (11) one representative from the MISO Independent
25    Market Monitor organization, designated by the MISO
26    Independent Market Monitor organization;

 

 

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1        (12) six representatives from 6 different power
2    generation companies that operate in the PJM or MISO
3    regional transmission organization, 2 appointed by the
4    President of the Senate, 2 appointed by the Speaker of the
5    House of Representatives, one appointed by the Minority
6    Leader in the Senate, and one appointed by the Minority
7    Leader in the House of Representatives;
8        (13) one representative from a statewide organization
9    representing retail merchants, appointed by the President
10    of the Senate;
11        (14) one representative from a statewide organization
12    representing manufacturers, appointed by the Speaker of
13    the House of Representatives;
14        (15) one representative from a statewide organization
15    representing retired people, appointed by the Speaker of
16    the House of Representatives;
17        (16) one representative from a minority-owned
18    geothermal group, appointed by the President of the
19    Senate;
20        (17) one representative from a statewide organization
21    representing business, appointed by the Speaker of the
22    House of Representatives;
23        (18) two representatives from environmental law
24    groups, one appointed by the President of the Senate and
25    one appointed by the Speaker of the House of
26    Representatives;

 

 

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1        (19) the Director of the Illinois Power Agency, or the
2    Director's designee;
3        (20) the Director of the Environmental Protection
4    Agency, or the Director's designee; and
5        (21) the Chair of the Illinois Commerce Commission, or
6    the Chair's designee.
7    (b) Appointments for the Task Force shall be made by May 1,
82025. The Task Force shall hold 7 meetings annually, either
9remotely or in person, and the first meeting shall be held
10within 30 days after appointments are made.
11    (c) Members of the Task Force shall serve without
12compensation.
13    (d) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall provide
14administrative support to the Task Force in conjunction with
15the independent market monitors for the MISO and PJM regional
16transmission organizations.
 
17    Section 20. Annual report.
18    (a) The Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task
19Force shall issue an annual report based upon its findings in
20the course of performing its duties and responsibilities. The
21report shall be written by the administrative staff of the
22Task Force and with staff assistance from the independent
23market monitors from the MISO and PJM regional transmission
24organizations.
25    (b) The Illinois Regional Generation Reliability Task

 

 

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1Force shall submit its first report on October 1, 2025, and
2each October 1 thereafter to the General Assembly upon the
3completion of its meeting schedule and shall continue to issue
4reports each year.
 
5    Section 25. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
6adding Section 1-129 as follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 3855/1-129 new)
8    Sec. 1-129. Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund.
9    (a) The Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund is created as a
10special fund in the State treasury.
11    (b) The Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund shall be
12administered by the Agency to award grants for the
13construction of new carbon capture storage systems.
14    (c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of
15this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, $10,000,000
16shall be transferred from the Illinois Power Agency Renewable
17Energy Resources Fund to the Carbon Capture Infrastructure
18Fund.
19    (d) The Agency shall award grants from the Carbon Capture
20Infrastructure Fund to carbon producing power plants in this
21State for the construction of new carbon capture storage
22systems.
23    (e) The Agency shall adopt rules to implement this
24Section.
 

 

 

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1    Section 30. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
2Section 5.1015 as follows:
 
3    (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new)
4    Sec. 5.1015. The Carbon Capture Infrastructure Fund.
 
5    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.