Energy Efficiency

Using less energy for the same services

About Energy Efficiency

Illinois households use 44% more electricity than the U.S. average, which costs consumers and business more not only due to higher bills, but this wasted energy also generates more pollution that Illinoisans pay for with our health.

Energy efficiency, or using less energy for the same services, is the easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce energy use. As we save more energy and use less, we reduce the amount of carbon emissions we emit, making efficiency an invaluable resource for combating climate change. Further, investing in energy efficiency puts money back in the pockets of residents and helps local businesses become more competitive.

Current Energy Efficiency Laws

Future Energy Jobs Act Energy Efficiency Provisions

Beginning January 1, 2018, ComEd and Ameren’s energy efficiency targets will resume annual increases and will now be expressed in terms of cumulative persistent savings, which encourage utilities to pursue deeper, longer-lived efficiency measures:

ComEd must achieve a 21.5% reduction in energy use by 2030 and Ameren a 16% reduction from eligible customers
To achieve those long-term savings goals, ComEd must acquire new savings of between 2.0% and 2.5% of electricity sales every year – a higher level of savings than currently achieved by every state except Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Ameren will need to acquire between 1.5% and 2.0% new savings every year – comparable to a “top 10” state.
Large usage customers with more than 10MW of demand are exempt from the utilities’ demand-side management programs after May 31, 2017.
Customer savings from voltage optimization are now eligible to count toward the electric utilities’ goals; limited amounts of gas efficiency savings can also count under certain circumstances.

Energy Efficiency Programming

Low-Income: A minimum of $33 million per year for programs targeting low-income households
Local government and other public buildings: A minimum of 10% and 7% of ComEd and Ameren’s entire efficiency budgets, respectively, to fund efficiency measures for local government, municipalities, schools, public housing and community colleges
Third Party: Over $33 million per year to fund competitively bid third-party energy efficiency programs beginning in 2019

Hardship Programs & Job Training

ComEd will spend $50 million over five years on hardship programs, including those for low-income customers, seniors, and disabled veterans
ComEd will invest $30 million to fund job training programs as follows:
$3 million for solar training as a pipeline for the IL Solar Energy for All projects
$3 million for a craft apprenticeship program
$4 million for multi-cultural jobs programs

Read more about the energy efficiency provisions in FEJA by reading Elevate Energy’s summary here.

Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS)

The Illinois Power Agency Act (IPAA) was enacted in 2007 and established the EERS. The EERS requires natural gas and electric utilities to reduce their annual energy energy rates and peak demand by:

Reducing electric sales 2% by 2015 and holding at 2.0% every year thereafter;
Implementing cost-effective measures to reduce demand peak by 0.1% over the prior year for a period of ten years for electric utilities;
Requiring natural gas reach reductions of 1.5% by 2019 and increase by 1.5% each year thereafter.

Building Energy Efficiency Codes

Importantly, Illinois also created energy efficiency laws requiring the adoption of energy efficiency building codes. Read a list of these building codes here: Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance – Illinois Building Codes