Public Act 102-0662 (the “Climate and Equitable Jobs Act”) was signed into law and became effective on September 15, 2021. This legislation calls for the procurement of Carbon Mitigation Credits (“CMCs”) from carbon-free energy resources in an amount of no more than approximately 54,500,000 CMCs annually for ComEd beginning with the delivery year commencing on June 1, 2022. This procurement event was held through the Carbon Mitigation Credits RFP or “CMC RFP” on November 23, 2021. The results of the CMC RFP are provided in the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Public Notice of Successful Bidders posted here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/2021-carbon-mitigation-credits-rfp-comed/

Regarding the example PTC calculation provided in comments on the draft contract, the Procurement Administrator’s understanding is that this sample calculation incorporated concepts found in pending federal legislation that has not yet been enacted.  An illustrative example predicated on proposed legislation would be inappropriate to memorialize in a legal instrument, especially as the underlying definitions would still apply should a subsidy take a different form.  Regarding the process for calculating that subsidy, provisions in the CMC Contract have been developed and finalized consistent with the Carbon Mitigation Credit Procurement Plan as approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in ICC Docket No. 21-0718.

Regarding providing “read-only access of information for the Facility by Seller within PJM Power Meter system,” we note that Section 5(a) of the Cover Sheet states that “such data shall be treated and maintained as confidential and proprietary by the IPA and Buyer.”  As such, Buyer’s responsibility to treat and maintain the information as confidential and proprietary would be a material covenant and obligation under the CMC Contract, and a failure by Buyer to perform such material covenant and obligation shall be an Event of Default under Section 5.1(f) of the Master CMC Agreement.  Misuse of confidential information to the harm of Seller could also give rise to additional remedies at law.

The term “Subsidy” refers to the support program(s) that the successful bidder is eligible to apply for in relation to the Facility and which the successful bidder must make commercially reasonable efforts to apply for pursuant to Section 1-75(d-10)(3)(D) of the IPA Act.  As such, we did not believe appropriate to add the suggested words “the value of any monetized” in the definition of “Subsidy”.  However, the phrase “the value of any monetized” has been added throughout the CMC Contract when referring to the value or amount of such Subsidy.

Thank you for your inquiry.  In accordance with Section 1-75(d-10)(3)(F) of the Illinois Power Agency Act (20 ILCS 3855), “[t]he procurement and plan approval processes required by this paragraph (3) shall be conducted in conjunction with the procurement and plan approval processes required by Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act, to the extent practicable.”  Section 16-111.5(e)(2) of the Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5) addresses the development and finalization of the underlying delivery contract (in this case, for the delivery of carbon mitigation credits), and the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Commerce Commission Staff, the Procurement Monitor, and the affected utility counterparty, developed and finalized the CMC Contract pursuant to this process.  This process has been and continues to be utilized for the development and finalization of energy supply contracts, capacity supply contracts, renewable energy credit delivery contracts, zero emission credit delivery contracts, and other such agreements.

As required under this process, all comments submitted by interested parties on the CMC Contract were reviewed and duly considered.  As required under Section 16-111.5(e)(2), contract terms “shall not be subject to negotiation by winning bidders,” and any bidders “must agree to the terms of the contract in advance.”  At this time, the CMC Contract posted on November 15, 2021 is final and non-negotiable, and no changes can be made to the CMC Contract.

The instructions for submission of the Pre-Bid Letter of Credit to ComEd are now available upon request. Please email the Procurement Administrator at Illinois-RFP@nera.com.

A Bidder that has not paid a Bid Participation Fee pursuant to its participation in a prior 2021 procurement event is required to pay a non-refundable Bid Participation Fee of $500 with the submission of their Proposal for the Fall 2021 CMC RFP. Such Bidder must pay the Bid Participation Fee to the IPA as a condition of the Bidder fulfilling the requirements of the Proposal. The Procurement Administrator will issue instructions for the payment of the Bid Participation Fee prior to the opening of the Proposal Window that will include the available methods of payment. Instructions for submission of the Bid Participation Fee are available from the Procurement Administrator upon request.

As stated in the Carbon Mitigation Credit Procurement Plan filed for Illinois Commerce Commission (“Commission”) approval, “completed unit information submissions are required to be submitted to the Illinois Power Agency within five days of the Commission’s approval of the Plan”. The IPA will review the Eligibility Information received and, within two business days, notify applicants of any deficiencies in their submittal. Once so notified, applicants will have one business day to provide additional information to cure those deficiencies.

The Commission Order on the Plan is expected to be issued on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 and based on this date, if the Plan is approved, the eligibility information would be due on Monday, November 15, 2021 by 5PM CPT.

Upon Commission approval of the Plan, the IPA will post the final version of Appendix B to the Carbon Mitigation Credit Procurement Plan along with an announcement containing instructions for submission including the deadline to submit the eligibility information.

Comments on the draft CMC Contract must be submitted by email to the Procurement Administrator at Illinois-RFP@nera.com. Comments must be clearly indicated with tracked changes in Microsoft Word. We strongly encourage you to provide explanatory notes either in a separate document or highlighted in tracked changes. Please provide telephone and email contact information with your submission. The Procurement Administrator will follow up via phone or email if clarification regarding your comments is needed. The deadline to provide comments is 5PM Central Prevailing Time (“CPT”) on November 1, 2021.

Please note that the CMC contract terms are subject to the IPA’s Carbon Mitigation Credit Procurement Plan (the “CMC Plan”). The IPA’s petition for approval of its CMC Plan was filed on September 29, 2021 in ICC Docket 21-0718 and is pending Commission approval at this time. Proposed changes to the draft CMC Contract may only be considered for incorporation if they are consistent with the CMC Plan, as may be modified by the Commission decision in ICC Docket 21-0718.