Energy Storage FAQs Summer 2026

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FAQ-Energy Storage-33

Q: To meet the commercial readiness requirement in Paragraph III.1.8 of the RFP Rules, can we provide confirmation from an ISO that an energy facility is operational in lieu of providing a notice to proceed for that facility?

As stated in Paragraph III.1.8 of the RFP Rules,

“The Bidder must provide evidence of commercial readiness for each energy facility presented to fulfill the commercial readiness requirement. Each document provided must be dated on or after June 1, 2016.

• A notice to proceed for the energy facility may be provided for this purpose. Such notice must identify an entity on the Project Team and affiliated with the Seller as the entity owning or operating the energy facility.
• The Procurement Administrator will consider alternative evidence to demonstrate commercial readiness, as long as such evidence shows that an energy facility is further forward on the path to full operation than having the notice to proceed. Bidders that own or operate an energy facility that has reached its Commercial Operation Date and that was selected by a competitive procurement process held by the IPA are encouraged to include such energy facilities for purposes of meeting the commercial readiness requirement.”

Documented confirmation from an ISO that the energy facility is operational would be acceptable evidence that the energy facility is further forward on the path to full operation than having the notice to proceed. The documented confirmation must confirm that the notice to proceed for the energy facility was issued on or after June 1, 2016 or the energy facility was further forward on the path to full operation than having the notice to proceed on or after June 1, 2016. Such confirmation must identify an entity on the Project Team and affiliated with the Seller as the entity owning or operating the energy facility.

Additionally, such documented confirmation(s) must be for a facility or facilities with a combined nameplate capacity of at least 100 MW (AC rating). If the Bidder is providing such evidence for multiple energy facilities that aggregate to at least 100 MW, each energy facility must have a nameplate capacity of at least 20 MW (AC rating). There is no restriction on the location or fuel type of the energy facility.

07-10-2026

Part 1 Proposal Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-32

Q: Can a bidder provide a notice to proceed for a solar project to use towards meeting the commercial readiness requirement in the Part 1 Proposal?

The Bidder must demonstrate that the Seller, or the Bidder, or another entity on the Project Team that is affiliated with the Seller (e.g., a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate) has experience in developing energy facilities to commercial readiness. The Bidder must provide evidence of experience in developing energy facilities to commercial readiness for energy facilities with a combined nameplate capacity of at least 100 MW (AC rating). If the Bidder is providing such evidence for multiple energy facilities that aggregate to at least 100 MW, each such energy facility must have a nameplate capacity of at least 20 MW (AC rating). There is no restriction on the location or fuel type for the energy facility.

A notice to proceed for a solar project may be provided to use towards meeting the commercial readiness requirement if the solar project has a nameplate capacity of at least 20 MW (AC rating). Additionally, the document must be dated on or after June 1, 2016.

07-10-2026

Part 1 Proposal Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-31

Q: When is the bid assurance collateral returned if we submit a Bid and the Project is selected and in the case the Project is not selected?

All bid assurance collateral remains in place until the Commission has rendered a decision on the results of the procurement event. For Bidders that have Bids on Projects approved by the Commission in either the AIC or the ComEd procurement event, bid assurance collateral remains in place with a Company until all of the following have occurred: (i) full execution of the ISC Contract with the Company; (ii) posting of Seller’s Performance Assurance under the ISC Contract with the Company; and (iii) receipt of payment of the Supplier Fees by the IPA. The Commission is expected to render its decision on the results of the procurement event on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.

If the Bid for a Project is not selected by the evaluation procedure, the bid assurance collateral for that Project will be returned as stated in Paragraph V.2.18 of the RFP Rules, “A Pre-Bid Letter of Credit will expire on the date stated as part of its terms, twenty-one (21) business days after the anticipated date of the Commission decision on the procurement events and cash provided as bid assurance collateral will be returned in the same general timeframe.” Return of cash tendered as bid assurance to a Company is not initiated until the Company receives a fully executed request for return of cash in a form acceptable to the Company. AIC requires additionally that an account in AIC's vendor portal be set up for the entity to which cash is returned. Please note that for a Bidder who is not yet set up on AIC’s portal used for the return of cash, account set up may take six (6) business days after the ICC’s decision on the procurement results.

Please note that cash posted as bid assurance collateral under the RFP may be used towards meeting the performance assurance requirement under the contract. In this case, the Bidder needs only to make a second wire for the difference between the performance assurance requirement and the bid assurance collateral already posted. A Bidder indicates whether it elects for cash to be retained by applicable Company in the AIC or ComEd Contract Insert, as applicable depending on the procurement event in which the Project participates, as further described in paragraphs IV.4.1 and IV.5.1 of the Energy Storage RFP Rules, respectively.

Please see paragraph IV.2.3. of the RFP Rules for the conditions under which a draw on cash posted as bid assurance collateral may be made.

Please see FAQ-Energy Storage-30 for additional information on the return of bid assurance collateral if the Bidder chooses to not submit a Bid on the Bid date.

07-09-2026

Bid Assurance Collateral Post-Bid Process

FAQ-Energy Storage-30

Q: Will a Bidder’s bid assurance collateral be returned in full if they choose not to submit a Bid on the Bid date?

If a Bidder posts bid assurance collateral by the Part 2 Date and does not submit a Bid on the Bid Date, the full amount of the bid assurance collateral will be returned within the timeframes provided in the Energy Storage RFP as if the Bid for the Project was not selected. All bid assurance collateral remains in place until the Commission has rendered a decision on the results of the procurement event. The Commission renders its decision on the results of the AIC and ComEd procurement events on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.

A Company may draw upon the letter of credit or a cash deposit if: (i) the Bidder or a Seller has disclosed information relating to the Proposal for a Project publicly or to any other party (excluding disclosures required by a federal, state, or local agency, or by a court of competent jurisdiction) before the Illinois Commerce Commission has rendered its decision on the results of the procurement event; or (ii) the Bidder or a Seller has made a material omission or misrepresentation in the Part 1 Proposal or the Part 2 Proposal for a Project submitted in connection with the procurement event; or (iii) a Seller has failed to execute the applicable supplier contract for a Project within three (3) business days of being notified that the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved the Bid on that Project or has failed to meet the creditworthiness requirements of the applicable supplier contract within fifteen (15) business days of such Illinois Commerce Commission decision; or (iv) the Bidder or a Seller has failed to pay to the Illinois Power Agency the applicable Supplier Fee for a Project within seven (7) business days of being notified that the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved the Bid on that Project.

Please see FAQ-Energy Storage-31 for additional information on timing of the return of bid assurance collateral.

07-09-2026

Bid Assurance Collateral Part 2 Proposal

FAQ-Energy Storage-29

Q: Does the ISC Contract prohibit Seller from selling the capacity associated with the Project through a separate bi-lateral agreement? Is Seller required to disclose such an agreement under Section 5.7 of the ISC Contract?

The ISC Contract does not prohibit Seller from selling the capacity associated with the Project through a separate bi-lateral agreement.  The Seller must disclose such an agreement to the IPA, within thirty (30) days of receipt or commitment, as described in Section 5.7 of the ISC Contract. Section 5.7 states “Seller shall disclose to IPA, within thirty (30) days of receipt or commitment, any corporate offtake payments or other economic support received or anticipated for the Project that compensates for development costs, operating costs, capacity value, or for the availability, operations or performance of the Project during the Term of this Agreement, except for payments received from the RTO.”

07-09-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-28

Q: Will stakeholders have an opportunity to provide comments on elements of future procurement events held in 2027 and 2028?

The eligibility criteria and other procurement elements for the future procurements in 2027 and 2028 will be developed in accordance with requirements in CRGA, and will be informed by the results of the Integrated Resources Planning Process and stakeholder feedback.

·         Keep up with IRP process here:

https://www.icc.illinois.gov/informal-processes/Integrated-Resource-Plan

·         Updates on future energy storage procurements will be posted here:

https://ipa.illinois.gov/renewableresources/energy-storage.html

·         Sign up for IPA email updates here:

https://ipa.illinois.gov/recent-announcements/sign-up-for-ourannouncements-and-newsletter.html

07-07-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-27

Q: Can an energy storage resource associated with a solar photovoltaic system participate in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP?

A Project in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP must be a Stand-alone energy storage resource. “Stand-alone” is defined in the IPA Act as systems that are (i) separately metered by a revenue-quality meter that satisfies the requirements of the RTO; (ii) operate independently without constraints or hindrances from other generation units; and (iii) demonstrate the ability to charge and discharge independent of any generation unit output.

As part of the Proposal, an Officer of the Seller will be required to certify that the Project is a new Stand-alone energy storage resource as this term is defined in the IPA Act and the Seller has made all investigations it deems necessary to make this determination. The presence of an existing generation unit at the same location as the Project may not impact the Seller’s ability to make this certification.

07-07-2026

Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-26

Q: Can a Bidder propose modifications to the final ISC Contract issued on June 29, 2026?

The final ISC Contract issued on June 29, 2026 is final for the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP and no further comments or proposed modifications will be accepted. Each Seller must accept the terms of the ISC Contract as a condition of participation.

Stakeholder feedback was received through three stakeholder workshops and two rounds of written comments held from March through June 2026 and was considered in finalizing the ISC Contract that was issued on June 29, 2026.

07-07-2026

General Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-25

Q: Will the Commercial Operations Deadline of December 31, 2029 be the same for future procurements?

The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (“CRGA”) establishes an initial target of 3,000 MW of cumulative nameplate capacity committed to reaching commercial operation by December 31, 2030. This timeline under CRGA would be considered for future procurements. No specific Commercial Operations Deadlines for future procurements have been determined at this time.

07-07-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-24

Q: Can a Project interconnected in MISO LRZ3 participate in the Energy Storage RFP?

Pursuant to the IPA Act and as stated in Paragraph I.2.3 of the RFP Rules, “Projects must be physically interconnected with the transmission system operated by MISO or PJM and must be interconnected within the MISO LRZ 4 or the PJM ComEd LDA, which will determine whether the Project qualifies for participation in the AIC procurement event or the ComEd procurement event, respectively.” As such, a Project interconnected with MISO LRZ3 would not be eligible to participate.

07-07-2026

Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-23

Q: Can a Project participate in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP if the Project is expected to achieve Commercial Operation after December 31, 2029?

If the Project has not yet achieved Commercial Operation as of the submission of the Part 1 Proposal, the expected Commercial Operation Date must be on or before December 31, 2029. As part of the Part 1 Proposals, an Officer of the Seller will be required to certify that the Project has reached the appropriate development milestones to fully expect that the Project will achieve Commercial Operations by December 31, 2029.

07-07-2026

Rules Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-22

Q: For what purpose are the disclosures of additional support to the IPA as required by Section 5.7 of the ISC Contract?

Information disclosed pursuant to Section 5.7 of the ISC Contract is for informational purposes only. As stated in the ISC Contract, “Information submitted pursuant to this Section 5.7 is intended solely for review by the IPA.”

07-07-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-21

Q: Are Projects with a duration of greater than 4 hours of continuous discharge (e.g., 6) eligible to participate in the Energy Storage RFP?

As part of the initial and ongoing operational requirements for the Project described in Sections 2.5 and 2.6 of the ISC Contract, the Project must have a duration of four (4) hours of continuous discharge. This requirement is based on the 2025 Staff Report submitted by ICC Staff in accordance with the requirements of Section 16-135(g) of the Public Utilities Act. Public Act 104-0458 (the “Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act” or “CRGA”) directs this initial procurement to adopt an indexed storage credit contract and process modeled after the process from this report.

07-07-2026

Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-20

Q: Is the Buyer purchasing energy, capacity, ancillary services, or the Project itself through the ISC Contract?

Buyer is not purchasing energy, capacity, ancillary services, or the Project itself. Seller owns and operates the Project and may independently participate (or not participate) in wholesale energy, capacity, and ancillary service markets.

07-07-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-19

Q: When is Performance Assurance Collateral due?

Creditworthiness requirements under the ISC Contract must be met within fifteen (15) business days after the Commission decision in accordance the terms of the ISC Contract.

07-07-2026

Post-Bid Collateral

FAQ-Energy Storage-18

Q: How much is the Bid Participation Fee and Supplier Fee and who is required to pay these fees?

The Bidder is required to pay a non-refundable Bid Participation Fee of $10,000 to the IPA for each Project presented in the RFP. The Bid Participation Fee is due by the Part 1 Date and such Bidder must provide evidence of compliance with this requirement with its Part 1 Proposal. The Procurement Administrator will issue instructions for the payment of the Bid Participation Fee prior to the opening of the Part 1 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.

Projects with winning Bids approved by the Commission will be assessed a Supplier Fee per MW that reflects a portion of the cost of conducting the procurement events. The exact amount of the Supplier Fee per MW will be announced no later than two (2) business days before the Bid Date. Payment of the Supplier Fees to the IPA by the Bidder or Seller will be due within seven (7) business days after Commission approval of the Bids. An estimate of the Supplier Fee per MW was provided in the bidder information webcast held on June 30, 2026, which is posted to the Final Materials page of the Energy Storage section of the procurement website.

07-07-2026

General Part 1 Proposal Post-Bid Process

FAQ-Energy Storage-17

Q: How are benchmarks calculated?

The Act requires that benchmarks are kept confidential. Benchmarks are developed by the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the IPA, the Procurement Monitor, and the ICC staff. The benchmark is subject to review and approval by the Commission.

The Act states that, “The Agency shall procure cost-effective energy storage credits or other contract instruments intended to facilitate the successful development of energy storage projects. The procurement administrator shall establish confidential price benchmarks based on publicly available data on regional technology costs. Confidential price benchmarks shall be developed by the procurement administrator, in consultation with Commission staff, Agency staff, and the procurement monitor, and shall be subject to Commission review and approval. Price benchmarks shall reflect development costs, financing costs, and related costs resulting from requirements imposed through other provisions of State law. As used in this paragraph (5), "cost-effective" means a bidder's bid price that does not exceed confidential price benchmarks.”

07-07-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-16

Q: Will a Project with a Strike Price that fails to meet or beat the benchmark for the procurement event be eliminated from consideration under the evaluation procedure?

All Projects with Strike Prices that fail to meet or beat the benchmark for the procurement event are eliminated from further consideration. The evaluation procedure is described in paragraph V.2.9.

07-07-2026

Bid Evaluation

FAQ-Energy Storage-15

Q: Where can I find materials from the bidder information webcast?

The Procurement Administrator posted the presentation materials and the audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on June 30, 2026 to the Final Materials page of the Energy Storage section of the procurement website.

07-07-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-14

Q: How will the ISC Contract account for potential delays in project development that arise from interconnection or permitting delays?

The ISC Contract addresses development delay primarily through the Commercial Operations Deadline provisions in Section 2.3 of the ISC Contract. The baseline requirement is that the Project is expected to achieve Commercial Operations by December 31, 2029. However, the Contract provides a defined one-time extension mechanism: if Seller submits a written extension request before December 31, 2029 and posts Performance Assurance sufficient to satisfy the Increased Collateral Requirement by that date, the Commercial Operations Deadline is extended to December 31, 2030. Beyond that, the rights and obligations of the Parties are governed by the terms of the ISC Contract, and any determination regarding the applicability of those provisions would necessarily depend on the specific facts and circumstances. Under the ISC Contract, further extensions are not generally available for ordinary development, interconnection or permitting delays. 

07-07-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-13

Q: How do I register for an account(s) to participate in the AIC or ComEd procurement event under the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP?

To register for an account(s) to participate in the AIC or ComEd procurement event under the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP, please complete and submit the Qualification Registration form on the Contact Us page of the RFP website found here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/forms/qualification-registration.

07-07-2026

Part 1 Proposal

FAQ-Energy Storage-12

Q: Are we required to submit a separate Proposal for each Project?

A separate Proposal must be submitted for each Project. Each Project in the ComEd procurement event must be associated with a unique interconnection request with PJM (i.e. a Project under PJM’s New Services Requests process must be associated with a unique Queue/OASIS ID issued by PJM). Each project in the AIC procurement event must be associated with a unique interconnection request with MISO (i.e. a Project under a MISO Definitive Planning Phase (DPP) cycle must be associated with a unique Project Number issued by MISO). The Part 1 Proposal requirements related to interconnection, including required information and supporting documentation, is provided in paragraph III.4.1 and III.5.1 of the RFP Rules, respectively, for the AIC and ComEd procurement events.

07-07-2026

Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-11

Q: Can a Project that will be physically interconnected to the distribution system and complete the interconnection process with AIC participate in the AIC procurement event if it is located in Illinois and within MISO LRZ 4?

An energy storage resource physically interconnected with a distribution system is not eligible to participate in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP.

As part of the Part 1 Proposal for a Project participating in the AIC procurement event, an officer of the Seller will be required to certify that the Project is interconnected within LRZ 4 as defined by MISO, and the physical interconnection is with the transmission system operated by MISO and is not with a distribution system. Additionally, as part of the Part 1 Proposal, the Bidder must provide the Project Number issued by MISO under a Definitive Planning Phase (DPP) cycle. If the Project does not have a Project Number under a DPP cycle, the Bidder must provide evidence that the Project has been accepted into an alternative MISO interconnection process as described in paragraph III.4.1 of the RFP Rules.

07-07-2026

Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-10

Q: Where can I find the qualifying Energy Transition Community Grant Areas for the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP?

A list of the qualifying plants and mines associated with the Energy Transition Community Grant Areas for the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP were posted to the Final Materials page of the procurement website on June 29, 2026 as Appendix 14 to the RFP Rules.

07-01-2026

Part 1 Proposal Rules

FAQ-Energy Storage-9

Q: Can the Procurement Administrator provide a sample of a confidentiality agreement and a confidentiality process that Bidders and Sellers can use, at their option, to ensure that the confidentiality of the Proposal is properly maintained in accordance with the Energy Storage RFP by the Contributors identified in the Proposal?

The Officer of the Seller and the Representatives of the Bidder are responsible for ensuring that, for the period starting with the opening of the Part 1 Window through the Commission decision on the results of a procurement event, all Contributors communicate Confidential Information relating to the Proposals only with each other and not to any other party.  In the Part 2 Proposal, the Officer of the Seller and a representative of the Bidder are required to acknowledge this obligation and to certify that all necessary measures to meet this obligation have been undertaken.

Attached is a sample of a confidentiality agreement and a confidentiality process that Bidders and Sellers can use, at their option, to ensure that the confidentiality of the Proposal is properly maintained in accordance with the Energy Storage RFP. It is not a requirement of the Proposal to provide evidence of use of this sample or process. These documents are provided for the convenience of Bidders and Sellers.

06-29-2026

Rules Part 1 Proposal

FAQ-Energy Storage-8

Q: Are there any requirements for Interconnection Service to be Network Resource Interconnection Service or Energy Resource Interconnection Service?

There is no specific requirement related to NRIS or ERIS status under the ISC Contract.

05-15-2026

Rules Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-7

Q: Can a Seller with a Project selected in the RFP develop additional battery storage adjacent to the Project and sell capacity from that addition under a different arrangement?

A “Project” that would be eligible to participate in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP is a new “Stand-alone” energy storage resource. As defined in the Act, Stand-alone means systems that are (i) separately metered by a revenue-quality meter that satisfies the requirements of the RTO; (ii) operate independently without constraints or hindrances from other generation units; and (iii) demonstrate the ability to charge and discharge independent of any generation unit output.

An energy storage resource selected in the RFP must continue to meet this definition during the term of the ISC Contract. Thus, there would be no prohibition to develop additional battery storage adjacent to the Project, as long as it does not impact any of the conditions from the definition above and in particular, the additional battery storage must have a separate revenue quality meter.

05-12-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-6

Q: Are Projects using PJM’s Surplus Interconnection Service eligible to participate in the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP?

Please refer to Section III.5.1. of the RFP Rules for the Part 1 Proposal requirements for Projects that are using PJM’s Surplus Interconnection Service (SIS) process. The Bidder must provide documented evidence issued by PJM that the Project has been accepted into the SIS process. Additionally, the Bidder must explain the milestones that have been completed under the SIS process and the steps and timeline remaining for the Project to complete the SIS process. The explanation must provide reasonable assurances that the Project will achieve Commercial Operations by December 31, 2029.

05-08-2026

Rules Part 1 Proposal

FAQ-Energy Storage-5

Q: Will the ISC Reference Energy Arbitrage Price ($/MWh) and the ISC Reference Capacity Price ($/MWh) be calculated based ISC Delivery Point or a pnode specific to the Project?

Under the ISC Contract, the ISC Reference Energy Arbitrage Price ($/MWh) and the ISC Reference Capacity Price ($/MWh) will be calculated based on the ISC Delivery Point, either MISO CP Node AMIL.BGS6 or PJM Pnode ID 116472935 COMED_RESID_AGG as applicable, and not based on the pnode specific to the Project. The ISC Delivery Point will be an input to the Product Order.

04-27-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-4

Q: What will be the cadence of future procurements?

Please refer to the FAQ posted to the Energy Storage section of the IPA website.

This will be determined after the initial 2026 procurement has taken place. Timing of future procurements will necessarily follow timing outlined in CRGA which notes that procurements “shall be conducted in calendar years 2027 and 2028” in order to meet the 3,000 MW goal and that “the Agency shall conduct additional energy storage procurements in 2028, 2029, 2030” if, through the integrated resource planning process set to conclude in 2027, it is determined that more storage resources are needed beyond the 3,000 MW goal set by CRGA.

04-13-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-3

Q: Will the utility apply for and maintain Network Integration Transmission Service (NITS) on behalf of the Project, including providing transmission service coverage for charging load, and will the utility bear the cost of any network upgrades associated with transmission service or interconnection?

The Agreement does not address NITS and does not require the utility to provide or maintain transmission service coverage for charging load. Likewise, the Agreement does not alter the default allocation of network upgrade costs under the applicable interconnection and transmission service arrangements. Accordingly, participants should not assume that NITS coverage will be provided by the utility or that network upgrade costs will be borne by the utility unless otherwise provided under separate arrangements or applicable tariff provisions.

For current provisions related to ComEd, please see the PJM OATT, Attachment M-2 for ComEd. OATT, OATT Attachment M-2 (ComEd)Determination of Capacity Peak Load Contributions and Network Service Peak Load Contributions

For current provisions related to AIC, please see the BPM 13 – Module B – Transmission Service Business Practice Manual for MISO.

04-03-2026

Contract

FAQ-Energy Storage-2

Q: Will the stakeholder workshops be recorded?

Recordings of the presentation portions of the stakeholder workshops will be posted to the Draft Documents page of the Energy Storage section of the procurement website.

03-20-2026

General

FAQ-Energy Storage-1

Q: Are the stakeholder workshops held in person?

No, the Summer 2026 Energy Storage RFP Stakeholder Workshops will be held virtually via Zoom. Interested parties may RSVP to attend the stakeholder workshops here. In addition to attending the live workshops, the Procurement Administrator will post the presentation materials and the audio recordings to the Draft Documents page of the Energy Storage section of the procurement website for interested stakeholders to review.

03-05-2026

General