Illinois Commerce Commission EV Electric Rates Report

ICC Issues Transportation Electrification Rate Design & Affordability NOI Report

Chicago, IL – The Illinois Commerce Commission is announcing the release of a Notice of Inquiry Report on Electric Rate Design Issues for Transportation Electrification and Other Beneficial Electrification. The NOI was initiated on August 19, 2020 to obtain information on the impact of electricity rate design on transportation electrification (TE), TE infrastructure adoption, and beneficial electrification (BE), and explore rate design options. The Commission also sought to identify the impact of rate design on electric service and electric service affordability.

“It’s highly anticipated that the number of EVs on Illinois roadways will continue to grow. As regulators we initiated the NOI to identify barriers to EV expansion and to further explore the impact rate design has on electric service and affordability,” said ICC Chairman Carrie Zalewski. “This report will be extremely useful for regulators, policymakers and others as we consider rate structures in the future.”

“Widespread adoption of EVs will be key for Illinois and other states to reach de-carbonization goals. The Commission has a role in encouraging the growth of EVs and ensuring electric rates are affordable for consumers. The information in this report will help us to make informed decisions and keep the discussion moving forward,” said ICC Commissioner Maria Bocanegra.

The NOI asked respondents a number of questions including whether or not they felt current rate designs prevent single family, multi-family, and low-to-moderate income residential customers from adopting and using EVs; whether current rate designs prevent businesses and government units from adopting EVs, and installing EV charging infrastructure; and whether or not respondents favor providing incentives through rate design to incentivize the installation of charging infrastructure, and the expansion and use of electric fleets. Respondents were asked to provide examples of rate designs successful in other states and recommend rate design changes for Illinois.

In their answers, numerous rate design issues and suggestions were provided by the respondents. The ICC Staff noted that some of the rate design issues raised in the NOI may be addressed in an ongoing Ameren Illinois proceeding, Docket No. 20-1710, which involves a proposed time of use, EV-only tariff for delivery services. Upon the issuance of a Commission Order to Docket No. 20-1710 and consideration of any other related dockets, Staff is recommending the commencement of workshops on a more granular level to identify the pros and cons of the specified electric rate designs and, if possible, identify features that encourage EV adoption and EV charging station deployment. These workshops may also lead to additional policy sessions before the Commission.

“The Commission would like to thank all of the participants for their efforts and input,” said Jim Zolnierek, ICC Public Utilities Bureau Chief and NOI manager.

Seventeen parties either individually or jointly provided initial comments, reply comments, or both. The participants included: the Alliance for Transportation Electrification (Alliance); Ameren Illinois Company (AIC); Citizens Utility Board and Environmental Defense Fund (CUB-EDF); Climate Reality Project (CRP); Commonwealth Edison (ComEd); Edison Electric Institute (EEI); Elevate Energy (Elevate); Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC); Greenlots; ChargePoint, Inc., EVgo Services LLC, Rivian, and Tesla, Inc. (Joint EV Industry Parties); MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC); Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) offered reply comments.

The full NOI report for 20-NOI-03 as well as all of the information submitted by the parties are available for review under the heading “NOI Schedule and Submissions” on the Commission’s website at https://www.icc.illinois.gov/notice-of-inquiry/20-noi-03.