§ 16-128A — Certification of installers, maintainers, or repairers

(a) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing certification requirements ensuring that entities installing distributed generation facilities are in compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing distributed generation facilities" shall include, but not be limited to, all entities that are exempt from the definition of "alternative retail electric supplier" under item (v) of Section 16-102 of this Act. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases a cogeneration facility for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs such cogeneration or self-generation facility on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person. (b) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under this Act or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to this Section; and (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of this Section. (c) No electric utility shall provide a retail customer with net metering service related to interconnection of that customer's distributed generation facility unless the customer provides the electric utility with (i) a certification that the customer installing the distributed generation facility was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the distributed generation facility was installed by an entity certified under this Section that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection, a retail customer includes that customer's employees, officers, and agents. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer must provide to an electric utility. The provisions of this subsection (c) shall apply on or after the effective date of the Commission's rules prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section. (d) Within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish certification requirements that shall be applicable to persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations. The notification and certification requirements of this Section shall only be applicable to individuals or entities that perform work on or within an electric vehicle charging station, including, but not limited to, connection of power to an electric vehicle charging station. For the purposes of this Section "electric vehicle charging station" means any facility or equipment that is used to charge a battery or other energy storage device of an electric vehicle. Rules regulating the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations, in which the Commission may establish separate requirements based upon the characteristics of electric vehicle charging stations, so long as it is in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 16-128 and Section 16-128A of this Act, shall: (1) establish a certification process for persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations; (2) require persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle stations to be certified to do business and to be bonded in the State; (3) ensure that persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform functions in a safe and reliable manner as required under subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act; (4) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties on persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations for noncompliance of the rules adopted under this subsection; (5) ensure that all persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations conform to applicable building and electrical codes; (6) ensure that all electric vehicle charging stations meet recognized industry standards as the Commission deems appropriate, such as the National Electric Code (NEC) and standards developed or created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Detroit Edison Institute (DTE), the Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); (7) include any additional requirements that the Commission deems reasonable to ensure that persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations meet adequate training, financial, and competency requirements; (8) ensure that the obligations required under this Section and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act are met prior to the interconnection of any electric vehicle charging station; (9) ensure electric vehicle charging stations installed by a self-installer are not used for any commercial purpose; (10) establish an inspection procedure for the conversion of electric vehicle charging stations installed by a self-installer if it is determined that the self-installed electric vehicle charging station is being used for commercial purposes; (11) establish the requirement that all persons or entities that install electric vehicle charging stations shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing of plans to install an electric vehicle charging station and shall notify the servicing electric utility in writing when installation is complete; (12) ensure that all persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations obtain certificates of insurance in sufficient amounts and coverages that the Commission so determines and, if necessary as determined by the Commission, names the affected public utility as an additional insured; and (13) identify and determine the training or other programs by which persons or entities may obtain the requisite training, skills, or experience necessary to achieve and maintain compliance with the requirements set forth in this subsection and subsection (a) of Section 16-128 to install, maintain, or repair electric vehicle charging stations. Within 18 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, and may, if it deems necessary, adopt emergency rules, for the installation, maintenance, or repair of electric vehicle charging stations. All retail customers who own, maintain, or repair an electric vehicle charging station shall provide the servicing electric utility (i) a certification that the customer installing the electric vehicle charging station was a self-installer or (ii) evidence that the electric vehicle charging station was installed by an entity certified under this subsection (d) that is also in good standing with the Commission. For purposes of this subsection (d), a retail customer includes that retail customer's employees, officers, and agents. If the electric vehicle charging station was not installed by a self-installer, then the person or entity that plans to install the electric vehicle charging station shall provide notice to the servicing electric utility prior to installation and when installation is complete and provide any other information required by the Commission's rules established under subsection (d) of this Section. An electric utility shall file a tariff or tariffs with the Commission setting forth the documentation, as specified by Commission rule, that a retail customer who owns, uses, operates, or maintains an electric vehicle charging station must provide to an electric utility. For the purposes of this subsection, an electric vehicle charging station shall constitute a distribution facility or equipment as that term is used in subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. The phrase "self-installer" means an individual who (i) leases or purchases an electric vehicle charging station for his or her own personal use and (ii) installs an electric vehicle charging station on his or her own premises without the assistance of any other person. (e) Fees and penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Public Utility Fund and used to fund the Commission's compliance with the obligations imposed by this Section. (f) The rules established under subsection (d) of this Section shall specify the initial dates for compliance with the rules. (g) Within 18 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, the Commission shall adopt rules, including emergency rules, establishing a process for entities installing a new utility-scale solar project to certify compliance with the requirements of this Section. For purposes of this Section, the phrase "entities installing a new utility-scale solar project" shall include, but is not limited to, any entity installing new photovoltaic projects as such terms are defined in subsection (c) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. The process shall include an option to complete the certification electronically by completing forms on-line. An entity installing a new utility-scale solar project shall be permitted to complete certification after the subject work has been completed. The Commission shall maintain on its website a list of entities installing new utility-scale solar projects measures that have successfully completed the certification process. (h) In addition to any authority granted to the Commission under this Act, the Commission is also authorized to: (1) determine which entities are subject to certification under subsection (g) of this Section; (2) impose reasonable certification fees and penalties; (3) adopt disciplinary procedures; (4) investigate any and all activities subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section, including violations thereof; (5) adopt procedures to issue or renew, or to refuse to issue or renew, a certification or to revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or otherwise discipline a certified entity under subsection (g) of this Section or take other enforcement action against an entity subject to subsection (g) or this subsection (h) of this Section; (6) prescribe forms to be issued for the administration and enforcement of subsection (g) and this subsection (h) of this Section; and (7) establish requirements to ensure that entities installing a new photovoltaic project have the requisite knowledge, skills, training, experience, and competence to perform in a safe and reliable manner as required by subsection (a) of Section 16-128 of this Act. (i) The certification of persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, and electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section is an exclusive power and function of the State. A home rule unit or other units of local government authority may subject persons or entities that install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations as set forth in this Section to any applicable local licensing, siting, and permitting requirements otherwise permitted under law so long as only Commission-certified persons or entities are authorized to install, maintain, or repair new photovoltaic projects, distributed generation facilities, or electric vehicle charging stations. This Section is a limitation under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exclusively exercised by the State.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17; 100-16, eff. 6-30-17.)