Illinois Took Bids on 1,038 MW of Storage, With Every Price Sealed Until a September 1 Vote
- Storage bid: 1,038 MW
- PJM ComEd share: 588 MW
- MISO LRZ 4 share: 450 MW
- Contract term: 20 years
The Illinois Power Agency took price bids on 1,038 MW of standalone battery storage on August 26. It was the state’s first procurement under the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act. The agency split the target two ways. It set 588 MW inside the PJM ComEd locational deliverability area and 450 MW inside MISO Local Resource Zone 4. Winners sign 20-year contracts for Indexed Storage Credits.
The Illinois Commerce Commission is scheduled to rule on the results on September 1, and contracts are due to execute on September 4. No prices become public until the commission rules.
The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act became law on January 8, 2026 as Public Act 104-0458. It directs the agency to run competitive procurements until 3,000 MW of new storage commits to commercial operation. The statute sets December 31, 2030 as that deadline. Projects from this first round must reach commercial operation by December 31, 2029. The agency holds an option to extend that date by one year. Further procurements follow in 2027 and possibly in 2028.
The Indexed Storage Credit decides what ratepayers actually pay. It settles against market revenue rather than paying a flat capacity price. The cost to customers therefore depends on how the winning projects perform in PJM and MISO over two decades. The agency published the final ISC contract and the final RFP rules before the August window opened. Bidders filed their final project materials by August 12.
Enforcement Reality
The deadlines carry the weight here. A project that misses December 31, 2029 depends on the agency’s one-year extension to stay inside its contract. The 3,000 MW target keeps a fixed date of December 31, 2030. This first round covers about a third of it. Two more procurements in 2027 and 2028 must carry the rest.
Both face long interconnection queues in PJM and MISO. Neither queue answers to the Illinois statute.
Why It Matters
Solar Powers Illinois, a trade coalition, welcomed the procurement. The group repeated the agency’s estimate that the law will save families and businesses $13.4 billion on energy bills. That figure covers storage, energy efficiency and virtual power plants together, not this 1,038 MW alone. Nobody outside the process knows what the winning bids cost. The September 1 vote is the first moment when the price of the first gigawatt becomes checkable against the savings claim.
Critical Perspective
The $13.4 billion savings estimate comes from the same agency running the procurement, and it bundles storage with energy efficiency and virtual power plants. Nothing in this round tests that number. A 1,038 MW bid is also not 1,038 MW built. The contracts settle as Indexed Storage Credits against market revenue for 20 years, so a low headline bid still costs ratepayers more if PJM and MISO prices move against the winning projects.
The schedule is the weakest link. Projects must reach commercial operation by December 31, 2029, and every one of them has to clear an interconnection queue that answers to PJM or MISO rather than to Illinois. The agency holds a one-year extension and two more procurement rounds. Neither tool moves a project up a federal queue. September 1 will show the prices. It will not show whether the megawatts arrive.
Sources
- Illinois Power Agency: Energy Storage procurement page
- Illinois Power Agency: Public Act 104-0458 Implementation
- Illinois Power Agency RFPs: Energy Storage final materials
- Enterprise Energy: Illinois Moves Forward with More Than 1 GW of New Battery Storage
- Solar Powers Illinois: statement on the IPA energy storage procurement
