Illinois Commerce Commission Adopts Default Service Procurement Plan for 2014-15

The Illinois Commerce Commission yesterday announced that it had issued an order approving the Illinois Power Agency's (IPA) 2014-2015 plan to purchase default electricity supply and associated services for ComEd and Ameren Illinois customers.

A written order was not immediately available.

According to an ICC news release, the order provides for two energy procurements next year, "a move that may help to match more closely customer demand for power with supply."

"This year the IPA anticipates that customer switching will stabilize and some older supply contracts will expire. To better address potential fluctuations in demand for electricity, the Commission approved two separate energy procurements, one in the April 2014 [timeframe] and another, if needed, in quarter September 2014," the ICC said.

A proposed order had recommended that these procurements maintain the use of block energy products, and not full requirements products.

The Commission said that it did not require the acquisition of additional renewable resources in the 2014-2015 plan due to a decrease in the amount of available funds to procure those resources. Currently the acquisition of additional renewable resources would cause both utilities to exceed statutory spending caps which depend upon the level of customer load served by ComEd and Ameren. As the customer load has decreased due to customer switching, the available funds and spending caps for renewable resources have also dropped, the ICC said.