By Amanda Durish Cook

The Illinois Commerce Commission on Monday conditionally approved Ameren Illinois’ request to lower the utility’s energy-efficiency goals established under the state’s recently enacted Future Energy Jobs Act.

The commission’s approval came despite extensive pushback from consumer and environmental nonprofits — who accused Ameren of attempting to bypass efficiency targets — and a preliminary ruling from an administrative law judge denying the requested change (17-0311).

The judge last month issued a preliminary order rejecting the utility’s plan, saying Ameren could shift money and priorities around to meet its annual energy savings goal while staying within the law’s budget cap. (See State Could Reject Ameren Illinois Efficiency Target Reset.)

Still, the commission approved Ameren’s plan despite its relatively high costs for each unit of energy saved. Under the plan, Ameren expects to spend 32 cents/kWh saved, compared with the 21 cents/kWh saved for residential customers and 13 cents/kWh for business customers during 2016.

Critics had wanted Ameren to squeeze more energy savings out of the $114 million per year the utility has allocated to the program, but the commission agreed with the company that the “unique circumstances” of its “largely rural” service territory — in which many customers are exempt from the efficiency provisions — made it difficult to achieve higher savings.

The proposed measures “promote the objectives of the statute,” the ICC found.

Conditions Apply

The commission’s approval also came with some strings attached.

“Ameren Illinois’ request for approval of modified goals is conditionally granted, provided that the company present to the commission, as a compliance filing, amendments to its plan design that provide additional annual savings that will assist more Ameren Illinois customers,” the ICC said in its ruling.

Among the conditions: Ameren will be required to attend at least three workshops hosted by commission staff where “stakeholders may offer proposals to aid Ameren Illinois in achieving statutory savings goals” in future plans. Commission staff will make a report following the workshops.

The commission also said it will reassess Ameren’s goals and performance after a year and required that the utility donate any performance incentives from meeting its modified savings goals to nonprofits that assist low-income communities with energy-efficiency measures.

“By proposing to donate any performance incentives it might realize, Ameren Illinois satisfactorily addresses any concern that it is attempting to profit by manipulating savings goals so that it will be certain to achieve them,” the commission said.

Under the Future Energy Jobs Act, Ameren is required to meet 9.8% in cumulative annual energy savings by 2021, but the utility is planning for 8.24% in savings. The utility had allocated $114 million per year for the program, the maximum budget under the law, but it claimed it still could not meet the savings goal. A maximum budget triggers the ICC’s authority to reduce annual incremental savings goals.

Ameren said it remains committed to achievement of the agreed upon savings target of 13% by 2025.

“Based on our initial understanding of the order, we are in agreement with the commission on many points. Our innovative energy efficiency plan will result in customer cost decreases,” Ameren Illinois spokesperson Marcelyn Love told RTO Insider.

Rehearing?

The Environmental Defense Fund said it would seek a rehearing on the issue after learning of the decision, citing the ALJ’s preliminary order. EDF, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Citizens Utility Board “provided numerous suggestions for Ameren to meet its efficiency goals and provide maximum savings to a greater number of customers,” EDF said.

“Ameren is abandoning its energy-efficiency commitments, meaning fewer customers will get help lowering their energy bills, and those who do will be saving less. … The decision robs people in Central and Southern Illinois of the cleaner air, lower bills and clean-energy job opportunities they were promised by the Future Energy Jobs Act,” said EDF’s Christie Hicks.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition also expressed disappointment with the order, saying the ICC disregarded the opinion of its own ALJ.

“Ameren’s plan to scale back savings from energy-efficiency services will prevent people in Central and Southern Illinois from reaping the same benefits that people in Chicago and Northern Illinois will receive under the Future Energy Jobs Act,” the coalition said. “Disadvantaged communities should be prioritized for investments, and we believe that Ameren can and should also provide the same quality of services.”