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Deep Dive into Your Disclosure Form:
Distributed Generation Purchase

This resource is designed to help you understand your Disclosure Form. The Disclosure Form shown here is a sample and may not exactly match your Disclosure Form. See the glossary for helpful terms and definitions.

If you are in Ameren or ComEd service territory, you will need to indicate whether an application will be submitted for your project to take the Distributed Generation / Smart Inverter Rebate. This is different than the Illinois Shines incentive program. Check to see if your Disclosure Form has a section titled “Net Metering” (in which case your project is not applying), or if it has a section titled “Net Metering and Distributed Generation Rebate” or “Net Metering and Smart Inverter Rebate.” 

Your Disclosure Form has a unique identification number. This helps Illinois Shines track each form. If you contact the Program Administrator with questions, they may ask you for your Disclosure Form ID number.
 
The customer information provides the address where the solar project will be installed.
 
The Approved Vendor is the entity that will submit an application for your solar project to participate in Illinois Shines. The Approved Vendor might also be the Project Seller and/or Installer, or the Approved Vendor may work with other companies, called Designees, to do marketing, sales, installation, and other work.
 
The Project Seller is the entity that you sign a contract with to purchase the solar project. You may also need to sign a contract with the Approved Vendor agreeing to sell the Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) generated by your solar project to the Approved Vendor. The Approved Vendor then sells the RECs to a utility in exchange for an incentive payment.
 

If the Project Seller has selected an installer at the time that they generate your Disclosure Form, the Disclosure Form will include the Project Installer’s contact information.

If the Project Seller has not yet selected an installer, they will list 3 different companies that might perform the installation work.

This section is very important, as it lays out the costs that you will pay for your solar project. This includes any payments to purchase the solar project and any fees that will necessarily apply, such as maintenance fees.

These costs and fees are listed out separately and then totaled up.

Please note that if you take out a loan or line of credit to finance the purchase, this will likely increase the overall costs because you will be paying interest to the bank or financing company that provided you with the loan or the line of credit.

Your Disclosure Form may include information about a collateral charge. Your Approved Vendor is required to provide a collateral payment to the utility as part of the contract to sell Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). If a solar project does not generate as many Renewable Energy Credits as expected, the utility may withdraw a portion of funds from the collateral payment provided.

Your Approved Vendor may ask you to provide the collateral payment, which is 5% of the overall incentive payment for the RECs from the project. You may be required to pay this as a fee, or, if the Approved Vendor is passing through some of the incentive payment to you, they may withhold part of the payment to cover collateral. Make sure you understand whether, and under what conditions, you will receive any collateral payment back that you might provide at the end of the REC contract (generally 15 years).

 
There are 2 sections that list fees in the Disclosure Form. One section lists “Fees that will apply” – this section is for fees that will apply, no matter what.
The second section lists “Other fees that may apply” – this section is for fees that might apply, but are dependent on things that haven’t happened yet. This includes things like late payment fees or returned check fees – in this example, if you do not make a late payment or bounce a check, you will not have to pay these fees.

Your Approved Vendor will sell the Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) generated by your solar project to a utility in exchange for an Illinois Shines incentive payment. The amount of the incentive payment is disclosed here. The Approved Vendor may pass through a portion of that incentive payment to you in a lump sum, or the Approved Vendor may use the incentive payment to reduce the price you pay for your solar project.

The “Project Installation” and “Project Design Specifications” sections give information about the solar project design and installation. You may want to compare the “estimated total annual electricity production in first year” with how much electricity your household used over the past year, which can be found on your utility bills. This will help you understand if the project size is appropriate for your electricity needs.

This section helps you understand how well the solar project will perform and whether it is sited properly for maximum performance. The range for “typical” Illinois Shines solar projects is calculated by using the “bell curve.” The range for “typical” projects shown on your Disclosure Form reflects the middle 68% of projects (one standard deviation above and below the median). In other words, a “typical” project falls in between the 16th and the 84th percentile.

If the project has lower performance, make sure you understand why this is and whether you will still see the benefits you are expecting from your solar project. It may be that your property or building is not well-suited for solar. Note that projects in northern Illinois generally have a lower performance than projects in southern Illinois because the sun’s rays are less direct the further north a project is.

My Electric Utility is:

The below information applies to customers whose net metering applications are submitted PRIOR to January 1, 2025. Net metering policies and rates change after January 1, 2025.

Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the electricity flows to the grid. On the other hand, if you use more electricity than your project is generating at any point in time, you will pull electricity from the grid.

ComEd will “net out” the extra electricity that your project sends to the grid against the electricity that you pull from the grid.  For example, if your solar project sends 400 kWh of extra electricity to the grid, and you use 500 kWh of electricity from the grid, your net usage would be 100 kWh.

For customers who receive “full retail rate” net metering, ComEd will then only charge you supply, delivery, and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage) on the net usage. If you receive net metering just on your energy supply, ComEd would charge you supply and transmission fees only on the netted amount of usage, but would charge you delivery fees and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage) on the total (or gross) amount of electricity that you draw from the electric grid.

If you are in ComEd or Ameren’s service territory, the solar project can apply for a rebate from the utility. Solar projects for residential and small commercial customers receive $300/kW for installed solar project capacity and $300/kWh for nameplate capacity for associated energy storage (commonly referred to as "batteries"). If the solar project takes the rebate for generation (regardless of whether you also take the energy storage rebate), you will only receive net metering for your electricity supply and transmission fees (rather than full retail rate net metering). If you take the generation rebate, your net meter credits will no longer expire annually.

Make sure you understand who keeps the rebate – you or someone else.

If a residential or small commercial project only takes the generation rebate (and not the storage rebate), there are no specific requirements for what type of energy supply the customer signs up for. If a residential or small commercial project takes the storage rebate, that residence must sign up for real-time pricing supply service from ComEd.

For commercial and industrial customers, the rebate is $250/kW for generation and $250/kWh for energy storage. Taking the rebate does not affect commercial and industrial customers’ net metering rate, which is generally already lower than full retail rate. Commercial and industrial customers who take the storage rebate will be required to participate in a peak load reduction program, which ComEd is still developing.

The below information applies to customers whose net metering applications are submitted PRIOR to January 1, 2025. Net metering policies and rates change after January 1, 2025.

If you are a residential or small business customer in ComEd service territory, and are not taking the Distributed Generation Rebate, you will receive full retail rate net metering (also called 1:1 net metering). Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the electricity flows to the grid. On the other hand, if you use more electricity than your project is generating at any specific time, you will pull electricity from the grid.

ComEd will “net out” the extra electricity that your project sends to the grid against the electricity that you pull from the grid. ComEd will then only charge you supply, delivery, and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage) on the netted amount of usage.

For example, if your solar project sends 400 kWh of extra electricity to the grid, and you use 500 kWh of electricity from the grid, ComEd will only charge you for using 100 kWh of electricity. (For electricity from your solar project that you directly use onsite, there are no utility charges or credits.)

Thinking about it another way, you will receive credits on your electricity bill for electricity that you send back to the grid which are valued at the same per kWh rate that you pay for electricity (that is, the full retail rate).

If you overall send more electricity to the grid in a month than you pull from the grid, ComEd will not charge you any volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage), and the extra net metering credits (in kWh) will “roll over” to the next month. You will still have other charges on your ComEd bill, such as the customer charge.

For residential and small business customers in ComEd territory that have not taken the DG Rebate, net metering credits expire annually. Customers can choose whether this happens in April or October. Generally, solar customers choose to re-set credits in April because it allows them to build up credits over the summer (when solar generates a lot of electricity) and then use up those built-up credits over the winter (when solar generates less electricity).

If you receive energy supply from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES) but your electricity is delivered by ComEd, ComEd will provide net metering of the delivery charges and other volumetric charges (charges based on kWh usage) from ComEd. The ARES will be responsible for net meter crediting for supply and transmission charges. If you switch to a new electricity supplier, make sure to ask the new supplier if any accumulated net metering credits will be carried over and applied by the new supplier. ComEd will also continue to apply your accumulated net metering credits to your delivery charges and other volumetric charges (charges based on kWh usage) from ComEd.

Large commercial and industrial customers generally receive fewer net metering credits, such as credits equal to the electricity provider’s avoided supply cost, rather than the full retail rate (which includes both delivery and supply service charges).

The below information applies to customers whose net metering applications are submitted and whose projects have permission to operate (PTO) granted PRIOR to January 1, 2025. Net metering policies and rates change after January 1, 2025.

Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the excess electricity flows to the grid. On the other hand, if you use more electricity than your project is generating at any point in time, you will pull electricity from the grid.

Ameren will “net out” the extra (excess) electricity that your project sends to the grid against the electricity that you pull from the grid.  For example, if your solar project sends 400 kWh of extra electricity to the grid, and you use 500 kWh of electricity from the grid, your net usage would be 100 kWh.

When you receive the rebate, your net metering will be just on your energy supply and transmission charges.  Ameren would charge you supply and transmission fees only on the netted amount of usage, but would charge you delivery fees and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on the  kWh usage) on the total (or gross) amount of electricity that you draw from the electric grid.

If you are in Ameren’s service territory, you are eligible for a smart inverter rebate on your solar project and/or energy storage device.

The solar project can apply for a rebate from the utility. Solar projects for residential and small commercial customers receive $300/kW for installed solar project capacity and $300/kWh for nameplate capacity for associated energy storage (commonly referred to as "batteries"). If the solar project takes the rebate for generation (regardless of whether you also take the energy storage rebate), you will only receive net metering for your electricity supply and transmission fees (rather than full retail rate net metering). If you take the generation rebate, your net meter credits will no longer expire annually.

Make sure you understand who keeps the rebate – you or someone else.

If you're a residential or small non-residential customer, and you take a rebate for the storage device, be aware that you and the successor customers at your location will be required to permanently take either supply service under an hourly rate schedule, or participate in Ameren's demand response program.

For large commercial and industrial customers, the rebate is $250/kW for generation and $250/kWh for energy storage. Taking the rebate does not affect commercial and industrial customers’ net metering rate, which is generally already lower than full retail rate. If you take the rebate for the storage device, you will also be required to participate in one or more programs offered through Ameren's Multi-Year Integrated Grid Plan.

The below information applies to customers whose net metering applications are submitted and whose projects have permission to operate (PTO) granted PRIOR to January 1, 2025. Net metering policies and rates change after January 1, 2025.

If you are a residential or small business customer in Ameren service territory, and are not taking the Distributed Generation Rebate, you will receive full retail rate net metering (also called 1:1 net metering). Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the electricity flows to the grid. On the other hand, if you use more electricity than your project is generating at any specific time, you will pull electricity from the grid.

Ameren will “net out” the extra electricity that your project sends to the grid against the electricity that you pull from the grid. Ameren will then only charge you supply, delivery, and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage) on the netted amount of usage.

For example, if your solar project sends 400 kWh of extra electricity to the grid, and you use 500 kWh of electricity from the grid, Ameren will only charge you for using 100 kWh of electricity. (For electricity from your solar project that you directly use onsite, there are no utility charges or credits.)

Thinking about it another way, you will receive credits on your electricity bill for electricity that you send back to the grid which are valued at the same per kWh rate that you pay for electricity (that is, the full retail rate).

If you overall send more electricity to the grid in a month than you pull from the grid, Ameren will not charge you any volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage), and the extra net metering credits (in kWh) will “roll over” to the next month. You will still have other charges on your Ameren bill, such as the customer charge.

For residential and small business customers in Ameren territory that have not taken the DG Rebate, net metering credits expire annually. Customers can choose whether this happens in April or October. Generally, solar customers choose to re-set credits in April because it allows them to build up credits over the summer (when solar generates a lot of electricity) and then use up those built-up credits over the winter (when solar generates less electricity).

If you receive energy supply from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES) but your electricity is delivered by Ameren, Ameren will provide net metering of the delivery charges and other volumetric charges (charges based on kWh usage) from Ameren. The ARES will be responsible for net meter crediting for supply and transmission charges. If you switch to a new electricity supplier, make sure to ask the new supplier if any accumulated net metering credits will be carried over and applied by the new supplier. Ameren will continue to apply your accumulated net metering credits (in kWh) to your delivery charges.  Starting in November 2023, Ameren will calculate net metering credits regardless of supplier, so you will no longer lose credits if you switch suppliers.

Large commercial and industrial customers generally receive fewer net metering credits, such as credits equal to the electricity provider’s avoided supply cost, rather than the full retail rate (which includes both delivery and supply service charges) because the delivery charges are demand (kW) based instead of usage (kWh) based.

The below information applies to customers whose net metering applications are submitted PRIOR to January 1, 2025. Net metering policies and rates change after January 1, 2025.

If you are a residential or small business customer in MidAmerican service territory, you will receive full retail rate net metering (also called 1:1 net metering). Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the electricity flows to the grid. On the other hand, if you use more electricity than your project is generating at any specific time, you will pull electricity from the grid.

MidAmerican will “net out” the extra electricity that your project sends to the grid against the electricity that you pull from the grid. MidAmerican will then only charge you supply, delivery, and other volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage) on the netted amount of usage.

For example, if your solar project sends 400 kWh of extra electricity to the grid, and you use 500 kWh of electricity from the grid, MidAmerican will only charge you for using 100 kWh of electricity. (For electricity from your solar project that you directly use onsite, there are no utility charges or credits.)

Thinking about it another way, you will receive credits on your electricity bill for electricity that you send back to the grid which are valued at the same per kWh rate that you pay for electricity (that is, the full retail rate).

If you overall send more electricity to the grid in a month than you pull from the grid, MidAmerican will not charge you any volumetric fees (fees that are based on kWh usage), and the extra net metering credits (in kWh) will “roll over” to the next month. You will still have other charges on your MidAmerican bill, such as the customer charge.

For residential and small business customers in MidAmerican territory, net metering credits expire annually. Customers can choose whether this happens in April or October. Generally, solar customers choose to re-set credits in April because it allows them to build up credits over the summer (when solar generates a lot of electricity) and then use up those built-up credits over the winter (when solar generates less electricity).

If you receive energy supply from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES) but your electricity is delivered by MidAmerican, MidAmerican will provide net metering of the delivery charges and other volumetric charges (charges based on kWh usage) from MidAmerican. The ARES will be responsible for net meter crediting for supply and transmission charges. If you switch to a new electricity supplier, make sure to ask the new supplier if any accumulated net metering credits will be carried over and applied by the new supplier. MidAmerican will continue to apply your accumulated net metering credits to your delivery charges and other volumetric charges (charges based on kWh usage) from MidAmerican.

Large commercial and industrial customers generally receive fewer net metering credits, such as credits equal to the electricity provider’s avoided supply cost, rather than the full retail rate (which includes both delivery and supply service charges).

Net metering credits you for electricity that your solar project sends to the utility electric grid. If your solar project makes more electricity than you are use, the electricity flows to the grid. Each municipal utility and rural electric cooperative has its own rules for how it calculates the value of net metering credits.

Ask the solar company for information on your utility’s net metering rate, and make sure you understand how this affects the overall financial benefits of a solar project.

This section estimates the value of the electricity that the solar project will generate.

For ComEd, Ameren, and MidAmerican customers, this estimate takes the residential customer retail electricity price (for customers who take supply from the utility, not from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier) in dollars per kWh and multiplies that by the estimated amount of electricity that the solar project is expected to generate. For customers in municipal utilities and rural electric co-operatives, this estimate uses an average retail electricity rate across Illinois.

To estimate the value over the full 15 years, the calculation assumes that the value of electricity will increase by 0.5%, 1.7%, or 2.5% per year, and that the amount of electricity that the solar project generates will decrease by 0.5% per year. These estimates do not account for the time value of money. This means that value generated several years in the future is not discounted.

This section is very important because it helps you understand, considering all the costs and benefits, whether you are expected to save money with the proposed solar project.
 
Make sure that you fully understand your Disclosure Form and take the time to ask any questions before signing.

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Glossary

Alternative Retail Electric Supplier (ARES)
Companies other than the default electric utility that sell electric supply. Customers may choose to purchase electricity supply from an ARES rather than the default utility. The utility will still deliver the electricity and generally will still bill for both supply and delivery.

Approved Vendor (AV)
Solar contractor or developer that enrolls your solar project in the Illinois Shines program, and also sells the Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) generated from solar projects to the utility in exchange for an Illinois Shines incentive payment.

Capacity Factor (CF)
The ratio of actual energy generated by a power plant over a time period (usually a year) and the total energy that power plant could have generated over the same time period, if it was optimally sited and ran at full capacity 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The capacity factor for solar projects may seem relatively low, because solar projects only generate electricity when the sun is shining.

Designee
Entities that have direct interaction with end use customers on behalf of an Approved Vendor. Designees may work as installers, marketing firms, lead generators, and/or sales organizations on behalf of an Approved Vendor. Designees must be registered with the Program.

Distributed Generation (DG)
A system that generates electricity and is located on-site, behind a customer’s meter, and used primarily to offset a single customer’s load; it cannot exceed 2,000 kW AC in size. Distributed generation (also called on-site generation or decentralized generation) is a term describing the generation of electricity for use on-site, rather than transmitting energy over the electric grid from a large, centralized facility (such as a coal-fired power plant).

Distributed Generation Rebate
Under the Illinois Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5/16-107.6), ComEd and Ameren must both offer a rebate to customers who install distributed generation projects, including solar, that meet certain eligibility requirements, including being equipped with a smart inverter. ComEd refers to this as the Distributed Generation Rebate. More information from ComEd is available at https://www.comed.com/.

Federal Tax Credit
The federal government has a tax credit program for solar projects. Owners of residential solar projects may be eligible to deduct up to 30% of the cost of their solar project from their federal income taxes. The Department of Energy’s Homeowner’s Guide to the Federal Tax Credit for Solar Photovoltaics is available at https://www.energy.gov/. Note that some homeowners may not pay enough in federal income tax to be able to use the full value of the tax credit, but tax credits can be rolled over to use in a subsequent year. Consult a tax professional to discuss your circumstances.

Illinois Power Agency
State Agency that administers the procurement of renewable energy resources to meet Illinois’ renewable energy goals, including renewable energy incentive programs like Illinois Shines.

Illinois Shines
A state program administered by the Illinois Power Agency that supports the development of new photovoltaic distributed generation systems and new photovoltaic community renewable generation projects in Illinois through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”). Illinois Shines is also commonly referred to by its legislative name, the “Adjustable Block Program.”

Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA)
A state program administered by the Illinois Power Agency that supports the development of new photovoltaic distributed generation and new community renewable generation projects that serve low- and middle-income households, and non-profits and public facilities that serve and are located in environmental justice communities or income-eligible communities.

Interconnection
The process of connecting a solar project to the electric grid, which requires approval from the utility that operates the electric grid. All Illinois Shines projects must be interconnected to the electric grid.

Kilowatt (kW)
1,000 watts of electrical power.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
1,000 watts of power used for one hour. Electrical energy consumption and production is measured in kWh. For example, if a 100-watt lightbulb is used for 10 hours, it will use 100 watts of electricity per hour, or 1000 watts over 10 hours. Over the 10-hour period, the lightbulb used 1 kWh.

Mechanic’s lien waiver
A document, often provided to a customer upon completion of payment, that indicates that a contractor is waiving its right to file a mechanic’s lien. A mechanic’s lien is used by contractors to ensure that they are paid; the lien gives the contractor a security interest in the customer’s property.

Net Metering
Metering and billing arrangement to compensate distributed energy generation (DG) system owners for generation that is exported to the utility grid.

Program Administrator
The entity responsible for running day to day operations of Illinois Shine, which is currently Energy Solutions.

Project Installer
The company that will complete the installation work for the solar project.

Project Seller
The company that enters into the installation / sales contract with the customer.

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)
The environmental attributes of 1 MWh of electricity generated by a renewable generator, such as a solar project. Note that 1 MWh = 1000 kW.

Smart Inverter Rebate
Under the Illinois Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5/16-107.6), ComEd and Ameren must both offer a rebate to customers who install distributed generation projects, including solar, that meet certain eligibility requirements, including being equipped with a smart inverter. Ameren sometimes refers to this as the Smart Inverter Rebate.

Illinois Shines logo in all white.

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Illinois Shines (statutorily known as the Adjustable Block Program) is administered by Energy Solutions on behalf of the Illinois Power Agency, an independent state government agency.

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