Equity Accountability System Overview
The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (Public Act 102-0662 or “CEJA”) amended the Illinois Power Agency Act to expand the “priority access to the clean energy economy for businesses and workers from communities that have been excluded from economic opportunities in the energy sector, have been subject to disproportionate levels of pollution, and have disproportionately experienced negative public health outcomes.”
CEJA directed the Illinois Power Agency (“IPA” or “Agency”) and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (“DCEO”) to help historically underserved communities participate in and benefit from the growing clean energy economy in Illinois.
To advance that objective, the Act directed the Agency to establish an Equity Accountability System (EAS), which includes the following:
- Minimum Equity Standard ("MES") applicable to all applicants to the Agency’s renewable energy procurements, both through Illinois Shines and the Agency's competitive procurements*
- Establishes the Equity Eligible Contractor category with Illinois Shines
The Agency has conducted multiple stakeholder feedback requests for topics related to the Equity Accountability System. Details of these and other Illinois Shines stakeholder feedback requests, including request details, proposals, public response, can be found on the Stakeholder Feedback page. In support of stakeholders, the Program has published the Guide to the Equity Accountability System & Illinois Shines.
In Program Year 2024-25, the Agency published Equity Accountability System Assessment (Part 1) in August 2024, and Equity Accountability System Assessment (Part 2) in February 2025. The IPA-authored report assesses the effectiveness of statutory Equity Accountability System Assessment provisions in promoting equity across the clean energy economy.
*Entities who fail to meet the MES within the Program Year must submit a Corrective Action Plan within 15 business days of receipt of a notice of potential violation (NOPV), and are suspended from participation in the Illinois Shines program until compliance with the MES is met. More information is available at the Minimum Equity Standard page.
The Act further establishes several required monitoring, reporting, and facilitation requirements to support the assessment of the Equity Accountability System, including:
Current number of Equity Eligible Contractors certified by the Agency
A waiver application process for rare cases of inability to meet the MES
A mechanism for measuring and reporting project workforce profiles at the Approved Vendor or Designee level
Training, guidance, and other support for Approved Vendors, Designees, Equity Eligible Contractors, and other stakeholders for meeting the requirements of the Equity Eligible Contractor category within Illinois Shines and the MES
The Agency manages the Energy Workforce Equity Portal, a public-facing tool that helps develop a diverse pipeline of skilled and trained clean energy workforce. The portal may be used:
By employers to connect to job seekers, register as a clean energy company, and post jobs
By employers to identify graduates of qualified job training programs for which they are actively hiring Equity Eligible Persons to meet the MES
By job seekers to connect to employers, explore jobs, and apply to register as Equity Eligible Persons
To help identify if communities and individuals reside in an identified Equity Investment Eligible Community (“EIEC”) using the Equity Investment Eligible Community Map
To become certified as an Equity Eligible Person if you are currently employed at a clean energy company
To learn more about the overall Agency’s DEI efforts visit the IPA’s page on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
