Stranded customers are Illinois Shines or Illinois Solar for All customers who have signed a contract with an Approved Vendor (“AV”) (and/or sometimes a Designee) that goes out of business or is prevented from moving forward with the project for other reasons, such as disciplinary action. In response to AV and Designee feedback that assisting stranded customers can be challenging and risky, the Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) is implementing an economic incentive for AVs that assist stranded customers in the form of a “REC adder”— that is, an increased price in the REC Contract for RECs generated by projects that were stranded and then “unstranded.”
On September 3, 2025, the IPA issued a Rationale Document outlining its final decisions on the policy and explaining whether and how stakeholder feedback was incorporated. The IPA, alongside its Program Administrators, also developed a chart outlining the REC adder value in US dollars available per category of stranded customer, based on the circumstances under which customers were stranded. These documents can be found on the Consumer Protection Initiatives page.
The Stranded Customer REC Adder has been launched and is available to AVs.
- The REC Adder must be requested by the customer’s new AV or the original AV (if the Designee is unstranding the customer), administratively approved by the Program Administrator, and approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
- The AV must submit a Stranded Customer REC Adder AV Request Form that identifies the customer, relevant information, and the category and the appropriate REC adder value.
- AVs can appeal the Program Administrator’s denial of a REC Adder to the IPA.
- An AV is not required to be on the Stranded Customer Shortlist to be eligible to receive the REC Adder.
- Application of the Stranded Customer REC Adder is available to projects that pre-date the 2024 Long-Term Plan and for projects for which the incentive payments have already been made.
FAQs have been added to both customer-facing and vendor-facing pages. For more information, please visit the Program website.
Thank you!
Illinois Shines Program
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