Energy Solutions continues its commitment to providing frequent updates and details on Illinois Shines application processing progress. As of the week ending June 11, the Program Administrator achieved the goal of a two-week review turnaround for review of Large and Small DG (Part I and Part II) applications.
This announcement provides the following application processing updates:
- Update to application processing table data reported
- Updated application processing tables through the week starting June 12, 2023, and forecast through June 2023
- Updates to accelerate application processing, including progress in the Need Info working group
Application Processing Updates
The Program Administrator has established the staffing and processes to maintain review average turnaround times of two weeks moving forward. Updated application processing data is published on the Program website on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This weekly announcement reflects projected and actual application submission and processing throughput, including a forecasted “turnaround time” of submission date to application review by project type/category, and updates on our Need Info efforts.
The Program received more new project applications than projected over the past two weeks; however, the total applications submitted since June 1 is fewer than forecasted for the month. The Program Administrator remains prepared to address higher volumes in the coming weeks. The actual volume reviewed for some categories was lower than the forecasted review volume, a result of the low volume of applications that were batched and paid prior to the end of last week. The full queue of applications awaiting review was satisfied for Small DG Part I and Part II as of Wednesday, June 14; then batches paid on June 15 and 16 added more applications to the queues requiring review.
The below tables reflect an update to the “Reviewing Applications… Week of” column and tracking. Previously, this column header and the associated data was “Reviewing Applications Submitted Week Of”. The Program Administrator and the IPA found this data point to be confusing and non-linear as applications are not reviewed until batches are paid, yet the data was showing application review based on batch submittal. Thus, the dates in this column were not always following a forward progression as some batches are submitted but not paid for days/weeks at a time. Beginning with this week’s report, the date reflected in the below table and data published on the Program website, will reflect the date of applications’ batch payment date, replacing the previous date of batch submission to give a more accurate and linear view of where applications stand in the queue. The Program Administrator will continue to closely track batches both in submitted and paid statuses and will measure “turnaround” time as the time between the batch paid date and application review date (as reflected in the tables’ columns furthest to the right). Application review will still continue to be prioritized based upon date of submission, but this update shows a clearer and more linear picture of where the review team is at in terms of the queue.
Applications are reviewed in order of submission date by Part I/Part II groups, regardless of project category reflected in forecasted review dates. For example, older Part I Small DG applications are processed before more recently submitted Part I Large DG applications.
*End of Week Queue column includes the total number of applications batched and paid which have not been reviewed. Due to project cancellations, the current queue may not exactly equal the previous week’s queue plus submitted less reviewed application volumes.
Need Info Updates
Resolving the high Need Info volume and resulting delays in application approvals remains a high priority. Updates from the Need Info Working Group include:
- The training of additional staff to Need Info efforts to resolve applications missing information by updating applications with data and documentation provided by AVs.
- Analyzing data to identify the Top Reasons for Need Info application status (applications reviewed May 20 – June 7, 2023)
- Part I Top Need Info reasons
- Inverter Issue (inacceptable size/model)
- Net meter waiver missing
- Disclosure Form electronic signature tracking documentation needed
- Ground cover ratio is not clear
- Designee not registered
- Part II Top Need Info reasons
- Module different between application and photo
- Certificate of Completion issue (relationship of parties unclear; not signed by utility)
- Standing order missing
- Meter – photo missing (solar production needed); Meter make/model differ between photo and application,
- Inverter model number missing; number of inverters missing
- Part I Top Need Info reasons
The Program Administrator thanks stakeholders for their continued patience and feedback. We are working hard to aggressively meet application review and approval targets and bring application processing into expected timeframes for the benefit of all stakeholders. Stakeholders are invited to contact the Program Administrator at any time regarding specific applications or overall application processing, by contacting: [email protected] or (877) 783-1820.
