Illinois Sets Aug. 26 Deadline for First Statewide Utility-Scale Battery-Storage Procurement
Illinois has set Aug. 26, 2026, as the date for its first competitive statewide procurement of standalone utility-scale energy storage. The Illinois Power Agency will seek bids for 1,038 megawatts of storage capacity under the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act.
The planned procurement is a major implementation step for Illinois’ new grid and affordability law. It is intended to add large-scale storage to the state’s electric system, with potential implications for reliability planning, renewable-energy integration, project development, labor standards and future electricity costs.
The storage capacity is not yet built or contracted. The procurement event has been scheduled, but the winning projects, contract prices and any effect on customer rates have not been determined.
How the capacity will be divided
The 1,038-megawatt target is divided between two electricity-market areas. The procurement seeks 450 megawatts in MISO Local Resource Zone 4 and 588 megawatts in the PJM ComEd Locational Deliverability Area.
The Illinois Power Agency and its procurement administrator will conduct the competitive process. Bids will use an Indexed Storage Credit pricing structure, according to the program materials. The procurement administrator will evaluate eligible bids, after which the Illinois Commerce Commission must approve the results.
The final contract and proposal requirements were posted June 29, 2026. Those materials provide the framework for developers and utilities competing in the procurement.
Part of a larger storage target
The procurement is the first event under a broader statutory goal. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act establishes an initial target of 3,000 megawatts of cumulative nameplate energy-storage capacity reaching commercial operation by Dec. 31, 2030.
The law was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Jan. 8, 2026, and became effective June 1, 2026. The Illinois General Assembly’s statutory framework sets the minimum size and geographic allocation for the initial procurement, while the Illinois Power Agency’s program materials describe the event and its implementation.
Utility-scale batteries can be incorporated into electricity planning and renewable-energy integration, but the approved materials do not establish how individual projects will operate or where winning facilities will be located. No specific job total or project location has been announced.
Labor and equity provisions
The program has published resources addressing minimum equity standards, project labor agreements, labor peace agreements and prevailing-wage requirements. These materials identify labor and equity considerations for the procurement, although the packet does not identify selected developers, project workforces or construction schedules.
For Illinois residents, the immediate development is the opening of a formal competition rather than a completed expansion of the grid. Developers will compete for contracts, and state regulators will have to review the procurement results before any approved contracts can move forward under the program.
Next steps and unanswered questions
The bid and procurement event is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2026. The procurement administrator and monitor are scheduled to submit materials on Aug. 28, 2026. The Illinois Commerce Commission’s approval remains a later step, and the packet does not provide a final approval date.
Several important details therefore remain unresolved. The approved materials do not establish the eventual winning projects, contract prices, final locations, rate effects or whether customers’ electricity bills will decline. Although the program materials describe the effort as supporting reliability and affordability, they do not guarantee lower bills.
The scheduled procurement will show how Illinois begins translating its 3,000-megawatt 2030 storage target into specific projects and contracts. Until bids are evaluated and reviewed by the commission, the 1,038 megawatts remains a procurement objective, not installed capacity.
Sources
- Energy Storage – Procurements and Programs, Illinois Power Agency
- 20 ILCS 3855/1-75, Illinois General Assembly
- Energy Storage, Illinois Power Agency Procurement Administrator
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