The passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) was a landmark achievement for Illinois, during which Advanced Energy United secured broad investments in advanced energy. But there was a critical omission: the lack of a dedicated energy storage program. Even though storage is a linchpin of the energy transition, state decision-makers punted it during legislative debate.

It was 2021, and the crucial importance of storage wasn’t as glaringly obvious to lawmakers as it is today. By 2025, Advanced Energy United and its industry allies made it clear the legislature couldn’t kick the can down the road any further. Energy demands were projected to soar, energy prices were rising, and the reliability of the power grid was of increasing concern.

Then, when the federal government made it more difficult to build large-scale energy projects by rolling back tax credits and creating new red tape for approvals, the industry told Illinois leaders it needed to create more market certainty to build or else risk leaving their residents more vulnerable to even greater energy cost increases.

With legislators and consumer advocates understandably concerned about energy affordability, Advanced Energy United understood that it needed to demonstrate that investing in storage was a worthwhile return on investment. Working with industry allies, United called on the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, which ultimately showed the immense potential savings of investing in both large-scale and behind-the-meter storage, an estimated $13 billion over 20 years for Illinois households and businesses.

Working with the bill’s chief sponsors, Rep. Jay Hoffman and Senators Steve Stadelman and Bill Cunningham, United, along with industry allies, created a legislative solution called the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA). As the industry built a coalition of support in the state, the proposed storage programs were paired with energy efficiency programs to better support low and middle-income households, and a virtual power plant (VPP) program was included as well to help the state better meet immediate peak demand moments.

Collectively, Advanced Energy United put together the right legislative champions, the right coalition, the right message, and the right collection of state investments in advanced energy that won support from the Legislature and was ultimately signed into law in January 2026.

Advanced Energy United and its members are now engaging with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and the IPA to develop the rules for implementation, including for storage procurement contracts, with the goal of sending the signal to developers to build 3 gigawatts of storage.

And that’s not all.

At the urging of United, its members, and our industry allies, utility regulators in Illinois also responded to the federal government’s rollback of incentives by updating the state’s procurement plans, aiming to double community, commercial, and small-scale solar capacity with the goal of enabling developers to more quickly bring hundreds of additional megawatts of affordable, clean power online. Together with Advanced Energy United and its diversity of members, Illinois is creating economic opportunities for our industry and its residents.