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 The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (“CRGA”) Act was signed into law as Public Act 104-0458  on Jan. 8, 2026, and took effect on June 1. CRGA is a comprehensive law aimed at enhancing energy reliability, affordability, and sustainability by facilitating the development of new battery storage projects, expanding energy efficiency, and establishing a new long-term energy planning process for the state. 

Within the law’s 1,000-plus pages is a menu of programs that can directly benefit Illinois households, including new rebates for installing onsite batteries, special time-of-day electric rate options, incentives making super-efficient geothermal heating more affordable, and expanded energy efficiency programs for lower-income customers. 

Here’s a rundown of what’s changing at the residential level, and when you can expect to see it.

1. A New Rebate (and a New Way to Get Paid) for Home Batteries

Before the passage of CRGA, Illinois consumers could get a rebate for battery storage only when it was coupled with solar panels (still available, read more here), but the new law will create Illinois’ first-ever statewide incentive program specifically for stand-alone batteries, also known as “distributed battery storage,” installed at homes and small businesses. 

• The rebate: Residential and small commercial storage systems installed through 2029 qualify for an upfront rebate of $300 per kilowatt-hour of nameplate capacity, stepping down to $250/kWh starting in 2030. 
• Net metering: Utilities are now required to allow net metering for behind-the-meter storage systems, so a battery paired with solar can bank credit the way solar-only systems already do.
• Timeline:  These programs are in development and still have to go through Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approval. Standalone storage systems can be installed today, but a standalone device generally won’t be eligible for compensation under net metering or the DG rebate until the utility files updated tariffs, the ICC approves them, and the related programs are implemented. 
  • For ComEd customers specifically, the utility has said these new revenue streams, energy compensation under Rider POGNM (pdf page 461) (its net metering tariff) and rebates under Rider DG REBATE (pdf page 376), are expected to apply to standalone storage devices interconnected on or after June 1, 2026, with its VPP tariff (Rider SDVPP, filed June 1, 2026) anticipated to go live in spring 2027. 
  • Ameren hasn’t published details about CRGA changes yet. The general rule (approval required before compensation starts) applies statewide, but the exact riders and dates may differ by utility. 

2. Illinois Storage for All

Illinois Solar for All has spent nearly a decade helping income-eligible households, nonprofits, and public facilities go solar at no upfront cost. CRGA gives it a sister program: Illinois Storage for All.

The Illinois Power Agency (IPA) may now allocate up to 25 percent of the Illinois Solar for All budget toward pairing battery storage with solar projects for income-eligible households, nonprofits, and public facilities. In practice, that means more of the households already benefiting from no-cost solar will also be able to add storage, getting backup power during outages and bigger bill savings, without the price tag that keeps storage out of reach for a lot of families today. CRGA also expands who can qualify for the nonprofit and public-facility side of Solar for All, opening it up to critical service providers located near, not just inside, income-eligible and environmental justice communities.

Timeline: Before launching Illinois Storage for All, the IPA plans to host a stakeholder feedback process beginning in the fall of 2026. The final draft of the program plan is due to be released by the IPA by June 1, 2027.

3. Virtual Power Plants

CRGA establishes Illinois’ first Virtual Power Plant (VPP) framework.  VPPs allow utilities to briefly draw on customer-owned batteries, solar, EV chargers, and eventually smart HVAC systems during periods of high grid demand, with participating customers compensated in return.

• Participation is opt-in. In exchange for letting the utility dispatch your battery during scheduled peak events, you (or your chosen VPP aggregator) get the upfront storage rebate plus ongoing dispatch compensation. CRGA sets a floor of at least $10 per kilowatt (kW) of average dispatch.
• The program is designed to expand over time to include more customers and more technologies, including electric vehicles, by around 2029.
• Because VPPs reduce the peak demand that drives up capacity market costs, the program should help lower bills for everyone on 
• the grid, not just participants.
• Timeline: 
  • Short-term: Both Ameren and ComEd’s proposed SDVPP (Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant) tariffs have been approved by the ICC. The next step is program implementation, with ComEd working toward a spring 2027 program launch. The Ameren launch is still TBD.
  • Long-term: Under CRGA, the long-term VPP framework must begin no later than December 31, 2028.

4. Time-of-Use Rates 

Both ComEd and Ameren Illinois must now offer residential customers optional time-of-use (TOU) pricing.  Unlike the utilities’ standard default rates which are the same regardless of the time of day, TOU programs have rates that are lower during off-peak hours and higher during periods of high system demand.

ComEd already has a TOU; CRGA codified that option into law and soon Ameren will be required to offer one too. TOU rates are opt-in, so no one is forced onto a variable rate, but customers who can shift their usage by running appliances at night, charging an electric vehicle off-peak, and so on, have a new, predictable way to lower their bills. 

Timeline: For information about ComEd’s TOU, check out CUB’s fact sheet.  The utilities are required by statute to file these new time-of-use rate tariffs no later than 120 days after CRGA’s effective date, which is the end of September. CUB will monitor these dockets and provide updates when available.

5. Geothermal Homes and Businesses Program

Starting June 1, 2028, the Illinois Power Agency will procure renewable energy credits (RECs) from qualifying geothermal heat pump systems, with up to $10 million allocated per year through 2035. At least a third of the credits procured each year are reserved for systems serving residential customers, giving homeowners who install geothermal heat pumps a new revenue stream to help offset upfront costs.

Timeline: The program will likely launch after the Illinois Power Agency’s June 1, 2028 REC procurement date.

6. Bigger, More Equity-Focused Utility Efficiency Programs

The benefits of energy efficiency programs go well beyond the individual customers who are using them, because such programs help reduce overall energy demand, and, therefore, the market price of energy, and that saves money for all customers. CRGA reshapes the gas and electric utilities’ energy efficiency programs:

• Electric utilities’ minimum spending requirement for income-qualified efficiency programs is roughly tripled. 
• Gas utilities, for the first time, are subject to their own minimum spending requirements, with at least 25 percent of gas efficiency budgets must go toward income-qualified programs.
• CRGA encourages the gas utilities to devote most (67 percent) of their efficiency budgets to efficiency improvements such as insulation and air sealing, rather than the replacement of gas equipment, such as furnaces, boilers, or water heaters.  
• Timeline: All utilities already have energy efficiency programs, which are outlined on CUB’s Clean Energy page. CRGA’a energy efficiency changes go into effect starting in 2027.