Bill
HB 3312
HB 3312 lets building owners, tenants, and authorized agents securely access whole-building energy and water usage data to support benchmarking, upgrades, and incentives.
Status snapshot
- Introduced: Feb 2025 (Filed by Rep. Mary Beth Canty). Senate sponsor: Sen. Mike Simmons.
- House passage: 3rd Reading Passed 72–38 (Apr 10, 2025); House Floor Amendment No. 1 adopted.
- Current (as of 2025-06-02): Rule 3‑9(a) — Re‑referred to Assignments (in Senate).
- Committee activity: public hearing and stakeholder process in Energy & Public Utilities; committee substitute reported favorably.
Purpose / intent
- Establish statewide procedures to give building owners, tenants, and authorized agents secure access to whole‑building utility consumption data (electric, gas, district energy, fuel delivery, water).
- Enable benchmarking and performance tracking to drive energy and water efficiency upgrades, qualify buildings for incentives, and support markets for efficiency services.
Key provisions
- Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) rulemaking: within 90 days of the act’s effective date the ICC must open a proceeding to adopt implementing rules, considering industry best practices. Municipal and cooperative utilities may adopt ICC rules.
- Data retention:
- Utilities must retain all consumption data for at least 2 years.
- “Qualified utilities” must retain monthly billing consumption data for at least 15 years (text shows this 15‑year retention for qualified utilities).
- Account holder control and transmission:
- Utilities must honor an account holder’s request to transmit their covered usage data to any entity designated by the account holder.
- The account‑request process and utility data delivery must be “convenient and secure.”
- Aggregation and privacy:
- The bill defines “aggregated usage data” as de‑identified, combined meter data for a property or building; identifies an “aggregation threshold” to avoid disclosure of individual tenant data.
- Benchmarking tools: recognizes ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager or ICC‑approved alternatives for benchmarking entry and scoring.
- Who may request data:
- Property/building owners, owners of portions of property (for usage they or their tenants pay), tenants (for spaces they pay for), condominium/cooperative boards, and authorized agents.
- Utility classifications:
- Large, medium, and small “qualified utilities” defined by active account/service thresholds and in‑state revenue bands (e.g., large = ≥100,000 active accounts or >50 accounts plus >$500M revenue).
- Liability and cost recovery:
- Utilities are held harmless for third‑party misuse of data unless the utility failed to follow required processes or was grossly negligent.
- Before seeking ratepayer cost recovery, a qualified utility must demonstrate good‑faith efforts to obtain federal, State, or other funding.
- ICC support and resources:
- The Commission may engage outside consultants experienced in benchmarking and utility data access and may receive funding to carry out responsibilities.
Definitions and thresholds
- The bill contains detailed definitions (account holder, covered usage data, qualified account/property/building, utility data type). Some numeric details in the provided text are partially truncated; the bill distinguishes qualified utilities by account counts and revenue ranges and sets an “aggregation threshold” for de‑identification.
Who is affected
- Primary: building owners, tenants, property managers, benchmarking/energy‑services providers, utilities (investor‑owned, municipal, cooperatives) and the ICC.
- Indirect: renters and other customers who may benefit from improved building efficiency and reduced peak loads; utilities that may incur costs to implement retention, aggregation, and secure transfer systems.
Implementation & timeline highlights
- ICC must begin rulemaking within 90 days of the Act’s effective date. The ICC’s rules will set schedules for data delivery, formats, benchmarking entry, security standards, and stakeholder participation requirements.
Potential impacts
- Positive: easier access to whole‑building data supports benchmarking, energy/water efficiency upgrades, eligibility for federal/state incentive programs, possible bill savings and job growth in building services.
- Costs/administrative: utilities (especially medium/small) may need to upgrade data retention, privacy/aggregation, and secure transfer capabilities; may seek funding or rate recovery subject to prior pursuit of grants.
- Privacy protections: aggregation and de‑identification requirements and liability limits aim to balance access and consumer confidentiality.
Notes
- Provided legislative text includes some truncated or unclear numeric lines (aggregation thresholds and some small‑utility revenue thresholds). Final ICC rules and any conference/clean versions will clarify those specifics if the bill advances.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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