ILLINOIS SHINES: DRAFT CONSUMER PROTECTION HANDBOOK Question Title * 1. How frequently is the compliance of the Consumer Protection Handbook overseen by the Program Administrator? Monthly Day-to-day Quarterly Annually Question Title * 2. Illinois Shines is a state-administered incentive program for what type of renewable energy? What is the program providing payment in exchange for? Wind & Carbon Footprints Off-grid Solar & RECs Nuclear & Green Emissions Solar photovoltaic systems & Renewable Energy Credits Question Title * 3. What name is used for the Illinois Shines Program in the Illinois Power Agency Act? Illinois Solar For All Request for Proposal Brownfield Adjustable Block program Question Title * 4. Who does the Illinois Solar for All Program benefit? All Illinois residents income-eligible households, non-profit organizations, and public facilities Public Schools Public works projects Question Title * 5. 'RECs represent the environmental value of the electricity generated from solar panels, but not the electric1ity itself. Whoever owns the RECs has the right to make2claims about the use of that solar power. Utilities must purchase RECs to meet their oblig3ation to supply a certain amount of power from renewable energy. RECs can also be valuable to businesses seeking to be able to say that they use solar 4power.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1electricity itselfMove up electricity itselfMove down electricity itself2make claimsMove up make claimsMove down make claims3obligationMove up obligationMove down obligation4solar powerMove up solar powerMove down solar power Question Title * 6. 'Approved Vendors shall not engage in any unfair1or abusiveacts or practices in relations to their involvement in the Programs, and shall not attempt to take advantage of vulne2rable individuals or groups. Approved Vendors shall regu3larly review their business practices to ensure that no aspect is unfair o4r abusive, including but not limited to marketing, sales, originations, contracts terms, contract options, fees, installation, servicing, and loss mitigation.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1unfair or abusiveMove up unfair or abusiveMove down unfair or abusive2regularlyMove up regularlyMove down regularly3unfair or abusiveMove up unfair or abusiveMove down unfair or abusive4vulnerableMove up vulnerableMove down vulnerable Question Title * 7. 'An act or practice is un1fair if:i. It causes or is likely to cause substantia2l injury to consumers;ii. The injury is not reasonably avoid3able by consumers; andiii. The injury is not outweighed by countervaili4ng benefits to consumers or to competition.An act or practice is abu5sive if:i. It materially interferes with the ability of a consumer to under6stand a term or condition of the offer or contract; orii. It takes unreasonable advantage of (1) a customer’s lack of understanding of risks, costs7, or conditions of the offer or contracts or (2) the inability of the consumer to pro8tect their interests in accepting an offer.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1countervailing benefitsMove up countervailing benefitsMove down countervailing benefits2abusiveMove up abusiveMove down abusive3unfairMove up unfairMove down unfair4avoidableMove up avoidableMove down avoidable5risks, costs, or conditionsMove up risks, costs, or conditionsMove down risks, costs, or conditions6protectMove up protectMove down protect7substantial injuryMove up substantial injuryMove down substantial injury8understandMove up understandMove down understand Question Title * 8. 'Approved1 Vendors must ensure that their work does not create safety haz2ards or property damage from poor 3workmanship, and that, for any roof-mounted projects, the roof condition is adequate for the installation of a solar project.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1safety hazardsMove up safety hazardsMove down safety hazards2Approved VendorsMove up Approved VendorsMove down Approved Vendors3poor workmanshipMove up poor workmanshipMove down poor workmanship Question Title * 9. 'Approved Vendors must com1ply with all require2ments set out in Illinois Shines Program Guidebook for asse3ssing a site’s suita4bility for solar and related to inspections of solar projects.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1assessingMove up assessingMove down assessing2complyMove up complyMove down comply3requirementsMove up requirementsMove down requirements4suitabilityMove up suitabilityMove down suitability Question Title * 10. 'Because the RE1Cs from a project enrolled in the Program are transferred to a utility or to the IPA, the project host, owner and/or end-user of electricity should 2not claim to be using clean o3r renewable electricity.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1should not claimMove up should not claimMove down should not claim2RECsMove up RECsMove down RECs3clean or renewableMove up clean or renewableMove down clean or renewable Question Title * 11. 'Approved Vendors generally should1 not make the following or similar claims related to the energy produced by Program projects:'a. “Your home will run on cleaner2, greener energy.”b. “The sun will pro3vide your electricity.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1provideMove up provideMove down provide2cleaner, greenerMove up cleaner, greenerMove down cleaner, greener3should notMove up should notMove down should not Question Title * 12. 'Approved Vendors m1ay make the following claims related to the energy produced by Program projects:'a. “The renewable attributes (“RECs”) of this electricity will be so2ld by us to keep the cost of your panels affordable.”b. “Your solar project will cre3ate energy from the sun.”c. “Your solar project will contr4ibute to the development of new solar power.”d. “Go green and sup5port the installation of solar in Illinois.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1createMove up createMove down create2supportMove up supportMove down support3mayMove up mayMove down may4contributeMove up contributeMove down contribute5soldMove up soldMove down sold Question Title * 13. 'Approved Vendors shall no1t describe the Program as providing a “tax 2credit” or a “reb3ate” of any kind.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1"tax credit"Move up "tax credit"Move down "tax credit"2"rebate"Move up "rebate"Move down "rebate"3notMove up notMove down not Question Title * 14. 'When marketing to resid1ential customers through either verbal or written communications, Approved Vendors may2 not provide a monetary estimate of any depre3ciation tax benefits or dedu4ctions that are solely available to busi5nesses. If the marketing materials provide a residential customer with an estimate for the final “net” cost of a project after various savings mechanisms have been applied, the estimate may not include any potential savings from depreciation tax benefits or deductions that are sol6ely available to businesses.'Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1deductionsMove up deductionsMove down deductions2businessesMove up businessesMove down businesses3residentialMove up residentialMove down residential4depreciationMove up depreciationMove down depreciation5solelyMove up solelyMove down solely6may notMove up may notMove down may not Question Title * 15. Approved Vendors shall not make statements that indicate that customers may elim1inate or zero2 out their utility bill. The following and similar statement are inaccurate and not acceptable:a. “Elim3inate your electric bill.”b. “Fi4re your utility.”c. “No more utility bills.”d. “Your electric bill will be redu5ced to $0.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1FireMove up FireMove down Fire2EliminateMove up EliminateMove down Eliminate3reducedMove up reducedMove down reduced4zero outMove up zero outMove down zero out5eliminateMove up eliminateMove down eliminate Question Title * 16. Approved Vendors shall not make claims that an offer is “fre1e,” “no c2ost,” or “$30” unless the customer is guaran4teed to not have any financial obligation for the solar project. Free/no cost/$0 may only 5refer to offers in which there is a guarantee the customer will not pay anything (including, but not limited to, lease payments, power purchase agreement payments, subscription payments, enrollment fees, ongoing monthly fees, early termination fees, or tax obligations). An Approved Vendor may not circum6vent this requirement by requiring a customer to pay purportedly “unre7lated” costs, fees, or charges.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1$0Move up $0Move down $02only referMove up only referMove down only refer3curcumventMove up curcumventMove down curcumvent4unrelatedMove up unrelatedMove down unrelated5freeMove up freeMove down free6no costMove up no costMove down no cost7guaranteedMove up guaranteedMove down guaranteed Question Title * 17. Approved Vendors should stay up to date on avail1able capacity in the Programs. If a project category has reached cap2acity and the Program is only accepting applications onto a wait3list for that project type, the Approved Vendor must inform the customer of this, and cannot represent the imm4ediate availability of an incentive.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1immediateMove up immediateMove down immediate2availableMove up availableMove down available3capacityMove up capacityMove down capacity4waitlistMove up waitlistMove down waitlist Question Title * 18. Approved Vendors may not claim that customers (a) are guaranteed to sa1ve money, or (b) will sa2ve a certain amount of money, unless the customer contract includes an explicit and binding savings guarantee mirroring that claim. The following statements must be supported by an explicit savings guarantee in the customer’s contract:a. “You are guaranteed to sa3ve money.”b. “You will sa4ve [x]% of your utility bill.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1saveMove up saveMove down save2saveMove up saveMove down save3saveMove up saveMove down save4saveMove up saveMove down save Question Title * 19. Approved Vendors ma1y make gen2eral claims about customer savings that do not include an explicit guarantee if there is an objectively reason3able and good4-faith basis for such claim. Such claims may include:a. “Lo5wer your electric bills.”b. “Red6uce your electric bill.”c. “Save money by going 7solar.”d. “We expect that by insta8lling solar you will save money.”e. “Offset your electric bill.”f. “The installation of your leased system may be covered by your forfeiture of federal and state incentives.”g. “Your system’s installation is free, but you will pa9y a monthly fee for the panels.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1payMove up payMove down pay2LowerMove up LowerMove down Lower3ReduceMove up ReduceMove down Reduce4installingMove up installingMove down installing5mayMove up mayMove down may6generalMove up generalMove down general7going solarMove up going solarMove down going solar8good-faithMove up good-faithMove down good-faith9reasonableMove up reasonableMove down reasonable Question Title * 20. Approved Vendors shall 1not represent, make claims, or create the impression that they are affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government body, government program, regulated or municipal utility, electric cooperative, or consumer group unl2ess the Approved Vendor (a) is a government body, government program, regulated or municipal, electric cooperative, or consumer group, or (b) does in fact have authority to state that it is affiliated with or endorsed by, or in fact has authority to act on behalf of, a government body, government program, regulated or municipal utility, electric cooperative, or consumer group. For both ILSFA and Illinois Shines offers, any claim of affiliation, endorsement, or action on behalf of a utility must be approved i3n advance by the Program Administrator.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1shall notMove up shall notMove down shall not2approved in advanceMove up approved in advanceMove down approved in advance3unlessMove up unlessMove down unless Question Title * 21. Approved Vendor shall 1not make the following or similar statements:a. “We repr2esent Illinois Shines.”b. “We are offering solar on beh3alf of Illinois Shines.”c. “Illinois Shines guara4ntees that you will save money.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1behalfMove up behalfMove down behalf2representMove up representMove down represent3guaranteesMove up guaranteesMove down guarantees4shall notMove up shall notMove down shall not Question Title * 22. Approved Vendors may reference a project participating in or receiving benefits from Illinois Shines and ma1ke the following statements:a. “Illinois Shines is a state program that provides an ince2ntive for solar projects.”b. “If you sign a contract with us, and our applic3ation to Illinois Shines is succe4ssful, the solar project we install on your property will be part of Illinois Shines.”Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1makeMove up makeMove down make2successfulMove up successfulMove down successful3incentiveMove up incentiveMove down incentive4applicationMove up applicationMove down application Question Title * 23. 'An Approved Vendor or Designee shall not represent themselves as an BLANK unless the entity has been certified as such by the Illinois Shines Program Administrator.'Complete the statement by filling in the 'blank'. Question Title * 24. Approved Vendor agents or representatives who engage in in-p1erson solicitation for distributed generation projects under 25 kW AC shall display iden2tification on an outer garment. This identification shall be visible at all 3times and prominently display the following:a. The Approved Vendor’s agent’s full 4name in a clear and reasonable size font;b. An agent I5D number;c. A photo6graph of the agent; andd. The trade name7 and logo of the company the agent is representing.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1IDMove up IDMove down ID2trade name and logoMove up trade name and logoMove down trade name and logo3in-personMove up in-personMove down in-person4all timesMove up all timesMove down all times5identificationMove up identificationMove down identification6photographMove up photographMove down photograph7full nameMove up full nameMove down full name Question Title * 25. Approved Vendors shall com1ply with, and shall ensure that all of its employees, agents, and contractors comply with, any and all federal, state, and local laws regarding conta2cting the customer via em3ail including, but not limited to, requirements related to properly identifying the type of email and opt-out provisions. Mark4eting materials and content provided on social5 media must include information identifying the company or companies providing the underlying offer. If an employee or agent posts marketing materials or offers solar projects on a social media platform from a personal6 account, the post shall iden7tify the Approved Vendor which the offer is made. Approved Vendors must require any employee or agent who posts marketing materials online through a personal social media account to identify any such accounts to the Approved Vendor. The listing 8price for any Program offer on platforms that offer the sale of items including, but not limited to, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and others, shall not be “free,” “no 9cost,” or “$0” obligation for the system as described in Section I.C.1.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1personal accountMove up personal accountMove down personal account2free, no cost, or $0Move up free, no cost, or $0Move down free, no cost, or $03MarketingMove up MarketingMove down Marketing4identifyMove up identifyMove down identify5complyMove up complyMove down comply6emailMove up emailMove down email7contactingMove up contactingMove down contacting8listing priceMove up listing priceMove down listing price9social mediaMove up social mediaMove down social media Question Title * 26. An Approved Vendor must follow the below steps, in order, for execution of customer cont1racts for both distributed generation and community solar offers. An Approved Vendor that markets a distributed generation system must design the solar project, taking into consideration the site’s azim2uth, orien3tation, and shad4ing, before beginning these steps.a. Disclosure Form: AV must provide a copy of the applicable standard5 Disclosure Form, with all relevant fields completed, to the customer, including the relevant Informational Brochure attached as the first two pages, in its entirety.b. The Disclosure Form must be complete a6nd accurate before presentation to the customer.c. If the offer includes a bat7tery, the costs and fees associated with that battery must be provided in the Disclosure Form.d. For in-person contract execution, the agent must 8review the Disclosure Form with the customer and provide the opportunity to ask questions.e. For online contract execution, the platform must provide a phone number or9 online chat function for customer questions.f. The customer must be provided with the ent10ire Disclosure Form. The signatory on the Disclosure Form must be the holder of the relevant 11utility account, or, if the account holder is a company or organization, an individual authori12zed to sign on behalf of the account holder.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1phone number or online chat functionMove up phone number or online chat functionMove down phone number or online chat function2batteryMove up batteryMove down battery3complete and accurateMove up complete and accurateMove down complete and accurate4must reviewMove up must reviewMove down must review5entireMove up entireMove down entire6holder of the relevant utility accountMove up holder of the relevant utility accountMove down holder of the relevant utility account7authorized to signMove up authorized to signMove down authorized to sign8applicable standard Disclosure FormMove up applicable standard Disclosure FormMove down applicable standard Disclosure Form9contractsMove up contractsMove down contracts10azimuthMove up azimuthMove down azimuth11orientationMove up orientationMove down orientation12shadingMove up shadingMove down shading Question Title * 27. 'Under no circumstances may a sales agent facilitate the creation of a 'BLANK' for the customer.'Complete the statement by filling in the 'blank'. Question Title * 28. Going Solar Flyer: For any Illinois Shines distributed generation offer where some, or all, of the REC incentive value is paid 1to the customer after system energization, the Approved Vendor or Designee must 2provide a copy of the Going Solar flyer, review it with3 the customer, and provide the customer with an opportunity to4 ask questions.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1review it with the customerMove up review it with the customerMove down review it with the customer2REC incentive value is paid to the customer after system energizationMove up REC incentive value is paid to the customer after system energizationMove down REC incentive value is paid to the customer after system energization3opportunity to ask questionsMove up opportunity to ask questionsMove down opportunity to ask questions4must provideMove up must provideMove down must provide Question Title * 29. Immediately after completion of the Disclosure Form what document can now be executed by the customer? Solar Contract Agreement SREC Contract Part II application Question Title * 30. In some situations, the information presented in the Disclosure Form may become outd1ated or otherwise inacc2urate due to changes in the project design or other developments. If information provided to the customer in their Disclosure Form substan3tively changes, a new Disclosure Form must be provided to, and sig4ned by, the customer.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1inaccurateMove up inaccurateMove down inaccurate2signedMove up signedMove down signed3substantivelyMove up substantivelyMove down substantively4outdatedMove up outdatedMove down outdated Question Title * 31. For distributed generation projects where a REC incentive payment is passed1 through to the customer the following requirements will apply;a. The Approved Vendor will submit an invo2ice for the applicable REC incentive payment in a timely fashion to the contracted3 utility.b. The Approved Vendor must make payments to the customer in a timely4 fashion, consistent with contractual obligations and any statements made to the customer about the timing of the payment.c. The Approved Vendor may not use the customer’s portion of the REC incentive payment to meet other finan5cial obligations of the Approved Vendor.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1timely fashionMove up timely fashionMove down timely fashion2other financial obligationsMove up other financial obligationsMove down other financial obligations3passed throughMove up passed throughMove down passed through4contracted utilityMove up contracted utilityMove down contracted utility5invoiceMove up invoiceMove down invoice Question Title * 32. Approved Vendors shall ensure that individual representatives that engage in in-perso1n solicitation and telemarketing, or who respond to or answer quest2ions from customers via telephone, email, or online chat function, on behalf of that Approved Vendors receive appropriate trai3ning prior to interacting with customers on the Approved Vendor’s behalf. Each Approved Vendor shall ensure that individual representatives receive refr4esher training every six 5months after the initial training that includes, but is not limited to, applicable marketing 6requirements.Complete the statement by ranking the words below in the order they should appear. 1six monthsMove up six monthsMove down six months2marketing requirementsMove up marketing requirementsMove down marketing requirements3in-person solicitationMove up in-person solicitationMove down in-person solicitation4refresherMove up refresherMove down refresher5answer questions from customersMove up answer questions from customersMove down answer questions from customers6trainingMove up trainingMove down training Question Title * 33. The IPA has developed a process for Illinois Shines in which utility REC payments to certain Approved Vendors may be placed in escrow if the Program Administrator determines that the Approved Vendor is not passing through promised REC payments to customers. The Illinois Shines Program Administrator will use these funds to pay customers their promised pass-through payments according to the procedures described below. Remaining funds [after customers receive their promised payment] will be disbursed to the Approved Vendor.What is this process called? Question Title * 34. Please provide your name and the date you completed your quiz. Name: Date: Done