IL electric supplier (ARES) bonds.
From $100. Enter your amount.
An Alternative Retail Electric Supplier certified to sell power in Illinois posts a financial-security bond with the Illinois Commerce Commission under 220 ILCS 5/16-115 and 83 Ill. Admin. Code Part 451. The ICC sets the amount on your certificate; enter it and see your price. Pricing is 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — your exact price appears in the calculator.
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Apply to filed without the runaround.
Enter the ICC's amount, pay, and you have the executed security bond. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your company details, the bond amount the ICC set, and the effective date — that is the entire application.
Underwritten and issued
Utility-supplier bonds at the larger amounts get a brief underwriter review; most issue within a business day. The application collects no credit information for the standard bond.
File with the ICC
Submit the executed bond with your ARES certification or renewal at the Illinois Commerce Commission. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the ARES bond secures
Illinois opened retail electricity to competition, and a company that sells power to retail customers must be certified as an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier by the Illinois Commerce Commission under 220 ILCS 5/16-115. Certification requires the applicant to demonstrate financial responsibility — typically by posting a bond or comparable security.
The financial-security bond stands behind the supplier's obligations to customers, utilities, and the Commission, so that customers and the market are protected if a supplier fails to meet its commitments. The ICC's certification rules sit in 83 Ill. Admin. Code Part 451, which governs the form and amount of the required security.
There is no single statewide figure — the ICC sets the amount for each supplier as part of certification (commonly in the low-to-mid six figures). Enter the amount on your certificate and see your price; the application collects no credit information for the standard bond, and larger amounts may get a brief underwriter review.
You need this bond if you are
One application, then a quick review.
These are the actual underwriting fields. Submit the ICC-set amount; the application collects no credit information for the standard bond, and larger amounts may get a brief review.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
ARES security bond, issued fast.
From $100. Enter the ICC-set amount, see your price, and file with the Commission.