What to Do When Your Illinois Energy Supplier Goes Bankrupt or Exits

Time is measured in days, not quarters. When a retail supplier exited Illinois market notices land, pull every affected account list the same hour: utility account number, meter ESI ID, contract end date, deposit amount, and billing contact. Confirm whether supply ends on calendar month-end or a staggered schedule—suppliers in wind-down often batch exits by zone.

Hour-by-Hour Priority List

First 24 hours: notify internal AP, treasury, and operations; screenshot supplier portal messages; download all invoices and contract PDFs before sites go dark. Hours 24–48: contact ComEd or Ameren account management to confirm default supply start date and whether any enrollment hold exists from prior disputes. Hours 48–72: issue emergency LOAs to two or three licensed suppliers from the ICC retail supplier list; parallel-path legal on deposit recovery. Switch energy supplier immediately Illinois rules still require supplier acceptance and utility enrollment processing—"intent" is not enrollment.

Do not assume default supply is always worse than signing the first emergency quote. In soft markets, a short bridge to default while running a proper RFP can beat panic pricing from opportunistic marketers. In tight markets post-event, default may spike—then speed wins. Run a bill scenario comparing ICC published default supply rate to verbal emergency offers.

1. 1Preserve all supplier emails and portal notices for ICC complaints.
2. 2Identify accounts with imminent contract end vs forced early termination.
3. 3Check landlord/lease clauses if tenant accounts are affected.
4. 4Alert franchisees individually if portfolio-wide supplier failed.
5. 5Do not pay unauthorized final invoices without audit.

Treasury should wire supplier deposits only to named escrow when contracts require it—misdirected wires complicate bankruptcy claims.

Upon supplier exit notice, screenshot portal balances and download final invoices immediately—bankruptcy estates may disable access without warning. Illinois AP teams should treat supplier insolvency like vendor failure in any other critical category with documented escalation trees.

Notify tenants on master-metered assets within 48 hours if CAM pass-through rates may change due to default supply enrollment—lease disclosure obligations vary but transparency reduces arbitration risk.

Assign a single incident commander with authority to execute LOAs across entities—franchise and multi-site operators lose days when each location manager waits for corporate counsel separately.

Preserve interval data exports offline; supplier portal shutdowns during bankruptcy erase historical usage needed for replacement supplier pricing.

Internal communications templates for supplier exit should go to CFO, board, and major tenants within twenty-four hours with a one-page timeline and FAQ—especially for master-metered assets where CAM rates may shift.

Polar vortex and collateral call history taught Illinois buyers to verify supplier PJM posting requirements at signing—not only headline energy rates.

Franchise systems should centralize emergency RFP execution but assign entity-specific enrollments—one franchisee credit issue should not delay others if legally separable.

Template LOAs and approved supplier lists should reach direct-metered tenants within forty-eight hours when landlord supply fails—lease silence creates default enrollment gaps.

Maintain offline copies of ICC retail supplier lists and broker emergency contacts—supplier portals go dark during insolvency without warning.

Lessons-learned memos should feed the next planned RFP with board-level reporting on supplier concentration risk as standard post-exit governance.

Revert to utility default rates Illinois commercial customers through Purchased Electricity Adjustment (PEA) mechanisms and ICC-approved supply tariffs—not a single published number forever. ComEd business default supply reflects wholesale procurement plus administrative adders; Ameren Illinois uses its own procurement blocks. Both change monthly or by period, creating budget volatility if you linger on default six months while "planning" a proper RFP.

Default vs Emergency Fixed Offers

Default utility supply comed business accounts often land within a band of 0–25% above competitive fixed markets in calm periods—but can exceed competitive fixed by wider margins after supply shocks. Emergency procurement illinois quotes during exit events frequently include risk premiums of 0.5–2.0¢/kWh versus planned RFP timing. The rational path: enroll a stable interim supplier if default exceeds bridge threshold; otherwise use default for 30–45 days while running competitive bid with interval data.

Compare apples-to-apples: all-in $/MWh including known pass-throughs, contract length, ETF, deposit requirement, and assignment rights. Default supply has no ETF but no price certainty. A twelve-month emergency fix at a modest premium may beat default volatility if your fiscal year budget cannot absorb PEA swings. Reference ComEd price to compare and ICC Ameren benchmarks side by side with supplier offers.

• Model default for 3 months vs 12 months using ICC historical PEA trends.
• Require emergency quotes in writing with start date guarantees.
• Avoid 36-month emergency locks unless premium is minimal.
• Coordinate gas supply if same supplier failed both fuels.

AP should flag duplicate supplier invoices during wind-down when both old and default supply appear on transition bills.

ICC default supply benchmarks update periodically; emergency fixed offers should be compared to default all-in for your rate class on the notice date, not last year's budget assumption. Short bridges of six to nine months often beat panic thirty-six-month locks at crisis premiums.

Ameren downstate accounts may see different default service mechanics than ComEd—verify whether your account class requires affirmative supplier selection or automatic assignment to utility default.

Finance teams must reforecast immediately using default supply high-case and emergency fixed mid-case scenarios for the remaining fiscal year—Illinois manufacturers with March fiscal year-ends have missed accruals when exit notices arrived in January.

Lenders may covenant-test on utility cost spikes—proactive bank communication with documented bridge enrollment timelines prevents technical default scares.

Franchise systems should centralize emergency RFP execution but assign entity-specific enrollments—one franchisee credit issue should not delay others if legally separable.

Template LOAs and approved supplier lists should reach direct-metered tenants within forty-eight hours when landlord supply fails—lease silence creates default enrollment gaps.

Maintain offline copies of ICC retail supplier lists and broker emergency contacts—supplier portals go dark during insolvency without warning.

Lessons-learned memos should feed the next planned RFP with board-level reporting on supplier concentration risk as standard post-exit governance.

Post-bridge governance should cap any single marketer below sixty percent of portfolio load and require quarterly ICC license verification going forward.

Internal communications templates for supplier exit should go to CFO, board, and major tenants within twenty-four hours with a one-page timeline and FAQ—especially for master-metered assets where CAM rates may shift.

Supplier insolvency commercial electricity deposits—cash, letters of credit, or prepayment balances—often sit unsecured in bankruptcy estates. Illinois buyers have recovered partial cents on the dollar in prior cases after lengthy proceedings. Treat deposit recovery as legal workflow parallel to replacement supply, not AP trivia.

Documentation for Claims

Gather deposit agreements, wire confirmations, invoices showing prepayment credits, and correspondence acknowledging balances. File proof of claim before bar dates—missing deadlines forfeits recovery. Counsel should review setoff language: suppliers may attempt to offset disputed final invoices against deposits. Commercial energy contract assignment clauses rarely transfer deposits to successor suppliers; new suppliers may require fresh collateral.

Escrow arrangements for large accounts should be verified against UCC filings. If your organization issued a corporate guarantee instead of cash, assess exposure with treasury immediately. ICC may publish consumer guidance during mass exits; commercial accounts should still monitor ICC supplier reliability updates for process announcements.

1. 1Photograph all deposit paperwork today—not after portal shutdown.
2. 2Engage bankruptcy counsel familiar with energy marketer cases.
3. 3Notify auditors of contingent asset write-downs.
4. 4Track ICC dockets for supplier-specific remediation orders.

Property managers must update tenant CAM estimates within one billing cycle after emergency supplier enrollment.

Credit deposits in supplier bankruptcy may rank as unsecured claims—file proof of claim before bar dates and preserve wire confirmations. Some Illinois operators recover partial deposits eighteen to thirty-six months later; accrue receivable conservatively.

Escrow balances for bandwidth true-ups should be reconciled against final settlement statements—suppliers exiting markets sometimes omit final credit memos unless requested in writing.

Document contingent liabilities for deposits as separate balance-sheet line items until claims resolve—auditors will ask whether recovery is probable, not just possible.

If supplier assigned your contract to another marketer before exit, review assignment consent records—invalid assignment may strengthen deposit recovery claims.

Maintain offline copies of ICC retail supplier lists and broker emergency contacts—supplier portals go dark during insolvency without warning.

Lessons-learned memos should feed the next planned RFP with board-level reporting on supplier concentration risk as standard post-exit governance.

Post-bridge governance should cap any single marketer below sixty percent of portfolio load and require quarterly ICC license verification going forward.

Internal communications templates for supplier exit should go to CFO, board, and major tenants within twenty-four hours with a one-page timeline and FAQ—especially for master-metered assets where CAM rates may shift.

Polar vortex and collateral call history taught Illinois buyers to verify supplier PJM posting requirements at signing—not only headline energy rates.

Franchise systems should centralize emergency RFP execution but assign entity-specific enrollments—one franchisee credit issue should not delay others if legally separable.

Speed without structure produces worse contracts than default supply. A 72-hour emergency energy RFP compresses normal diligence into essentials: load data summary, contract term, pass-through caps, start date, and supplier license verification. Use a broker with existing supplier relationships—emergency desks respond faster to known channels.

Compressed RFP Package

Minimum attachment: Excel account list, last twelve months usage and peak kW per account, desired start date, term preference (6–12 months for bridge), and required pass-through cap language. Skip custom legal markup in hour one; use marked standard ICC-adjacent templates with strike-through on auto-renewal and broad pass-through. Illinois supplier of last resort options may exist for small accounts—commercial loads usually need direct supplier enrollment.

Invite at least four licensed suppliers plus incumbents not exiting. Require bids by a fixed clock—e.g., 5 p.m. next business day. Score on all-in year-one cost, start date certainty, deposit requirement, and cap language—not headline ¢/kWh alone. Reference our 2025 rate benchmarks to reject outlier high quotes.

After the Bridge

Treat emergency contracts as bridges. Begin full 24-month interval-data RFP within 60 days of stabilization. Document lessons: supplier financial review, deposit limits, and portfolio diversification so one exit does not crater fifty accounts. Multi-site operators should read franchise procurement for entity enrollment at scale.

• Ban auto-renewal clauses in emergency deals unless notice period ≤30 days.
• Require supplier confirmation of ICC good standing in writing.
• Parallel-path default supply modeling in case enrollment slips.
• Communicate start dates to AP to reconcile first invoices.

Keep a printed ICC retail supplier list offline in case supplier portals go dark during insolvency.

Emergency RFPs should require supplier ICC license verification, capitalization disclosure, and three Illinois commercial references called within 24 hours of bid submission. Avoid novelty marketers entering Illinois solely to capture distressed load without balance-sheet depth.

Parallel-path enrollment—starting utility default paperwork while executing supplier switch—prevents gap billing when supplier drop dates slip past month-end.

After stabilizing on bridge supply, implement supplier diversification policy and quarterly ICC license checks—maintain emergency contact tree with three pre-qualified suppliers for 72-hour enrollment.

Lessons-learned memos should feed the next planned RFP, not gather dust—board reporting on supplier concentration risk is standard post-exit governance.

Post-bridge governance should cap any single marketer below sixty percent of portfolio load and require quarterly ICC license verification going forward.

Internal communications templates for supplier exit should go to CFO, board, and major tenants within twenty-four hours with a one-page timeline and FAQ—especially for master-metered assets where CAM rates may shift.

Polar vortex and collateral call history taught Illinois buyers to verify supplier PJM posting requirements at signing—not only headline energy rates.

Franchise systems should centralize emergency RFP execution but assign entity-specific enrollments—one franchisee credit issue should not delay others if legally separable.

Template LOAs and approved supplier lists should reach direct-metered tenants within forty-eight hours when landlord supply fails—lease silence creates default enrollment gaps.