About MidAmerican’s Illinois Territory
MidAmerican Energy is best known as Iowa’s dominant electric utility, serving the majority of the state under an Iowa Utilities Commission tariff. What’s less well known is that MidAmerican also serves a small, separate footprint just across the Mississippi River in Illinois: more than 86,000 electric and natural gas customers in Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, and rural parts of Henry County, all regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), not Iowa’s regulator. It’s a genuinely smaller territory than the state’s two dominant utilities — ComEd covers most of northern Illinois with 3.8 million-plus customers, and Ameren Illinois covers central and southern Illinois — but it runs on its own distinct set of Illinois-specific rules.
This page is specifically about that Illinois-regulated side of MidAmerican’s business. If your MidAmerican bill lists an Illinois service address (Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, or a rural Henry County address near the Illinois-Iowa line) and your account is billed under Illinois rate schedules, this page is for you. If your MidAmerican account is billed at an Iowa address — even one a few miles away on the other side of the river, like Davenport or Bettendorf — you’re under Iowa’s entirely different net metering tariff and Iowa’s solar rules, which SolQ covers on our separate Iowa pages. Same company, same logo on the truck, two unrelated regulatory regimes. We confirm which one actually applies to your address before we design anything.
MidAmerican Illinois Solar & Net Metering, Straight Talk
MidAmerican’s Illinois net metering runs on two named rate schedules, and which one applies to you depends entirely on when your interconnection application was completed.
Rate NM · Legacy, Before Jan 1, 2025
If your interconnection application was completed before January 1, 2025, you’re on Rate NM. It credits delivery, supply, and fees at the full retail rate — the most favorable structure. Unused monthly credits roll forward but expire annually.
Rate NEM · Since Jan 1, 2025
New applications from January 1, 2025 forward go on Rate NEM. It credits only the supply portion of your excess generation, not the full retail rate — the same statewide transition ComEd and Ameren Illinois customers went through, applied here under MidAmerican’s own Illinois tariff.
Two Ways to Take the Rate NEM Credit
Rate NEM customers choose between a one-for-one kWh credit (a non-expiring volumetric offset, unaffected by future rate changes) or a monetary credit (a dollar value tied to current rates). If you’re on a time-of-use rate, only the monetary-credit option is available to you.
A DG Rebate May Be Available
Illinois’s statewide net metering reform established a one-time distributed generation rebate tied to new systems. We haven’t independently confirmed a current MidAmerican-Illinois-specific rebate amount as of this writing — check current program rebate availability and eligibility with your installer before assuming it applies to your project.
Nothing here is a guarantee of savings or a specific dollar figure — it’s a plain-English map of how MidAmerican’s Illinois tariff works, so you can ask better questions. We confirm your exact rate schedule and credit type directly with MidAmerican before your system is designed.
Where We Serve in MidAmerican Illinois Territory
MidAmerican’s Illinois footprint covers Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, and rural pockets of Henry County. Today, SolQ’s primary presence in this territory is the Illinois-side Quad Cities — Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, and Silvis, all in Rock Island County — where we have a dedicated city page with local install proof, financing details, and permitting notes.
Quad Cities, IL
Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, and Silvis — Rock Island County. Our most-built Illinois MidAmerican page, with local install detail and city-specific FAQ.
View the Quad Cities, IL PageIf you’re in rural Henry County or elsewhere in MidAmerican’s Illinois footprint outside the immediate Quad Cities, reach out and we’ll confirm coverage and utility terms for your specific address.
Illinois Shines in MidAmerican’s Territory
Illinois Shines, the state’s Adjustable Block Program administered on behalf of the Illinois Power Agency, applies statewide — including in MidAmerican’s Illinois territory, the same as it does in ComEd and Ameren Illinois service areas. When your solar system generates electricity, it creates Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), the tradable proof that clean energy was produced. An Approved Vendor can sell those RECs into the program in exchange for payment, typically used to help offset your system cost. SolQ is a registered Designee under multiple Approved Vendors participating in Illinois Shines. We are not the State of Illinois, the Illinois Power Agency, the Illinois Commerce Commission, or MidAmerican Energy, and we don’t control REC pricing or program capacity.
REC value depends on current program pricing and available block capacity, both set by the program administrator, and is factored into your financing rather than paid to you directly in most cases. If your RECs are sold into Illinois Shines, you’re being compensated for that environmental attribute, not claiming the system was “free.” MidAmerican-Illinois customers are eligible for the same Illinois Shines program terms as ComEd and Ameren Illinois customers — the program doesn’t distinguish by utility territory, only by project category and available block capacity. We’ll show you current program mechanics for your specific MidAmerican Illinois proposal, not a number from an old rate card.
Is Your MidAmerican Illinois Home a Good Fit?
Confirmed Address, Confirmed Utility
Near the Illinois-Iowa line, some addresses look like MidAmerican territory but aren’t, and some MidAmerican accounts are billed under Iowa’s tariff even if the address feels close to Illinois. We confirm your exact utility and state jurisdiction before designing anything.
Roof Direction & Shading
South- and west-facing roof sections get the most consistent production. Mature trees near established Quad Cities-area neighborhoods sometimes need trimming; we check this on-site, not from a satellite guess.
Your Rate NM or Rate NEM Status
Whether your application lands before or after the January 1, 2025 cutoff changes your crediting structure meaningfully. We confirm which schedule applies and walk through the kWh-credit-versus-monetary-credit choice with you.
Usage-Based System Sizing
We size your system to your last 12 months of MidAmerican usage, not your roof size. Larger homes, EVs, and heat pumps typically call for a larger array.
Real Install Proof in MidAmerican’s Illinois Territory
We’ll be straight with you, the same way we are on our Quad Cities, IL page: our completed-project records show one finished install here so far — a 9.8 kW system on 37th Street in Moline, using QCell 410W panels. We’d rather tell you that honestly than borrow a bigger number from a different territory.
Street name shown, no address. From our completed project records, current as of August 2026.
That single install sits alongside a real, verifiable broader track record: 61 completed residential installs across Illinois overall, and 2,000-plus completed installations across SolQ’s Midwest markets company-wide, backed by the same 4.8-star Google rating (413 reviews), A+ BBB rating, and NABCEP-certified crews behind every project we complete. As we finish more installs in Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, and rural Henry County, we’ll add them here with real streets and real numbers, not stock photos or borrowed figures from MidAmerican’s much larger Iowa business.
MidAmerican Illinois Territory FAQ
What exactly is “MidAmerican’s Illinois territory,” and how do I know if I’m in it?
It’s the roughly 86,000-customer Illinois-regulated slice of MidAmerican Energy’s business, covering Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, and rural parts of Henry County. The simplest way to know is to check your MidAmerican bill for an Illinois service address and Illinois rate schedule (Rate NM or Rate NEM) rather than an Iowa one. If you’re unsure, we confirm it directly before designing anything.
Is this the same as MidAmerican in Iowa?
No. It’s the same corporate parent, but a genuinely different, unrelated regulatory regime. MidAmerican’s Iowa business is regulated by the Iowa Utilities Commission under Iowa’s own tariff and is by far MidAmerican’s larger footprint. Its Illinois business is regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission under Rate NM/Rate NEM and is eligible for Illinois Shines, a program that doesn’t exist in Iowa. The mechanics, the incentive programs, and the crediting rules are not interchangeable between the two.
What’s the actual difference between Rate NM and Rate NEM?
Rate NM, for interconnection applications completed before January 1, 2025, credits delivery, supply, and fees at the full retail rate, with unused monthly credits rolling forward but expiring annually. Rate NEM, for applications from that date forward, credits only the supply portion of your excess generation, not the full retail rate.
How do I know which rate schedule I’m on?
It’s determined by when your interconnection application was completed with MidAmerican, not when you signed a contract with an installer or when panels went on your roof. If you already have solar, your MidAmerican account documentation will show which rate schedule applies; if you’re new to solar, any system you install now would go on Rate NEM. We verify this directly with MidAmerican for every project.
Rate NEM gives me a choice between a kWh credit and a monetary credit. Which one is better?
It depends on your situation, and we won’t tell you one is universally better because it isn’t. The kWh credit is a non-expiring, one-for-one volumetric offset that’s insulated from future rate changes. The monetary credit is a dollar value tied to current rates, which can move up or down over time. If you’re on a time-of-use rate, MidAmerican only offers you the monetary-credit option. We walk through both against your actual usage pattern before you choose.
Can I switch from Rate NM to Rate NEM later, or am I locked in?
Your rate schedule is tied to your original interconnection application date, not a choice you make and remake each year. If you’re already grandfathered onto Rate NM, that’s generally the more favorable structure to keep. Specific questions about your existing system’s rate status are best directed to MidAmerican Energy directly or to us as part of a consultation.
Is there a distributed generation rebate for MidAmerican Illinois customers?
Illinois’s statewide net metering reform established a one-time DG rebate tied to new systems in general, and we’ve seen it corroborated for other Illinois utilities. We have not independently confirmed a current MidAmerican-Illinois-branded rebate amount or availability, so we’re not going to assert one here. Check current program rebate availability and eligibility with your installer, and we’ll confirm it directly with MidAmerican for your specific account before you sign anything.
Does Illinois Shines work the same way for MidAmerican customers as it does for ComEd or Ameren customers?
Yes. Illinois Shines is administered statewide by the Illinois Power Agency’s program administrator and doesn’t set different REC pricing or eligibility rules by utility territory; eligibility depends on project category and available block capacity, not which of the three utilities serves your address.
Does rural Henry County count as MidAmerican’s Illinois territory, or is it just the Quad Cities?
Both. MidAmerican’s Illinois footprint extends beyond the immediate Quad Cities into rural pockets of Henry County. Our most-built local page currently covers the Quad Cities specifically (Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis); if you’re elsewhere in MidAmerican’s Illinois territory, reach out and we’ll confirm coverage and terms for your address.
Why does this page exist separately from the Quad Cities, IL page?
This page explains MidAmerican’s Illinois-side tariff and territory as a whole, including areas like rural Henry County beyond the immediate Quad Cities metro. The Quad Cities, IL page goes deeper on the specific cities of Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, and Silvis, with local install proof and city-specific details. Start here for the utility-wide picture; go there for city-level depth.
What does “supply-only crediting” under Rate NEM actually mean for my bill?
Your electric bill has separate delivery and supply components. Under legacy Rate NM, excess solar generation credits both. Under Rate NEM, it credits only the supply portion, meaning delivery charges and certain fees are no longer offset by your exports the way they were under the old structure. You still generate real savings from on-site generation offsetting purchased supply, but the math changed.
Is SolQ affiliated with MidAmerican Energy or the State of Illinois?
No. SolQ is an independent solar installer and a registered Designee under multiple Approved Vendors participating in Illinois Shines. We are not MidAmerican Energy, the State of Illinois, the Illinois Power Agency, or the Illinois Commerce Commission, and we don’t set rate schedules, REC pricing, or rebate terms. Those are determined by MidAmerican and Illinois regulators.
How many SolQ installs are actually in MidAmerican’s Illinois territory so far?
One completed install on record as of this writing: a 9.8 kW system in Moline. We’d rather tell you that honestly than inflate it. That single project sits alongside 61 completed installs across Illinois overall and 2,000-plus company-wide.
Built Around MidAmerican’s Illinois Rules, Not Iowa’s
Whether you’re in Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Silvis, or rural Henry County, SolQ confirms your exact rate schedule, credit type, and Illinois Shines eligibility before proposing anything, never a copy-pasted Iowa figure applied to an Illinois address.
Get My Free Solar AnalysisSolQ is an independent solar provider and a registered Designee under multiple Approved Vendors participating in Illinois Shines. SolQ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of MidAmerican Energy, the State of Illinois, the Illinois Power Agency, the Illinois Commerce Commission, or any government agency. “Illinois Shines” and the Adjustable Block Program are administered by the Illinois Power Agency and its program administrator, not by SolQ. REC pricing and Illinois Shines block capacity are set by the program administrator and change over time; figures on this page are general information, not a quote or guarantee. Solar RECs compensate for your system’s environmental attributes, not a rebate on equipment, and selling them does not make a system “free.” MidAmerican Energy’s Rate NM and Rate NEM tariffs, and any associated distributed generation rebate, are set by MidAmerican and Illinois regulators, not by SolQ, and are subject to change; we confirm current, account-specific terms before you sign anything. Savings, rebate, and incentive figures shown are estimates, not guarantees; actual results vary by system, usage, and current program terms. The federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) ended for cash/loan purchases not completed by December 31, 2025; a separate credit may apply to third-party-owned Lease/PPA systems through 2027, subject to financing partner terms. This page covers MidAmerican Energy’s Illinois-regulated territory only and does not describe MidAmerican’s separate Iowa tariff or Iowa program terms, which SolQ addresses on its Iowa pages. Content verified as of August 2026.
Not Sure Which Utility Serves Your Henry County Address?
Henry County, IL sits on a genuine multi-utility boundary — MidAmerican Energy serves Colona, Orion, and parts of Cleveland and Andover; Ameren Illinois serves Kewanee, Galva, and parts of Bishop Hill, Atkinson, and Annawan; and Geneseo runs its own municipal utility. See our full town-by-town breakdown before assuming which rules apply to your address.
Which Utility Serves My Henry County Address?