The following questions were asked during the October 23, 2020 webinar for the new Designee registration functionality in the ABP portal and are answered below:
- What prompted this change (requirement for Designees to register with the Program)?
- Section 6.9.1 of the Revised Long-Term Plan published by the IPA on April 20, 2020, describes a new requirement for Approved Vendor Designees (i.e., third-party entities working with Approved Vendors that have direct interaction with end-use customers) to register and be listed on the ABP and Illinois Shines websites along with identifying the Approved Vendors with which they are working. The purpose of this new requirement is to increase transparency: potential customers will be able to verify that a company contacting that customer is indeed registered with the Program and be able to review if that company is listed in the Program’s consumer complaint database or the disciplinary actions report. All Designees will be added to the Program’s publicly facing Designee database once registered. This database will be housed on both the ABP and Illinois Shines websites for easy access.
- Do installers of community solar have to register as designees (since they aren’t consumer-facing)?
- No, because community solar installers do not have direct interaction with end-use customers they are not required to register as a Designee with the Program.
- Who needs to register as an Approved Vendor Designee?
- Every third-party entity that has direct interaction with end-use customers needs to register as a Designee. This includes:
- DG Installers
- Marketing firms
- Lead generators
- Sales organizations
- Every third-party entity that has direct interaction with end-use customers needs to register as a Designee. This includes:
- Do third party companies working with Approved Vendors under Illinois Solar for All need to register as an Approved Vendor Designee?
- Illinois Solar for All has a process for registering third-party entities that have direct interaction with end-use customers as ILSFA Aggregator Designees and subcontractors. More information about registering with Illinois Solar for All can be found here. ILSFA Aggregator Designees and subcontractors are not required to register as ABP Approved Vendor Designees.
- If our company is an Approved Vendor but also operates as an Approved Vendor Designee for other Approved Vendors, do we need to submit an Approved Vendor Designee Registration?
- If your company operates as a Designee but is also an Approved Vendor, you must also register as a Designee and identify those Approved Vendors or Designees with which you work.
- Are Approved Vendor Designee registrations required at the company level or user level?
- One account from each entity registering as a Designee is required. It is not required for all employees (or, in the case of sales personnel operating as independent contractors, each independent contractor) of the Designee to have their own Designee accounts. The Program Administrator encourages Designees to only have one Designee account at the company level with an appointed person that is the contact for this Designee account on file with the Program.
- What is a nested Designee?
- A nested Designee is a Designee’s Designee (Approved Vendor > Approved Vendor Designee > Nested Designee), as opposed to an Approved Vendor Designee. All nested Designees that have direct interaction with end-use customers are required to register as Designees with the Program.
- Where can I find the presentation slides and the webinar recording from the October 23rd training webinar?
- These materials were sent out via email on Friday, October 23, 2020 and can also be found here:
- What is the deadline for existing Designees to register with the Program?
- New Designees must register prior to working with any Approved Vendor. Existing designees must register by Thursday, December 10, 2020 (which is 45 calendar days from the October 26, 2020 release of the Designee Registration functionality) to remain in compliance with Program requirements.
- Our company is already linked to an Approved Vendor account as their Designee, do I still need to register as an Approved Vendor Designee?
- Yes, all third-party entities that have direct interaction with end-use customers need to submit a registration using the new registration functionality, even if your company has already been operating as a Designee for an Approved Vendor in the Program. If your company is not registered as an Approved Vendor Designee by December 10, 2020, it will not be able to access functionality in the ABP portal.
If you have any further questions on this new Program requirement, please reach out to the Program Administrator at [email protected] or (877) 783-1820.
