With electric prices going up, advocates tried — and failed — to reform
the energy sector
[June 04, 2025]
By Andrew Adams
SPRINGFIELD — Heading into the end of the legislative session, consumer
advocates, renewable energy industry groups and environmental advocates
were hopeful about a bill that would have overhauled Illinois’ energy
industry.
It would have been the largest energy reform in years, touching almost
every part of the state’s electricity sector. Some said it would have
been as significant as the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act — the law
that requires fossil-fuel burning power plants to shutter by 2045.
But lawmakers declined to take up the bill, kicking the can down the
line on energy reform for the second time this year after initially
punting on the issue during the January lame duck session.
“It was a confluence of factors,” Christine Nannicelli, a Sierra Club
organizer and longtime environmental advocate, told Capitol News
Illinois. “To a certain extent, it was a product of running out of
time.”
Lawmakers had a fairly large to-do list going into the final day of the
legislative session, including approving the multiple bills that make up
the state’s annual budget and a large reform package dealing with public
transit in northern Illinois.
That transit legislation was also a high priority for environmental
groups and labor organizations — both of which were central to the fight
over energy reform.
In addition to environmentalists and labor, the bill was being
negotiated by representatives of the governor’s office, major utilities
and representatives of the renewable energy industry.
The push for an energy reform package grew out of a growing sense of
concern that the state won’t be able to meet its ambitious climate
goals. The rise of power-hungry data centers has placed significant
demands on the electric grid at a time when the supply of electricity is
stagnant or falling.
This situation has already led to higher prices. This month, prices on
residential electric bills are increasing by an average of $10.60 per
month for Commonwealth Edison customers in northern Illinois and by $45
per month for Ameren Illinois customers downstate.
While lawmakers couldn’t do anything to stop those increases, the
prospect of prices staying high for longer has frustrated some
advocates.
“We’re gonna lick our wounds,” Anna Markowski, who works on Midwestern
issues for the Natural Resource Defense Council, said in an interview.
Signals that negotiations were heating up — and possibly breaking down —
came two weeks before session ended on Saturday. A proposal from
environmental groups to impose new costs on data centers drew fierce
public criticism.
A letter urging Gov. JB Pritzker to oppose the proposal was released by
a coalition of interest groups including the AFL-CIO, Climate Jobs
Illinois, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Constellation Energy —
the last of which operates all the state’s commercial nuclear power
plants. A similar letter was signed by several economic development
officials from around the state.
The provision, which would have required data centers and other large
electric customers to fund new energy developments to offset their
demand, was dropped from the bill shortly after.
While the data center provision drew the most public controversy, other
parts of the bill were being negotiated until the last minute,
reflecting a lack of consensus among activists, industry groups and
other stakeholders.
The bill was also set to outline a battery storage incentive program,
similar to how the state incentives solar energy. Advocates for the
would-be program said it would spur historic levels of private sector
investment in renewable energy.
The bill would have required 6 gigawatts of energy storage developments
over the next decade, with half by 2030. This is in line with
recommendations from an Illinois Commerce Commission report that
lawmakers commissioned earlier this year in anticipation of this bill
and in line with an analysis done by the Union of Concerned Scientists
last year.
Nannicelli said this provision was opposed by some labor organizations,
contributing to the demise of the bill. As of Saturday afternoon, the
bill drew overall opposition from at least one union, although several
others indicated via “witness slips” that they were neutral on the bill.
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The Illinois Capitol, as seen from the lawn of the governor’s
mansion a few blocks away in late May 2025. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Andrew Adams)
“These are critical issues to get right for consumers and working
families that shouldn’t be forced by a deadline,” Joe Duffy, executive
director of the labor-affiliated group Climate Jobs Illinois, said in a
statement. “We look forward to continuing conversations over the summer
to take the time needed to get it right.”
That program also drew serious concerns from some industrial groups. The
Illinois Manufacturers Association worried the rate increases to pay for
the battery program would have cost businesses too much.
An estimate from the American Petroleum Institute, who represents
businesses that operate refineries, pegged the cost of the program over
the next 11 years at about $9 billion.
“My main argument at the macro level is that it’s very expensive for
very little return,” Jim Watson, who handles API’s efforts in Illinois,
said Saturday. “And it does little to address capacity issues.”
An analysis from the Solar Energy Industry Association, a solar trade
group, found the savings from a battery storage program would outweigh
the costs, saving consumers money in the long run.
A solar industry insider said lawmakers will “stay at the table” to
reduce energy prices as federal support is “incredibly unlikely” under
the current political climate.
“Unfortunately, Illinois’ spring legislative session ended without a
lasting solution to the continued and unprecedented energy cost
increases that are taking money out of families’ wallets,” Lesley
McCain, head of the Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association, said in
a statement. “While this was a disappointing conclusion to the session,
we have every reason to believe leaders in Springfield remain committed
to moving Illinois’ clean energy transition forward.”
Several other provisions of the bill drew significant attention as the
pitch made its rounds in Springfield. One such aspect of the bill would
have outlined an “integrated resource plan” process for the Illinois
Commerce Commission.
This would have been a major shift at the ICC, giving the regulatory
agency more authority over the state’s electric grid and more ability to
alter the emissions-reduction goals of the state. Since the passage of
CEJA in 2021, the ICC has become a primary enforcer of the state’s
climate goals.
But, like other elements of the plan, it faced pushback from business
groups. The Manufacturers’ Association was concerned that lawmakers
would be ceding too much authority to state regulators.
While the bill contained several other provisions, another major issue
on the table was lifting the state’s longstanding moratorium on new
nuclear power developments.
Two years ago, the state loosened restrictions, allowing for the
development of small nuclear reactors — the type that has only become
possible in recent years thanks to technological breakthroughs. Those
remain in the early stages of commercial development.
Ending the nuclear moratorium for large nuclear reactors was one of the
least controversial issues in the bill. While some environmentalists
were opposed, others did not feel strongly about it. Business groups
were broadly in favor of it.
Like other aspects of the bill, it may return in a future legislative
session. But for a broader reform package, it’s back to the drawing
board.
Environmental and consumer advocates, union organizers, utilities and
energy companies all indicated that negotiations would continue into the
summer and that there is, broadly, a desire from lawmakers to move
forward in some way to lower energy prices raised by data centers’
demand.
But what that could be, and when it might happen, is now up in the air.
“If you kick the can down the road, even a month, things could have
pretty significant impact,” Nannicelli said. “We need to make a clear
decision: who’s going to pay for these costs of unprecedented load
growth that’s coming in large part from data centers?”
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
