With electricity price spikes coming, environmental and industry groups
pitch reform
[March 05, 2025]
By Andrew Adams
Illinois faces potential energy shortfalls and all-but-guaranteed price
spikes for northern Illinois this summer, consumer and environmental
advocates say.
Lawmakers and advocates in Springfield have proposed bills that they say
would address their concerns — but it’s unclear whether they’re likely
to pass by the General Assembly’s expected May 31 adjournment.
Rising electricity demand from data centers has put pressure on the grid
at the same time the federally regulated grid operators face a backlog
in approving renewable energy projects. This has created concerns there
won’t be enough energy-generating resources like power plants and solar
panel installations in the coming years.
On Tuesday, environmentalists made their pitch for how to bolster the
state’s grid and implement new consumer protections. The plan comes from
the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, a group of consumer and environmental
advocates that has backed several major energy bills, including the
Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. That law set Illinois’ goal to shut down
all power plants using fossil fuels by 2050.
The ICJC proposal, contained in twin House and Senate bills, offers
several provisions aimed at stabilizing volatile electricity prices and
increasing grid reliability. It’s a broader proposal than when the group
announced an early version in its platform last spring.
The bill would bump up the energy efficiency targets for the state’s
major utility companies, increase their minimum spending on low-income
efficiency programs and create “time of use” electric rates that offer
electric customers lower rates at times of day with lower demand and
higher rates at times of high demand.
Ameren Illinois, the utility for downstate, would have its energy
efficiency targets increased more to match the already higher targets
for ComEd, according to Kari Ross, Natural Resource Defense Counsel
energy affordability advocate.
A utility official raised concerns about the financial impact of that
proposal.
“It is essential that the financing costs of running energy efficiency
programs is fully considered and Ameren Illinois’ ability to fund
reliability improvements at reasonable interest rates is not put at
risk,” Ameren spokesman Tucker Kennedy said in a statement to Capitol
News Illinois.
These elements were discussed — although ultimately abandoned — in
negotiations around a package of energy legislation passed earlier this
year. That bill was signed into law on Feb. 19.
The bill would also put new requirements on electric utilities and data
center operators. Data centers — large facilities housing hundreds or
thousands of computers that are constantly running — draw massive
amounts of electricity and have been blamed for rising electric demand.
Gov. JB Pritzker has made promoting high-tech industries, including data
centers, a major plank in his economic development platform in recent
years. During his time in office, dozens of data centers have opened in
Illinois.
Under the proposal, utilities would need to adopt rules requiring data
center operators to cover the costs associated with their increased
demand. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency also would be
directed to institute environmental standards for the growing industry.
“It’s no secret that these vast energy hungry facilities are coming to
our neighborhoods, and while they promise progress, economic benefits
and technological advancements, they also pose risks to the electric
grid and place a huge pollution burden on neighborhoods that are already
surrounded by toxic industry,” Gina Ramirez, a representative of the
Southeast Environmental Task Force, said Tuesday.
The lead sponsor of the bill said it’s being considered by a working
group made up of members of the House and Senate alongside advocates.
[to top of second column]
|
The Illinois Capitol in Springfield pictured in May 2024. (Capitol
News Illinois file photo)
“We have learned a lot in the last few years because we worked on these
comprehensive energy bills in a similar format to when we started on
CEJA, so we’re getting good at it,” Rep. Anne Williams, D-Chicago, said.
“We have a bicameral group. We have the governor’s office very heavily
involved in the discussions. I think we’re to the point that we agree
about the problem. We agree about the topics that we need to focus on
moving forward.”
She and other advocates say this is an issue they intend to address this
spring.
Industry groups back battery storage
Last week, lawmakers introduced a different proposal that would
incentivize the development of energy storage.
Proponents say the nascent technology can store energy generated by
solar and wind energy at times of low demand so it can be used later at
times of high demand, even if the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t
blowing.
The proposal would empower the Illinois Power Agency, which manages
electricity procurement and planning, to begin procuring electricity
from energy storage facilities. The agency would also be required to
develop a “storage procurement plan” in a somewhat similar fashion to
its renewable energy plan.
It also lays out requirements for utilities to develop a plan to use
“virtual power plants.” That’s a term for a system of resources like
rooftop solar or house-scale batteries to be used to put energy into the
grid.
“Illinois energy demands will outpace our supply as early as 2030,” bill
sponsor Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said last week. “Battery
storage is needed to reduce that probability and the expense. Illinois
residents are already experiencing the consequences of energy
shortfalls.”
Cunningham noted that “by the middle of the year,” customers in northern
Illinois will see a $10 to $30 increase in monthly bills.
Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, is sponsoring a House version with support
from Rep. Barbera Hernandez, an Aurora Democrat who introduced a
previous iteration of the proposal last year.
The bill is backed by at least six clean energy industry groups,
including the Solar Energy Industries Association and American Clean
Power — two powerhouse national lobbying organizations.
“Energy demand in Illinois is rising fast, and solar and storage are the
fastest technologies to develop and deploy,” Andrew Linhares, SEIA’s
senior manager for the central region, said in a statement. “Investing
in energy storage will not only strengthen the power grid, it will
strengthen the state economy through good jobs, private investment, and
reduced consumer costs.”
Battery storage has been a fiercely debated topic in Springfield in
recent months. The ICJC proposal also contains an initial procurement
round for energy storage at the Illinois Power Agency and requirements
for a virtual power plant program.
Both the ICJC reform package and the industry-backed battery storage
bill await hearings in the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee
before it can be considered by the full Senate. The House versions of
the bills have not been assigned to committee.
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. |
