Illinois energy costs expected to increase as Pritzker considers bill

The Center Square

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch says conversations about energy policy will continue, even with a measure pending the governor's signature.

Welch, D-Hillside, told The Center Square that the energy bill lawmakers approved in October will work to lower energy costs. The measure puts more emphasis on alternative energy like batteries and also lifts the nuclear moratorium.

But, a study released by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and others said Illinois will have energy shortages if it continues.

"I'm looking forward to the governor putting his signature on it but all of my experts around the table say 'we're going to be back at the table,' and we're going to continue to look to ways to make things better and I'm listening to those experts," Welch said…read more.

State Rep. Kevin Schmidt says Illinois families are already strapped with a tight budget and higher energy rates would be devastating for his district:

"Senate Bill 25 is bad for families and small-businesses across the state of Illinois who are already struggling," Schmidt said. "We are going down the wrong path and this legislation does nothing to help with immediate relief that ratepayers need. This bill does not help generate the power supply we need, it's only going to make energy rates increase even more, and that's the last thing my constituents need, especially in East St. Louis."

The 2025 Resource Adequacy Study by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Power Agency, and the Illinois Commerce Commission warns that "conditions create a credible risk of regional capacity shortfalls that will impact Illinois' future ability to import power during critical hours and may cause reliability issues in Illinois even if Illinois market zones have enough capacity to meet their [resource adequacy] requirements as determined by [PJM and MISO]."