Senate Republicans Unveil Legislative Agenda to Address Illinois’ Energy Affordability Crisis

During the first week of the spring legislative session, members of the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus joined together to warn that Governor Pritzker's recently-signed Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) will make an already serious energy affordability crisis even worse for families and small businesses across the state.

After years of record-high electric bills, Republicans say CRGA removes important consumer protections, including long-standing rate caps that limited how high utility costs could climb. The law also shifts billions of dollars in new costs and financial risk onto ratepayers while expanding the authority of unelected regulators to make decisions that could have a severe impact on Illinois power bills.

Senate Republicans say families are already struggling, and this law does nothing to bring relief. Instead of making things better, CRGA weakens protections, strips local control, and doubles down on policies that drive costs higher.

Critics of the new law also raise concerns about how CRGA prioritizes expensive, short-duration technologies that cannot replace reliable baseload power. They argue that reducing reliable generation while increasing mandates has driven prices higher and made the grid less dependable.

Senate Republicans are offering clear alternatives to this ill-conceived new law. Their proposals focus on restoring rate caps, expanding reliable energy sources like nuclear power and natural gas, allowing new generation to be built more quickly, and repealing forced shutdown dates that reduce the supply of electricity. They are also advancing legislation to restore local siting authority, so communities have a voice in decisions that affect their residents.