I get sent a number of legislative reports.
Lots of them have the same congtent, having been written by staff members.
This article, found in State Senator Li Arellano’s “Energy Edition” may be of interest.
Arellano was elected Mayor of Dixon after Rita Crundwell’s looting of the town.
Senator Arellano Urges Action as Illinois Nears Energy Crisis
Illinois has an energy problem that is dramatically hurting Illinoisians’ ability to pay bills.
Just this summer alone energy prices have spiked considerably.
Residents in northern Illinois saw their bills with Commonwealth Edison rise an average of $10.60 per month, while my downstate Ameren constituents saw increases of nearly $45 per month.
If we do not act quickly (and at this point some of it even if we do), worse is on the horizon.
Residents are taking a financial hit right now, and soon Illinois could face a more dangerous stage of our energy supply crisis with rolling blackouts and unreliable electricity—putting the economy, and even lives, at risk.
We have seen this before, such as in California, where blackouts created serious safety risks as traffic lights, elevators, and street lighting failed.
The economic fallout was painful—businesses had to shut down and factories halted production.
As a long-time restaurant owner myself, I understood the loss of food spoilage and having to cut employees hours as sales were lost.
Worst of all, in extreme heat or cold, losing power can mean losing the ability to keep struggling families and individuals safe.
This isn’t spreading fear—it’s a willingness to understand and mitigate known problems that are coming and proactively address them.
What is causing this?
- Governor Pritzker’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA): CEJA set overambitious goals for the state to reach zero emissions by 2050. This plan has led to the closing of traditional power plants faster than renewables can replace them, greatly damaging our ability to provide the “supply side” of energy. To be clear: Illinois simply cannot meet its needs with renewables alone.
- Big industrial projects: Expansions in data centers, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) have big upside for jobs and progress, but they require enormous amounts of power—spiking the “demand side” of energy. Our grid cannot sustain this growth without coal and natural gas in the mix. CEJA has created a dangerous tension between economic growth on the “demand side” and our production ability to make energy available on the “supply side”.
How do we fix it?
- Eliminate unrealistic mandates: The idea that Illinois will be emission-free by 2050 is not realistic. Closing coal and natural gas plants by 2045 without alternatives in place threatens reliability and discourages investment. We need these plants to keep our grid stable, and to help drive the economic growth needed to make Illinois affordable again. Without economic growth, our long-term plans are simply unattainable.
- Lift the nuclear moratorium: Nuclear provides reliable baseload power that is stable and runs 24/7. It keeps factories, hospitals, and data centers running. It is reliable when weather places high demands on households. It is also carbon-free. If we are shutting down coal and gas, then nuclear power must be part of the solution. It takes time to build nuclear power generation, though, and thus does not replace the need to eliminate unrealistic government mandates.
- Speed up permit approvals: Power plants of all kinds face years of red tape in Illinois. The Lincoln Land Energy Center in Pawnee [a gas-powered plant] is a prime example: it began the permitting process in 2017 and is not expected to be online until 2028. We must streamline approvals so projects can come online when they are needed.
- Empower individuals to create their own power: We must ensure that Illinoisans do not have government regulations unnecessarily blocking their ability to install small-scale power generation in their own homes and businesses. This means protecting fair net metering, and ensuring public utilities support individuals who use local power generation to lower their own bills and reduce strain on the grid.
The bottom line: If we want to avoid the devastation of an energy crisis, we must act now. These reforms, including rolling back harmful mandates, investing in nuclear, cutting red tape, and ensuring utilities allow individual energy production, will keep Illinois energy reliable and affordable.
