(The Center Square) – The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to veto an energy bill now on the governor’s desk.
The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act in Senate Bill 25 was approved in the final days of veto session in October. It’s one of the final pieces of legislation on the governor’s desk.
After it passed, Pritzker said the measure builds on previous renewable energy policies by investing in batteries.
“Illinois is taking action to address these concerns and has passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act – an important step that will help lower utility bills and make our electrical grid stronger,” Pritzker said in a statement. “This bill will build upon the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, positioning Illinois to keep growing our clean energy economy and creating good-paying jobs in communities across the state.”
The governor said the measure accelerates “clean energy” projects with “grid-scale batteries and other clean energy technology” and requires utility companies to help customers lower utility bills with access to energy efficient resources.”
Opponents warned the bill would increase utility costs for consumers.
Since then, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO Mark Denzler said a recent study from the Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Commerce Commission shows if Illinois continues on the current path, even with billions in subsidies for battery storage, there’ll be an energy shortage in four years.
“Particularly after this reports come out, we would encourage the governor to veto that bill,” Denzler told The Center Square Tuesday. “Go back to the table. Look at this report that, you know, they should have waited until they saw the report in the first case and see what this said. And it clearly says you need to keep your current resources on board.”
The 2025 Resource Adequacy Study submitted to the General Assembly Monday says both PJM and MISO, multi-state electrical grid operators impacting Illinois, are expected to face capacity shortfalls over the coming decade “unless additional new capacity and resources are developed.”
“When accounting for these supply and demand dynamics, including announced retirements by generators in Illinois and within each RTO market and accredited new builds currently in the queue or fast-tracked through the PJM RRI or MISO ERAS programs, PJM is expected to experience a capacity shortfall beginning in 2029, with the deficit projected to widen in subsequent years if left unabated,” the report said.
Denzler said the report reiterates what manufacturers have been warning about.
“It’s simply a supply, demand issue,” he said. “And this report says that Illinois is going to struggle and there’s going to be a date in the near future where we may not have enough power to meet the demand we need.”
Denzler said officials need to repeal the closure date for clean coal and natural gas generation, things that are set by previous state law to shutter by 2030 and 2045.
“Keep the current generational plants going, the clean coal plants and the gas plants,” he said.
Denzler also encouraged more policy to welcome investment in new gas plants and an “all of the above” strategy, rather than a reliance on so-called “renewables.”
