Macon Reporter

During a May 26 news conference, Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) said that our electric bills will rise and that needs to be fixed.

"The Illinois EPA today can change the regulations on emissions for our gas-fired generators. If they would do that, we would have sufficient power to get us through this bridge. We will also need to get together and figure out how we're going to incentivize the other generators in this state, the coal-fired generators, to stay operational," Caulkins said. "That's the bigger challenge. We look at other states, particularly Indiana — they’re going through the same problems we're going through, only Indiana is allowing gas generators to be built. They've also taken a measure this past week to stop the decommissioning of some coal-fired generators because they know that they can't meet the requirements of their base load for the next two years. So our plea today is to the Pritzker Administration to get to your Illinois EPA director and tell them we need to lift these restrictions on our electric generators, our gas-fired generators. We're going to need that electricity this summer, this winter, and next year. We've got a serious problem. Let's get busy fixing it."

According to WSILTV, ComEd has been attempting to implement its energy efficiency program expansion following the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). If that is approved, then ComEd will be adding approximately 30 cents to the monthly bill of an average customer. “Customers now can save as much energy in five years’ time what used to take them a decade," said Gil Quiniones, CEO, ComEd, "And the cost to customers is still far less than what it was under the energy efficiency program prior to 2017. Thanks to CEJA, customers have more savings opportunities than ever.” 

"CEJA is widely recognized throughout Illinois and beyond as ambitious clean energy legislation, and the ComEd energy efficiency programs that it supports will contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions," said Stacey Paradis, executive director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Association. "In Illinois, energy efficiency is a key component to achieving climate targets while reducing household costs, decreasing emissions and improving indoor air quality and resiliency."

Some manufacturers, businesses and other agencies aren't supporting CEJA. 

"It guts our state's clean energy goals, and it exempts large fossil fuel plants from our clean air and climate protections," JC Kibbey with Natural Resources Defense Council said, according to WIFR. "All these would be on top of the many compromises that industrial users already received in the course of negotiating this bill."

 “There are major plants in central and southern Illinois that right now are trying to figure out how they’re going to run their operation in eight years because wind and solar don’t generate steam,” IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler explained to WIFR. “There are major facilities that employ thousands of people and jobs that average $100,000 a year. They’re calling me and telling me we don’t know how we’re going to operate in eight years.”