UPDATED: Pritzker/Harmon Division on Coal Plants Stopping Energy Bill Deal
The City Water Light & Power (CWLP) plant, which provides power for the City of Springfield.
UPDATE (5:04 P.M.):
We’re told a hard line exists between Governor JB Pritzker and Senate President Don Harmon over the proposed closure of coal and natural gas plants, preventing a deal on an energy bill as of Monday evening.
We’re told Pritzker is firmly in line with environmental groups while Harmon has sided with unions over provisions to close coal and natural gas powered plants, like the Prairie State Energy facility in Marissa in southern Illinois. Environmentalists want immediate carbon reductions and closure by 2035, while unions don’t want to lose the jobs.
It’s unclear if the two sides can reach an agreement over the issue. We’re told it’s possible the Senate President runs his own bill, without the support of the Governor, when the chamber returns to Springfield Tuesday.
Neither a spokesperson for Harmon or Pritzker has responded to our request for comment.
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UPDATE (6:42 P.M.):
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is out in opposition to the still unfiled legislation:
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is asking you to oppose current versions of energy legislation that are under consideration this week. While final language has not been made available, it is clear that business and residential ratepayers are staring down a nearly $1 billion dollar a year increase in their energy bills. This increase in energy costs represents a massive manipulation of the energy market through the legislative process and will significantly hamper Illinois’ prospects for economic development and growth. We urge you to vote NO.
While some provisions of the energy legislation under discussion have merit if balanced with the interests of ratepayers, current drafts are wholly unacceptable. The costs are known to be enormous, and the benefits are uncertain at best. The environmental community has asked for billions more in unproven, ill-conceived programs that will add to your constituents’ power bills. They will have decades of negative impact on Illinois’ economy. For energy-intensive industries, Illinois’ affordable, reliable electricity is a major draw and puts the State at a competitive advantage. Those advantages will be lost with this legislative spending spree.
Mandates to shut down Illinois’ newest and cleanest power plants are misguided and short-sighted. Both CWLP and Prairie State Generating have decades of expected life left and are the sites of federally funded research into carbon capture which is one of the foundations of all models of a low carbon future. A requirement that both close prematurely will cause financial hardship on the communities that rely on them for power and set back efforts to tackle climate change at a global scale.
The subsidies provided to Exelon are another major problem with the current drafts. The Chamber cannot endorse a financial windfall when negotiations on an energy bill have discarded the state’s own independent audit of the financial vulnerability of nuclear power plants. Any legislation must account for the potential nuclear subsidies from the Biden Administration to limit additional market distortion.
Finally, a comprehensive energy policy cannot be arrived at by pasting together dozens of disparate programs. The potential to disrupt Illinois’ energy markets by adopting a 900-page bill without first obtaining a thorough analysis of its impact on cost to ratepayers and reliability of supply is significant; and voting YES would be irresponsible.
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With about 24 hours before the Senate returns to Springfield to vote on a wide-ranging energy package, details are still under negotiation and passage isn’t yet assured.
A working group continued to meet Monday ahead of the Senate vote Tuesday on legislation that would likely include hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies and rate hikes for nuclear power plants operated by Exelon, higher green energy standards, and the potential closure of coal-fired power plants around the state by 2035.
Monday, a group of 52 lawmakers, 50 Republicans and 2 Democrats, sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker and legislative leaders opposing closure to coal powered plants operated by municipalities, like the City Water Light & Power (CWLP) plant in Springfield.
There has been considerable misinformation spread in the final days of the session regarding the importance of the Prairie State Energy Campus and Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) coal generation plants that operate in Illinois and represent the newest, most efficient coal-fired generation plants in Illinois. We are writing you today to set the record straight on how important these plants are to the communities they serve, the Illinois economy, and the reliability of our state’s electric grid.
Combined, these tw0 plants employ more than 1,100 workers and support an additional 1,000 skilled union tradesmen and women in good, high paying jobs. If legislation is enacted to close these plants in 2035, before the end of their useful lives, there will be devastating consequences. Thousands of employees will lose their jobs, stifling economic activity in areas of the state where jobs can often be hard to come by.
Meanwhile, communities that rely on these sources of power will face new financial burdens as they are forced to find replacement sources of power in short order, which will not only impact municipal budgets but will often be passed along to consumers in the form of higher utility bills and higher taxes. Any carbon tax or similar-type fee placed would also result in increased ratepayer electric bills.
Both plants have demonstrated a commitment to working with policy makers to further mitigate CO2 emissions in the future. CWLP and Prairie State are leading the way forward on carbon-capture technology, partnering with the University of Illinois and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study ways to reduce carbon emissions and create future job opportunities in Illinois.
Our state has some of the best geology in the country for carbon sequestration. With continued bi-partisan support for carbon capture investment in Congress and from President Biden, Illinois has a recognizable opportunity to serve as a leader in growing a carbon capture economy.
Numerous progressive Democrats have said they won’t support any bill that allows coal plants to continue to operate.
UPDATE (11:56 A.M.):
A release over the weekend from Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) who is already out against the package, even though there is no package yet.
“One of the biggest concerns of the reform package is that the proposal has huge subsidies for renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar,” said Sen. Syverson. “The subsidies may be the most lucrative contacts in the nation. The plan also includes subsides, though much smaller, for helping nuclear plants like Byron stay open.”
According to Sen. Syverson, this plan will lead to the largest increase in rates in Illinois history. Ratepayers could end up paying up to 20 percent or more on their monthly utility bills.
“What is disappointing is the fact that we would not need to subsidize our nuclear power plants to keep them open if we were not giving wind and solar so many unnecessary, costly incentives,” said Sen. Syverson. “The result of these promised giveaways is hardworking families and businesses will be on the hook to pay for it.”
Other concerning factors include a proposal to shutdown downstate power plants, including Prairie State Energy Campus and Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power, which will cost thousands of Illinoisans their jobs.
“The closures would also reduce our state’s power capacity, require us to go outside of the state to find power, and ultimately increase consumer prices,” said Sen. Syverson.
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UPDATE (2:57 P.M.):
We asked if Syverson’s weekend statement meant he was voting no on the bill no matter what. Here’s what we got back:
“I support keeping nuclear and coal open as the affordable and reliable energy resources we know them to be. This Renewable Energy package is simply a bailout that will make a few, mostly out-of-state, venture capital firms a lot of money at the expense of our taxpayers.”
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