Ratepayers will lose in the rush to approve battery storage electricity legislation in Springfield

Chicago, IL – The Illinois Legislature should not rush to approve a battery energy storage proposal that guarantees out-of-state battery companies a 20-year profit paid for by Illinois utility customers, a leading energy ratepayer advocacy association said Wednesday.

Phillip Golden, chairman of the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers, a group of over 20 of the largest businesses in the state whose members employ tens of thousands of Illinois taxpayers, warned against rushing through the agreement in the next two weeks.

“Trying to pass an 800-page bill impacting the pocketbooks of every citizen and business in Illinois during a 6-day veto session is callous, especially given that its proponents changed the effective date until June of next year to reduce the number of votes they’ll need for adoption.”

The IIEC has been reaching out to proponents of the bill who have been unwilling to engage until recently.

Source: Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Source: Electric Power Monthly – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a

“From the start, we have advocated for an all of the above energy strategy, including battery storage, renewables, nuclear, and natural gas, among other technologies, to create an affordable, reliable, sustainable, and equitable future,” Golden explained.

“The General Assembly owes it to ratepayers to thoughtfully consider this proposal before imposing what is essentially a 20-year tax on ratepayers.”

“The General Assembly rightly tabled this issue at the end of May. However, the current bill is essentially the same as the bill that was tabled and only guarantees immediate cost increases in exchange for the hope of possible savings years down the road. With an effective date of next year, we have the time to avoid mistakes made in other energy markets.”

“States like New York, Massachusetts, and California, among others, have adopted similar top-down battery storage programs. Consumers in those states pay rates that are up to twice as high as Illinois consumers pay today,” Golden said.

Attached is a chart showing the huge differences in costs between Illinois and the nine states that have approved similar battery storage legislation.

IIEC is a coalition of energy-intensive industries and institutions across Illinois. United by a shared interest in energy policy and advocating for affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy supply, the IIEC actively engages in utility regulation and legislative initiatives at both the state and regional levels on behalf of energy consumers. The organization also serves as a central hub for tracking and responding to developments that impact utility ratepayers and its members.

— Press Release from the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers, at www.iiec.info.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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