* Center Square…
Environmental advocates are hoping new social justice and ethics enhancements to their signature green energy overhaul of Illinois’ power portfolio are enough to get it to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk this fall, but a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the bill that is seen as another handout for a power provider mired in a patronage scandal.
Groups behind the Clean Energy Jobs Act, or CEJA, announced changes to the proposed Illinois bill that they say better reflect the need for ethics reforms for power providers and social justice.
“These extraordinary crises call for bold action this fall that puts the people of Illinois first, not utilities and polluters,” said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club’s Illinois chapter.
Darrin said they’ll also advocate repealing rate hikes given to Exelon subsidiary ComEd by lawmakers in 2011.
* Amanda Vinicky
“Illinois People’s Action has never believed corporations should police themselves; not the banks, not the coal merchants and not the utilities,” said Peoria Rev. Tony Pierce of Illinois People’s Action. “Let’s move forward by making the deferred prosecution agreement accountability structures permanent and make sure we’re not relying on ComEd or any other utility to police itself.”
Energy consultant Andrew Barbeau, president of The Accelerate Group, said the focus will also be on utilities’ lobbying practices and transparency.
“The system has been so tilted in the favor of fossil plant and polluters over the course of the last decade,” Barbeau said. “As the facts have come to light, we think it’s appropriate for regulated utilities to be subject to these transparency and strong ethics guidelines. We want to be sure that, as we look at how the utilities spend their money, they’re not doing it in a way that creates conflicts of interest.”
In addition to requiring an independent monitor over utilities and a rollback of the formula currently used to set electric rates in favor of a new rate-setting method that gives regulators and the public additional agency, the plan will require that more jobs and resources go to communities most affected by the impact of dirty power producers, including communities of color.
* Capitol News Illinois…
In addition, coalition members said they want language added to the bill that repeals legislation from 2011 that provides for automatic, formula-based rate adjustments.
“This is something that we’ve been concerned about for a long time,” said Andrew Barbeau, of the Environmental Defense Fund. “And I think as the facts have come to light, we think it’s appropriate for regulated utilities to be subject to these transparency and strong ethics guidelines.”
That formula-based rate was a hard-fought win for the company.
- Selfie - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 2:55 pm:
Many of the groups pushing CEJA supported FEJA and have their own lobbying teams too. They made money off that legislation and the environmental components in it. I find it a tad hypocritical to claim the moral high ground now.
- JT11505 - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 2:59 pm:
Did you mean “hard fought win” or “hard bought win”?
- Southern Skeptic - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 3:13 pm:
Wow, what a huge concession. Advocating for a law that sunsets to sunset. Big win.
I’ll believe these guys are walking away from their patron at ComEd Exelon when I see it.
- DuPage - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 3:14 pm:
While they are at it, they should add in reform to force WC insurance companies to open their books and be subject to rate regulation. Also have it presume and cover Covid-19 caught on the job.
- Another Whack at it - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 3:56 pm:
Well the who point of the rate based formula was to get it enacted during historically LOW interest Rates then reap the rewards as rates climbed up out of the basement. BettEr Idea is to ADJUST law to cap ComEd new spending on infrastructure and not sunset rate based formula UNTIL rates climb above 1-1/2%
ComEd made their bed, now let them lie in it while interest rates are at 0% or if the current administration gets its way, negative % interest rates…. throttling back investment bases returns are the answer for the moment
- TNR - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:00 pm:
@Selfie is right about the hypocrisy.
I know the enviros are diverse group, so I don’t want to paint with too broad a brush, but an awful lot of them climbed into bed with ComEd/Exelon during FEJA and have remained there ever since. The Claude Rains routine they’re playing now (“I’m shocked ComEd engaged in improper lobbying”) is a bit rich. Though I have to say, the Sun-Times is sure buying it. They keep writing editorials that make it seem like the enviros have been fighting the big, bad utilities over the Clean Energy Jobs Act. That’s just not the case.
- Southern Skeptic - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:11 pm:
“Though I have to say, the Sun-Times is sure buying it. They keep writing editorials that make it seem like the enviros have been fighting the big, bad utilities over the Clean Energy Jobs Act. That’s just not the case.”
Yea, pretty sure very few are buying that routine. Their solution puts billions in the pocket of Exelon shareholders - just like it did last time. But love the faux-anger. They deserve some kind of acting award - like the Razzie.
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:15 pm:
Unbelievable.
This all started because ComEd needed a rate increase to provide much needed infrastructure improvements.
The legislators denied the previous rate increases requests until the legislators got what they wanted.
Now this proposal will make ComEd go through the same old tainted process which didn’t work before, but hey, what could go wrong?
- nadia - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:26 pm:
“The system has been so tilted in the favor of fossil plant and polluters over the course of the last decade,” Barbeau said. So much tilted in their favor?? 20+ coal units have shutdown in the past 10 years and thousands of employees have lost their good paying jobs. Barbeau should point at a different target, if it’s Public Utilities he should know that not one coal plant has been owned by a regulated utility for quite some time now.
- Working night and day... - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:31 pm:
If the environmental lobby is sincerely committed to transparency and ethics, then they should release the the details of their ‘confidential’ negotiations with ComEd/Exelon for the past year.
If there’s nothing to hide that is.
- Biker - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 4:54 pm:
Odd set of comments exorcising proponents of wind, solar and electric vehicles for living in Illinois. Is the arguement being made that wanting our current grid mix to move to more renewable energy somehow indicts environmentalists? Or just the enviros that engage in the legislative process? Pick a real enemy, nothing but straw here.
- Southern Skeptic - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 5:22 pm:
Sorry Biker, but I don’t think you’re from around here. Nobody is attacking renewable energy since last time I saw someone write about this, the renewable energy companies don’t support this bill. But as has been written about many, many times, this bill benefits Exelon and the enviros have been super cozy with ComEd and Exelon for many years. So some of us are having a bit of a problem with the purity act.
- Biker - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 6:13 pm:
Southern Skeptic,
As long as you are on board with billions for new wind, solar and EVs, then same team. But the realist in me knows that we barely slipped in the back door on FEJA. Hopefully we can crash the front door for the funding ahead to get to multiple gigawatts of solar and wind.
- DuPage - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 6:41 pm:
@- Southern Skeptic - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 5:22 pm:
===Sorry Biker, but I don’t think you’re from around here. Nobody is attacking renewable energy===
Comed sure attacked the Rock Island Clean Line.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Aug 6, 20 @ 10:12 pm:
===The legislators denied the previous rate increases requests until the legislators got what they wanted.===
Which was jobs for their friends.
- illinoyed - Friday, Aug 7, 20 @ 3:20 pm:
CEJA does include an FRR bailout for Exelon, but doesn’t include a real fix for renewables, which is why renewable companies had to run their own bill. Exelon jammed FEJA through in 2016 and designed it so renewable funding would run out in 2020 and we’d have to come back in a couple years fo new legislation, which usually nets a EXC few billion more from ratepayers. They co-opted some enviro and consumer advocate groups to serve as cover and were all set for a guaranteed payday financed by you and I. But then the feds got involved. Now these groups are trying to act independent while still pushing Exelon’s FRR proposal. come on.