* Crain’s in May…

A little over a year ago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker extolled the beneficial effect his Climate & Equitable Jobs Act would have on ComEd customer bills thanks to a credit they would get from the owner of Illinois’ nuclear power plants. […]

That credit of 3.087 cents per kilowatt-hour, though, quickly turned out to be overly generous — so much so that ComEd customers now owe the utility $1.1 billion for credits it provided them but couldn’t collect from nuclear plant owner Constellation Energy Group when wholesale power prices dropped unexpectedly beginning last year.

CEJA, the landmark green-energy law Pritzker signed in 2021, bailed out three of Constellation’s six Illinois nukes, which were financially struggling at the time. The law set up a system in which ComEd ratepayers would pay extra if power prices fell below a certain level in a given month and would get a credit on their bills if they exceeded the threshold.

Beginning in June, ComEd will start recouping that $1.1 billion in monthly installments over the ensuing 12 months, with added interest of 5%. That means an extra $98 million per month for ratepayers.

* Press release last week…

The Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI), which represents the interests of the chemical industry in the state of Illinois, and eight large commercial electricity users filed a Complaint today with the Illinois Commerce Commission claiming that the Complainants and CICI members are being overcharged by an amount estimated to exceed $100 million.

The Complaint, a copy of which is attached, alleges that ComEd has specifically violated Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) by self determining the amount of previously provided Carbon Free Resource Adjustment credits, plus accrued compounded interest, that are currently being clawed back from Complainants and CICI members. The Complaint alleges that ComEd’s clawback charges violate the provision of CEJA requiring that the determination of the amount of clawback charges, if any, must be made by the Illinois Commerce Commission in an annual reconciliation proceeding.

The Complaint further alleges that the clawback charges violate the Illinois Public Utilities Act because ComEd imprudently managed its Carbon Free Resource Adjustment credits and charges. Complainants ask the Commission to order ComEd to stop billing Complainants and CICI members for Carbon Free Resource Adjustment charges that include charges to recover prior credits, plus accrued compounded interest, and to refund the full amount of these charges that occur prior to the cessation of the charges. […]

[Paul G. Neilan of the Law Offices of Paul G. Neilan, P.C. said]: “After its July 2020 Deferred Prosecution Agreement and ComEd’s alleged rededication to fully transparent and ethical management, it’s more than disappointing to see ComEd take back credits it had provided to customers without justifying its actions.”

The complaint is here.

* Capitol News Illinois…

The fact that ComEd determined losses on its own, the complainants allege, violated a provision of CEJA that requires those determinations to be reviewed by the ICC in an annual proceeding.

“As a result of ComEd’s lack of disclosure of the real nature of its filings of these tariff revisions with the Commission, no party had an opportunity to object to the massive impacts of ComEd’s revisions,” the complaint reads.

The business groups also allege ComEd’s maneuver violates the state’s Public Utilities Act as an act of “imprudent management” of the Carbon Free Resource Adjustment credits and charges.

“It was never reviewed, there were never any hearings on it, it’s a lot of money and our position is that it violates the law,” Patrick Giordano, a lawyer representing the business groups listed in the complaint, told Capitol News Illinois.

* Crain’s…

ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said in an email that the utility was analyzing the complaint. But, she wrote, ComEd “expects to vigorously defend our actions in implementing CMCs.”

“We are appropriately charging and crediting customers and have been clear about the CMCs, and the charges and credits that implement them, with the commission and our customers,” she said.

The commission will have to respond to the complaint and is likely to get a motion to dismiss from ComEd. Commission Chairman Doug Scott joined the agency in June, about a month after its initial decision to allow the surcharges to go forward. He was a key architect of CEJA as an adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021, when the law was passed, and the way the nuclear bailout was structured was a point of pride for the Pritzker team.

It appeared to work better than anyone might have imagined when market power prices soared in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But prices deflated within months while the ComEd credits to customers remained, causing the imbalance that led to the $1.1 billion recovery.

Best laid plans…