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It finally became obvious that Tenaska’s original proposal was too costly for Illinois consumers, didn’t make sense environmentally, and had little support in the Assembly. As a result, Tenaska’s proposal for the Taylorville Energy Center proposal has been seeing a lot of changes lately. But the facts about what remains the same just can’t be ignored. Tenaska’s plan would still mean:

• Electric rate increases for consumers and business;

• A giant subsidy for a private, out of state company that guarantees an 11.5 percent Return on Equity;

• 30-year long term power contracts guaranteed by state law; and

• Unnecessary and unneeded electric generation for Illinois.

Before Tenaska sought support from Springfield for this project, they too opposed the idea of states providing subsidies to private power generators. In fact, when New Jersey passed a law to build new power plants, a top Tenaska executive called it “confiscatory” and warned that it could “ultimately put the entire competitive market at risk”. Now Tenaska is singing a new tune.

The STOP Coalition’s goal, as it has been all along, remains ensuring that Illinois consumers aren’t subject to unnecessary rate increases. We urge legislators to vote “NO” on SB 678 or any legislation that supports the Taylorville Energy Center.