[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Illinois consumers are feeling the heat, both from triple-digit temperatures and soaring electricity bills. Ameren customers are seeing 18–22% rate hikes. ComEd has customers paying as much as triple-digit increases.

And it’s going to get worse. In July, the PJM Capacity Auction hit another record high - a 22% increase on top of the record highs everyone just started paying. This will already lead to further rate increases next year!

As frustration heats up, lawmakers must choose: support competition that drives prices down or fan the flames of electricity inflation with “Right of First Refusal” (ROFR) legislation.

ROFR kills competition and boosts prices by giving incumbent utilities exclusive rights to build transmission lines. It’s so anti-competitive that both presidents - Biden and Trump - opposed it in 2020 and 2023.

As the ICC has said, “The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) believes that competition among transmission developers spurs innovative results and helps control costs.”

ROFR would send electricity prices even higher. Springfield should focus on long-term strategies to lower electricity bills, not raise them. As ROFR may resurface this fall, legislators should reject it and stand up for cost-cutting competition that benefits consumers.