OPPOSE HB 1734 AND SB 311

More profits for Ameren, higher bills for Illinoisans, low standards for reliability

What does HB 1734/SB 311 do?

• Allows Ameren to fall short of electric reliability metrics for up to nine days per year, without penalty, through 2032. Climate change is driving more severe and more frequent extreme weather events, and when they occur, utilities must be prepared and accountable for maintaining reliable power.
• Raises Illinoisans’ electric bills and gives Ameren bigger profits by extending formula rates until 2032 and almost certainly increasing Ameren’s profit margin.
• Gives other states the power to make decisions about Illinois’ electric grid by setting Ameren’s profits automatically according to what other states do. Texas and California could dictate how much Illinoisans pay on their electric bills.
• Weakens energy efficiency programs that save Illinoisans money and support good jobs by allowing Ameren to count electric vehicle spending, including on boats and golf carts, toward its energy efficiency goals. This would take away from energy efficiency measures that save Illinoisans money on their electric bills. We don’t need to sacrifice energy efficiency to expand access to electric vehicles.
• Threatens programs that enable rooftop solar panels and solar farms on brownfield sites by allowing Ameren to squeeze them out with its own ratepayer-funded projects. People in central and southern Illinois should have the same access to clean, affordable rooftop solar as the rest of the state, and rooftop solar supports small businesses.
• Ignores communities impacted by the decline of coal.
• Caps clean energy development in southern and central Illinois at 32.5% in 2030. This is barely higher than our current target, well below what is needed to protect Illinois from catastrophic climate change, and well short of Gov. Pritzker’s 100% clean energy goal.
• Allows Ameren to sidestep utility watchdogs by automatically approving Ameren’s gas system spending if regulators do not rule on it within a small window of time.