Illinois – Today, legislative champions joined consumer and environmental advocates to urge the Illinois General Assembly to pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (SB2473/HB3779) amidst surging energy demand sparked by data centers and unprecedented threats to consumers, our grid, and our climate.
“Three years ago, Illinois passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which includes short- and long-term goals that replace expensive and polluting fossil fuel plants with clean energy resources that are better for our pocketbooks, our electric grid, and our climate. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act helps us achieve those goals even faster,” said State Representative Ann Williams. “The CRGA Act will strengthen energy efficiency, remove barriers to clean energy deployment, and make smart investments in battery storage. These next steps are needed to prepare our grid to power Illinois’ entire economy with clean energy.”
Illinois’ power grid is struggling to keep pace with a surge in demand, largely caused by data centers. Yet, at a time when clean, affordable energy is most needed, the Trump Administration threatens to turn back clean energy progress made over the last decade. Furthermore, Illinois’ power grid operators PJM Interconnection and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) are years behind schedule in connecting clean energy projects to the grid that could power millions of homes. As a result, Illinois electric customers are increasingly threatened with price volatility, the power grid may struggle to maintain reliability as extreme weather intensifies, and Illinois’ climate progress is at risk.
“Too often Illinois electricity customers face price spikes because of poor policy from power grid operators PJM and MISO,” Citizens Utility Board Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz said. “The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) was a historic step toward 100 percent clean, affordable energy, but our work isn’t done. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act is urgently needed legislation that builds on CEJA and is good for our power grid and good for our power bills.”
The CRGA Act offers a comprehensive suite of commonsense solutions to meet the challenges facing our electric grid while prioritizing affordability for consumers and businesses, grid resiliency, and Illinois’ climate and clean energy goals. It also includes guardrails that address the reliability and sustainability threats posed by data centers.
“Given their impact on the grid and consumers, data centers should be held accountable for achieving a clean and affordable electric grid. The CRGA Act directs data centers to propose regulations for strict environmental standards and to ‘bring their own energy’ so that these energy-intensive facilities are powered by clean energy and paid for by data centers themselves,” said Gina Ramirez, Board Member and Senior Advisor of the Southeast Environmental Task Force. “Environmental justice communities like mine have the right to hold these companies accountable to the highest standards of environmental protection and labor rights. With the CRGA Act, Illinois can continue to lead the nation on our climate and equity goals by facing the new and emerging threats to our electric grid.”
The CRGA Act also strengthens energy efficiency, promotes improvements to transmission infrastructure, expands clean energy deployment, and supports transparent energy planning and modeling. The legislation prioritizes affordability for consumers and businesses, grid resiliency, and Illinois’ climate and clean energy goals.
“In a state where energy laws have historically been written by utility companies, ICJC’s special interest is the public interest,” said Kady McFadden of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. “We craft energy policy with ratepayers in mind. We mobilize communities in support of energy policy that puts our public health and climate first. We work alongside climate champions like Governor Pritzker, Representative Ann Williams, and other stakeholders who are committed to ensuring our long-term energy plans are grounded in equity, consumer protection, and climate action. The CRGA Act does just that.”
info@ilcleanjobs.org