ILLINOIS PUBLIC POWER NEWSLETTER #2
January 17, 2024
Welcome back to Illinois’ Public Power Newsletter, and welcome also to the new friends we’ve met over the last few months. Apologies for the long delay between Newsletter #1 and this one; we had a busy fall, but we have some exciting news to share.
For our new readers, this newsletter is prepared by a coalition of volunteer public power customers, consumer advocates, and environmental organizations and will share information about Illinois’ publicly-owned utilities, including municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives. If you would like information shared in future newsletters, please email Scott Allen: sallen@citizensutilityboard.org
BUILDING OUR POWER – St. Charles
On November 15, members of our team organized a public forum in St. Charles, the state’s third largest municipal utility. The event was sponsored by The League of Women Voters, Central Kane County, The Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force, and Citizens Utility Board. One hundred or so people attended, including State Representative Maura Hirschauer. Rep. Hirschauer shared the same concerns that each of us have expressed, and agreed that we need more transparency!
More importantly, some of the attendees of that meeting formed a local action group to coordinate actions in the tri-cities area. They’ve been meeting to coordinate comments at their city council meetings.
IL MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC AGENCY
At its December board meeting, IMEA board members voted to approve its Sustainability Plan, which is neither sustainable nor a plan. The board also announced that it would vote at the February 15 meeting to approve the new Power Supply Contract. These contracts will be sent to your city councils in February for consideration. Each council is expected to renew for another 20 years in Spring of 2025. Recall that your current contracts don’t end until 2035 so signing on in the next year or so means that your community will be tied to IMEA until 2055 – that’s a long bet to make on the future of your electricity prices.
If your community is a member of the IMEA, tell your city council members, “NO EARLY RENEWAL” of the IMEA contract. Renewing this early is a great deal for IMEA, but it’s very risky for members. If technology and markets change drastically in the next few years, or if your community wants to take advantage of federal funding, it’ll be too late!
RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES
In May 2023, USDA made $9.7 billion available under the New Empowering Rural America (ERA) program for rural electric cooperatives to help rural Americans benefit from clean, affordable energy. On Sept. 15, the window closed for letters of interest and USDA announced that they received over 157 proposals, totalling more than two times the funding available for the program! USDA will soon make an announcement on what applications will be invited to submit full proposals.
Did your Co-op apply for funding from this program? Does your Co-op have policies that allow its member-owners to take advantage of cost saving energy efficiency and renewable energy programs? Does your Co-op have a plan to modernize its power supply and grid with renewable energy, energy storage, and infrastructure upgrades?
The New ERA program is just one example of several state and federal funding opportunities that exist to help fund renewable energy projects and now is the time to take advantage! Ask your local Co-op leadership about these opportunities and plans!
TAKE ACTION
If you’d like to join your peers around the state who are asking their city councils to delay signing any new contracts until better terms are negotiated, we’re here to help. We can connect you to volunteers who have been commenting at council meetings, and they can share what has been working for them.
SPRING LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Our most exciting news: our Municipal & Co-op Utility Transparency bill is ready to be filed! Our team has taken the suggestions we’ve heard at listening sessions, and in our meetings, and we’ve written a bill to respond to those concerns. We’re asking that the people who pay the bills be allowed access to information about the assets they jointly own; we’re demanding that IMEA, and other power suppliers, conduct regular planning, and allow the public to give input on those plans. We’ll talk more about this bill in upcoming newsletters, but if you’d like to know more, feel free to reach out and we can talk: sallen@citizensutilityboard.org
We’ll also be visiting communities across the state to talk about this bill and to build awareness and support. If you’d like us to come to your town, we’re happy to do it!
KAY’S CORNER
Kay Ahaus is one of our longest-serving volunteers, and she keeps our coalition bound and focused. For this edition, Kay wanted to profile another of our volunteer leaders: Susan Russo of Batavia. Here’s what Kay put together for us:
“Some people want it to happen
Some people wish it would happen
Others make it happen”
–Michael Jordan
Susan Russo makes it happen! Susan became an Ambassador for the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, CEJA, for her city, Batavia, about 45 miles west of Chicago. I met Susan through our Downstate Caucus (DSC). She is one smart, thoughtful, deeply committed activist with a loving family.
Now retired after 37 years as a transactional attorney, Susan uses her time to fight climate change in a practical way. Scott Allen, our leader, invited Susan to join us in late 2022. She immediately brought Batavia and its electric provider NIMPA (Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency) into our conversations. NIMPA is the only source of Batavia’s electricity supply, all of which comes from Prairie State. Batavia committed to buy more electricity for their use thinking they would need it to grow. The growth failed to occur. The excess is sold on the market at a loss to the ratepayers.
Susan makes no hesitation in speaking about Illinois’ greatest polluter, Prairie State. She told the Batavia City Council, “The greatest gift Batavia can receive is to close Prairie State.”
Here’s a short summary of Susan’s work this year:
- Regular attendance at Batavia City Council and NIMPA meetings.
- Sought to get an unredacted report on closure of Prairie State and financial consequence to Batavia.
- With Bill Koehl and leaders from Naperville, organized a November meeting with 100 St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia residents and their state representatives. This meeting was similar to the one held in Mascoutah last summer.
- With Bill Koehl, held the first meeting of Tri-Cities (Batavia-Geneva-St. Charles) Clean Energy Team. To her surprise, 18 folks attended and discovered connections they didn’t know about. Many had installed solar or purchased EV’s. “These personal acts weren’t enough. We all need to do more TOGETHER,” was her conclusion.
Susan acknowledged that our work to stop climate change is frustrating, arduous, but made less stressful with friends who labor along with us. Bravo, Susan. You’ve written the primer for how to get grass roots growing.
Best Regards,
Kay Ahaus
