IL House Democrats pass Clean & Reliable Grid Affordability Act, send bill to Senate

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois House Democrats passed a massive clean energy bill Wednesday night.

The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act could help Illinois build 3 gigawatts of utility scale battery storage, covering roughly 9% of the state's peak energy use.

This plan would also bring more wind and solar projects online, invest in geothermal technology, lift the state's nuclear construction moratorium and help state agencies better plan for energy demand spikes.

Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) said it will also create a virtual power plant program.

"We'll incentivize an estimated 1.8 gigawatts for these virtual powerplants, which is energy storage, demand response, and other technology at homes and businesses," Hoffman said. "This will be about 5% of our peak load."

Illinois Republicans and manufacturers argue the legislation will raise energy rates and hurt companies. The Illinois Manufacturers' Association said the bill could force businesses and families to pay a $7 billion bill for battery storage technology.

"We've passed the Future Energy Jobs Act, which increased rates. We passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which increased rates. Now we're going back to ratepayers saying, 'Oh, give us one more try. Third time's the charm,'" said Rep. CD Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville). "The reality is that none of this will be online for at least five years. So energy prices are going to continue to rise because of FEJA and CEJA."

The Illinois Power Agency said deploying the battery storage technology could save Ameren and ComEd customers $13.4 billion over 20 years.

The measure passed out of the House on a 70-37 vote. It now moves to the Senate for further consideration Thursday.

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