Battle brewing over electric rate bill?
Legislation to raise electric rates to help pay to modernize Illinois’ power grid was sent Monday to Gov. Pat Quinn, who repeatedly has promised to veto it, while sponsors are confident they can override him if he follows through with his threat.
It’s the latest battle over a bill that has raised the hackles of consumer groups because of rate increases they say are overly generous to utility companies and supporters of the measure contend are needed to finance a so-called modern “Smart Grid” that can monitor energy use and reduce waste. The $3 billion, 10-year plan also would give ComEd and Ameren money for basic infrastructure.
“We’ll override the governor’s veto,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat who is one of its sponsors.
Quinn finally has the chance to make good on his veto promise because the legislation has been sent to him nearly three months after lawmakers passed it on May 31 before leaving the Illinois Capitol for the summer. Illinois Senate President John Cullerton used a legislative move to hold the bill to try to avoid an immediate veto from Quinn so supporters could try to convince him of the measure’s merits. Cullerton filed the paperwork to release the bill late last week.
Cullerton is using the same maneuver to keep a controversial gambling expansion out of Quinn’s hands as lawmakers try to avoid his veto on that too. Quinn has expressed reservations about the bill that would add five new casinos in Illinois, including Chicago’s first, add slot machines at race tracks and expand gambling at the state’s 10 existing casinos.
Quinn has been consistent in his pledge to veto the electric rate bill, and he did so as recently as last week at an event touting the Illinois debut of Nissan’s new all-electric car. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also doesn’t like the energy bill.
“I think we’re going to veto the bill as soon as it arrives,” Quinn said. “What I’ve done on other bills where we veto it, we lay out a blueprint on how to make it better and I have signed bills after the blueprint was enacted and I see the same thing happening here with Commonwealth Edison.”
Quinn blasted the giant utility for wanting to raise rates at a time when customers have struggled with summer power outages and “their service quality could improve a great deal, frankly,” he said.
ComEd continued Monday to call on Quinn to sign the bill.
“Since its introduction last winter, the bill has undergone significant revisions to address concerns raised by the governor and multiple stakeholders. It is clear that the benefits provided by the bill greatly exceed its costs and allow Illinois the opportunity to invest in much-needed infrastructure improvements,” the company said in a statement.
Democratic Rep. Kevin McCarthy said Smart Grid technology could help utility companies such as ComEd better deal with outages. He said he thinks the votes will be there — 71 in the House and 36 in the Senate — to override any Quinn veto, even though the measure didn’t pass with a veto-proof majority in either chamber.
“I think that more people have been convinced since then,” said McCarthy of the Chicago suburb of Orland Park.
The bill would allow a 2.5 percent annual rate increases for the first three years. ComEd bills are projected to climb about $36 a year, while Ameren customers would pay about $34 more by the project’s 10th year. It’s estimated consumers might save $7 to $10 per month by using smart meters.
The AARP has lambasted the bill as “bad news for consumers as it writes utility company profits into state law.”
“Now that the bill is finally on its way to the governor’s desk, we urge him to step up to the plate again for millions of consumers as he had done so often in the past, and use his veto powers to kill this legislation as he has promised numerous times,” AARP Illinois senior state director Bob Gallo said in a statement.