Proposal will limit energy choice, create unfair rate plan
Illinois lawmakers reconvene next month to determine whether the Prairie State will cling to an outdated, inefficient energy system, or enable technological innovation for a cleaner future with more jobs and energy choice. Lawmakers should vote for innovation.
Exelon and ComEd are pushing legislation to eliminate energy competition and blunt innovation in the state. The bill, SB 1585, aims to impose confusing, anti-consumer demand charges on all energy users, and end net metering - a key component of a modern energy grid that enables the right to self-generation and fair credit for power sent to neighbors. The bill would wipe out savings for consumers who want to go solar. That means less energy choice and fewer local jobs for Illinois.
Illinois should be innovating to transform its electricity grid by enabling residents to install solar power on their roofs. By going solar, customers can lower their energy bills, support local job creation, and be part of the solution for meeting Illinois' climate goals. But SB 1585 would instead burden customers who invest their own money in rooftop solar.
The jobs potential from rooftop solar is significant. In South Carolina, establishing common sense clean energy policy created hundreds of jobs in just one year - including opportunities for US military veterans. South Carolina also quickly became the second-highest-ranking state in the country for solar job growth. Illinois' nascent solar market could blaze a similar trail.
Exelon is holding onto the past, asking legislators to force its captive customer base to subsidize outdated plants and networks. But consumers and businesses want better options.
The most extreme part of the proposed energy package is the mandate of demand charges on all consumers. Instead of charging customers based on how much electricity they use each month, Exelon will expect customers to pay based off of a single period during each month when they use the most energy. Demand charges make everyday life more difficult. Turn on your TV while the AC is on and you're drying a load of laundry? That might spike the rates you pay all month.
This type of rate structure is virtually unprecedented in the United States. All demand charge proposals by investor-owned utilities have failed or were withdrawn by the sponsoring utility. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is actively petitioning legislators to reject the utility proposal. As Madigan said, "By subjecting consumers to demand rates, ComEd's proposal could unfairly allow consumers to be charged more for using less. ComEd's untested proposal would take away control and predictability in consumers' bills and should be rejected."
It's clear that without significant changes to Exelon's bill, consumers will miss out on energy choice and Illinois will continue to miss out on the job growth from smart clean energy policy.
There's another path forward, built upon compromise and collaboration to create a framework for innovation. This summer, Colorado's largest utility sat down with solar companies and two dozen other interested parties to come up with policy solutions that benefit consumers and all energy providers. Colorado shows how the solar industry and utilities can find common ground to ultimately give consumers what they want: cheaper, clean energy and more options.
When lawmakers reconvene, they must reject anti-consumer demand charges, and protect pro-consumer energy policies like net metering. Lawmakers should look for ways to bring parties together to expand the economy and enable clean, carbon-free energy choice and innovation.
Lynn Jurich is chief executive officer and co-founder of Sunrun,
the largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States.