Suburban interests push for energy efficiency

SPRINGFIELD — Both suburban lawmakers and utility companies are pushing for more energy efficiency in Illinois, but disagreements on how to get there could stall future progress.

Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, has proposed legislation that would allow the Illinois Commerce Commission to relax caps placed on utilities’ energy efficiency programs so those programs will grow faster.

But ComEd officials have said they would be uninterested in more energy efficiency programs if their plan to implement a “smart grid” fails.

Gov. Pat Quinn and consumer advocates have pushed hard against ComEd’s plan to upgrade its grid because it would come with rate hikes for customers.

Still, Nekritz said Springfield politics should not stop individual energy efficiency proposals like hers from being debated on their own merit.

“Politically they have been linked, but I’m not sure they have to be that way,” Nekritz said. “There is still a lot of opportunities.”

ComEd saved enough energy last year to power 47,000 homes, and Nekritz said her plan could lead to even more savings.

Consumers and utility companies are not the only benefactors of efficient energy.

Shawn Mansfield, project engineer at AA Service Co. in Northbrook, said the state’s push for green energy has boosted business. He said 60 percent of his recent business has been replacing air conditioning and heating units with geothermal technology.

And as long as tax credits and utility incentives continue, he said, energy efficiency should continue to grow in Illinois.

“Without the tax incentive they’re just not willing to take that step. They’ll just bandage what they have and try to make it work,” he said. “Now they’ll replace what they have with something that’s higher efficiency.”