By Jamey Dunn
Lawmakers overturned a veto from Gov. Pat Quinn on a bill related to oversight of the so-called smart grid law.
In 2011, lawmakers passed a bill that gives Commonwealth Edison and Ameren automatic rate increases. In return, the utilities must make upgrades to the state’s electrical grid, including changes meant to make service more efficient for customers. Quinn vetoed the plan, but lawmakers overrode his veto.
The Illinois Commerce Commission, which is tasked with regulating the smart grid rollout, has since made a ruling about rates connected to the bill. Utilities didn’t like the ruling because they say it will cost them millions, and lawmakers say it was wrong and missed the intent of their law. So they approved Senate Bill 9, which supporters say clarifies the original language. It would also allow the utilities to collect rates they lost under the ICC ruling, plus interest, from customers retroactively.
Quinn vetoed SB 9. “I cannot support legislation that puts the profits of big electric utilities ahead of the families and businesses of Illinois,” he said in a prepared statement when he issued the veto. “A strong economy that creates jobs requires stable energy costs, but this bill sends Illinois in the wrong direction. We cannot allow big utilities to force automatic rate hikes on the people of Illinois by going around oversight authorities each and every time they do not get the decision they want.”
But legislators who pushed for an override say Quinn has it all wrong. “All this bill says is that the Commerce Commission ought to follow the law that we originally passed. I know when the governor vetoed this bill he did it very emphatically. Some of you may have seen that on the news, and he said that the General Assembly should not get in the way of the Commerce Commission,” said Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, sponsor of SB 9. “But I have a different story to tell. The story is that the Commerce Commission does not make public policy in this state. The Illinois General Assembly makes public policy, and they ought to follow the policy we set.”
The House approved the override today, 71-41, with five members voting present. The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday.
The utilities said that without the change, they would have to delay implementing the grid upgrades. But now that they bill is law, they say that work will return to normal. “We are starting immediately to accelerate smart meter installation and other work to improve reliability, provide new ways to save energy and money, and serve as a shot in the arm to our state’s economy,” Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief executive officer of ComEd, said in a prepared statement.
Opponents say the override shows that the utilities will come to lawmakers when they do not like the decisions made by regulators. “I think that SB 9 is very telling that they don’t want the commission to be anything more than a rubber stamp,” said Scott Musser, a lobbyist with the AARP. He said that it seems that lawmakers are not willing to back the ICC in such conflicts. “They have now made the commission their punching bag. They’ve beaten them up pretty successfully.”
Showing posts with label Ameren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ameren. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Senate overrides Quinn’s veto on 'smart grid' costs
By Meredith Colias
The Illinois Senate voted today to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto on Senate Bill 9, moving one step closer to reversing a decision by the Illinois Commerce Commission on the smart grid law.
The vote was 44 to 11, with 1 voting present. The House will also need to vote to override the governor’s veto for the measure to become law. The original bill passed in that chamber with a veto-proof majority.
The bill puts “profits of big utilities ahead of families and businesses,” Quinn spokesman Dave Blanchette said. “It really sends Illinois in the wrong direction.” The Illinois Commerce Commission is a regulatory body in charge of approving electric rate increases. It also is overseeing the smart grid implementation. Proponents of Senate Bill 9 have said that the Commerce Commission ruling misinterpreted the intent of the original bill.
In a statement, Senate President John Cullerton said the legislation was “understood to be clear and unambiguous.” If lawmakers override Quinn’s veto, it would roll back the ICC decision that Commonwealth Edison says would cost the electric utility $100 million annually. Ameren, the other large electric utility in the state, was ordered to reduce its rates by $50 million under the same ruling. But utility companies want the money back, plus interest from their customers.
Lawmakers voted to allow electric companies like ComEd and Ameren to raise their customers' rates to create a ‘smart grid’ electrical system that will do such things as deal with power outages more efficiently. In return, the companies are required to create jobs. But both utilities have said the ICC ruling slowed job creation. (For more on smart grid, see Illinois Issues July/August.)
Interest groups opposing the bill say it may give Commonwealth Edison and Ameren justification to raise electric rates without knowing whether the smart grid system will eventually save money for consumers. “We were not comfortable with the way ComEd was proposing to pay for those upgrades,” said Jim Chilsen, communications director for the Citizens Utility Board. “I think the focus now is to make sure that Illinois consumers don’t just get stuck with the bill.” Chilsen said ComEd was now obligated to “build a smart grid that actually benefits consumers.” Estimates for how much the smart grid implementation would actually increase electric bills have ranged from $.80 to a few dollars per customer.
AARP lobbyist Scott Musser said he is concerned the Illinois Commerce Commission could become a “rubber stamp” because of the way the utilities were able to circumvent the ruling of the commission. Musser said the episode set a poor example for those looking to the regulatory commission to protect consumers. Potentially, he said, “there’s almost no point for any group to intervene anymore in the process because it’s a done deal. We’ve opened up Pandora’s box.” He said utilities could come to the General Assembly and “get much better treatment than they would if you went through the regular process of the Commerce Commission.”
The Illinois Senate voted today to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto on Senate Bill 9, moving one step closer to reversing a decision by the Illinois Commerce Commission on the smart grid law.
The vote was 44 to 11, with 1 voting present. The House will also need to vote to override the governor’s veto for the measure to become law. The original bill passed in that chamber with a veto-proof majority.
The bill puts “profits of big utilities ahead of families and businesses,” Quinn spokesman Dave Blanchette said. “It really sends Illinois in the wrong direction.” The Illinois Commerce Commission is a regulatory body in charge of approving electric rate increases. It also is overseeing the smart grid implementation. Proponents of Senate Bill 9 have said that the Commerce Commission ruling misinterpreted the intent of the original bill.
In a statement, Senate President John Cullerton said the legislation was “understood to be clear and unambiguous.” If lawmakers override Quinn’s veto, it would roll back the ICC decision that Commonwealth Edison says would cost the electric utility $100 million annually. Ameren, the other large electric utility in the state, was ordered to reduce its rates by $50 million under the same ruling. But utility companies want the money back, plus interest from their customers.
Lawmakers voted to allow electric companies like ComEd and Ameren to raise their customers' rates to create a ‘smart grid’ electrical system that will do such things as deal with power outages more efficiently. In return, the companies are required to create jobs. But both utilities have said the ICC ruling slowed job creation. (For more on smart grid, see Illinois Issues July/August.)
Interest groups opposing the bill say it may give Commonwealth Edison and Ameren justification to raise electric rates without knowing whether the smart grid system will eventually save money for consumers. “We were not comfortable with the way ComEd was proposing to pay for those upgrades,” said Jim Chilsen, communications director for the Citizens Utility Board. “I think the focus now is to make sure that Illinois consumers don’t just get stuck with the bill.” Chilsen said ComEd was now obligated to “build a smart grid that actually benefits consumers.” Estimates for how much the smart grid implementation would actually increase electric bills have ranged from $.80 to a few dollars per customer.
AARP lobbyist Scott Musser said he is concerned the Illinois Commerce Commission could become a “rubber stamp” because of the way the utilities were able to circumvent the ruling of the commission. Musser said the episode set a poor example for those looking to the regulatory commission to protect consumers. Potentially, he said, “there’s almost no point for any group to intervene anymore in the process because it’s a done deal. We’ve opened up Pandora’s box.” He said utilities could come to the General Assembly and “get much better treatment than they would if you went through the regular process of the Commerce Commission.”
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Quinn looks to public to fight smart grid plan
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn is gearing up for a battle with legislators over smart grid legislation.
Quinn toured the state today pushing back against backers of Senate Bill 1652, which he vetoed last month. Supporters say the measure would help the state’s two largest utilities upgrade infrastructure and add new technologies to make power delivery more reliable. Quinn — who is joined in his opposition by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, AARP, the Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees utilities and signs off on rate increases, and others — says the legislation would lock in “automatic rate hikes” for consumers and loosen oversight of utility companies. “We’re really on the eve of one of the biggest consumer battles in Illinois in the last generation really,” Quinn said today at a Peoria event. “It’s very very important, I think, that consumers in Illinois know that this is a bill that will impact their utility rates now and for years and years to come.”
Quinn said today he is hoping to spearhead a “statewide movement of citizens and businesses” opposing the bill. He rolled out a new website that prompts visitors to contact their state representatives about the legislation. “[Commonwealth Edison and Ameren] have a lot of campaign money. They have a lot of lobbyists. As a matter of fact, I think they may have hired a lobbyist for each member of the General Assembly. … They’re putting every ounce of their power and money behind this bill. They want to override my veto. I believe the people of Illinois are on our side,” Quinn said at a Decatur news conference. AARP has joined Quinn in his opposition tour. “This bill would give many of our members increased utility costs. A lot of our members live on fixed incomes. And when their expenses go up, their standard of living goes down. It’s a balancing act,” said Dean Clough, a member of AARP’s Illinois Executive Council.
The governor said the potential rate increases would be bad for business in Illinois. “One of the very best and most important things that businesses look at is what your utility rates are. And it’s not good at all for the people of Illinois and their jobs to have a permanent raise in utility rates. That is something that’s going to hurt the jobs climate in our state of Illinois.” At least one Illinois business agrees with this assessment. “[Archer Daniels Midland Co.], like other employers in Illinois, relies on competitively priced, reliably delivered electricity in order to operate,” said Greg Webb, a spokesperson for Decatur-based ADM. “Unfortunately, this bill does neither of those things in our view. Its reliability provisions are not strong enough. And its rate provisions could very well lead to Illinois businesses paying higher rates than neighboring states without commensurate benefits.”
But the bill’s sponsors maintain that an upgraded grid — which could help consumers save energy and make utilities more responsive to outages — would be a business draw. “It seems to me that the governor has a right to set up a media campaign and hire lobbyists and do everything that he’s doing,” said Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat.“But at the end of the day, this comes down to the question, do you want a smart grid or don’t you?”
Jacobs said that smart grid technologies, such as allowing consumers the option to track real-time power prices and lower their usage when rates are highest, would result in savings on many power bills. He added that customers would value getting their lights back on more quickly after an outage with the help of smart grid technology that notifies utility companies when there is a problem with power transmission. “When the power goes out, right now nobody even knows. How can that be good for consumers?” Jacobs said the use of more technology in Illinoisans’ everyday lives has created the demand for grid upgrades. “You can’t have all these brand new iPads and not provide a way to power them,” he said. “Yes, things cost money. You can’t have something for nothing. Those days are over.”
Jacobs is confident that the three-fifths majority needed to override Quinn’s veto will materialize by the legislature's veto session, which is scheduled to start Oct. 25. But he said things could change. “Nothing’s ever a lock in government. People have a right to change their minds.” If Quinn’s efforts work to urge large numbers of voters to call their legislators in protest, he may be able to scare some votes off of a potential override. However, his repeated use of the bully pulpit on this issue, capped off with a campaign-like tour of the state, may alienate some lawmakers from his cause.
For more on smart grid technologies and how they might affect public policy in the state, see the July/August 2011 Illinois Issues.
Gov. Pat Quinn is gearing up for a battle with legislators over smart grid legislation.
Quinn toured the state today pushing back against backers of Senate Bill 1652, which he vetoed last month. Supporters say the measure would help the state’s two largest utilities upgrade infrastructure and add new technologies to make power delivery more reliable. Quinn — who is joined in his opposition by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, AARP, the Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees utilities and signs off on rate increases, and others — says the legislation would lock in “automatic rate hikes” for consumers and loosen oversight of utility companies. “We’re really on the eve of one of the biggest consumer battles in Illinois in the last generation really,” Quinn said today at a Peoria event. “It’s very very important, I think, that consumers in Illinois know that this is a bill that will impact their utility rates now and for years and years to come.”
Quinn said today he is hoping to spearhead a “statewide movement of citizens and businesses” opposing the bill. He rolled out a new website that prompts visitors to contact their state representatives about the legislation. “[Commonwealth Edison and Ameren] have a lot of campaign money. They have a lot of lobbyists. As a matter of fact, I think they may have hired a lobbyist for each member of the General Assembly. … They’re putting every ounce of their power and money behind this bill. They want to override my veto. I believe the people of Illinois are on our side,” Quinn said at a Decatur news conference. AARP has joined Quinn in his opposition tour. “This bill would give many of our members increased utility costs. A lot of our members live on fixed incomes. And when their expenses go up, their standard of living goes down. It’s a balancing act,” said Dean Clough, a member of AARP’s Illinois Executive Council.
The governor said the potential rate increases would be bad for business in Illinois. “One of the very best and most important things that businesses look at is what your utility rates are. And it’s not good at all for the people of Illinois and their jobs to have a permanent raise in utility rates. That is something that’s going to hurt the jobs climate in our state of Illinois.” At least one Illinois business agrees with this assessment. “[Archer Daniels Midland Co.], like other employers in Illinois, relies on competitively priced, reliably delivered electricity in order to operate,” said Greg Webb, a spokesperson for Decatur-based ADM. “Unfortunately, this bill does neither of those things in our view. Its reliability provisions are not strong enough. And its rate provisions could very well lead to Illinois businesses paying higher rates than neighboring states without commensurate benefits.”
But the bill’s sponsors maintain that an upgraded grid — which could help consumers save energy and make utilities more responsive to outages — would be a business draw. “It seems to me that the governor has a right to set up a media campaign and hire lobbyists and do everything that he’s doing,” said Sen. Mike Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat.“But at the end of the day, this comes down to the question, do you want a smart grid or don’t you?”
Jacobs said that smart grid technologies, such as allowing consumers the option to track real-time power prices and lower their usage when rates are highest, would result in savings on many power bills. He added that customers would value getting their lights back on more quickly after an outage with the help of smart grid technology that notifies utility companies when there is a problem with power transmission. “When the power goes out, right now nobody even knows. How can that be good for consumers?” Jacobs said the use of more technology in Illinoisans’ everyday lives has created the demand for grid upgrades. “You can’t have all these brand new iPads and not provide a way to power them,” he said. “Yes, things cost money. You can’t have something for nothing. Those days are over.”
Jacobs is confident that the three-fifths majority needed to override Quinn’s veto will materialize by the legislature's veto session, which is scheduled to start Oct. 25. But he said things could change. “Nothing’s ever a lock in government. People have a right to change their minds.” If Quinn’s efforts work to urge large numbers of voters to call their legislators in protest, he may be able to scare some votes off of a potential override. However, his repeated use of the bully pulpit on this issue, capped off with a campaign-like tour of the state, may alienate some lawmakers from his cause.
For more on smart grid technologies and how they might affect public policy in the state, see the July/August 2011 Illinois Issues.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Quinn vetoes smart grid bill
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn today followed though on his vow to veto a bill that he says asks too much of energy consumers in the name of progress.
Quinn shot down Senate Bill 1652, legislation that would allow the state’s two largest utility companies, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren, to increase customers’ rates by up to 2.5 percent annually as part of a plan to upgrade the state’s electric grid. The companies would be required to invest $3.2 billion in the grid over 10 years by making basic upgrades, as well as adding so-called smart technologies that would allow consumers to track their energy usage and possibly save money. The measure would also require ComEd to create 2,000 new jobs through the plan and Ameren to create 450 jobs.
Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, consumer advocates AARP and others have vocally opposed the legislation since its inception. “This bill would have been devastating for Illinois consumers,” Madigan said at a Chicago news conference today. “It’s hardly something that we should have shoved down our throats and taken out of our wallets here in the state of Illinois.”
They say the bill would allow companies to defer all the risk of new investments to consumers by ensuring that utilities see all-but-guaranteed profit increases. Madigan said the bill would “gut” the state regulatory system that requires utilities to make their cases for rate increases to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Doug Scott, director if the ICC, said the legislation allows utilities to charge customers for much more than grid upgrades, including lawyers' fees and charitable contributions. “This isn’t just about smart grid, and it isn’t just about infrastructure,” Scott said.
Sen. Mike Jacobs, a sponsor of the bill, said Madigan and others are grandstanding and blocking a bill that would bring economic growth and new jobs to the state, as well as improved service for utility customers. “When you move away from the politics, where everybody wants to make their two cents on their press releases, and look at the bill, it’s an upgrade,” said Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat.
Supporters and opponents of the legislation both point to summer storms that led to mass blackouts in the northern Chicago suburbs as a way to make their case.
“In particular, this bill grants unprecedented advantages to Illinois utilities that have a less than stellar record for providing reliable service. Recent storms in the Chicago area exposed significant service shortcomings, and more than 1.5 million people suffered through lengthy and widespread outages. Local businesses and consumers who depend on regular, predictable electricity suffered enormously. These interruptions impose a profound hardship on the state’s economy and are simply unacceptable,” Quinn wrote in the message that accompanied his veto. “More troubling is that while customers suffer service interruptions and higher rates, these same utilities have been in Springfield advocating for a bill that erodes meaningful consumer protections. These utilities have been trying to dramatically change the rules to guarantee annual rate increases, while eliminating accountability for, literally, leaving people in the dark.’
But Jacobs said that smart-grid technologies could have prevented some of the blackouts and helped to turn the lights back on more quickly for those who lost power.“You can’t buy champagne on a beer budget. … The fact is that Illinois is a leader in energy, and it’s time for the governor to lead,” Jacobs said. He said it is “disingenuous” of Quinn to support energy conservation and earth-friendly policy but oppose SB 1652, which could allow for more power generated by renewable sources.
Some environmental advocates did jump on in support of the plan after a rewrite emerged at the end of the spring legislative session. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said the bill that legislators passed would allow more companies, such as big box stores, to generate their own power through wind, solar and other means. “We could see every large rooftop in the state potentially being a clean renewable energy power plant, whether it’s a big box store, parking garage or office space,” Darin said. He said his organization backs the bill strictly on its environmental merits, but he said lawmakers should also recognize the concerns of consumer advocates.
Quinn is pushing his own piece of legislation that he says would help to improve the grid while protecting consumers. However, Jacobs and the House sponsor, Orland Park Democrat Rep. Kevin McCarthy, said they are confident that they will be able to find the votes needed to override Quinn’s veto.
Quinn said that business owners came to plead with him to veto the bill and that the majority of Illinoisans do not support the plan. “We’ll, I think, show them… that the people of Illinois are mightier than Commonwealth Edison.”
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang said ComEd needs to step up its customer service efforts if the company wants lawmakers who did not support the bill last time to change their votes. He said his constituents who lost power over the summer were less upset about the lapse in service and more worked up about the way the company treated them when they called to report that their power was out. “The people that called my office irate did not call here just because they had a power outage,” Lang said.
For more on what defines smart grid technology and its potential public policy implications for the state, see Illinois Issues July/August 2011.
Gov. Pat Quinn today followed though on his vow to veto a bill that he says asks too much of energy consumers in the name of progress.
Quinn shot down Senate Bill 1652, legislation that would allow the state’s two largest utility companies, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren, to increase customers’ rates by up to 2.5 percent annually as part of a plan to upgrade the state’s electric grid. The companies would be required to invest $3.2 billion in the grid over 10 years by making basic upgrades, as well as adding so-called smart technologies that would allow consumers to track their energy usage and possibly save money. The measure would also require ComEd to create 2,000 new jobs through the plan and Ameren to create 450 jobs.
Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, consumer advocates AARP and others have vocally opposed the legislation since its inception. “This bill would have been devastating for Illinois consumers,” Madigan said at a Chicago news conference today. “It’s hardly something that we should have shoved down our throats and taken out of our wallets here in the state of Illinois.”
They say the bill would allow companies to defer all the risk of new investments to consumers by ensuring that utilities see all-but-guaranteed profit increases. Madigan said the bill would “gut” the state regulatory system that requires utilities to make their cases for rate increases to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Doug Scott, director if the ICC, said the legislation allows utilities to charge customers for much more than grid upgrades, including lawyers' fees and charitable contributions. “This isn’t just about smart grid, and it isn’t just about infrastructure,” Scott said.
Sen. Mike Jacobs, a sponsor of the bill, said Madigan and others are grandstanding and blocking a bill that would bring economic growth and new jobs to the state, as well as improved service for utility customers. “When you move away from the politics, where everybody wants to make their two cents on their press releases, and look at the bill, it’s an upgrade,” said Jacobs, an East Moline Democrat.
Supporters and opponents of the legislation both point to summer storms that led to mass blackouts in the northern Chicago suburbs as a way to make their case.
“In particular, this bill grants unprecedented advantages to Illinois utilities that have a less than stellar record for providing reliable service. Recent storms in the Chicago area exposed significant service shortcomings, and more than 1.5 million people suffered through lengthy and widespread outages. Local businesses and consumers who depend on regular, predictable electricity suffered enormously. These interruptions impose a profound hardship on the state’s economy and are simply unacceptable,” Quinn wrote in the message that accompanied his veto. “More troubling is that while customers suffer service interruptions and higher rates, these same utilities have been in Springfield advocating for a bill that erodes meaningful consumer protections. These utilities have been trying to dramatically change the rules to guarantee annual rate increases, while eliminating accountability for, literally, leaving people in the dark.’
But Jacobs said that smart-grid technologies could have prevented some of the blackouts and helped to turn the lights back on more quickly for those who lost power.“You can’t buy champagne on a beer budget. … The fact is that Illinois is a leader in energy, and it’s time for the governor to lead,” Jacobs said. He said it is “disingenuous” of Quinn to support energy conservation and earth-friendly policy but oppose SB 1652, which could allow for more power generated by renewable sources.
Some environmental advocates did jump on in support of the plan after a rewrite emerged at the end of the spring legislative session. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said the bill that legislators passed would allow more companies, such as big box stores, to generate their own power through wind, solar and other means. “We could see every large rooftop in the state potentially being a clean renewable energy power plant, whether it’s a big box store, parking garage or office space,” Darin said. He said his organization backs the bill strictly on its environmental merits, but he said lawmakers should also recognize the concerns of consumer advocates.
Quinn is pushing his own piece of legislation that he says would help to improve the grid while protecting consumers. However, Jacobs and the House sponsor, Orland Park Democrat Rep. Kevin McCarthy, said they are confident that they will be able to find the votes needed to override Quinn’s veto.
Quinn said that business owners came to plead with him to veto the bill and that the majority of Illinoisans do not support the plan. “We’ll, I think, show them… that the people of Illinois are mightier than Commonwealth Edison.”
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang said ComEd needs to step up its customer service efforts if the company wants lawmakers who did not support the bill last time to change their votes. He said his constituents who lost power over the summer were less upset about the lapse in service and more worked up about the way the company treated them when they called to report that their power was out. “The people that called my office irate did not call here just because they had a power outage,” Lang said.
For more on what defines smart grid technology and its potential public policy implications for the state, see Illinois Issues July/August 2011.
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