By Andrew Adams
Capitol News Illinois
aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com
Illinois utilities are set to invest more than a billion dollars into upgrading the state’s electric distribution grid, resulting in higher rates for customers around the state.
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Thursday approved scaled-back plans submitted by Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois, the electric utilities for northern and southern Illinois, respectively.
The plans outline the next three years of infrastructure upgrades, laying out how the companies will roll out new technologies to meet the state’s clean energy goals and maintain existing infrastructure.
Regulators approved $1.5 billion in spending for ComEd, a 25% reduction from their original plan. They also approved $83 million of a requested $333 million in spending at Ameren, a 75% reduction. Ameren also had some additional spending approved earlier this year due to a procedural appeal of a previous ICC decision.
The ComEd plan includes an average increase in residential bills of about $22 per year each year between 2024 and 2027, when the company is expected to file a new grid plan.
Ameren has not released a final cost estimate for its 1.2 million customers, but officials at the company say Thursday’s decision will increase bills by less than a dollar per month.
Read more: After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans
These increases are on top of those approved in 2023 as part of separate multi-year “rate plans.” Both the grid plans and new ratemaking process are part of the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, landmark climate legislation that set Illinois’ goal of decarbonizing the electric grid by 2045.
But the companies initially struggled to meet that act’s requirements. ComEd and Ameren filed grid plans in early 2023 with the goal of having them approved at the end of that year.
But in a rare and surprising move, commissioners at the ICC rejected those plans on a split vote. At the time, they said the companies didn’t meet legal requirements to prove that their plans were “cost effective” for customers and directed the two utilities to refile updated versions.
Read more: State regulators once again flex muscle in rejecting utilities’ grid plans, lessening rate hikes
Over the past nine months, regulators, state officials, consumer advocates and environmental groups have litigated and debated the revised plans, and the commission approved modified versions Thursday.
Representatives of both companies said they’re still reviewing the decisions but indicated they were happy to have more certainty for the next few years of infrastructure spending.
“Our primary focus remains our commitment to providing safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to our customers and communities,” ComEd spokesperson John Schoen said in a statement.
Ameren officials said their plans to install upgrades and replace aging infrastructure will be good for customers in the long run, even if it comes with upfront costs.
“It is a ‘pay now or pay more later’ proposition,” Matt Tomc, who manages Ameren’s regulatory policy, told Capitol News Illinois.
The upgrades laid out in the two plans are notable because many of them are aimed at making electric distribution easier as the state moves toward relying on more renewable energy sources. This includes new methods of managing distributed energy generation – like rooftop and community solar projects.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.