McLean County Times

Illinois’ energy resources are struggling to keep up with growing demand, according to reports.

“We are facing an immediate manmade crisis as politicians destroy Illinois’ robust energy market and unnecessarily endanger our once reliable and clean and low-cost power,” Rep. Dan Caulkins said on his website.

In April, E&E News reported that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) said clearing prices in its annual capacity auction surged to $236.66 per megawatt-day from $5 a year ago for the Midwest subregion. Capacity prices for MISO’s South region were about equal to a cup of coffee — $2.88 per MWd. This is a nearly fiftyfold jump in Midwest capacity prices.

The Illinois Environment Council (IEC) wrote that the state’s electricity is produced through various sources, such as natural gas, coal-fired, nuclear and renewables.

“What was also obvious from the testimony was a total lack of planning and foresight by multiple bureaucracies that are supposed to work together in ensuring we have the energy we need. Make no mistake, this problem is decades in the making but with a stroke of a pen, Gov. Pritzker and the Illinois EPA could change our regulations today to get our peaker plants up and operating and solve this problem immediately," Caulkins said. “There is no reason average homeowners should be faced with over $600 in higher costs this year or power outages. Our neighbor, Indiana, is allowing gas plants to be built to fill in their energy gap while Illinois sends a different message to natural gas producers. My colleagues and I warned you last year what would happen. I will continue to fight for cost-effective reliable energy in Illinois.”

The IEC said events such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and harsh winter storms highlighted the urgency of the United States to switch to green energy. It also said the energy demand increase also contributed to the price increase at the pump.

Ameren is increasing prices as well, 25 News reported. As of June 1, Ameren customers using 1,000 kWh will pay $50 a month, or $600 more a year, for their utilities on the supply side. That charge would amount to $0.115 per kWh. But the reason as to why doesn’t rest on Ameren’s shoulders.

The war in Ukraine, higher natural gas prices and inflation are all contributing factors. That includes a supply shortage due to renewable energy sources not yet fully able to replace retired fossil fuel-fired power plants. Because customers could pay close to three times more on their bill from Ameren, the city is working to find another option to protect customers from bearing the brunt of the change.