Now this is what a governor in full is supposed to look like.
With the close of the 2021 spring legislative session just three weeks away, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has put down a marker on the politically charged subject of utility regulation. And he did so, uncharacteristically, by bucking the unions a rare Pritzker move, indeed.
Joe Cahill
And they asked for it. A coalition of unions representing workers in the energy sector moved last month to front for ComEd in its effort to lock in higher rates and force customers to pay a premium to prevent a couple of nuclear power plants from shutting down. They even hired a former lobbyist for ComEd s parent company to aid the cause.
Dive Brief:
Achieving the same amount of zero emissions power through renewables and storage would be 12 times more expensive than continuing to run Illinois nuclear plants and cost the state s consumers $80 billion, Exelon CEO Chris Crane said during the company s Q1 earnings call on Wednesday.
State and federal officials are exploring ways to keep nuclear plants open as they are considered a key part of any plan to decarbonize the power sector. However, a proposal from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D, to support Exelon s Byron and Dresden plants, is not adequate, Crane said.
Crane dismissed the prospect that federal legislation could pass in time to prevent the closure of the Byron and Dresden plants, expressing more optimism in a state solution. We re confident that we ve got adequate support within the administration and within the legislature, and we ll see how it goes, he said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is supporting short-term subsidies for two threatened Illinois nuclear plants as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of energy policy his office says would put the state on a path to 100% clean power by 2050.
The proposal represents a balancing act for Pritzker, who is attempting to preserve high-paying union jobs at Exelon’s Byron and Dresden nuclear plants while also seeking accountability from a company whose subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, has admitted to engaging in bribery in an effort to win support for legislation that included nuclear subsidies in 2016. […]
The governor’s plan draws in elements of a proposal from clean energy advocates that would offer no subsidies to Exelon, and one backed by a union coalition that would offer much more generous and long-lasting support for the four Exelon nuclear plants that aren’t already receiving subsidies from the 2016 law, including two Exelon hasn’t threatened to close.