At the end of October, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act, sweeping energy legislation that builds upon the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) of 2016 and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) of 2021.
The CRGA Act provides Illinois with a long-term plan to push back against the type of power market volatility that led to price spikes of the sort Commonwealth Edison and Ameren Illinois customers suffered this past summer. (Read CUB’s statement on the passage of the CRGA Act.)
Key provisions of the CRGA Act:
Bringing more battery storage to the power grid
What CRGA does: Adds 3 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage to the system in years to come, enough to power millions of homes and help reduce electricity price volatility. It also creates a “Storage for All” program to bring the benefits of battery storage to income-eligible households, nonprofit organizations, and public facilities.
CUB’s take: With its ability to store power when electricity prices are low for use during periods of high prices, battery storage is one of the most cost-effective investments in the grid.
Expanding energy efficiency
What CRGA does: Increases access to programs helping households cut energy waste, with particular focus on ensuring that lower-income families can benefit.
CUB’s take: For every $1 invested in energy efficiency, consumers get at least $2 back in system-wide benefits–such as avoiding energy costs and expensive grid upgrades on new electric load.
Virtual power plant program (VPP)
What CRGA does: Creates a virtual power plant program through which consumers can aggregate their customer-sited resources, like batteries or solar panels, to provide grid services and get paid to do it.
CUB’s take:
- VPPs can help us avoid needing to build more expensive forms of power generation.
- CRGA sets Illinois up to develop regulatory guidance to finally make VPPs a reality.
Better planning
What CRGA does: Gives the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) more flexibility to do resource planning–to help assure Illinois’ grid has enough electricity to keep the lights on.
CUB’s take:
- CRGA creates a standardized energy-planning process to help Illinois better analyze its energy challenges and develop a roadmap to secure reliable and affordable electricity for the state .
- The CRGA Act also strengthens the power grid by promoting improvements to transmission infrastructure, maximizing the amount of electricity power lines can carry (through grid-enhancing technologies, which CUB supports), and reducing bottlenecks in the process to develop and improve transmission lines.
Other key provisions: CRGA…
- Gives regulators more explicit authority to protect solar customers from misleading marketing and fraud. CUB believes solar is a great way to bring down energy bills for individual homeowners who install panels–and to cut overall energy demand and prices for everyone. Plus, it’s become more accessible for consumers thanks to programs like Illinois Solar For All. But there are some bad actors out there, and this provision will help hold installers that peddle bad deals accountable.
- Mandates that electric utilities offer optional “time of use,” or TOU, pricing. CUB has already worked at the ICC to create such an option for ComEd customers, and the CRGA Act codifies the option, ensuring that both Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison offer predictable time-variant rates that enable residential customers to save money by using less energy when demand is high. TOU rates can help delay or avoid altogether the need to build more pricey power plants or replace or upgrade electric grid equipment.
- Funds pilot programs for geothermal energy networks. These networks use water-filled pipes and highly efficient geothermal heat pumps to heat and cool multiple homes and buildings. Instead of burning fuel, these systems draw steady heat from local sources, like the ground, wastewater, or other buildings. They also cool by pumping heat out of homes back into the network. CUB has written about the efficacy of geothermal energy networks and their potential to provide entire neighborhoods with efficient heating and cooling.
- Repeals the existing moratorium on new large-scale nuclear construction. Though the removal of the moratorium does not guarantee that new nuclear power plants will be built, it is now possible to explore such a possibility in Illinois.
