Across Illinois, families are experiencing a rude awakening upon opening their latest electricity bills — prices are skyrocketing. ComEd and Ameren customers are seeing a 50% jump in energy prices this summer. We believe customers deserve to know the real drivers of these price increases, and then what we as a state plan to do about them. 

The facts are this: the primary driver of rising electricity bills in Illinois and beyond is data centers. According to PJM’s external watchdog, the PJM Independent Market Monitor, this year’s capacity price increases are “almost entirely the result of large load additions from data centers.” Supply, meanwhile, has remained relatively flat.

Recognizing this, could PJM have acted more proactively to avoid this mess? Absolutely. PJM has the nation’s longest wait times for new energy resources wanting to connect to the grid and come online. Those resources — mostly wind, solar and battery projects — sit in queues for more than five years. As PJM faces new demand from data centers, solutions must start there. 

Of course, power generators will fight this and continue to delay growth in our power supply. Why? Because scarcity pays. Power generators — mainly fossil fuel companies — are making a killing off the backs of working Illinoisans. In the PJM territory, for example, they saw their capacity revenue jump six-fold to nearly $15 billion last year and more than $16 billion in the latest auction.

For years, members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition have warned of these problems and the possibility of higher power bills and a supply crunch due to a rapidly changing energy market. As power demands increase and powerful interests throw up roadblocks to new clean power, fossil fuel plants are closing not because of any legislation, but because they simply do not make enough money to survive. Rising production costs and supply tensions have pushed them into the red, and what’s more — no one wants to pay more for a dirty, unhealthy, and unreliable product. 

Thankfully, the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) gave us a roadmap for a broad, sustained clean energy boom across the state. CEJA accelerates deployment of the most effective tool to protect consumers from utility bill spikes: clean energy. In fact, large solar farms and onshore wind are the most cost-effective forms of new-build energy generation, even without tax subsidies. The roadmap in CEJA has not only allowed us to see unprecedented growth in clean energy across the state (in 2024 alone, Illinois added 2.5 gigawatts of capacity from solar) — it’s also creating clean energy jobs.

CEJA was and is nation-leading legislation, but it’s been nearly four years since the bill passed, and our power grid is facing new and unprecedented challenges that need to be addressed. That’s to say nothing of the Trump administration and H.R. 1, which dismantles the landmark provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act while doubling down on coal and gas. The federal budget rolls back clean energy tax incentives that would save Illinoisans hundreds on their energy bills. These rollbacks will also result in the loss of over $16.8 billion worth of investments and nearly 52,000 clean energy jobs by 2030.

While that is devastating for our nation and its clean energy future, we are fortunate that here in Illinois, CEJA safeguards us from aspects of these rollbacks. That’s why we need more of CEJA. 

We introduced the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act because it gives us the tools to address the challenges facing our electric grid and lower costs for consumers, including: 

• Expanding battery storage deployment to 6 GW to help meet demand and prevent price spikes

• Strengthening grid reliability by improving transmission efficiency and flexibility

• Helping consumers lower bills through rebates, energy-efficient appliances, and support for low-income programs as the Trump administration rolls back similar programs. 

The CRGA Act provides the solutions we need to address our electricity crisis. While the federal government invests in the expensive, outdated fossil fuel industry, we can lower costs and build a clean energy future.

Illinois lawmakers have the opportunity to do just that by passing the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act when they return to Springfield during the October veto session.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition represents environmental advocacy organizations, businesses, community leaders, consumer advocates, environmental justice groups, and faith-based and student organizations that aim to improve public health and the environment, protect consumers, and create equitable, clean jobs across the state.