At the Capitol on Feb. 14, several Republican legislators joined together calling for action to address the rising cost of energy, which has and will continue to impact families and businesses across the state. The lawmakers stood together a day before the Governor gave his Budget and State of the State Address in an effort to remind the Governor that short-term and long-term relief for struggling Illinois families should be one of the top budget priorities this year.
State Senator Sue Rezin says she is backing the following package of bills to address these issues:
- Senate Bill 2200: Provides much-needed relief for Ameren residential and commercial customers, who were subject to increased rates last summer. Allocates $200 million (about $170 per customer) in rebates to affected consumers that would be broken up into monthly bill credits likely occurring from April through October. The Legislature approved an Ameren rate relief package during last month’s lame-duck session, but the money was never appropriated.
- Senate Bill 1548: Cuts burdensome regulatory “red tape” at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which has prevented new power plants from coming online in a timely manner.
- Senate Bill 1547: Creates the Power Grid Task Force requiring the General Assembly to look at the impacts that energy policies are having on Illinois’ ability to produce the required amount of energy to meet Illinois’ needs.
In addition to supporting legislative action, Sen. Rezin is also encouraging the Governor to take executive action to immediately increase the power supply on the grid while also revising permit procedures to expedite the development of new natural gas plants. Right now, there are more than 2,000 megawatts of clean, gas-generated power that can be instantly added to the energy supply.