Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is proposing a series of “accountability” measures for utility companies as part of an energy policy agenda unveiled Friday, a month after federal prosecutors said the state’s largest utility, Commonwealth Edison, engaged in a “yearslong bribery scheme” while seeking political favors in Springfield.
Improving transparency and ethics is the first of eight principles in Pritzker’s agenda, which also includes a number of clean energy proposals. Among other things, the administration said it wants to prohibit utilities from recovering charitable donations from ratepayers, noting such payouts are often for golf outings and other political fundraisers.
The agenda also calls for an additional disclosure requirement for elected and appointed officials if they have relatives who work for regulated utilities.
Days after ComEd agreed to pay $200 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement last month, Pritzker suspended meetings of an energy working group that has been discussing policy changes.
The working group is set to reconvene as early as next week, with discussions revolving around strengthening utility accountability and ensuring “that whatever we do going forward that has any benefit whatsoever to a utility, that it is proved up in the light of day,” Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell said in an interview Thursday.
“I think that by starting from that place, and making that the centerpiece of negotiations going forward, that will help restore confidence in the process,” Mitchell said.
Federal prosecutors said in July that ComEd aimed to influence and reward Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan by providing contracts, jobs and payments to his allies.
Madigan, who is also the Illinois Democratic Party chairman, has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and a spokeswoman said he “has never made a legislative decision with improper motives.”
Prosecutors put a value of at least $150 million on the legislative benefits ComEd received since the alleged bribery scheme began.
The Pritzker administration agenda calls for a phaseout of formula rates, which allow utilities to set annual rates based on anticipated costs. Mitchell called the process by which formula rates were set “defective, to be generous,” and contends there’s not “clear evidence” that higher utility rates have created the benefits they were supposed to.
The plan contends that formula rates have allowed utility providers to raise their delivery costs and their profits, “with little cost control,” and proposes a return to the “traditional ratemaking process,” where utilities need to provide more justification for a rate increase, and have that be subject to Illinois Commerce Commission approval.
“We need to make sure that if Exelon or ComEd or anyone else is asking for an additional ratepayer dollar in the form of any sort of subsidy, that they’re going to need to account for it,” Mitchell said.
“And we’re also saying that if you’re a utility company that’s providing charitable contributions, you can no longer recover those costs from your ratepayers. Your contributions, if they’re going to be charitable, need to actually be charitable, not given in ways that can potentially curry political influence and then be recovered from the very ratepayers who had no say in it.”
In a statement issued Friday morning, ComEd spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier said company officials are reviewing Pritzker’s energy proposals. She also said that past infrastructure investments “have been fully vetted in a transparent process” and have benefited customers.
“ComEd has already moved aggressively to implement comprehensive ethics reforms to ensure that the unacceptable conduct outlined in the agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office never happens again,” Breymaier said in a statement. “However, we recognize the importance and challenge of rebuilding the trust of the public, regulators and elected officials, and look forward to working with these stakeholders to achieve the state’s ambitious clean energy goals.”
The Pritzker administration is also setting a goal for Illinois to utilize 100% clean energy by 2050 and significantly increase the number of electric cars in the state by 2030, and calls for the elimination of online payment fees for utility bills and for utility providers ComEd and Ameren to significantly increase the money they devote to low-income energy efficiency programs.
In a statement issued Friday, Ameren Illinois said it agrees with some of the governor’s priorities, including stronger ethics requirements, a push for more electric vehicles and more solar energy production. But the company also said the significant costs associated with clean energy plans will raise bills for its downstate customers significantly.
“We are concerned that the proposed plans throw more money at an approach that is clearly not working today,” the Ameren statement said. “We believe that consensus on clean energy policy is possible, but we need to take the time to do it right. It should not be rushed, and the final product must recognize the regional differences in this state.”
New energy legislation was one of a number of priorities for the administration that weren’t ultimately taken up by the General Assembly this year during its spring session that was drastically shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ethics and energy policy both figured prominently in Pritzker’s State of the State address in January, though the two weren’t as strongly linked as they are now. Pritzker, in the annual address, urged lawmakers to take “urgent action” on new clean energy measures but said the “old ways of negotiating energy legislation are over.”
“It’s time to put consumers and climate first,” Pritzker said in the January speech. “I’m not going to sign an energy bill written by the utility companies.”
The governor’s plan calls for changing the Illinois Power Agency’s procurement processes to “remove barriers to renewable energy development” and give incentives to developers to take on renewable energy projects in the state, and suggests there should be statewide standards in place to accelerate solar and wind projects, noting that “local zoning regulations have blocked many wind energy projects.”
The administration wants to increase the number of electric cars on Illinois roads to 750,000 within the next decade, up from fewer than 25,000 registered electric vehicles currently; establish a tax credit for electric vehicle companies that locate downstate; and put incentives in place for implementing electric vehicle charging stations.
Mitchell said he thinks it’s possible legislation that encompasses much of the proposal could be ready by the time lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene in Springfield for the fall veto session on Nov. 17, but acknowledged the issues involved are complex and “if it takes a little longer, then it takes a little longer.”
jmunks@chicagotribune.com
