It took lawmakers most of 1997 to approve a law opening Illinois’ utility market to competition, a change expected to cut costs by dramatically altering how residents shop for electricity.
The comprehensive legislation passed last fall gives consumers the opportunity to choose their electric utility beginning in 2002. It also gives residential customers a 15 percent rate cut this summer, followed by another 5 percent cut in 2002.
But when the General Assembly returned for its new session in January, lawmakers knew the deregulation issue would need fine-tuning, and it now appears that might not happen for a long time.
“This is a lawyer’s dream come true,” said state Sen. William Mahar (R-Orland Park), a key negotiator in the intense, monthslong negotiations that wrapped up last fall with legislative action. “We’re going to do this for the next 10 years.”
Senate President James “Pate” Philip (R-Wood Dale) offered an inkling of how drawn out the deregulation debate could be when he said last week that he’s not sure the legislature ought to retool the law this spring. Instead, he suggested lawmakers might need to wait until they can assess how deregulation is working before making any changes.
However, Philip is feeling pressure from senators who say they voted for deregulation last year with the understanding they would discuss environmental issues this spring, and officials from several environmental groups say they feel frustrated with the Senate Republican president as well.
“I’ve whined, believe me,” Mahar said earlier this week, referring to recent conversations he has had with Philip over the idea of dragging out further action on the deregulation bill. “But there seems to be a philosophical difference between the president of the Senate, and myself and the environmentalists.”
Mahar has offered two new bills that target the bipartisan concerns of lawmakers and environmentalists about wasted energy and pollution from coal burning and nuclear power plants.
That movement began in the final hours before passage of the sweeping deregulation law, when the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a pro-environment lobbying group, convinced 105 lawmakers, a majority from both chambers, to sign a letter asking for the changes, according to Sen. Christine Radogno (R-La Grange), co-sponsor of the legislation.
One Mahar proposal would grant tax breaks to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances, while another would allow customers with solar or wind generators to sell power to utilities at the same price the utility charges customers.
The changes would also allow consumers to receive an “at-the-register” sales-tax credit for approved energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and a state income-tax credit of up to 25 percent of the purchase.
The proposal would allow the state to grant as much as $50 million in such income tax credits annually, although Mahar expressed doubts the total would ever go that high.
Radogno also called for a tenfold increase in the Energy Efficiency Investment Fund, which was created by the deregulation law to distribute grants and incentives to residential electric customers for projects like replacing inefficient windows.
The fund would generate $30 million a year under Radogno’s proposal, money provided by utility company contributions based on the amount of energy sold the previous year.
Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said the proposed measures represent an “important first step” in the ongoing deregulation effort.
Learner also wants to double a second new fund that now has $5 million in grants and incentives available to promote the use of wind and solar power as energy sources, while Radogno wants to put that suggestion on hold.
On Wednesday about 10 protesters from state environmental groups demonstrated briefly outside Commonwealth Edison corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago, handing out leaflets that urged passersby to call Philip in Springfield and urge him to revive the legislation.
