Metro East Sun

Jeff Dorries, chief financial officer of Alton Steel joined other Illinois manufacturing businesses leaders in detailing the undesirable effects of the energy bill proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

He said that next to payroll and benefits, utilities are his company’s highest expense. Dorries explained that a competitively priced and reliable electricity supply is vital to Alton Steel and all other electric arc steel producers in Illinois. Dorries said the new energy bill would raise their utility expenses.

“According to our understanding, the legislation in its current form will have the impact of increasing our utility bill by over half a million dollars, potentially putting us at a competitive disadvantage,” Dorries said.

According to Dorries, Alton Steel operates a 200-ton electric arc furnace and a 14-inch rolling mill to produce quality steel bars ranging from 3/4 inch to 4 inches in diameter.

“Alton Steel is one of the largest recyclers in Illinois, and electric arc furnaces are the lowest carbon process for making steel,” he explained. “Electric arc furnaces, as the name implies, are large consumers of electricity and our power bill runs into the millions of dollars annually…The deregulation in the 1990s provided Illinois businesses with some of the most competitive power cost.”

Dorries urged that businesses should have a say on the legislation.

“It is important that any bill contemplated does not take away one of the biggest competitive advantages that Illinois manufacturers have,” he said. “This is important to protect the well-paying jobs with excellent benefits at Alton Steel for our local community, and Southern Illinois manufacturers need to be involved in the conversation and the process of crafting this important legislation.”

Founded in 2003, Alton Steel has been 100% employee-owned in 2019. 

It currently has 265 employees with 80% of its workforce represented by the United Steelworkers of America.

Pritzker aims to phase out both coal- and gas-fired power plants, with coal targeted to be eliminated by 2030 and natural gas by 2045.