Metro East Sun

Following an alert warning of possible rolling blackouts throughout the summer in Illinois, some legislative members are concerned with the current policies moving forward. 

Erica Harriss, Republican candidate for Illinois state Senate District 56, said that this crisis is due to failed leadership by the General Assembly and the governor.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator has issued a warning to Illinoisans that they might experience blackouts this summer and increased energy prices of up to $600 per family this year, a recent report by The Center Square said.

"Southern Illinois was built on energy and so is the 56th District," Harriss told the Metro East Sun. "Our state has abundant natural sources of fuel and there is no excuse for energy shortages, let alone blackouts in the middle of record high temperatures. This crisis is solely the responsibility of failed leadership by General Assembly and Governor. Their energy bill will shutter power plants, kill jobs, and force us to buy our electricity from other states. It should be immediately repealed to save costs to consumers and save our coal and natural gas industry."

Illinois' implementation of the Green New Deal has limited the use of certain energy types, and energy prices for families could increase as the state might be forced to resort to purchasing energy from nearby states.

Illinois has moved to shut down seven of its fossil fuels plants by 2027, five of which are owned by Texas-based Vistra; The Center Square report said. Following the passage of Illinois' new energy bill, Vistra's officials announced that they plan to convert their coal power plants to six combined solar and battery storage facilities.

The goal of the state's current administration is to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050, a 2021 WGLT report said. In an attempt to reach that goal, coal power plants are scheduled to be shut down; however, the replacement sources of energy planned to take their place cannot produce the same amount of power. The E.D. Edwards coal plant in Bartonville that currently produces 585 megawatts of power is scheduled to close by the end of 2022, and 37 megawatts of battery storage are planned to take its place.