Oops! Exelon's compromise energy bill nearly zeroes out green-power funding

As reported by Steve Daniel's at Crain's Chicago Business, as Exelon Nuclear's well heeled lobbyists seek "the best democracy money can buy" (a phrase coined by investigative journalist and author Greg Pallast), they might want to hire a copy editor.

Exelon claims its omission of $133 million per year in renewable energy and efficiency funding in a major piece of legislation it is pushing in Illinois was a mere "clerical error." Exelon had just days earlier touted the $140 million per year in funding for genuinely clean energy as a major breakthrough it had reached with environmental groups and renewable energy businesses. But the final draft bill included only $7 million per year.

Critics aren't buying Exelon's "clerical error" mea culpa:

"This doesn't give us confidence that Exelon has reversed its historic opposition to the renewable portfolio standard," said Sarah Wochos, co-legislative director at the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center. "In a carefully crafted bill, it's hard to believe that this latest attempt to eviscerate renewable funding was a two-page 'drafting error.' "

Exelon's "clerical error" comes after years of its lobbyists helping stymie the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, refusing to allow a technical flaw to be fixed, effectively sabotaging renewable energy development in the state.

The "error" also comes after the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) expelled Exelon from its membership, after the company simultaneously lobbied at the federal level to terminate the Wind Power Production Tax Credit, while simultaneously taking advantage of it, itself.

To its credit, the State of Illinois Legislature has, thus far, proven itself to NOT be "the best democracy money can buy." Exelon's lobbyists failed a year ago to force through their nuclear power bailout scheme. Exelon has till May 31, 2016 to force its supposedly now corrected legislation into law. It has threatened to close three reactors at two plants, in the next two years, if it doesn't get its way.

If you are an Illinois resident, please contact your State Represenative and State Senator. Urge that they not cave to Exelon's greed-driven bullying and threats.

Given the safety benefit of closing such age-degraded reactors, as well as stopping the generation of any more high-level radioactive waste for which there is no solution, these reactor closures would be a good thing. A just transition for the workforce, including into a growing Illinois renewable and efficiency sector, would set the state on the road to a clean energy future in a big way, while saving ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year in this latest round of attempted nuclear power mega-subsidies, at public expense.

Update on May 12, 2016 by admin

Capitolfax.com has posted the following response to this news:

Who ya gonna believe? Exelon or your lyin’ eyes

Thursday, May 12, 2016

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Exelon was caught this week with their hand in the cookie jar.

Exelon, the only company ever kicked out of the American Wind Energy Association and the company single-handedly preventing a fix to Illinois’ broken RPS claims the near zeroing-out RPS funding in their multi-billion dollar bailout bill was a two-page “drafting error.”

 Crain’s exposed this latest outrage: Oops! Exelon’s compromise energy bill nearly zeroes out green-power funding.

 Other lowlights from the Exelon bailout bill? 

•  Permanent Nuclear Subsidy – Continues for the “useful life of the plant.”
•  Subsidy in Advance – Exelon gets their subsidy a year in advance by projecting revenues and costs. 
•  Windfall Profits – if energy prices go up, Exelon keeps the windfall profits.
•  ComEd Gets Back in the Generation Biz – breaks 1997 deregulation agreement preventing ComEd from  owning generation.
•  Demand Charge Rate Hike – First in nation “demand charge” will raise rates for nearly ½ of ComEd customers.
•  Energy Efficiency – ComEd to earn first-ever guaranteed profits on efficiency programs.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 
JUST SAY NO TO THE EXELON BAILOUT.

 

 BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses.  Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.

 

- Posted by Advertising Department

Crain's Chicago Business: Why the state might raise your power bill

Map by Crain's Chicago BusinessAs reported by Steve Daniels at Crain's Chicago Business, the coal burner Dynegy has joined the atom splitter Exelon is seeking approval from the Illinois State Legislature for a mega-bailout, at ratepayer expense, to prop up dirty, dangerously old, and noncompetitive power plants (see the Crain's Chicago Business map, left, for plant locations in the state).

Ironically, Dynegy has critized such ratepayer-funded subsidies in Ohio. It has opposed efforts by FirstEnergy and American Electric Power to obtain above market rates Power Purchase Agreements from Ohio ratepayers, as in the proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. FirstEnergy's bailout would prop up both its problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor, as well as several coal plants (AEP's bailout would prop up exclusively coal plants).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has put a hold on the PUCO's approval of the FirstEnergy and AEP bailouts. Some analysts see this as the end of the proposals.

Adding to the irony, Exelon Nuclear, as well as Dynegy, offered bids to outcompete FirstEnergy before the PUCO. Exelon said it could provide the same amout of electricity for $2 billion less than FirstEnergy; Dynegy said it could do so for $2.5 billion less than FirstEnergy.

While Exelon Nuclear and Dynegy tout free market competition in electricity in Ohio, they are attempting to do the opposite in Illinois -- seeking state approval for massive ratepayer subsidies, to prop up age-degraded, noncompetitive plants.