Rock Island Today

Republican Tony McCombie, recently elected to the District 71 state House seat, took to Facebook to reaffirm her desire to save the nuclear plants in the Quad Cities and Clinton.

“As a citizen, mayor of Savanna and Representative-Elect of the 71st District, I stand with Exelon," she posted. "I hope that cooler heads prevail and the bill is called for a vote today! 800 jobs plus so much more need to be saved!”

Hope for the power plants lies in Illinois Senate Bill 1585, the Next-Generation Energy Plan (NGEP).

A lead advocate of the bill, McCombie said 12 percent of the state’s energy is provided by the power plants. This is more than double the amount of energy produced by wind and solar producers. On top of these numbers, Illinois produces 12 percent of the nation's nuclear energy.

Exelon, which owns and operates the power plants, recently requested a subsidy for the power plants to remain open and operating. The subsidy would result in 25 cents being added to the electric bill of each Illinois household. If the subsidy is not put into place, Exelon would be forced to close both power plants.

The NGEP bill would keep the power plants open, as well as create a Zero Carbon Emission Standard. The nuclear power plants in Illinois do not create carbon emissions.

The bill would retain approximately 4,000 jobs and close to $300 million in state and local taxes for the Illinois budget. Exelon also said it would create jobs for a combined total of more than tens of thousands of jobs, both saved and created by keeping the power plants open. The company also said the bill would double energy efficiency while also generating $4 billion in energy savings, advancing the development of renewable energy and creating low-income programs that would provide approximately $1 billion. These features are in addition to the preservation of competitive, cost-friendly rates and the prevention of rising costs that would result from the plants’ closures.

The Better Energy Solutions for Tomorrow (BEST) group, a nonprofit organization made up of businesses and consumer groups, opposes the bill and said it would create the largest tax increase in the history of the U.S. This claim is based on a Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago) study that said the bill would result in new utility charges totaling $24.1 billion for Illinois consumers from the year 2017 until 2040.

Exelon said the only increase for consumers would be 25 cents added to their energy bills each month and that not passing the bill could result in $1.85 added to customers' bills each month due to the closing of the plants.

Exelon said the Zero Carbon Emission Standard feature of the bill would make Illinois one of the first states to recognize that nuclear power benefits the environment.

“The Zero Emissions Standard is an innovative approach that will preserve the state’s largest source of clean energy,” Exelon Executive Vice President of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy Joe Dominguez said. “These plants are the backbone of our energy supply, preventing significant carbon emissions and serving as economic engines for the state and the communities in which they operate. It’s critical that we come together now to preserve and grow clean energy at the lowest cost for Illinois consumers.”

The bill is being met with mixed reviews. Several environmental groups and power companies have pulled their support of the bill after initially favoring the legislation. The opposition to the bill could lead to changes in the framework of the legislation in the coming weeks.

Exelon has said the Clinton station could close as soon as June 1, 2017, and the Quad Cities station would close in 2018. Exelon will proceed with the closings if the bill is not passed soon.