Maintaining operation of the Quad Cities Generating Station and the Clinton Power Station would save Illinois taxpayers $364 million annually in electricity costs, the Brattle Group economic consulting firm said in a report Monday.
The report was delivered as the Illinois General Assembly considers the Future Energy Jobs Bill (S.B. 2814), a controversial piece of energy legislation that if passed is projected to pay Exelon, the utility that owns the two plants, about $265 million in annual subsidies. Exelon claims the legislation is necessary to stave off closures at the two plants, citing economic hardship. State lawmakers last spring rejected a similar bill after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan called it an unnecessary bailout for a profitable company.
The study, sponsored by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said the bill will result in $115 million in savings for residential customers and $249 million for commercial and industrial customers, based on present electricity rates. The study, which assumes electricity rates will increase with the loss of the two plants, projects that savings over a 10-year period would total just over $3 billion.
“Today’s report clearly underscores that the Quad Cities and Clinton nuclear plants ensure Illinois’ significant advantage in electric competitiveness,” Illinois Retail Merchants Association President and CEO Rob Karr said in a statement. “The report provides further evidence that the Future Energy Jobs Bill should be enacted, as it protects jobs and competitive electric rates for businesses and consumers.”
The legislation was introduced during the General Assembly’s fall veto session, which closes on Thursday. The legislation would establish a zero-emission standard, similar to the energy credits recently adopted in New York state, which are projected to pay upstate nuclear power plant operators nearly $8 billion in energy subsidies over the program’s lifetime. Exelon owns the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, and has a potential deal in place to buy the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant from Entergy, meaning it stands to collect on all program subsidies.
