Illinois Democrats pushed through a sweeping energy bill Thursday night to boost the state’s battery storage, ratchet up energy efficiency goals and enable deployment of so-called virtual power plants.
The bill — passed in the final hours of the Illinois legislative session — was spurred by a surge in electricity bills. Democrats cited concerns that Trump administration policies and the build-out of artificial intelligence data centers will only drive prices higher.
“If we do nothing our rates are going to continue to climb through the roof,” state Democratic Rep. Jay Hoffman, the House’s assistant majority leader, said during a floor debate Wednesday night.
Called the “Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act,” S.B. 25 passed the Illinois Senate on Thursday along party lines. The bill passed the Illinois House on Wednesday.
