Environmental activists march in downtown Chicago. A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to Illinois' energy industry.

A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to the state’s energy industry.

Advocates for the policy platform, which is broken up into three bills, describe much of it as a followup to the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a landmark energy policy that set emissions goals for the state and massively altered the state’s energy sector.

The proposals, unlikely to be passed in their current form this year, reveal how influential lawmakers – including the chairs of the Senate Transportation Committee and House Energy and Environment Committee – are navigating the state’s energy transition.

The measures seek to require gas utilities to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, formally include energy storage into the state’s long-term planning, and require the state to use an entirely zero-emission fleet of vehicles by 2048.

The platform is backed by the state chapter of the Sierra Club, the Illinois Environmental Council, the National Resources Defense Council and the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition.

The legislation was introduced last week, with less than a month of the legislative session to go. Advocates said much of the package is meant to encourage conversations between regulators, state officials and groups in the private sector.

“This is about a transition to a cleaner electric grid – and cleaner heat for our homes – and more savings that go with those,” said Jack Darin, head of the Illinois Sierra Club.

Limiting natural gas

The second piece of legislation in the environmentalists’ package, Senate Bill 3935, would institute a “heat decarbonization standard,” requiring gas utilities to reduce their carbon emissions each year, beginning with a 24% reduction in 2031 and 100% by 2050.

“We must reduce pollution in our buildings,” bill sponsor Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said. “We must begin a managed transition away from dirty, expensive gas.”

The legislation also puts new emissions standards on natural gas building heaters and would require all water heaters sold in the state after 2030 to emit no nitrogen oxide gases. That pollutant can cause harmful health effects and can contribute to the formation of greenhouse gases.

“Not only is gas expensive, but burning it in our homes produces dangerous pollution,” Villanueva said, later noting that heating affordability is among the topics that her office receives the most calls and emails about.

Madeline Semanisin, an advocate for building decarbonization at the National Resources Defense Council, said the proposal’s late introduction this year was intentional and that advocates are “really just getting the conversation started this year,” adding that reform will be necessary to meet the state’s commitments to decarbonization.

Many of the specifics of how that transition would be managed and regulated could come from a later state-backed study of the subject outlined in the bill.

Matt Tomc, head of regulatory affairs for Ameren Illinois, said he looks forward to reviewing the legislative package and that Ameren will “continue to have conversations with key stakeholders” on the subject.

In addition to the shifts in emissions policy, the legislation would also create a State Navigator Program to guide people on how to receive financial assistance to pay utility bills or upgrade to electric heat.

The legislation would also require gas utilities to phase out fixed charges on customer bills, requiring that all charges be tied to how much gas a customer uses each month.

“We can’t meet our climate goals and address public health issues by maintaining the status quo,” Semanisin said.

Many of the groups advocating for these changes, including the National Resources Defense Council, are also participating in the Illinois Commerce Commission’s “Future of Gas” proceeding, which is a series of workshops that is meant to inform future policy. That process is not expected to finish until next summer.

Funding for energy storage

The final portion of the policy package is Senate Bill 3636, which would place a suite of new requirements on the Illinois Power Agency and require the state to purchase “energy storage credit,” a financial instrument used when purchasing energy from energy storage facilities. It would be similar to the “renewable energy credits” that the state uses to manage buying electricity from wind and solar installations.

“It will require new commitments from all of us to ensure that our electric grid is strong, reliable and affordable,” said Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago.

The agency would also be required to formally plan its purchases of “firm energy,” meaning energy sources which provide consistent power, unlike wind and solar energy, which can be inconsistent throughout a day.

Williams noted that the electric system also needs to expand its transmission infrastructure, which has been the subject of tense debate over the past year as utilities have tried to take control over building what could be billions of dollars of new power lines.