When you flip the switch, the lights come on.
But in Illinois, after years of sweeping reforms to the energy industry and growing demand for electricity, that premise is coming into question.
Several experts – including those involved in crafting the state’s energy reform, current and former regulators, and those in the renewable energy industry – are warning that prices will spike this summer and rolling blackouts could become necessary in the coming years. That is, unless the state takes action to make sure enough electricity is available – in the right place and at the right times of day.
“If we don’t continue finding other ways of energy – making sure we can store it in some way – we’re going to see that supply and demand kind of thing,” Rep. Barbara Hernandez, an Aurora Democrat and sponsor of a bill to incentivize energy storage, told Capitol News Illinois. “We’ll see a lot of demand, but the supply will not be there and it’s going to create a lot of blackouts in our communities. But also, our families are going to be paying the price and we’re going to see an increase in utilities.”
Several factors contribute to the concern over the grid’s future. A growing number of data centers in the U.S. and in Illinois are demanding massive amounts of energy. The state’s fossil fuel industry is – by design – in decline. And backlogs at regional grid operators have delayed renewable electricity generation from coming online.
Para leer más ingrese a: