Illinois Valley Times

During the Senate hearing on the proposed energy bill being pushed by Gov. Pritzker, state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) asked a witness on the effect of phasing out coal power plants in local communities.

Rezin explained to Curt Morgan, the CEO of Vistra Corporation, that she understands how the shutdowns have affected her constituents.

"I do represent one of your coal plants that has closed and it is devastating. The job loss is very real, so thank you for recognizing there's a problem when we close the plants," Rezin said.

She then went on to ask about coming up with solutions.

"To come to a solution that makes sense, maybe not to replace the jobs but at least to replace the tax base with wind and solar; is it comparable?"

"Some sites can take solar and battery," Morgan said, "while some can only take batteries just depending on it, but in total it's nearly a 100 percent replacement for that property tax value."

Rezin's questioning of Morgan revealed a few key points in the bill, such as passing an additional 5 to 10% of capital costs to consumers, and if wind-powered energy sources are placed in remote locations, it will require significant transmission cost.

Among the provisions of the proposed energy bill is to phase out coal use by 2035 and natural gas by 2045 to help the state transition to clean energy.

The bill will also have a provision granting up to $4,000 rebates for consumers who purchase an electric vehicle as part of a plan to put 1 million electric vehicles on the roads of Illinois by 2030.