Copyright NBC 5 Chicago
The Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill package that supporters say would alleviate demand on the power grid and help lower energy prices. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA), in part, would clear the way for so-called virtual power plants or VPPs. “It utilizes solar systems that are in homes or businesses paired with storage, and it aggregates, adds those systems all up together to help the overall grid,” said Amy Heart, the Senior Vice President of Policy at SunRun, a solar power and battery storage company. Heart says 70% of the solar systems SunRun installs across the country now also include batteries. “When you add up those thousands of systems across the state or across the region, you can actually dispatch those electrons at very specific times when the utility like ComEd needs it most," he said. Over the summer, ComEd bills increased by an average of $10 as a result "of a PJM Interconnection capacity auction held last year,” according to the utility. Customers like the Smiths in Oak Lawn were incentivized to get the battery as a backup and by steady, monthly bills. Local “Not having to worry about power outages and what have you. That was the big selling point out of the whole deal,” said Mike Smith. Energy industry members and advocates have been urging Illinois lawmakers to pass CRGA during the fall veto session, which ends later this month. If the bills pass, nonprofit Clean Grid Association says it would deliver $34 billion in savings over the next 20 years. According to the legislation proposed in Illinois, home and business owners would get compensated for sharing energy resources.
