Illinois Serves as a Beacon of Hope for Climate Action in the Face of Federal Attacks

• Strengthens electric utility energy efficiency programs that provide consumers with financial incentives for technologies like heat pumps and wall insulation to reduce electricity waste and lower monthly utility bills. Going forward, utilities will need to save the equivalent of 2 percent of their annual electricity sales to customers—one of the highest targets in the country. That might not seem like a big number on the surface, but we estimate that through these strengthened programs, the equipment and building upgrades invested in a given year will, over their lifetime, save enough electricity to power more than two million homes for a year. The bill also triples existing requirements on minimum income-qualified investment and increases the amount of appliance electrification these programs can facilitate.
• Requires utilities and alternative electric suppliers to offer customers opt-in “time of use” electric rates so that households and small businesses can better prioritize activities that use a lot of electricity—like running your clothes dryer or charging your electric vehicle (EV)—when prices are low.

• Requires the Illinois Power Agency to procure 3 gigawatts of large-scale battery storage by 2030, expanding our grid’s capacity and keeping electric capacity costs under control. These batteries will store excess generation from solar and wind energy and then dispatch it to the grid when it’s most needed, like at peak times in the evenings or during emergency grid events. This ambitious storage procurement is estimated to provide the equivalent power consumed by half a million homes over 24 hours during times of need.
• Enhances various initiatives for increased solar energy deployment, such as allowing annual renewable portfolio standard financing limits to be increased and adjusted with inflation, as well as reforming clean energy interconnection dispute processes and expanding minimum standards for solar project siting.
• Stands up various policies that invest in geothermal energy and community thermal energy networks, which will facilitate infrastructure projects that transfer heat in and out of buildings using zero-emission thermal energy.

• Amends the existing Renewable Energy Access Plan to study transmission headroom—the grid’s available capacity to accommodate growth—and identify opportunities for advanced transmission technologies. Based on the assessments, utilities will be encouraged to deploy these modern and cost-effective technologies that maximize powerlines’ ability to carry clean electricity and reduce unnecessary bottlenecks within our infrastructure.
• Requires ComEd and Ameren to roll out opt-in virtual power plant programs where Illinoisans can allow certain smart technologies, like EV chargers and smart thermostats, to be centrally managed during times of high energy demand. Customers can then be compensated for providing grid services and reducing peak demand.
• Requires ComEd and Ameren to meet timelines for connecting large EV charging stations to the grid, making it easier and more predictable for businesses to invest in large charging stations across the state. 

• Initiates a statewide integrated resource plan (IRP) which, beginning in 2026 and every four years thereafter, will bring together state agencies, utilities, and advocates to evaluate our state’s energy needs and rightsize our clean energy targets and investment into demand-reduction resources. The IRP also allows for more efficient utilization of the existing power grid, which will help new power plants come online faster. The Illinois Commerce Commission will coordinate with regional grid operators PJM and MISO to replace retiring fossil power plants with new clean ones at the same site and allow resources like battery storage to plug in alongside aging power plants to maximize their efficiency.
• Corrects a long-ignored definition of the true societal cost of carbon emissions in Illinois law, updating it to reflect science-based assessments of the damage caused by emissions that will ensure assessments in utility investments properly value climate benefits.

All in all, the CRGA Act is a momentous win for accelerating our transition to a clean energy future. CRGA expands family-sustaining jobs, protects consumers from volatile price spikes, and invests in Illinois residents while the federal government drops the ball.

Though the CRGA Act was originally introduced with strong provisions regulating data centers, negotiations with key stakeholders proved we needed more time to ensure holistic protections are legislatively mandated. What ultimately made it into the bill minimizes the air pollution impact of diesel-powered backup generators at data centers by requiring they meet at least U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 standards for units that operate solely as an emergency or standby unit for power outages beyond 24 hours. 

With more regulation of these energy-intensive data centers needed, NRDC and our partners are ready to push for a data center legislative package in the 2026 Illinois General Assembly, which runs from January through May. Our priorities will be that data centers must bring their own, new clean energy and pay for their own transmission system build-out—ensuring that associated costs aren’t on the backs of consumers and we preserve grid reliability for everyone.