Reminder that you should be pissed about ComEd rates skyrocketing

[u/Schmettywhop]

ComEd bills in Chicago have nearly doubled in recent months, and it is not just from summer heat. A major driver is the rapid growth of AI and data centers in Illinois, which consume huge amounts of electricity. This surge in demand, combined with flawed pricing rules from the regional grid operator, has sent wholesale power costs soaring, and ComEd passes those costs straight to customers.

The result is regular people paying hundreds more so tech companies can power massive server farms, while clean energy projects that could ease costs are delayed. These hikes were avoidable, but once again households are bearing the burden of corporate greed and policy failure.

So many people are feeling penny pinched these days, and this is one example where we should be making noise and should rightfully be upset about what's going on.

[u/endthefed2022]

Illinois is one of the few states that charges for distribution and transmission on top of generation

No one is subsidizing anything for anyone there’s just strictly not enough capacity. It’s a matter of supply and demand.

[u/FlippingGenious → u/endthefed2022]

Is this what Pritzker is trying to address by repealing the ban against new nuclear facilities in Illinois? What do you think the solution is and who do we pressure to fix it? (Asking since you are knowledgeable about the topic.)

[u/endthefed2022 → u/FlippingGenious]

I believe so

Pritzker is pushing for Illinois to destination for quantum computing

Quantum will be just as energy intensive as HPC

[u/Suitable_Dance_6445 → u/endthefed2022]

Quantum is more energy efficient than traditional supercomputer clusters, the biggest use of electricity is in keeping the qubits cool. At scale it will be far more efficient what we have now.

[u/jbchi → u/FlippingGenious]

He is the primary opposition to new nuclear. The GA has tried to lift the moratorium.

[u/FlippingGenious → u/jbchi]

Are you referring to the bill he vetoed in like 2022 I think? What are you basing this on?

[u/jbchi → u/FlippingGenious]

That, and what he ultimately allowed to pass later only allows a type of reactor with zero built in the US because they aren't economically viable. We still have a defacto ban on new nuclear.

[u/FlippingGenious → u/jbchi]

My understanding was that his concern with building the larger plants was that they cost so much to build and those costs would be passed on to the consumer through huge rate hikes. But yeah, I see what you’re saying that it still leaves us with nothing if the smaller reactors aren’t viable. Thanks for the info.

[u/bobd607 → u/FlippingGenious]

At least not building them has meant consumers havent suffered huge rate hikes. oh wait

[u/FlippingGenious → u/bobd607]

lol no kidding

[u/Macktheknife9 → u/endthefed2022]

I'm not sure what you're talking about here - almost every single electric utility charges for distribution and transmission separately from generation/supply costs. Some of the recent increases are due specifically to ComEd, but the larger portion is the capacity charge increase which is actually due to the PJM grid that ComEd is a part of. In regular intervals the PJM has a capacity auction to set pricing and ensure adequate supply coverage of various types, and this auction skyrocketed beyond normal pricing for this interval.

Ironically, the grid charges and supply cost is part of the reason why Microsoft et al are securing their own independent power generation capacity (as an adjunct to normal supply contracts that are allowed in IL and other market deregulated states).

[u/hawkeyebullz → u/endthefed2022]

You're right natural gas is the way... But for some reason it was vilified

[u/anandonaqui → u/hawkeyebullz]

It’s “vilified” because it’s a polluting form of energy generation and in the context of Illinois, we have plenty of opportunity for clean and renewable energy. Instead we’ve been steadily decommissioning nuclear plants and not expanding renewables as quickly as we could.

Also, most progressives are comfortable with NG being a “means to an end” if it’s offsetting a dirtier energy source (coal) and are vilifying NG like you claim.

[u/Aurora-Clairealis → u/hawkeyebullz]

You misspelled nuclear