7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Eletricity Rate Increase Approved, Quinn Promises Veto
(IRN)-In the final hours of the spring session, Illinois lawmakers approved a bill that will allow power companies ComEd and Ameren to raise rates so they can spend billions on a 10 year infrastructure update and "smart grid" that the companies say will bring Illinois into the 21st century. But the passage of the legislation by both chambers comes just three days after Gov. Pat Quinn promised to veto the legislation.

After months of negotiations and tweaks to the language in the bill, both chambers fell a handful of votes shy of the three-fifths vote needed to override a veto. The Illinois House voted 67-47 on Monday. The Illinois Senate voted 31-24 Tuesday. 71 votes in the House and 35 votes in the Senate will override a veto.

The bill sets up a 10-year plan for both ComEd and Ameren to work with regulators under a formula rate. ComEd customers will pay $3 more each month over the next decade, and Ameren customers will see a $3.40 per month increase to their average bill.

In addition to the governor, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has expressed her opposition to the legislation. In a joint statement released over the weekend, she and the governor said utilities "should not be given a blank check to spend billions of dollars at the expense of the hard working men and women" of Illinois.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
06 01 11 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.