Electric cooperative leaders, employees and advocates from across the state gathered April 14 at the Illinois State Capitol for Lobby Day, hosted by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC). April 26-29, co-op leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Legislative Conference to address Congress.
“These annual events provide an opportunity for cooperative representatives to meet with elected officials to discuss key energy issues affecting rural Illinois,” said Nick Reitz, vice president of government relations at the AIEC.
More than 60 leaders from 25 entities representing Illinois electric co-ops lobbied for rural Illinois during Lobby Day in Springfield. Participants went to the Capitol to thank lawmakers for their engagement during last year’s energy omnibus bill discussions, emphasizing that their leadership helped ensure electric co-op members had a voice in shaping policy.
During meetings with legislators, co-op representatives outlined several priority issues, including the opposition of House Bill 3762, which would impose additional costs and operational constraints, and the support of House Bill 5195, which would create the Illinois Future of Energy Choice and Economic Impact Commission to bring together industry stakeholders and state agencies to address emerging energy challenges.
Reliability concerns were also a central focus of Lobby Day, as cooperative leaders warned about the premature retirement of always-available baseload generation resources and the risk it poses to grid stability.
“Throughout the day, cooperative representatives reinforced their commitment to the member-owners they serve, urging policymakers to consider the real-world impacts of legislation on reliability and affordability,” Reitz added.
The Legislative Conference in D.C. focused on the top federal issues affecting co-ops and provided strategies for how to engage effectively with members of Congress and agency officials. Nearly 40 Illinois co-op leaders were present for the national event.
“There’s no more effective advocacy than a co-op leader who is also a constituent coming to D.C. to talk to his or her members of Congress about what’s most important to them,” said Hill Thomas, NRECA’s vice president of legislative affairs.
The issue of reliability is becoming increasingly urgent, with the North American Electric Reliability Corp. warning that the U.S. grid reliability outlook is worsening amid projections of more power plant retirements and surging demand from data centers and other large loads in the next decade. In addition, other primary topics included the following:
Pass FEMA reform. The bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act would streamline the agency and dramatically speed up delivery of crucial disaster relief funds to electric cooperatives devastated by natural disasters.
Pass permitting reform legislation. This would help protect affordable power nationwide by reducing delays for co-ops seeking federal approval to make crucial improvements to their systems.
Increase funding for the Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program. This essential program helps electric cooperatives pay for construction, improvement and modernization of their systems. Co-ops are asking Congress to continue to boost funding and urging RUS to raise its loan cap to help meet demand for the program.
The Illinois delegation met with Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Representatives Mike Bost, Nikki Budzinski, Mary Miller and Darin LaHood, and the staff of Representative Eric Sorensen to discuss these issues.
