Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging the Chicago City Council to back a new deal to extend Commonwealth Edison’s contract to supply electricity to Chicago residents – but some alderpeople have their doubts.
The proposed franchise agreement would be for 15 years with an option for a five-year extension. The plan also includes an option to “municipalize” the city’s electricity supply after five years, although that option is reported to be prohibitively expensive.
There’s also $100 million set aside from ComEd to support the the city’s Climate Action Plan and funding for rooftop solar panels for low-income residents. The utility giant has also committed to building a new West Side training facility to train 10,000 Chicagoans to work in the clean energy industry.
Read More: Proposed ComEd Deal Brokered by Lightfoot Blocked From Advancing at Council Meeting
“As you look across the country, there’s no other place that’s been able to secure as much funding as we have for the energy and equity project,” says Skyler Larrimore, chief of policy at the city of Chicago. “We’re drawing down benefits to residents who are at the front lines of the climate crisis to have access to good quality jobs in the clean energy sector and be able to lower their own bills at home.”
She also notes the funds for the projects are coming from ComEd shareholders and not ratepayers.
Some City Council members say the mayor is attempting to rush the agreement through, with Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th Ward) likening the apparent haste to get the deal done to the notorious parking meter and Skyway deals.
But Larrimore says the deal is time sensitive because the city could “miss out on many federal grant opportunities because we don’t have a committed long-term partnership in place with the utility.”
“We started the conversation in February by introducing it. The contracts are public. Now it’s an opportunity for council to kick the tires. It’s an opportunity for the public to review them as well,” says Larrimore. “What we’re looking forward to doing is offering more one-on-one briefings in the course of this month and then move on to a subject matter hearing in the course of March.”
