Illinois Governor Vetoes Utility Modernization Bill
September 12 2011 - 7:39PM
Dow Jones News
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill Monday that would have
allowed utilities owned by Exelon Corp. (EXC) and Ameren Corp.
(AEE) to raise rates to pay for smart meters and replace other
electricity infrastructure, saying the plan contained "sweetheart
deals."
The bill would have allowed Exelon's Chicago-based Commonwealth
Edison utility to install digital smart meters throughout its
service territory and upgrade other parts of its electric grid over
10 years. The company has said the smart meters could save
customers $2.8 billion on their electric bills over 20 years and
help the utility cut the number of outages that occur during storms
and other disruptions.
Opponents of the bill, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan, said the measure would be lucrative for the utilities but
costly for consumers.
Quinn said that although he supports smart grid technology, the
legislation "puts too heavy of a burden on consumers," that it
"contains sweetheart deals for big utilities" and that it could
"erod[e] more than a century of consumer protections."
Commonwealth Edison said the legislation was "a jobs bill" that
had support from business groups, labor unions, environmental
organizations and green tech entrepreneurs. The utility said in a
statement that it would continue working with state lawmakers on
grid modernization efforts.
Shares of Exelon were off 37 cents at $42.07 in after-hours
trade; shares of Ameren were inactive post-market.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468;
cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com
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