{"id":411172,"date":"2025-11-01T14:19:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T13:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411172"},"modified":"2025-11-01T14:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T13:26:22","slug":"ai-is-driving-up-your-power-bill-illinois-can-fix-it-by-lifting-its-nuclear-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411172","title":{"rendered":"AI is driving up your power bill, Illinois can fix it by lifting its nuclear ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Micky Horstman<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Electricity prices are climbing, supply is tightening and residents are paying the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Illinois lawmakers are considering a sprawling 800-page energy bill, SB 25<\/a>, that aims to lift the nuclear moratorium. However, the bill makes other significant changes such as appropriating $85 million annually to the Electric Vehicle Charger fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of pushing massive reforms and trying to do too much with energy in one fell swoop \u2013 without public comment or cost evaluation \u2013 lawmakers should start by simply lifting Illinois\u2019 nearly 40-year moratorium on new, large-scale reactors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois: already generates more nuclear energy than any other state but still needs more; and the need has never been greater. Artificial intelligence, data centers and electrified infrastructure are zapping up energy which drives up electricity bills for Illinois residents. Residential rates jumped nearly\u00a010%<\/a>\u00a0over the past year, with some families\u2019 seeing their monthly bills double. The average Illinois ComEd bill has already risen $10 a month, and bills will skyrocket further if energy demand can\u2019t increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grid operator PJM blamed the spike on a growing imbalance between supply and demand \u2014 driven in large part by the explosion of new data centers powering AI technologies with not enough new energy creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data centers now consume about 1.5%<\/a> of the world\u2019s electricity, but that could rise to up to 9%<\/a>  by 2030. These facilities could draw as much as 1,000 megawatts each \u2014 enough to power 800,000<\/a> homes. Each new AI query uses up to ten times the power of a standard internet search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois is becoming a hub for AI development and data storage, and that\u2019s good news for jobs and innovation. Building data centers positions the state, and Chicago especially, as an attractive spot for new tech and business investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it also means our grid needs massive, dependable power generation to support the future. Renewable sources such as wind and solar are good starts, but lack long-term storage capacity. We need to expand nuclear power to deliver the 24\/7 baseload capacity a digital economy demands and to reach the state mandated  carbon-free grid by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bills introduced earlier this year to fully repeal Illinois\u2019 nuclear ban stalled under pressure from environmental groups and hesitation from Gov. JB Pritzker. Now, Illinois has both an urgent need to expand the grid, and a great opportunity to attract new businesses and investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private investment in nuclear energy is booming. Tech giants such as Meta, Google and Microsoft are signing long-term contracts to secure nuclear power for their operations. Meta\u2019s 20-year deal<\/a> with Constellation to support Illinois\u2019 Clinton Clean Energy Center preserved more than 1,100 high-paying jobs and replaced taxpayer subsidies with private capital. That model could be replicated and expanded across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New nuclear construction could also generate billions in revenue and stabilize power prices for households. Illinois is the nation\u2019s fifth-largest electricity producer and typically sends about one-fifth<\/a> of the power it generates to other states over the regional grid. More energy could alleviate consumers\u2019 rising costs as well as the state\u2019s financial woes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois\u2019 not alone in the energy crisis. Other states face increased<\/a> blackout risks without significant energy increase. That\u2019s why New York, Wisconsin and Kentucky have all recently lifted their moratoriums, attracting new investment that will create thousands of jobs and new energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers\u2019 unwillingness to expand competition in the energy market leaves Illinoisans stuck with higher bills and fewer choices, year after year. Lifting the moratorium could open the door for new entrants to build reactors and sell power, breaking the ComEd-Exelon monopoly and lowering costs through competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois families shouldn\u2019t be forced to pay the price for AI usage or to protect the earnings of scandal-ridden providers. It\u2019s clear AI isn\u2019t going anywhere. Neither is the demand for power. The only question is whether Illinois will meet that demand with or fall behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If lawmakers want to protect consumers from runaway costs and potential blackouts, they must lift the ban and allow for the development of the next generation of clean, reliable power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at Real Clear Energy<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Electricity prices are climbing, supply is tightening and residents are paying the price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":411176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"How Illinois Can Lower Power Bills by Lifting Nuclear Ban","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691823433,691839252,691819691,691839254,691820411,691839253,691839255,691818206,691819094],"class_list":{"0":"post-411172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ai-artificial-intelligence-2","9":"tag-electric-vehicle-charger","10":"tag-electricity-prices","11":"tag-grid-operator-pjm","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-illinois-comed-bill","14":"tag-illinois-nuclear-ban","15":"tag-nuclear-power","16":"tag-renewable-green-energy","18":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQMtI5nK9oUaiVQKQEX83DWL66zuVD6MWoKRYoYXp_u4fLjPrm4l0K_lYvEgAMQEFdj6gD2ra0N-Aa2YvrR2jyIryxPbjhoqjkg1ZFOEQZ3PDICmzsnteN2AZ6uiuNMg-1.jpeg?fit=1627%2C922&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1IXO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":403578,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=403578","url_meta":{"origin":411172,"position":0},"title":"Europe\u2019s Impossible Choice: AI Development or Net Zero?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This year, European nations announced plans to pursue artificial intelligence. 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