Illinois needs to energize the modernizing of its power supply for two reasons: helping the environment and saving customers money.

The ComEd power bills showing up in people’s mailboxes are likely to take a jump next June because of a record price spike in a so-called “capacity auction” announced on July 30, according to the Citizens Utility Board.

“All signs indicate that if the December auction were to go forward as scheduled, ratepayers would pay astronomic prices for no benefit,” Clara Summers, who manages the Consumers for a Better Grid Campaign for the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, said in an email. “We want to get back on schedule as soon as possible, but the market rules need to make sense first. PJM needs to fast-track reforms so price signals can reconnect with reality.”

“The tools to enhance reliability are in PJM’s hands,” said Clara Summers, campaign manager for Consumers for a Better Grid, a watchdog group that is part of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois. “Instead PJM is dragging its feet on the clean energy transition and doing everything it can to keep fossil fuel plants online and ultimately ratepayers are the ones who suffer from this shortsightedness.”

A record price spike in a recent electricity “capacity auction” means the supply price for Commonwealth Edison will likely increase significantly in June of 2025. Read CUB’s Q&A.

Generation owners say the increase in PJM capacity prices is the signal they need to invest in new development, while consumer advocates say the backlogged interconnection queue could limit the ability for market participants to react.