From Crain’s Chicago Business: With smart grid completed, ComEd budgets as if it never happened A new four-year capital plan shows ComEd spending even more per year than it did on its smart grid. That means higher rates, but this … Continue reading
Category Archives: Electricity
Before we went on vacation, my Village of Lakewood sent out the press release below. I just got around to acting on it. The points out that Commonwealth Edison, our most avaricious utility–always asking the Illinois General Assembly to raise … Continue reading
Maybe we should hope that State Rep. Jack Franks will file a Statement of Withdrawal and just run for the McHenry County Board Chairmanship. (But, Franks hasn’t pulled out of the race. Or has Jack Franks finally filed a Withdrawal … Continue reading
Energy conservation efforts are being thwarted in states that allow the open sale of marijuana, according to Bloomberg Business. In Colorado, half of new electric energy use can be attributed to pot growers. Here’s the paragraph that caught my attention: … Continue reading
A press release from the Village of Lakewood: NIGEAC ELECTRIC AGGREGATION PROGRAM SELECTS NEW SUPPLIER FOR THE NEXT PROGRAM BEGINNING THIS SUMMER McHenry County, IL (April, 2015 – Officials of the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium (NIGEAC), are pleased … Continue reading
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office: TWO EXECUTIVES INDICTED FOR SCHEMING TO DEFRAUD CHICAGO AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS OF GRANT FUNDS INTENDED TO ESTABLISH CHARGING STATIONS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES CHICAGO — Owners of a green tech startup company that … Continue reading
From the Lake in the Hills Police Department: Due to the extreme low temperatures, and a power outage in the area of Hunters Path and Deer Path in Lake in the Hills. A warming center will be opened at the … Continue reading
In one of the comments under an article about the proposed Oakwood Hills gas-fired electric generating plant a request is made to help spread the word of the opposition: Hello Cal… Could you help us spread the word about our … Continue reading
The Chicago Tribune ran an article on the gas-fired electric generating plant proposed for Oakewood Hills today. You can read it here. “The proposal calls for a 430,000-megawatt power plant that could supply electricity to 160,000 homes daily,” the Tribune … Continue reading
Last week, McHenry County Blog revealed that the Village of Oakwood Hills has again been negotiating with those wishing to build a gas-fired electric generating plant. When such plants were first on the county news pages in the late 1990’s, … Continue reading
Oakwood Hills is a residential village between Cary and Prairie Grove with about 2,000 people. There is no commercial district to provide sales taxes, so property taxes, state income tax and Motor Fuel Tax revenue sharing, plus vehicle stickers provide … Continue reading
Com Ed is sending tree cutters to many areas in McHenry County during the next three months. That’s what the post card says. Com Ed calls it “vegetation management.” With all the authority cited, one might wonder why State Rep. … Continue reading
A press release concerning future electricity costs for most of those in McHenry County whose municipalities are buying it in bulk (think “aggregation”), which are going up almost 54% from 4.169 to 7.2 cents per kilowatt hour: NIGEAC ELECTRIC AGGREGATION … Continue reading
In 2012, there were many referendums asking whether residents wanted to have their municipalities or McHenry County to buy electricity for them, rather than take the power directly from Commonwealth Edison. The article Electric Aggregation Referendum Results Decidedly Mixed explains … Continue reading
In early September, I was told that a gas-fired peaker plant was being considered in Oakwood Hills. That’s when I filed my first Freedom of Information request with Oakwood Hills asking for “all documents concerning any peaker plant that is … Continue reading
It won’t be Ghostbusters. The Senate roll call of override of Governor Pat Quinn’s Senate Bill 9. which overrides an Illinois Commerce Commission decision, is below: Besides two of three State Senators representing McHenry County–Pam Althoff and Karen McConnaughay–potential candidates … Continue reading
Com Ed had a power failure last night right in front of our Lakewood home. My son was looking out the front window and saw two explosions. He said looked like fireworks and startled him. After each one, the power … Continue reading
The two roll calls on the Com Ed/Ameren electric rate hike bill have appeared here before. Some might wonder why I feel so strongly about this legislation that will ad $6 a month to most homeowners’ electric bills. The reason … Continue reading
That’s what the Chicago Tribune is reporting tonight in its internet edition. So, I figure it’s time to remind people who voted to allow Commonwealth Edison to raise our electric rates. The roll calls for the Illinois Senate and House … Continue reading
When legislators vote to hike your electric rates, it seems to me that people ought to know who is responsible. Senate Bill 9 passed lickty-split this month, just as previous misnamed “smart grid” bills did. Since I have published the … Continue reading