The Bluestem Network Action Alert as of March 29, 1999, is as follows:

Please contact your Illinois State Representative and your Illinois State Senator and ask them to support Senate Bill 534 and to amend Senate Bill 968 to require $30 million per year for the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund. Both of these bills support clean energy in the state.

Commonwealth Edison and Illinois Power are the two biggest polluters in the state. Their coal plants necessitate coal mining, churning up the landscape and damaging water quality. The combustion of coal is the single leading contributor to global warming, releasing more CO2 than any other source. The combustion of coal also releases sulfur, causing acid rain, and NOx and particulates, causing smog and creating breathing hazards in northeastern Illinois, especially for children with asthma. Coal combustion is also the single largest source of mercury released to the environment. Recent surveys by the Wisconsin DNR have revealed mercury levels in Wisconsin lakes to be so high as to necessitate fish advisory warnings for children and pregnant women (mercury being a neurotoxin documented to cause developmental disabilities). Nuclear generation produces waste that we still haven't figured out what to do with, and the generation process could potentially lead to a cataclysmic disaster. ComEd's plants have been plagued by more safety violations than almost any other utility in the nation.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have been laboring to pass efficiency and renewables legislation for two years, since the deregulation process began. With almost all "clean energy" legislation stymied at the federal level action needs to come from the states. All of our neighboring states have stronger clean energy legislation.

Currently, all of the power in Illinois comes from the "dirty" sources of coal and nuclear generators. These generators produce global-warming causing CO2, soot and smog, acid rain, and nuclear waste.

The language actually in the bills changes constantly so it is important to mention the content and not just the bill numbers.

These bills help to avoid unnecessary pollution by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy like wind and solar. Senate Bill 534 creates "net metering", which means that people who own small wind or solar generators would be paid the same price for the power they produce as they are charged for the power they buy from their utility.

Currently they receive only about one-fifth of that price! If you own a windmill today, you sell the power at 2 cents per unit but buy dirty power from the grid at 10 cents per unit. Twenty four states have passed net metering legislation, removing this unfair pricing skew.

Senate Bill 968 provides for rebates for the purchase of energy efficient appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners. By encouraging the purchase of energy efficient appliances, we reduce the need for coal and nuclear power generation. The rebates are funded by the utilities, who make annual payments to the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund for this purpose. The last bill to pass the Senate called for $10 million per year in spending. Please ask your representative to support $30 million for the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund as $10 million is too small to make a real difference.

As an important piece of background information, ComEd announced this week that it is selling its fleet of coal-fired plants. The book value of the plants was $1.3 billion, but the top bid was a whopping $4.8 billion, so ComEd has a huge windfall profit. Additionally, their stock price has doubled in the two years since the deregulation law was passed. The utilities can clearly afford to spend $30 million on efficiency programs and can afford net metering.

You can reach both your Illinois State Rep and Illinois State Senator's office by calling the Illinois State Capitol switchboard during business hours at 217-782-2000 and asking to be transferred to your Illinois State Representative or Illinois State Senator's office.

For information on the names of your Illinois State Representative and Illinois State Senator and how to make a local phone call to your legislators' home district offices, please see the Political Contacts page of this web site.