By: Scott Allen
Phase 2(a) of the Future of Gas proceeding has come to an end. That’s after back-to-back workshops (Feb. 26-27) where participants shared their perspectives on how Illinois ought to pursue gas-system decarbonization. Seventeen parties volunteered to present, and the facilitator broke those into three categories:
- All options
- Energy efficiency, electrification and geothermal
- Alternative gases or other pathways
Only one gas utility spoke–Ameren Illinois–and they were one of the three in the “All Options” category. The other presenters ranged from the environmentally-focused to those seemingly wanting to pitch their consulting services or to hawk a product. (Replays of both meetings can be found here.)
Not to play favorites, but there were a couple of perspectives that stood out to me. First, the City of Chicago’s presentation struck me as an example of how local governments should be leading the way on protecting people, public health and ratepayer interests. The City’s Department of Environment doesn’t pretend that it knows what the future holds, nor does it suppose that a transition away from gas will be quick and perfectly smooth. Instead they set decarbonization goals and plan how they can reach those goals. They take into account Chicagoans’ diverse material conditions, and brainstorm ways to assist those who will need it in this transition. If I could assume the City’s perspective, or what it hopes will result from this Future of Gas proceeding, it would be that the ICC has the opportunity to enable the outcomes Chicago would like to see.
Another perspective that I found encouraging came from Climate Jobs Illinois (CJI), a labor coalition attempting to unify the varied interests of its members toward embracing a massive shift in the energy and heating sectors. CJI’s pro-worker, pro-climate stance recognizes that, for pipefitters in particular, thermal energy networks (TENs)–a way to cleanly and efficiently heat and cool an entire neighborhood–are ideally suited for people in the pipes trades. While there is loud resistance to decarbonization from some union locals, CJI seems to understand that their coalition of workers–from skilled tradespeople to teachers–has the potential to be a unique and important voice in a managed clean energy transition.
I found several of the other presentations questionable, either because they were so obviously sales pitches for consulting services, or shills for private interests–such commercials don’t seem appropriate for a proceeding initiated by state regulators such as the Future of Gas. Shame on them. Then there were the presentations with which I wholly disagree, such as building a market for biogas or “renewable natural gas,” but at least those presenters didn’t try to hide their motives. Others did hide behind euphemistic phrases like “consumer choice” when they plainly don’t represent consumer interests. Onward.
Now that Phase 2(a) is over, the next phase, 2(b), kicks off mid-March. Phase 2(b) will be broken into two working groups that will meet separately:
- Pilots. Pilot group meetings will require participants to sort through the more than 100 pilot proposals submitted late last year. The group will be asked to categorize the pilots based on concepts, methods and goals, speculate as to how those pilots might be funded and implemented in the future, and identify concerns related to each.
- Decarbonization Pathways. This group will meet frequently and have the much more difficult task of evaluating the feasibility and economic impact of the various pathways identified during Phases 1 and 2(a).
By the end of June 2025, both groups are expected to produce detailed matrices summarizing their findings and a final report for the at-large Future of Gas working group. Written comments from any interested parties who are registered participants will be called for by July 9, 2025.
We’re still waiting to see how to best cover this next phase for people who read this blog. These working groups will be more participatory than the workshops from the past year, but since recordings will no longer be made public, I feel compelled to report on the goings on in addition to contributing what I can to represent gas ratepayers. We’ll also be on the lookout for opportunities to get community groups and individuals involved to provide some feedback. It’s not clear yet how the facilitators plan to include the wider public, but CUB is always happy to help people get involved.
