Two area Congressmen have come out in support of two nuclear power plants slated to be closed within the next two years. 18th District Congressmen Darin LaHood, 13th District Congressmen Rodney Davis, and 12th District Congressmen Mike Bost urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a letter to review the recent Vistra Energy plant closures as a result of the State of Illinois’ push to end coal and nuclear energy under Governor J.B. Pritzker.
All three Republican Congressmen asked FERC to have a diversified energy portfolio and to help secure the 135 jobs that the Havana Power Plant and the Duck Creek Power Plant in Canton support. Both plants have been in operation for over 40 years at each location. All three Congressmen say that the push to more “green energy” power sources will have power grid uncertainties, pass along higher costs to consumers, and have an economic impact due to job losses. They expressed that it will have a significant impact on rural communities. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, which passed in the General Assembly earlier this Spring, hopes to push Illinois to being reliable on 100% renewable energy by the year 2050.
