City Council Workshop on Long-Term Energy Options - July 28, 2025
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City Council Workshop on Long-Term Energy Options - July 28, 2025
On July 28, 2025, the Naperville City Council held a workshop from 6:00 PM to approximately 11:11 PM to discuss the city's long-term energy options. The workshop was a continuation of 18 months of discussions and aimed to educate the council on options post-2035, particularly regarding the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) contract extension offer, which the council will vote on at the August 19, 2025 meeting. No final actions were taken at this workshop.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike Lipinski (33-year resident): Supported the IMEA contract, highlighting Prairie State Energy Complex's $1 billion clean technology investment, resulting in 85% removal of nitrogen oxides, 98% removal of sulfur dioxide, and 99% removal of particulate matter. He noted that the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) requires Prairie State to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2045.
- Roger Blomquist (resident since 1987, 44 years energy R&D at Argonne, former nuclear propulsion officer): Urged renewal of IMEA contract, citing that leaving IMEA would stall clean energy progress until 2035, while staying allows 45% clean power by 2026. He warned of price hikes and blackouts in the PJM market.
- Lou Helkius: Supported IMEA renewal, emphasizing IMEA's nonprofit status, its 32 member municipalities, and its investments in clean technology. He argued that bidding out the contract is not viable, as no power marketers could commit to future pricing.
- Tim Farrito: Criticized NEST's analysis, claiming it overstates savings from leaving IMEA and omits capital reserve costs. He argued that coal is the cheapest fuel source and that NEST's analysis uses a yearly average for energy costs, ignoring wholesale market volatility.
- Paul Deffenbaugh (19-year resident, opinions expressed are his own): Opposed IMEA renewal, asking for a clear date for 100% clean energy. He argued that Naperville should not be tied to smaller IMEA members and should chart its own energy future.
- Maureen Stillman (NEST member): Provided an overview of capabilities from power marketers Constellation, NRG, and NextEra, stating they have offered to present at a workshop. She emphasized that an open competitive bidding process is the responsible approach.
- David Main (assessment of technology investments): Opposed IMEA renewal, citing the financial weight of Prairie State's $642 million net assets that will become stranded under CEJA, and remediation costs. He argued that IMEA's debt obligations are not necessarily expiring due to new debt for environmental obligations.
- Anushka Sampath Kumar (high school junior): Urged the council to move away from coal, noting that 80% of Naperville's energy is coal-powered. She argued that sustainable alternatives are cheaper in the long run and that Naperville should lead by example.
- Ashley Penick (resident since 1993): Supported IMEA contract renewal, calling it fiscally responsible, reliable, and clean.
Discussion Items
- CJT Energy Law (Mark Pruitt & Chris Townsend) – Provided an overview of the PJM wholesale market, reliability, affordability, and sustainability. They analyzed historical costs comparing IMEA to a ComEd proxy, finding that over 2008-2025, IMEA cost about $14 million more than the ComEd proxy. They explained that IMEA's debt service accounts for 28.7% of charges, and when removed, coal generation costs are competitive. They noted that PJM reserve margins are projected to drop from 34.9% in 2025 to 10% in 2034.
- Customized Energy Solutions (Ann Yu) – Presented forward-looking options: market purchase, PPAs, asset ownership, supply contracts with power marketers, staying with IMEA, or joining/starting a new joint action agency. She projected that IMEA's costs will increase from $243 million today to $690 million by 2050 due to the transition to renewables. She showed that staying with IMEA plus using the Member Directed Resource (MDR) option (10% of peak load) would reduce lifetime CO2 emissions compared to terminating in 2035 and going 100% renewable. The MDR option would increase costs in 2030-2035 but provide lower cumulative emissions.
- Naperville Environment & Sustainability Task Force (NEST) – Joe Huss – Strongly opposed the IMEA renewal. He argued that IMEA's contract has no price caps, no commitment to renewables, and locks Naperville in for 30 years. He claimed that Naperville paid over $300 million more than market alternatives from 2014-2024. He presented data showing that coal is more expensive than renewables and that IMEA's coal plants are among the largest polluters in the nation. He advocated for a competitive bidding process and a structured procurement timeline.
- PUAB Majority Opinion – Jim Fular – Supported IMEA renewal, emphasizing that IMEA provides stable, predictable costs. He argued that the MDR option can immediately increase Naperville's carbon-free energy to 26% (plus 8% from Bihalo solar by 2027), totaling 45% carbon-free within a year. He noted that CEJA forces Prairie State to shut down by 2045, reducing coal emissions by 80% by 2045. He stated that leaving IMEA would expose Naperville to volatile market prices and that the need for long-term planning is why IMEA requires an answer now.
- PUAB Minority Opinion – Phil Schreiber – Recommended not renewing the IMEA contract under current terms. He argued that the city has not defined its energy procurement requirements, that the contract lacks price caps or guarantees, and that it is a unilateral, non-negotiated proposal. He suggested that the city should first define its goals, then negotiate with IMEA or explore market alternatives. He emphasized that no crystal ball can accurately predict energy costs 20-30 years out.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; the workshop was for informational purposes only.
- The council will vote on the IMEA contract extension at the August 19, 2025 meeting.
- If the contract is approved, staff will proceed with the MDR option and procurement; if not, staff will pause and revisit closer to the contract expiration in 2035.
- Council members expressed interest in possibly hearing from power marketers in a future workshop, but no formal direction was given.
- The meeting was extended to 11:30 PM to allow for all presentations and questions.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the City Council workshop discussing long-term energy options. As a reminder, no final actions are being taken at this meeting since it is only a workshop. Also, all the city council rules still apply during this meeting. Speakers are asked to present their comments in a respectful and courteous manner. Speakers should stay on topic and be cognizant of their words. Speakers are given three minutes to address the city council and to help speakers stay within the three minute time frame. We have a timer on the side dice to your right. The timer buzzes when it hits zero, and we will alert the speaker when their time is up. Ms. Schatz, do we have any speakers for the public forum this evening? There are 10 speakers signed up for public forum. Please call the first speaker. The first three speakers are Mike Lipinski, followed by Roger Blomquist, followed by Lou Helkius. And as a reminder, when you've heard your name called in the groups, please move down to the front row and take a position beside the dais so we can or in front of the podium rather, so we can have you ready on deck. Next speaker. Oh are you Mr. Lipinski? Yes, I am. Okay, go ahead, sir. Uming, Mr. Mayor and Council members. Uh I am a 33-year resident. Uh I wanted to talk first about Prairie State Energy Complex, PSEC. They supply electric power to IMEA, as I'm sure many of you are quite aware. PSEC has invested $1 billion in clean technology, which has resulted in 85% removal of nitrogen oxides, 98% removal of sulfur dioxide, 99% removal of particulate matter. PSEC also incorporated supercritical boiler technology to effectively produce more energy per ton of coal with less CO2 emissions. The new IMA IMEA contract has a member directed resource or MDR provision allowing Naperville to purchase 26% of zero carbon electric energy. In September 21, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEGA, was signed into law by Governor Pritzker. CEGA requires public-owned greenhouse gas emitting generation facilities such as Prairie State Energy Complex to permanently reduce CO2 emissions to zero, no later than 2045. This forces PSEC to supply replacement electric energy using zero CO2 sourcing, likely from their own complex. Thank you. Next speaker. The next speaker is Roger Blomquist, followed by Lewis Lee Gius. Hello, I'm Roger Blumquist. I've been a resident of Naperville since uh 1987. I've got uh 44 years of energy RD at Argo National Laboratory, and uh perhaps more relevant to this issue. I was a nuclear propulsion officer who operated my submarines nuclear reactor and its microgrid at close quarters and hundreds of feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. First, why the delay? Uh we originally received the city received uh notification of the IMEA renewal offer at the beginning of 2024, and uh action on that was was deferred, and the POAB took the lead with a series of thorough workshops just in the earlier part of this year. Um to begin its 2035 resource plan, IMEA needs to know now, not five years from now, if our power needs are to be included or if we're out. Um these POAB workshops were sparsely attended, which uh leads me to believe that the citizens of Naperville want the city council uh to do the right thing and trust the city council to do that. Um there are those who uh advocate the city council uh poll Naperville residents, and I just would like to know if that is a practice that we normally do and on important issues for the city. I know I wasn't uh polled about the uh controversial grocery tax. Uh there's a cost to us if we leave IMEA. Uh, some believe that if we leave it in 2035, which is the first time we will we will be out if we leave, we'll be free to buy cheap, reliable, clean energy in a market nirvana, but future and recent very large price hikes for Comed customers show this hope to be what it is, rolling the dice on Naperville's electrical and economic futures. The major federal agencies and the regional grid operators warn of inadequate generating capacity, blackouts, and major price hikes. Economics 101 tells us that prices will therefore rise. IMEA's energy assets are a huge hedge against these market price increases, but some opponents view higher prices as a public good. Finally, if we leave IMEA, our progress to clean electricity will be largely stalled until 2035, as pointed out by the previous speaker. If we stay in IMEA, we can start buying clean power right away.
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