He has been threatening to do it all summer and yesterday Illinois Governor Pat Quinn made good on his promise to veto Senate Bill 1652. Joining him at the press conference was Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

“This bill would have been devastating for Illinois consumers,” Attorney General Madigan said. “At a time when people are already struggling to pay their bills, the utilities want to make an end run around the regulatory process and stick consumers with huge annual rate increases for unproven technology—all so they can guarantee their profits for the next decade. That’s not a proposal I can support.”

The Governor states he supports modernizing the electric grid while citing reliability concerns as part of the rationale for the veto. This is somewhat of a contradiction because a smart grid done right will include distribution automation and other improvements, leading to a reduction in the number of outages as well as the duration of outages. Governor Quinn during a question and answer session announced his support for House Bill 14. He believes House Bill 14 represents a good faith effort toward modernizing the grid. The Governor also discussed his plans to make sure the veto is sustained.

Just last week, several Illinois businesses discussed the benefits of Senate Bill 1652 and the many jobs it would create.