The City of Naperville owns and operates the electric utility that serves Naperville, and Naperville is also a Member of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA). Through IMEA, Naperville and the other 31 IMEA Members have acquired ownership shares in coal-fired power plants. IMEA’s primary power supply resource is its ownership share of the coal-fired Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC). Since Naperville consumes about 35% of the IMEA power supply, Naperville is responsible for 35% of the ongoing costs of that ownership, including operating and capital expenses.

Naperville Electric Utility

• Naperville and all other Illinois municipal and cooperative electric utilities are not regulated by the State of Illinois. These muni and coop electric utilities make their own decisions regarding rates, power supply, transmission, local distribution, and service to their customers.

• Electric rates and oversight of the Naperville electric utility are the responsibility of the City of Naperville leaders, including the City Council. In Illinois, only the investor-owned utilities such as ComEd and Ameren-IL are covered by Illinois ratemaking rules, regulations, and the oversight of the Illinois Commerce Commission and other agencies.

Illinois Municipal Electric Agency

• Under Illinois law, IMEA is a “Joint Municipal Electric Power Agency”. IMEA is the unit of local Illinois government by which the Members “jointly plan, finance, own and operate, facilities for the generation and transmission of electrical power and energy”.

• Almost 80% of the IMEA power supply comes from the ownership of coal-fired power plants. For IMEA Fiscal Year 2023, PSEC provided 49% of the energy and Trimble County KY coal-fired generators provided 29% of the energy.

• Since 2011, IMEA has been the sole power supplier for Naperville under a “full requirements” contract with IMEA. This power supply contract expires in 2040, 2035 at the earliest with a 5-year contract termination notice required.

• IMEA has now started an early contract renewal effort with the Members that extends the commitment to 2055.

Prairie State Energy Campus

• PSEC is the largest coal-fired generator in Illinois.  It is the largest direct emitter of greenhouse gases, co-pollutants, and coal-ash in Illinois, in the top ten in the USA.

• PSEC also includes an onsite coal mine, so it is referred to as a mine-mouth coal plant.

• PSEC is owned by IMEA and eight other membership organizations that serve municipal and cooperative electric utilities in Illinois and other territories that span the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions

• The Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), Public Act 102-0662, will close other coal plants in Illinois by 2030. PSEC is exempt from 2030 closure and can stay open until 2045. By 2038, PSEC must shut down one of its two generators if it is unable to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%.

For further details, please see our pdf file document “Naperville, IMEA, and PSEC: A One-Pager (and More)“.