St. Charles residents continue to voice concerns over power contract

Amid a national push toward clean, renewable energy, St. Charles has been asked to commit to a long-term contract extension with its current coal-reliant energy provider, and many residents are not on board.

Nearly every seat in the City Council chambers was filled for the March 17 City Council meeting, and while council members got through the most of the agenda in about two minutes, the rest of the 36-minute meeting was spent on public comment, when seven people spoke about the city’s energy contract.

Illinois Municipal Electric Agency is a nonprofit power supply agency that provides electric energy to 32 municipalities in Illinois.

St. Charles has been sourcing its power from IMEA since 2004 and is under contract with the energy provider until Sept. 30, 2035.

With more than 10 years left on the contract, IMEA is urging St. Charles and other Illinois municipalities including Naperville and Winnetka to enter into a new power sales contract that would extend the agreement through May 2055.

Many residents have expressed opposition, and City Council members have been hesitant to support the extension mainly because of concerns over sustainability, coal reliance and unclear plans for future clean energy production.

IMEA owns a 15% share of Prairie State, a coal burning power plant in southern Illinois that is the largest emitter of CO2 in the state and is among the top 10 largest CO2 emitters in the U.S., according to a 2019 study by the Environmental Protection Agency.

St. Charles resident Jose Urzagaste said he was surprised to learn that the energy he uses in his home is generated mainly by burning coal, and asked council members to seek alternatives before extending the contract with IMEA.

“Do we need a regulation to tell us what is the right thing to do?” Urzagaste said. “We are the Pride of the Fox. It doesn’t feel very proud to know that we get our electricity from a power plant that uses 80% coal.”

St. Charles resident Martha Gass also spoke in opposition to IMEA, and presented a “Tell Saint Charles to Say No to Fossil Fuels” petition she created, which had garnered nearly 600 signatures.

Multiple St. Charles high school students spoke at the meeting, including Charlotte Schumaier, who cited a report by Prairie Rivers Network that estimates the Prairie State Coal Plant contributes to 76 premature deaths every year.

“It’s the kids now who will have to live with this,” Schumaier said. “Kids not old enough to know where their power comes from. Kids who deserve to play outside and cool of with electric air conditioning, casualty free.”

Schumaier also took issue with the lack of notice and information that residents were given by the city about the contract consideration. She asked council members to delegate the decision to experts and to collect public input during the process.

“We don’t deserve a hasty decision made, we don’t deserve bad business, and we don’t have to let a big energy agency walk all over us,” Schumaier said.

The city is expected to make a final decision by April.