SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) offered the following comments on the heels of a recent ruling by an administrative law judge and federal authorities siding with the Midwestern utility Ameren and their rushed plans to drive a high-voltage transmission line through prime agricultural lands and over homes in Douglas, Piatt and Macon counties.
“It is inconceivable to me that the federal authorities are guaranteeing Ameren and other transmission companies a 12.38% rate of return on these projects, paid on the backs of ratepayers. Ameren is just one of several projects coming through Illinois driven by this exorbitant profit. Knock out the profit and you stop the power lines. I will be working directly with our Congressional delegation to demand that Congress put an end to these ridiculous incentives, which are nothing more than subsidies to the wind industry,” Rose said. “It is one thing to construct necessary power lines in an efficient and cheap manner. But, it is absolutely wrong to let the power companies get outrageous guaranteed profits with no consideration as to necessity, let alone any assurance that the projects are done in the cheapest, most efficient manner possible.”