At its December 2023 regular board meeting, the Board of Directors for the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency adopted the agency’s sustainability plan, which sets forth the agency’s vision for reducing to net-zero the carbon emissions of the power supply delivered to member municipalities by 2050.
“IMEA’s member communities are dedicated to working together in the coming years to reduce the carbon emissions of our energy supply to net-zero by 2050,” said Kevin Gaden, President and CEO of IMEA.
“To do so, we are committed to accelerating our investments in renewable energy resources, to expanding program offerings to our communities and their residents, to reducing resource capacity needs by accelerating our demand response options and to advancing electric vehicles and EV infrastructure,” he said.
“We recognize that to attain this net-zero vision, commercially viable innovations will need to occur. That’s why our plan is designed to evolve as new opportunities present themselves,” Gaden said.
“Our joint action agency staff will report to the IMEA Board on the progress of the plan on an annual basis. Every three years, the governing bodies of each IMEA member municipality will have the opportunity to provide input in a stakeholder process aimed at reviewing and updating the plan,” he said.
“Climate change is a critical issue for our member electric utilities, their customers, and the nation. Our plan will result in an economically responsible and reliable transition to a net-zero power supply,” Gaden added.
Gaden provided details about the plan in the Winter 2023/24 Edition of The Muni Line, an electronic newsletter for members of the IMEA, the Illinois Public Energy Agency and the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association.
The sustainability plan is based on a roadmap forward that:
- Targets reductions in greenhouse gases;
- Increases the agency’s renewable generation resources to replace current resources;
- Allows the flexibility needed to embrace changes in technology, such as battery storage;
- Continues and expands energy efficiency program incentives to IMEA communities and their residents; and
- Reduces resource capacity needs by accelerating demand response options; and
- Advances electric vehicles and EV infrastructure.
IMEA provides energy to 32 municipal electric systems from all across Illinois.
