Illinois PIRG Education Fund and Glidepath Power filed a lawsuit with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, alleging that the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) violated the Open Meetings Act by what the complainants alleged was, "illegally closing meetings to the public and press in its 'NextGrid' study to shape future of electric utility regulations in Illinois."

Vicki Crawford, Senior Public Information Officer for the Illinois Commerce Commission, called the lawsuit, "frivolous," and said that the ICC is in compliance with Illinois law and has gone out of its way to ensure an open and transparent process. A full statement from the ICC is below.

Glidepath develops various energy projects such as storage and wind

The complainants alleged that the NextGrid work, "contains recommendations that could impact competition while increasing utility control of electric generation."

The complainants alleged that, "For example, a draft report from the NextGrid Working Group 1 made the case for additional utility control of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar panels and stated that 'regulated utilities remain best positioned to fulfill advanced distribution system functions.'"

Vicki Crawford, Senior Public Information Officer for the Illinois Commerce Commission, provided the following statement on the suit:

"This is a frivolous lawsuit. We are in compliance with Illinois law and the ICC has gone out of its way to ensure an open and transparent process.

"NextGrid is a collaborative study that relies on the input of technical experts, stakeholders and the general public, and the ICC is actively soliciting involvement in the process through e-blast, press releases and public comment sessions. Meeting agendas, summaries and presentations and information about the various working groups are all available for public review and comment through the NextGrid website. Interested parties are and have been encouraged to submit written input.

"The litigants have been offered numerous opportunities to participate in the study as well. In fact, one of the litigants, Glidepath is a member of Working Group #5 and participated in a meeting today. The ICC is proud of this study and remains committed to ensuring a wide array of perspectives are heard throughout the process and are included in the final report. We look forward to vigorously defending against the lawsuit."

--- Vicki Crawford, Senior Public Information Officer for the Illinois Commerce Commission

View the complaint

-- Reporting by Paul Ring

Tags:
Illinois   Innovation  

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