ComEd to get $50 million grant from taxpayer funds for Rockford grid expansion

(The Center Square) – Tens of millions of federal tax dollars are coming to Illinois to further support Rockford’s electric grid.

During an event in front of a banner saying “Biden-Harris Administration; Investing in America,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the $50 million in federal tax funds coming to the community to help achieve his “ambitious clean energy goals.”

“This is also an investment in our vision for the new clean energy economy, creating well-paying jobs and building a skilled and diverse workforce pipeline for education and technical training,” Pritzker said.

Commonwealth Edison CEO Gil Quiniones said the federal tax funds will be matched by ComEd.

“In addition to the $50 million GRIP award from DOE, we at ComEd are chipping in another $49.5 million to support infrastructure improvements and workforce development,” Quiniones said.

By 2029, the governor’s office said overall public and private investment in the Rockford grid will total about $116 million.

Pritzker said he was told by a Biden administration official one reason Illinois got the grant.

“He said one of the reasons that we won this grant is because of the workforce development that has gone into it,” Pritzker said.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk said as an Illinois native, Illinois is poised to tap into such programs. He said the federal program focuses on flexibility.

“What it means is your solar, your wind, your other intermittent renewable goes further, it lasts longer, it has more impact going forward,” Turk said. “What it also means is when you have a storm, whether it’s a tornado, a hurricane, a wildfire, the grid is more resilient.”

Nationwide, Turk said the overall taxpayer cost for the federal grid investment program is $36.9 billion, including 30,000 jobs.