The Future of Gas in Illinois
A report on how gas utility investment and customer departures could affect delivery costs in Illinois, and what a managed transition would require.
Building Decarbonization Coalition and Groundwork Data
Expand figureWhat happens to gas delivery costs when utilities keep replacing infrastructure while customers move to other ways of heating? This May 2024 report examines that question for Illinois’ four largest gas utilities.
It finds that rising infrastructure spending puts upward pressure on delivery charges even if customer numbers stay steady. Customer departures can increase that pressure by leaving fewer people to pay the system’s costs. The report compares spending and customer-departure scenarios and examines the risk of investments that cannot be fully recovered.
The report recommends a planned transition, including neighborhood-scale building decarbonization and protections for customers and workers. It is useful to readers assessing long-term gas investment and the consequences of leaving the transition to individual customer decisions.
Conor Lyman contributed modeling and analysis; Grey Sylvester provided research support.