State lawmakers are gearing up to address several energy-related issues during the spring legislative session. State Representative Dave Severin is taking the reins as House Republican Spokesperson on the House Energy and Environmental Committee. Capitol News reports they’re likely to consider new energy efficiency programs and incentives for new energy storage technologies. The committee met for the first time yesterday and Severin expressed his gratitude for being named the minority party spokesman and mentioned his endorsement for coal.
This is a very important committee, energy and environment, and there’s a lot of important issues that are going on not only in this state, but also in the nation and globally. So I’m looking forward to working with all of the members in this committee. My goal is to each week on the House floor to give the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) report and give the PJM report just to give people an idea of how the electricity is on today and what’s making it happen. I like coal.
Severin is also the Republican ranking member of the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee. State officials say without action from the legislature and state agencies, Illinois will have trouble meeting its goal to solely rely on clean energy by 2050.
