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Batavia owns something many other suburbs don't: its own electric utility.
That means the city buys and distributes power directly to residents, rather than going through ComEd. Right now, city leaders are trying to figure out where that power is going to come from for the next couple of decades.
On Monday night, the Batavia Committee of the Whole held a special meeting to review public feedback on the city's new Integrated Resource Plan (which is essentially a long-range energy roadmap).
Here's what to know:
What the plan is: The Integrated Resource Plan (or IRP) is a planning document that maps out how Batavia will meet its electricity needs over the coming decades. The city hired the Brattle Group, a national energy consulting firm, to produce the preliminary draft for $385,000.
Why people are frustrated: Of the 53 public comments submitted during a 60-day review period, roughly 35 opposed the draft's suggestion of building a new natural gas generator as a key part of Batavia's energy future. Residents and several aldermen said it felt too much like Prairie State, which is a coal plant that Batavia has been partially locked into since the 1980s.
What residents want instead: The strongest themes from public comment were opposition to new fossil fuel infrastructure, strong support for solar and battery storage, and enthusiasm for new elements like time-of-use rates (paying less for electricity during off-peak hours), smart thermostats, and EV charging management.
What's next: Council directed staff to send the public feedback — and a recording of Monday's meeting — back to the Brattle Group and request a revised draft.
Officials said the revision should offer a broader "menu" of clean energy portfolio options rather than a single recommendation and take demand-side management more seriously. A proposal to form an ad hoc task force of residents, council members, and energy experts to help analyze the final IRP is expected to be on the agenda for the March 24 Committee of the Whole meeting.
The final IRP will go through another full public comment process before it's adopted.
View an overview of the IRP with a public feedback summary.
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