SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — GreenLatinos Illinois applauds Governor J.B. Pritzker for signing the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act (SB25) into law today — a major win for climate action, energy affordability, and frontline Latino/a/e and low-income communities.
The CRGA Act tackles rising energy costs, strengthens grid reliability, and expands clean energy benefits to communities historically left behind.
Key impacts of the CRGA Act:
- Cuts energy bills for families who already pay a disproportionate share of their income on utilities
- ComEd customers: up to $24/year saved by 2030
- Ameren customers: up to $120/year saved by 2030
- Triples funding for low-income energy efficiency programs
- Expands access to weatherization and energy-efficient appliances
- Launches “Storage for All,” ensuring battery storage benefits reach underserved communities
- Prevents blackouts by adding major wind, solar, and battery storage capacity
- Reduces fossil fuel dependence, improving air quality in communities overburdened by pollution
As an active member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, GreenLatinos helped shape this law through town halls, in-district meetings, and community engagement to ensure impacted communities informed the policy from the ground up.
The law takes effect June 1, 2026.
Following the signing of the bill, GreenLatinos Illinois State Program Director, Lucy Contreras, released the following statement:
“Latino/a/e families have long faced the burden of high energy costs and pollution. The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act takes meaningful steps to lower bills and expand clean energy opportunities, ensuring the families who need it most finally see relief. By modernizing our grid and expanding wind, solar, and battery storage, this law makes our energy system more reliable and helps communities keep the lights on during extreme weather, all while reducing reliance on polluting fossil fuel power plants.”
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About GreenLatinos
GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.