CITY OF BATAVIA INVITES PUBLIC INPUT ON LONG-TERM ELECTRIC RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY PLAN

BATAVIA, IL, (Oct. 31, 2025) -- The City of Batavia is taking a strategic step to safeguard reliable and affordable electricity for residents and businesses by developing its first preliminary Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP. The IRP, prepared by the Brattle Group, an energy and economic consulting firm, evaluates future market conditions, customer needs, and available technologies to guide how the City will power the community over the next 20 years. 
 
An IRP is a planning roadmap that identifies solutions to meet electricity needs while managing risks related to cost, reliability, and evolving environment and energy policies. Pending state legislation, as well as stakeholder feedback, have prompted Batavia to evaluate its electricity demand, long term outlooks, and options.  Although Batavia has seen stable electricity demand since 2018, and has not increased rates since 2015, projected increases in wholesale power costs, particularly for capacity which ensures enough electricity is available during peak demand, necessitate additional planning. 
  
Customer Priorities: Affordability and Reliability 
As part of the IRP development, Batavia collected community input through a citywide survey in May 2025. Results showed that affordability and reliability are residents’ top concerns when considering future electric resource decisions. Residents generally supported cleaner and more environmentally friendly options, but willingness to pay additional costs to support those options were limited. A town hall held in August 2025 reiterated ratepayer preference for better environmental options where possible. The preliminary IRP aims to balance both environmental considerations and cost sensitivity.  
 
Alignment With City Energy Policy 
In September 2025, the Batavia City Council passed an energy policy directing the Batavia Municipal Electric Utility to balance environmental, cost, and resiliency upgrades. Council prioritized diversifying the City’s generation portfolio, maintaining flexibility, and mitigating long-term environmental and regulatory burdens.  
 
The policy supports expansion of home and community energy systems, including rooftop solar and localized storage. The policy also supports mature technology for near term deployment, while maintaining readiness to rapidly integrate advanced technologies when they achieve commercial and regulatory maturity. The full energy policy is available at bataviail.gov/o/pw/page/electric-utility-energy-policy.
 
The IRP acknowledges that recent changes in political, market, and regulatory environments have reduced the economic attractiveness of some clean energy options.  
Federal tax credits for renewable resources are facing accelerated phase-outs, and storage technology incentives are increasingly limited by strict component sourcing requirements.  
 
Key Findings: Growing Cost Risks 
The IRP finds that Batavia’s biggest long-term financial risk comes from rising capacity market costs within the regional PJM power market. While the City’s 55-megawatt supply contract with the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency, or NIMPA, protects against most volatility in hourly energy prices, about half of Batavia’s peak load still relies on PJM capacity purchases, and those prices are projected to rise between three and five times historical levels in the 2030s. 

To help mitigate these risks and maintain affordability, the IRP recommends studying a flexible natural gas reciprocating engine in the late 2020s to reduce reliance on expensive market capacity purchases. Additional measures, such as smart thermostat programs, time-of-use electric rates, and managed electric vehicle charging, could further control long-term costs by reducing demand during peak hours. 
 
Public Input Encouraged 
The preliminary Integrated Resource Plan is available at: bataviail.gov/electricstudy 
The public is encouraged to participate. 
Submit Comments 
Public Comment Period: Oct. 31 through Dec. 30, 2025 
Online form: bataviail.gov/forms/irp-feedback
Email: mweiss@bataviail.gov
Mail: City of Batavia, Attn: Max Weiss, 100 N. Island Ave., Batavia, IL 60510 
Attend the IRP Public Meeting 
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 
6 p.m. 
City Hall Council Chambers, 100 N. Island Ave. 
A Zoom option will also be available, with a registration link posted on the website. 
City representatives will present the plan and answer questions. Community feedback will help shape future City Council decisions related to electric supply, local generation, infrastructure investment, and programs that support long-term affordability and sustainability. 
For more information, visit bataviail.gov/electricstudy or contact mweiss@bataviail.gov. 
 
Batavia is located 35 miles west of Chicago along the banks of the Fox River. Settled in the 1830s, Batavia earned the nickname ‘The Windmill City’ when it was the windmill manufacturing capital of the world at the turn of the 20^th Century. Batavia is home to more than 1,200 businesses, including Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, the U.S. Headquarters of Aldi Inc, and Suncast Corporation. Batavia’s historic charm, excellent school system, and unparalleled recreational and shopping amenities make it a great place to live, work and play for its over 26,000 residents.