(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s law banning utility shutoffs during extreme heat and cold is sparking concerns over rising electric bills across Illinois .

Signed a few years ago, the law prohibits utility companies from disconnecting residential electric and gas service when temperatures reach 90°F or above, or drop to freezing and below, aiming to protect vulnerable residents during dangerous weather.

State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said that while the measure was well-intentioned, it may have unintended consequences.

“Somebody’s got to eat that cost,” Halbrook told The Center Square. “If utility companies aren’t turning off power to customers who don’t pay their bills, those costs show up somewhere, usually in surcharges on everyone else’s bills.”

Halbrook

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