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Pritzker highlights 'Beyonce' provision: require big users to bring clean energy
Summary
Gov. Pritzker emphasized a 'Beyonce' shorthand in the proposed Power Act—meaning build-your-own clean energy—as central to protecting residents from higher utility bills and environmental harm from large data centers.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker highlighted a provision in the proposed Power Act that he said would require large electricity users, including data centers, to provide or source their own clean energy rather than relying on state incentives that may shift costs to local customers. The interviewer referred to it as the "Beyonce" provision (a mnemonic, not a reference to the singer); Pritzker said it is important to protect both affordability and the environment.
He framed the requirement as part of a broader set of principles released more than a year ago and said the policy would preserve local control and allow communities to decide whether they want a data center. "Vital to me is to make sure that we are not ill affecting people's affordability at home," Pritzker said. He reiterated that the legislature should act to put these rules into statute and that in the meantime the state is pausing tax benefits to change incentives for builders and operators.
