Independent PA Consulting Analysis Finds ComEd Households Would Save Nearly $10 a Month in the Line’s First Five Years, With As Much as $8 in Savings for Every $1 of Cost

CHICAGO, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new independent analysis from PA Consulting projects that the SOO Green HVDC Link would deliver $39.7 billion in wholesale power savings for Illinois ratepayers from 2033 to 2052, net of the line’s cost. The findings are a centerpiece of SOO Green’s transmission solution submission to the Illinois Commerce Commission’s (ICC) Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP), Cycle 3 (Docket P2025-1075), which lays out a ready-to-build path to deliver 2,035 megawatts of firm, affordable power into the ComEd zone in every season.

For a typical ComEd household, PA projects savings of about $6.85 a month on average – and $9.76 a month in the first five years of operation, when the grid is most constrained. Ameren Illinois customers would also benefit, saving about $0.59 a month. Energy savings of $10.2 billion alone exceed the cost of the line, and most of the projected savings come from capacity, assuming the delivered resources are accredited as modeled. Energy and capacity savings alone return about $6 for every $1 of cost, and about $8 when public health and climate benefits are included – well above the range of MISO’s Board-approved long-range transmission portfolios.

The savings respond to a need that Illinois’s own planning studies and PJM’s markets have documented. PJM’s last three capacity auctions all cleared at the price cap; without the cap, PJM estimates the 2028/29 auction would have cleared as high as $776.69/MW-day in the Chicago region. At the same time, PJM’s limit on how much capacity the ComEd zone can import fell from 6,110 MW to 1,586 MW in two auction cycles, and to about 500 MW in PJM’s planning parameters for 2029/30. Indexed REC prices for new renewable projects selected in Illinois’s procurements have climbed about 77%, from $52.43/MWh in 2022 to $92.60/MWh for wind in 2026. The state’s draft Integrated Resource Plan finds a persistent capacity challenge and concludes that a reliable, decarbonized system needs both clean energy and firm capacity.

“Illinois’s own studies have made the case for firm, affordable power, and this analysis shows what it would mean for families’ bills. Now it is time to move from planning to action,” said David Pacyna, CEO of SOO Green HVDC Link. “SOO Green is ready to deliver that power, with proven technology, a route already secured and savings for ratepayers from its first years of operation. We look forward to working with the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and PJM on the next steps.”

As large new loads come to Illinois, state policy increasingly expects them to bring or pay for new supply rather than pass the cost to existing customers, and SOO Green offers a ready path for that supply. The current REAP identifies 9.6 GW of summer transmission headroom for new generation in ComEd, yet modeled in-state renewables could use only a fraction of it. SOO Green, a 364-mile underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line from north Iowa to Plano, Illinois, would deliver firm, controllable power into the heart of the ComEd zone, buried underground for resilience against extreme weather.

Two independent studies, PowerGEM’s SERVM analysis and the GE MARS study commissioned for the Illinois Power Agency, find that SOO Green, paired with a dedicated generation portfolio, would provide 92–96% of its capacity as effective, reliable supply. In the IPA study, its value was the most stable of any resource tested, holding steady from 2030 to 2040 while in-state storage fell from 94% to 64%. Even without dedicated generation, PowerGEM finds the interregional link alone contributes 681 MW, comparable to a mid-sized gas-fired power plant.

SOO Green uses proven advanced controllable transmission technology from Siemens Energy and Prysmian, partners on the 2,000 MW INELFE HVDC link in service between France and Spain since 2015. About 89% of the route follows existing railroad and state highway corridors, under agreements with all Class I railroads along the route, and its land rights were secured entirely through voluntary agreements, with no eminent domain. Iowa franchises are secured for the full route, and the federal environmental permit application is filed. The line is targeted to enter service between the second half of 2032 and the first half of 2033; firm commercial commitments could bring that date forward.

SOO Green will be built under a Project Labor Agreement. Based on Strategic Economic Research’s Illinois analysis, PA estimates SOO Green would generate about $4.4 billion in direct Illinois economic output and 8,600 job-years over construction and its first 20 years of operation, including about 3,800 construction job-years. The lower-cost power it delivers could help attract new business to Illinois, supporting an estimated 83,900 additional job-years and $52.6 billion in economic output over the line’s first 20 years. The IBEW, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Laborers’ International Union have signed an agreement to coordinate their efforts on the project. SOO Green also delivers an estimated $8.8 billion in public health benefits from reduced air emissions and $6.9 billion in reduced carbon emissions.

In its submission, SOO Green asks Illinois to evaluate the project as an explicitly modeled transmission solution in the REAP and the next Integrated Resource Plan, using current parameters and costs; to initiate a State Agreement Approach study with PJM and urge MISO and PJM to move seams planning from study to solutions; and to support capacity accreditation for HVDC-delivered resources. SOO Green’s submission, including its transmission solution narrative and supporting studies, will be available on the ICC’s REAP docket (P2025-1075).
To learn more, visit www.soogreen.com. 

About SOO Green

SOO Green is a ±525 kV, approximately 364-mile underground HVDC transmission project being developed by energyRe and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The line will connect MISO in north Iowa to PJM’s ComEd zone at Plano, Illinois, primarily along existing railroad and highway corridors. Fuel-neutral and fully controllable, it is designed to deliver 2,035 MW of firm power into northern Illinois in summer, winter and light-load conditions alike. The project is partnered with Siemens Energy, Mortenson Construction, Jingoli Power, PPL Corporation and Prysmian Cables and Systems USA. Learn more at: www.soogreen.com.

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SOURCE energyRe