Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Thursday asked the Illinois Supreme Court to expedite a review of a lower court decision not to bar an ICC ruling allowing two state utilities to purchase electricity through an uncommon auction process.

In the petition, Madigan said the public interest requires prompt review by the court to determine if the Illinois Commerce Commission exceeded its authority by approving market-based electric rates for ComEd and Ameren Corp. customers.

Madigan contends allowing the two utilities to charge market rates would be a violation of the state’s Public Utility Act because customers will be forced to pay market-based rates instead of traditional regulated rates to utilities that do not have competition.

The ICC in January voted unanimously to approve proposals by ComEd and Ameren to hold a joint auction the utilities contend will guarantee electricity is bought at the lowest possible rate when a mandatory 10-year freeze on rates expires next year.

Both the ICC and the utilities concede prices will go up when the freeze on electricity rates expires.

A Cook County judge in January dismissed a lawsuit Madigan and Citizens Utility Board filed questioning whether the ICC had the authority to approve the utilities’ separate but similar auction proposals. The court said it did not have jurisdiction in the case.

Madigan asked the Supreme Court to stay implementation of the ICC orders, pending resolution of the court case so that Illinois consumers are protected from billions of dollars of overcharges and to prevent ComEd and Ameren from incurring billions of dollars of costs that may not lawfully be recovered from customers.

ComEd, a division of Chicago-based Exelon Corp., serves 3.7 million customers across northern Illinois, while St. Louis-based Ameren serves 1.2 million customers in southern and central Illinois.

Posted: 06|2|06 at 8:36 am. Filed under: US News.