Winnetka homeowners who worried about grid reliability got a concrete answer at the Tuesday, July 21 Village Council meeting: when the regional power supply failed during two summer heat waves, the village's own municipal plant on Tower Road kept the lights on.

Nick Narhi, Winnetka's director of water and electric, told the council that the plant generated 1.8 million kilowatt hours during recent grid emergencies declared by the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, the village's wholesale power supplier, according to The Record North Shore. That output covered 39% of Winnetka's electricity demand. Over the Fourth of July weekend alone, the plant ran for 90 consecutive hours across four days.

"I really want to recognize everyone down at the power plant," Narhi said. "Those are very difficult conditions to work in the week of the holiday, and all the machines performed just as they were supposed to."

The briefing came one year after the council unanimously renewed its contract with IMEA, a decision that drew opposition from residents concerned about the agency's reliance on coal-fired generation. As we reported Tuesday, July 28, the same July 21 meeting also produced Winnetka's first Climate Action Plan.

Local generation plan targets 2030

Phase One of the village's Long-Term Generation Plan is underway, including siting new generators at the Tower Road power plant. Narhi said Illinois is projected to face "resource adequacy" problems in 2029 and 2030 that could mean planned blackouts statewide. Under the village's plan, Winnetka would have enough local capacity to generate 95% of its own power by 2030.

Village President Bob Dearborn called the plant "uber important to this community" and acknowledged the cost ahead. "That's going to be a big investment that the residents are going to make in that plant," Dearborn said at the July 21 meeting.

IMEA's renewable push

On the supplier side, IMEA adopted a sustainability plan in 2024. Its largest renewable investment, the 150-megawatt Bee Hollow Solar Project in St. Clair County, began construction in October 2025 and is expected to begin commercial operations in late 2026, according to PV Magazine. The project is projected to produce enough electricity for 45,600 homes annually.

IMEA's 2027 sustainability plan is being drafted. Narhi said a preliminary version should be ready in August, when it will be shared with the 32 member communities for feedback before a target adoption date in December.

Lead service lines: 415 down, roughly 1,070 to go

Narhi also updated the council on lead service line replacements. As of April, 415 lines have been removed, representing 28% of the village's total. The goal for 2026 is 150 to 200 additional replacements.

The village freed up 100 more voluntary replacement slots after deferring work on the Willow Road water main and reallocating $500,000 from that project to the lead pipe program. The village has not published a street-by-street schedule showing which neighborhoods are next; homeowners can contact Winnetka Public Works or submit a FOIA request at winnetka.org for details on their address.

The Winnetka Village Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 510 Green Bay Road. Check winnetka.org for the confirmed August agenda.