Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois, recently slammed the state’s electric utilities by refusing to add his support to legislation that would have funded smart meters and other improvements to the state’s electric power grid.

The governor accused utilities of trying to guarantee rate increases and reduce accountability. “I will not support a bill that contains sweetheart deals for big utilities, which could leave struggling consumers to pick up the tab for costs such as lobbying fees and executive bonuses,” he said in a press release. Quinn also took utilities to task in part because “more than 1.5 million people and businesses have had to deal with power outages and service disruptions this summer.”

Power producer Commonwealth Edison disputed the governor’s claims, noting that a recent study indicated that the utility’s customers could save $2.8 billion on their electric bills over the meters’ 20-year life.