SPRINGFIELD — Customers of Ameren Illinois could end up paying two-dollars-a-month to keep Exelon’s nuclear plants in operation, even though they receive none of their power from those nukes.

That’s just one outcome of a bill being pushed by Exelon to have its nuclear plants classified as green energy sources, like wind and solar power.

The push comes as Exelon finds itself losing ground in the power industry to more economical sources like natural gas.

Exelon has mounted a campaign threatening to take the nukes offline, hurting the economies of areas where they’re located, unless the company gets support from lawmakers.