Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed a major bill to address energy costs while adding clean energy to the grid.

Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act Thursday morning at Joliet Junior College.

"We're leaving no stone unturned in the work to produce more electricity, lower prices for people, and secure our long-term energy future," Pritzker said.

The Illinois General Assembly passed the legislation at the end of the fall session in October. The governor said the bill will also regulate private grid operators to keep electricity costs down.

As broken down by the Citizens Utility Board, the legislation brings three additional gigawatts of battery storage to the power grid to power homes and reduce electric rate volatility, and increases access to programs that help residents cut energy waste.

The program also creates a virtual power plant program in which consumers can pool their existing solar panels or batteries to send power back to the grid and get paid for it, and gives the Illinois Commerce Commission more flexibility to conduct resource planning, CUB said.

"We're expanding programs that make it cheaper for households and businesses to adopt efficiency upgrades. We've incentivized the use of solar panels, smart thermostats, small batteries, and electric vehicles to support the grid — lowering energy use, and in turn, energy bills," Pritzker said.

American Clean Power said the measures enacted by the measure are expected to deliver nearly $13.4 billion in energy bill savings statewide over 20 years, and reduce peak-hour costs without building new power plants.

The law will go into effect June 1.