What Illinois can learn from the Texas energy crisis By Grace Barbic Capitol News Illinois When parts of Texas’ independent power grid went offline last week due to unusually extreme cold weather in the south, the amount of expected energy production lost was equivalent to the amount of electricity used to keep the lights on in the entire state of Illinois. During the winter weather months, Illinois uses about 20 gigawatts to produce the energy needed at peak times of the day, Andrew Barbeau, president of Midwest-based consulting firm the Accelerate Group and spokesperson for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said in an interview.