Politics & Government

Libertyville to Pass 100% Electric Aggregation Savings to Residents

Residents who participate in the electric aggregation program could see an annual average of $268 savings on their electricity bill.

Libertyville plans to pass on 100 percent of the savings from its electric aggregation program to residents once it starts.

“Believe it or not, that’s pretty rare, most villages do it the opposite way,” said Larry Shover, adviser with Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative Inc., which is working with the village on the electric aggregation program.

.

Find out what's happening in Libertyvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The village held the first of two public hearings Tuesday during its regular Village Board meeting. The hearings are required before the village can implement the electrical aggregation referendum. The second public hearing will be on April 24.

The program “is very similar to how the village negotiates garbage contracts that we have by just intuitively trying to grab 21,000 residents and getting everybody’s electrical usage together to get a better rate,” he said.

Find out what's happening in Libertyvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Based on April 10 electricity rates, the average Libertyville resident could save on average $268 if they participate in the village’s electric aggregation program, according to Shover.

The village, working with NIMEC and other communities, plans to solicit bids from prospective electricity suppliers in May. New rates are expected to go into effect later this summer, if the new supplier offers a rate lower than Commonwealth Edison’s rate, according to the village’s website.

Residents will not be charged fees for opting out or choosing the program at a later date. Monthly electricity bills and service disruptions, such as power outages, still will be taken care of by ComEd.

If the power supplier the village selected has a problem delivering the electricity, by law the power has to come from another source and the village would not be charged extra, Shover said.

“By law, ComEd can’t make money from the sale of electricity, so the only thing that will change is there will be a byline in your bill that would say your electrical supply is now being produced by XYZ, whoever it happens to be,” Shover said. “At the end of the day, you’ll get the same good or bad service from ComEd that you’ve been getting all along.”

Related:


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here