Trustees Approve Electrical Aggregation Contract

Residents soon will start seeing a reduction in their electric bills.

Trustees voted Tuesday night to enter into a contract with FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. to supply electricity to Libertyville residents at a rate that is 44 percent lower than that offered by ComEd. As of June 1, the new ComEd rate will be 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Village Administrator Kevin Bowens pointed out that for the two-year contract with FirstEnergy, the rate will be 4.75 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Residents will not be charged a fee if they decide to opt out.

The village of Libertyville is a member of the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative and worked with the organization and its director, David Hoover, to seek bids for electricity suppliers. The move came because of the approval of a referendum in March to authorize the village to implement an electrical aggregation program.

"We came back with a number of very attractive offers," Hoover told trustees. "You have several good options to choose from."

The charge per kilowatt-hour on a two-year contract ranged from FirstEnergy's 4.75 cents at the low end to 5.151 cents at the high end from another supplier.

"We're working a lot with FirstEnergy," said Hoover. "They're winning a lot of our bids."

Hoover said FirstEnergy could start supplying electricity to Libertyville on either July 16 or Aug. 16.

Mayor Terry Weppler pointed out that after the conversion, residents still will receive their electric bills from ComEd.

Hoover added that the bill will show the name of the supplier.

The village will hold a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. May 16 to discuss the electrical aggregation program. The meeting will be held at the .

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