Did you recently receive a letter from ComEd
stating that your new electric supplier will be First Energy Solution? That
letter was authentic, and is one of the final communications pieces on a
program that was first introduced to residents in December, and was passed by vote in March.
Please review this page for more information on what prompted the change. In
short, electric aggregation allows municipalities to go to the market on behalf
of residents to acquire lower rates from companies competing for the business. ComEd will still deliver your
energy, however First Energy Solutions will be the supplier. Residents always have the option to opt out -
at no cost - if they choose not to be part of the program.To opt out, please call First Energy
Solutions at 800-977-0500 or 1-866-636-3749.
In the March 20 General Election, voters in Park Forest authorized the Village of Park Forest to have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for residents and small commercial retail customers, who have not opted out of the program, by a vote of 1,618 to 1,344.
Public hearings were held April 16 and April 23 at Village Hall regarding aggregation for electric rates. The purpose of the public hearings was to obtain input on the proposed Electric Residential Aggregation Plan ("Plan") for residential and small commercial retail electricity customers located in the Village. A copy of the plan is available for review at Village Hall, in the Community Development Department, during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For additional information, contact Director of Community Development Lawrence Kerestes at 708-748-1112.
View the updated Plan of Operation and Governance by clicking here.
Mayor John A. Ostenburg talks about Municipal Electric Aggregation.
Background on Municipal Electric Aggregation
Over
the past several years, the State of Illinois has taken steps to deregulate
energy markets and allow competing companies to offer electric power. Originally, only large industrial, commercial and governmental entities could seek
competitive bids for lower electricity rates as part of the State’s
deregulation efforts. Now, residents can, too -- as State statute was
amended to allow municipalities such as Park Forest to collectively pool all
residential and small business accounts to seek the best rates possible through a
competitive bid process.
Since
the State of Illinois deregulated electric power providers (Illinois Public Act
096-0176), the majority of all commercial accounts have switched to buy power
at better rates from suppliers. On the other hand, less than
10 percent of residential customers across Illinois have moved to lower-cost energy
suppliers. As a result, the State of Illinois created legislation
allowing communities to leverage residential accounts through a process of
“Municipal Aggregation,” thus enabling municipalities to solicit competitive
bids from suppliers on behalf of the entire community. This is similar to the
way Park Forest negotiates rates for garbage hauling contracts.
More than a dozen communities across Illinois have already implemented such
programs in accordance with the state guidelines and residents in these
communities are already experiencing savings on their electricity bills of
anywhere from $125 to $175 per year.
Resident
efforts on the aggregation initiative would be minimal and fairly
seamless. Electricity bills would still come from ComEd and ComEd would
be called in the case of any power outage. As part of the state
guidelines for Municipal Electric Aggregation, residents will have multiple
opportunities to “opt out” of the program for any reason. For those Park
Forest residents who may have already switched to a service provider with a
lower rate for electricity, some analysis would be needed. First,
it should be determined if the new/current supplier has an early termination
fee. If they do, and you move prior to the end of the contract, you will
trigger the fee which you will be required to pay. In this case, the resident
might want to ‘opt out’ of the Municipal Electric Aggregation program. If your
supplier has no such fee, then it would be necessary to contact the Village’s
selected supplier to have them move your account into the aggregation
program.
How the question appeared on the March 20 ballot:
An example of how the question will appeared on the March 20 ballot.
Interested in reading more on the Municipal Electric Aggregation? See these documents and Web sites.
