Electric Aggregation Referendum Offers Cheaper, Cleaner Energy Options

Elmhurst may soon join communities across Illinois and throughout the country by participating in a new program that offers a cheaper rate – and cleaner options – on electricity.

Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA, allows a municipality to bundle – or aggregate – all residential and commercial customers and then use its collective bargaining power to negotiate lower prices from suppliers. A municipality may select an energy provider that offers the cheapest rates, the cleanest forms of energy, or a combination of both. Elmhurst’s City Council has approved a referendum to be included on the March 20 ballot asking voters if the city should have the authority to aggregate.

"Aggregation is a way to provide our residents with a choice in energy provider,” says 3rd Ward Alderman Dannee Polomsky, who first brought the issue of aggregation to the attention of City Council in September. “While ComEd still will be charged with maintaining infrastructure, consumers can choose to tap into energy from another provider and save a significant amount of money each month. If the City can partner with a cost-saving provider, able to tap into renewable energy sources, that would be ideal."

Communities that have passed Community Choice Aggregation referendums include Oak Park, Oak Brook, Lincolnwood and Grayslake. Check out a list of all Illinois communities which have approved municipal aggregation, including the selected electricity provider, the cost, and length of contract. 

Oak Park is the first municipality in the state to choose all green electricity. The city has signed a two-year contract with Chicago-based Integrys Energy Services to supply electricity and credits from 100 percent green sources like wind and solar, lessening the dependence on fossil fuels while still saving local customers about 25 percent over ComEd. The cumulative savings for Oak Park consumers over two years is expected to be about $4.5 million. The average household savings is estimated at $175 over the two year contract.

Electric Aggregation Referendum

“We urge residents to speak up in favor of green electricity,” continues Williams. “Our dependence on fossil fuels results in damage to our health, the environment and the economy. It is our responsibility to future generations to switch to renewable resources now.”

According to the Citizens Utility Board, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Rhode Island have community aggregation programs. Rhode Island and Ohio both estimate community aggregation has saved consumers more than $18 million per year.

If the March 20 referendum passes, residents who chose not to participate would have several opportunities to “opt out” of the program. If the referendum failed to pass, Elmhurst could still choose to move forward, however, the program would be “opt in,” where residents are not enrolled until they sign up.

If passed, electricity would still be delivered by ComEd, and ComEd would continue to provide customer service, such as billing and outage response. The only difference the end user sees is the lower rate on the supply charge line item on their bill.

Consumers who aggregate do not know the actual source of the power they are using. If the electricity aggregation program includes renewable energy, the community would receive renewable energy credits. Their actual payments would fund wind- or solar-based power that is supplied to the grid. As Oak Park Village President David Pope explains it, “The fact that the electricity generated by wind power is being used someplace else doesn’t change the fact that Oak Park is responsible for getting the total amount of electricity they used added to the grid from wind-based generation sources.”

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“Shall the City of Elmhurst have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program?”

That's the referendum question that Elmhurst voters will be asked on the March 20 election ballot.

Electric aggregation is a nation-wide movement that is gaining momentum - 20 communities in Illinois already aggregate their electricity purchases - and if approved, the city will begin the process of exploring the best source or sources of electricity for the city's residents and small businesses.

Here is the city of Elmhurst's Frequently Asked Questions section of its Web site.

Check back on ElmhurstCoolCities.org for more news and information about this important initiative.

CCA Webinar: Leveraging a Collective Procurement Model to Drive New Renewable Energy Generation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership is hosting a Webinar March 6 between 12pm and 1pm on community choice aggregation and how municipalities can leverage this new model of buying electricity to promote renewable energy solutions. Learn more about it.