North Aurora back to ComEd, for now

Because ComEd is cutting its rates and Integrys Energy Services Inc. is raising theirs, North Aurora has decided to end its contract with Integrys a few months early.

The village board approved the measure June 3.

North Aurora's electrical aggregation contract with Integrys was due to expire in October. It covered residential and small commercial users of electricity.

Since October 2011, ComEd's rates averaged 7.84 cents, while Integrys charged 5.75 cents to residential users, a little more to commercial customers. Integrys did not levy a purchased-energy agreement charge; ComEd levied a charge that averaged .25 cents per kilowatt hour.

But now, ComEd has dropped its base rate to 5.511 cents per kilowatt hour, and the Integrys price has risen to 5.952 cents.

Village officials still plan to aggregate users to get the best price for electricity. According to a staff report, residents and small businesses saved $2.3 million since October 2011, compared to if they had paid ComEd's rates.

Users should not have any change or interruption in service. It takes effect July 1. The village gets to leave the contract early because Integrys declined to match ComEd's price.

Customers can stay with Integrys if they want, until October. A letter telling them how to do so are being sent out.

The village is soliciting bids for a new electricity supplier. It plans to seek a one-year contract that would start in October.

Voters approved electrical aggregation in April 2011. The idea was that by aggregating customer load, the village could get better prices for electricity than individual customers could.

The federal Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2011, the average Illinois retail consumer used 770 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, at an average cost of 11.78 cents per kilowatt hour.