Naperville among 100 nationwide chosen for energy grant

Naperville plans to implement cutting edge technology it says will lower energy costs both for itself and residents.

The city is one of 100 nationwide to receive federal stimulus money to create a Smart Grid. The U.S. Department of Energy grant will cover $11 million of the project and Naperville will pitch in an additional $11 million of its own.

"Our project is the future of the electric utility industry, without a doubt," said Allan Poole, public utilities director. "Naperville is at the forefront of optimizing the benefits for its customers both in utility billing cost savings and system reliability."

Naperville put together the grant application with the help of West Monroe Partners, a consulting firm from Chicago.

Through the project, Naperville will purchase 57,323 "smart meters" that will let both the city and residents track energy use.

Residents would be able to log into a Web site to view information about their own usage for free. They would also have the option of purchasing a home energy display for about $100 that gives them real time information.

Consultant Tom Hulsebosch said if residents see how much power they are using and at what time of day, they may be encouraged to reduce their consumption or at least switch some tasks to nonpeak hours.

The city may eventually change its rate structure so that customers have more incentive to use power at off-peak times.

Hulsebosch estimates residents could save an average of 5 to 15 percent on their electric bills by monitoring their power usage and adjusting their habits accordingly.

The new system also would lower costs for the city as it purchases wholesale bulk power. Hulsebosch said the city would be able to improve the efficiency of its system and prepare for the next generation that is expected to use even more energy than the current one. The system will also have environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gases.

Stated in today's dollars, he estimates the net benefits to the city would be about $52 million during a 15-year span.

Councilmen had some initial concerns during a detailed presentation about the technology at a workshop Monday. Councilman Jim Boyajian said he believes it will take a great deal of work to educate residents and get them to participate.

Even if residents don't get on board, City Manager Doug Krieger said the new system would still produce a net monetary benefit to the city due to its ability to better manage the utility.

The city plans to borrow its $11 million share. Krieger the loan would call for payments of $700,000 a year for 20 years.

The electric department already had included a number of upgrades in its five-year capital improvement plan. Working the Smart Grid technology into that plan increases its five-year cost by about $2.6 million. Boyajian has challenged the department to find other projects to modify or delay in order to absorb the extra expenses.

Councilmen gave their preliminary consent to move forward with the project, though they still have to take a final vote next month. Work would take three years to complete.