Village of Lombard in Process of Researching Municipal Electric Aggregation
“The Village of Lombard is an advocate for its residents, especially when it comes to financial savings for them,” said Lombard Village President, William Mueller. “The residents have voiced their opinion by voting positively for the referendum and we will do our best to get the very best cost savings through the electrical aggregation for our residents and businesses,” Mueller added.
A January 1, 2010 state law allowed municipalities to aggregate and transfer residents' and small commercial retail customers' electric accounts to alternative electric suppliers. Electrical power would be produced by a company other than ComEd with ComEd continuing to supply electricity to residents over ComEd's electricity grid. ComEd customers who are part of the group purchasing will continue to be billed by ComEd and will continue to contact ComEd with service needs.
Residents will receive notification from the Village of Lombard once the required steps for electrical aggregation are completed and a vendor is chosen. For residents to be included in the aggregation, they do not need to do anything. If a resident does not want to be included in the aggregation, they will receive a letter on Village letterhead
instructing them on how they can opt-out of the program.
“Staff has been receiving information from residents who are being contacted regarding the electric aggregation by independent vendors,” Mueller said. “The Village has not yet selected a vendor so any contact by electric aggregation from anyone at this point is not affiliated with the Village,” added Mueller. “When the Village has fully researched its options and selected a vendor, residents will be notified by the Village,” Mueller said.
“It's a chance to save our residents money,” said Trustee Greg Gron, Chair of Lombard's Finance Committee. “We are trying to be as fiscally responsible to our residents and this is one alternative that allows us to do just that,” Gron added.
In 2012, Lombard was one of 300 municipalities that brought electrical aggregation to its voters.
“Municipal electric aggregation is just like anything else,” said Mueller. “When you purchase a larger quantity of something, you generally get a lower price,” he added. “That's what this will do and pass on the savings to our residents,” Mueller added.
The Village of Lombard is working with NIMEC, the Northern Illinois Municipal Electrical Collaborative. NIMEC has been a leader in negotiating rates for a majority of the communities that approved electrical aggregation before Lombard. The Village has used NIMEC for the past five years to bid out the Village's electricity needs for street lighting and water pumping, with great success, according to Mueller.
Now that the referendum has been approved, the Village will develop and adopt a plan of operation and governance for its Electricity Aggregation Program. Public input will be welcomed at two public hearings on Thursday, April 19 and Thursday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, 255 E Wilson Avenue.
Once the public hearings have been held, an ordinance will be presented to allow the Village to negotiate electrical rates. Any resident who doesn't want to participate in the electrical aggregation program will have the opportunity to opt-out, thereby continuing to purchase power from ComEd.
“We want our residents to be educated about municipal electric aggregation so that they feel comfortable in making a decision of whether or not to participate,” said Mueller.
The timing of going out to bid is impacted by many factors. However, it is anticipated that the bidding will take place by mid-May. As part of the changeover to a new supplier, the selected supplier will send notices to all residents on Village letterhead. This notice will include instructions on how a resident can opt-out of the program if they do not wish to participate. And again, for a resident to be included in the aggregation program, they will not need to do anything and will automatically be switched over to the new supplier. This process will take approximately 60 days from the time of the bid, so most residents should be switched over to the new supplier in mid-July.
More information will be made available to the public throughout the process. Further information on electrical aggregation can be found on the Village's website at www.villageoflombard.org or by calling the Village at (630) 620-5700.