Lake Zurich contracts with new electric supplier
Lake Zurich officials say residents will save up to 35 percent on their electric bills starting this summer, after the village reached an agreement with a supplier under its new electricity aggregation plan.
The village signed a two-year contract with First Energy this week, to supply power for residents at 4.75 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s a rate decrease of almost 39 percent from the current ComEd rate of 7.73 cents per kwh, and a 44 percent discount when ComEd rates jump to 8.5 cents per kwh this July.
The new supply rate is expected to go into effect by August, according to Lake Zurich public works director David Heyden. Residents can opt out of the village aggregation plan at any time to select a different supplier.
ComEd will continue to deliver power, respond to outages and bill customers — only the supply rate changes.
“Our residents can expect to see significant savings on their electric bills,” Mayor Suzanne Branding said. “We are very pleased to get this program in place.”
A 2011 Illinois Commerce Commission decision allows alternative energy suppliers to bill through ComEd, deregulating the electric supply market. That year, 19 municipalities across the state switched suppliers. Many more are expected to negotiate rates in the coming months.
A Lake Zurich referendum passed in March allowed the village to create a plan to aggregate residents’ ComEd accounts and seek competitive power quotes. After two public hearings, the aggregation plan was approved by village trustees May 7.
The village teamed with Crystal Lake, South Elgin, Yorkville and the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative to carry more leverage in negotiations. NIMEC comprises more than 100 cities and villages across the northern Illinois counties, pooling resources for bargaining power.
Officials said the village would mail more information about the aggregation program and opt-out forms to residents in the next few weeks.