St. Charles Council rejects 20-year contract with coal-reliant IMEA
After more than a year of discussion, St. Charles City Council members have rejected a proposed contract extension with the city’s current energy provider.
The decision by St. Charles comes a week before Naperville’s council is set to vote on an extension of its deal with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency.
The IMEA represents 32 municipalities that purchase power in bulk to distribute to their residents. The group’s existing contract with its member communities is set to expire in 2035. IMEA has asked its members to approve a 20-year extension.
Naperville is the last suburban town to decide whether to sign the contract extension before an Aug. 19 deadline. Naperville City Council members are scheduled to vote on the proposed extension the same day.
St. Charles City Council members rejected the new contract Monday in an 8-1 vote during a special meeting of the Government Services Committee. Alderperson Ed Bessner was the sole yes vote.
While energy rates have been steady under the current provider, St. Charles council members, residents and local environmental activists have raised concerns over IMEA’s reliance on coal at dozens of meetings over the past year, with many calling on the city to cut ties with the agency.
St. Charles has been sourcing its power from IMEA since 2004.
Mayor Clint Hull initiated a task force in May called the St. Charles IMEA Working Group, which gathered data and engaged with a consultant to help the city council make an informed decision on whether to renew the contract.
Shawn Kestler, of Kestler Energy Consulting LLC, presented council members with alternative options for the first time during a committee meeting in July.
IMEA owns a portion of coal power plants at Prairie State Energy Campus in southern Illinois and the Trimble County Generating Station in Kentucky. The agency plans to continue sourcing from Prairie State until 2045 and from Trimble until 2050.
While IMEA plans to be emission-free by 2050, Kestler said roughly 80% of the energy in St. Charles comes from coal, and the majority of energy from IMEA will continue to come from coal until at least 2038.
Kestler said the most feasible alternative would likely be to find a new full-service provider. He said the search could happen through the competitive bidding process and would take about six months to complete.
Kestler suggested that full-service energy companies, including Constellation, NextEra, AEP, MidAmerican, and NRG, could provide the same energy as IMEA but from renewable resources.
Other options Kestler presented included renegotiating a new contract with IMEA, joining a different agency similar to IMEA or for the city to self-supply and manage its power, like Batavia does.
With the contract declined, St. Charles expects to begin the search for a new provider in 2029 or 2030, to ensure a contract is in place when the current IMEA contract expires in 2035.
During Monday’s special meeting, St. Charles Alderpersons Mike Foulkes, David Pietryla, Vicki Spellman, Jayme Muenz and Bryan Wirball each thanked those involved in the discussions, fact-finding and public comments over the past year.
“We made a very logical decision,” Foulkes said. ”This contract at this moment today was not in the best interest of the city of St. Charles. There’s no doubt about that.”
Foulkes added that the decision on the city’s future energy needs will still need to be made in the future, and asked that those involved keep an open mind, as they could still end up negotiating a new contract with IMEA.