Kane County electricity referendum likely for spring
Kane County officials believe they've cleared both political and monetary roadblocks to a spring referendum that could see county residents cut their electric bills by as much as 30 percent.
Members of the county board's Energy and Environmental Committee unanimously voted Wednesday to move ahead with a spring referendum. If voters approve, county officials would gain the power to act as a bulk purchaser of electricity on residents' behalf.
The idea is to negotiate a lower rate with a private electricity company than what ComEd charges. If the county can't find a better rate, then ComEd would remain the provider. If the county does find a better rate, then all county residents would use the new provider (but still get electricity through ComEd's infrastructure) unless residents individually opt out.
That's where the county's new electric utility consultant comes in.
The committee also voted to hire BlueStar Energy Inc. to lead the county's information campaign on the referendum. The consultant gets paid only if residents vote in favor of moving away from ComEd.
BlueStar Energy also will lead the bid process for the county to negotiate lower electricity rates with alternative companies.
The committee's selection of BlueStar Energy came after months of discussion with Progressive Energy Group, which originally pitched the idea of moving away from ComEd. Progressive Energy Group wanted to be the county's energy consultant for the process. But the committee ditched the company after its proposed consultant fees were more than BlueStar's.
Progressive Energy also has a corporate structure and political ties that made some members of the committee uneasy.
County board member Drew Frasz said it appears Progressive Energy has business relationships with some electricity providers that may lead it to go with a company it gets a payment from rather than a company offering the lowest rates.
“I would equate this to an insurance agent and wonder if he's truly shopping around or if he's sticking with a couple companies he gets commissions from,” Frasz said.
Progressive Energy also seems to have ties to former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Patty Harbin is listed as one of the managers of Progressive Energy LLC. Harbin is the wife of Bryan Harbin, who is an administrative assistant for Hastert at his Office of the Former Speaker in Yorkville. Progressive Energy's office is in the same building as Hastert's Yorkville office.
Patty Harbin is also listed as working for the Lucrosus Corp. in Bryan Harbin's personal financial disclosure reports. Lucrosus is listed at the same office address as Progressive Energy. Arnie Schramel is listed as the plan administrator of the Lucrosus Corp. 401(k) plan. Schramel is also listed as one of the managers of Progressive Energy LLC, and is the consultant who pitched the company's services to Kane County.
“I'll say it — Progressive has a substantial contingent of political ties that, though legal, I'm uncomfortable with,” Frasz said.
The full county board must still approve the committee's decisions to place a referendum on the March 20 ballot and hire BlueStar Energy as the consultant. The county board has until Jan. 3 to lock in a referendum question. ComEd is not expected to set new rates until late May.