Schaumburg to hold referendum on electrical aggregation
After passing on the electrical aggregation craze earlier this year, Schaumburg trustees have jumped aboard the referendum bandwagon.
The village board unanimously agreed Tuesday to put an electrical aggregation referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot, allowing voters to choose whether the village should lump together residential and small business customers together to seek lower power rates.
Village manager Ken Fritz said there was no discussion on the issue at the board meeting Tuesday, but the decision previously was recommended by the board’s Finance, Legal and General Government Committee after a trustee noted that other municipalities were experiencing significant savings.
“The village board believed that there’s potential savings that can be gathered under this program,” Fritz said. “We’re not in a position to be advocating one way or another.”
Voters will be asked the question “Shall the village of Schaumburg have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program?”
If the referendum passes, the village will solicit bids from electricity suppliers in hopes of finding a rate lower than ComEd’s. Residential and qualifying small commercial retail customer accounts would automatically be enrolled, but those who choose could opt out of the program.
Notices of the change — which would not occur until a few months after the vote — will be mailed in advance.
Regardless of whether the village decides to go with a new supplier, ComEd will remain the distributor of electricity and maintain the power infrastructure. Customers would also continue to receive electricity bills from the company.