Politics & Government

Decision Expected Tonight on Electric Rates Referendum

If the Village Board votes for it tonight, Montgomery residents will get to choose whether village officials can negotiate for lower electric rates for homes and businesses.

village trustees are expected to vote tonight on a referendum that would let voters give the village the power to negotiate electric rates for homes and small businesses.

If it passes, the referendum would appear on the March 20 primary election ballot next year. And if voters go for it, they could see significantly lower electric rates than those currently offered by ComEd, village officials said.

A state law that took effect in January of 2010 allows municipalities to negotiate electricity rates for their residents and small businesses, obtaining better rates as a whole than individuals would likely be able to.

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Montgomery would work through the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative, a group of 140 government entities that negotiates with electricity companies. The village has been working with NIMEC since 1997, to obtain lower rates for its water pumping and street lighting energy.

Village residents currently get their energy from Exelon, as delivered by ComEd. (Since 2003, ComEd has been an energy delivery company only. Parent company Exelon generates the electricity ComEd delivers.)

Find out what's happening in Montgomerywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the new proposal, Montgomery would negotiate for lower rates with other companies on behalf of residents and small businesses. If a lower rate can be found from a different energy company (such as BlueStar or Constellation), the village would sign a one-year deal.

But if ComEd still has the lowest price, village leaders can stick with them. And should residents want to, they could opt out of the program and stay with ComEd.

No matter who the village goes with, ComEd would handle billing, and would still be the company residents call with problems. Except for a lower rate on the power portion of their ComEd bill, residents should see no change, according to Director Mike Pubentz.

Nineteen local municipalities, including North Aurora and Sugar Grove, passed a similar referendum in April’s election, Pubentz said. Fourteen of those are working with NIMEC. North Aurora, he said, ended up negotiating a rate of 5.75 cents per kilowatt-hour, as compared with ComEd’s current 7.76 cents per kilowatt-hour rate.

The village of Oswego is considering a similar referendum. 

When Pubentz presented the idea at a Committee of the Whole meeting last month, it drew support from Village Board members. Trustees Andy Kaczmarek and Pete Heinz expressed skepticism, but agreed to let the residents choose by referendum.

The board is also expected to finally vote on an employee vehicle policy tonight, after hammering out an agreement last week. The Village Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at , 200 N. River Street, and is free and open to the public.


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