On March 20th, Barrington Hills residents will be asked to vote on a referendum question to determine whether to permit our Village leaders to pursue an aggregation agreement with an alternate electrical energy provider. The Observer has researched this topic, and our answer is “maybe” given what we’ve discovered.
If residents vote to approve aggregation, some steps must be taken by the Village in order to implement the changeover. First, the Village will appoint an advisory committee to manage the process. By law, this committee must hold two public hearings to gather input from residents as a platform for a ”Plan of Governance and Operation” which details goals such as savings targets and the mix of energy generation sources (i.e. Green energy versus traditional). This plan will be the basis for publishing requests for proposals (RFP) which suppliers may bid on. When the proposals are received, the Village Board will decide on the preferred supplier based in part on recommendations by the committee.
Once a provider is selected, residents must receive a timely notification from the Village specifying a window of time to “opt-out” of participation. It is up to the Village to determine the length of time between opt-out notices being sent to the residents and the length of time residents have to respond. More than likely, opt-out decisions will require completing a form and delivering it to the Village by specified means. If a resident fails to meet the deadline for opting out, they will be bound or potentially face penalty fees for exiting the prograom. These fees can amount to hundreds of dollars depending on who the Village contracts with, however higher priced suppliers typically have no early out fees.
If residents vote against the referendum, the Village can still pursue an aggregation agreement under an “opt-in” plan. The same decision steps outlined earlier may occur, and the Village can still contract with an energy supplier. Residents would then be notified of the terms and rates, and can submit a request to obtain pricing negotiated by the Village.
There are other considerations residents should be aware of. When Integrys – an energy aggregator – presented to the Village Board last November, their presentation stated they would, “Maintain (a) list of potential participants who elect to opt-out and a list of participants who consent to join.” Further, they will provide, “Periodic reports to Village management.” The detail of reporting the Village would receive is unclear and likely subject to negotiation with suppliers. To view the Integrys presentation, click here.
According to the Integrys website (see Integrys Pricing Page), residents can sign up on their own today and receive a 22.41% discount off of ComEd’s current price without aggregation. Information from other alternative energy websites showed comparable, though lesser savings based on annual commitment term. So called “Green Energy” providers were highest in price. The Citizen’s Utility Board (CUB) has published a list of alternate providers, and a link to this information is provided here: Citizens Utility Board Alternate Electrical Supplier List.
A final point to consider is that our Village received over $224,000 in revenues from electrical utility taxes in 2011. If the Village was successful in transferring a significant majority of residents to a supplier providing very substantial discounts, this reduction of future income must be addressed.
The Observer believes residents should continue to make independent choices when it comes to utility or contractor services. Approval of the referendum will not preclude resident’s rights to choose; however whenever government, particularly our current Village government, wishes to assist with their constituents’ money management, their motivations must always be questioned.
– The Observer
Again, The Observer does an excellent job of providing the necessary accurate information for all of us. And after reading this article it is even more clear how closely this administration needs to monitored. Clearly Abboud and his gang of four have put their own agenda before the needs of the residents. Thank you for this article.
Thanks, Observer, for the research I’ll forward this to everyone I know in the Village, because not only is the issue, itself, more complex than it appears on the ballot, if the referendum passed, we would have Abboud and Trustees in a position to take our choices away and placed in their hands. THIS IS NOT GOOD.
Here, Here! Many thanks to you all at the Observer for informing us.