What Is Electrical Aggregation?

What Is Electrical Aggregation?

Simply put, electrical aggregation allows municipalities to negotiate lower electrical rates on behalf of residents and small businesses. The City of Chicago is asking voters to support a ballot initiative in favor of aggregation on November 6th.  If the measure passes, the City would be able to use the bargaining power of close to 1 million Chicagoans to get electricity supplied to us by one or more alternative suppliers (e.g.; First Energy, Constellation, or Integrys Energy Services). ComEd would still be responsible for the delivery of power and maintenance of the electrical grid, but the portion of your electricity bill that says “Supply” would likely go down and you would continue to receive just 1 monthly bill.

The Northcenter Neighborhood Association supports this ballot initiative for the following reasons:

1)   SAVINGS – According to the Chicago Tribune, more than 200 Illinois villages and cities approved aggregation since last March and have seen yearly savings for residential customers ranging from $200-$300.
2)   FLEXIBILITY – Homeowners who want to opt out of the program should be able to do so. This would likely be true whether you get your electricity supply through ComEd or if you already have a contract with an alternative electricity supplier.
3)   GUARANTEE – Many municipalities have negotiated clauses into their contracts with alternative suppliers that if their rates go higher than ComEd, residents and businesses will only have to pay the matching rate or lower.
4)   GOING GREEN - Municipalities have already taken advantage of aggregation and some villages like Oak Park are even getting 100% or their energy from renewable sources.

We support the possibility of getting 100% of North Center’s electricity from renewable sources and reducing the neighborhood’s greenhouse-gas footprint. We encourage you to support the ballot initiative on November 6th.

Here are some additional informative links about the Chicago electricity referendum:

City of Chicago Website for Electricity Aggregation
Sun-Times article from Tuesday, 10/23/12