Electricity Aggregation Referendum Passes; Public Hearings to Discuss Operation and Governance

Through the March 20, 2012 referendum vote, 73% of Evanston voters asked the City of Evanston to work to obtain lower electricity supply rates for its residents and small businesses through an opt-out electricity aggregation program. Following the passage of this binding referendum, the City legally may arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program.

In order to develop and adopt a plan of operation and governance for the electricity aggregation program, the City of Evanston is seeking public input through two public hearings. The public hearings will be held:

• Tuesday, April 3, 7:00 p.m, Morton Civic Center, Council Chambers, 2100 Ridge Ave., Evanston
• Wednesday, April 4, 7 p.m., Levy Senior Center, Linden Room, 300 Dodge Ave., Evanston
• Monday, April 9, 7 p.m., Morton Civic Center, Room 2200, 2100 Ridge Ave., Evanston

Mayor Elizabeth B. Tisdahl reacted to the outcome of the referendum by saying, “I am pleased that Evanston residents have directed the City to move forward with pursuing electricity aggregation. This is an opportunity for Evanston to receive lower-cost power in a competitive marketplace and to control the amount of green power used in our community. Now that the election is over, I encourage all residents to learn more about the details of moving forward with electric aggregation at the upcoming community meetings.”

The Evanston City Council will meet on April 10, 2012 to consider full authorization of the aggregation program and adoption of the plan of operation and governance. Following program adoption, the city will conduct a competitive bidding process to select an alternative supplier and seek a cheaper, and possibly cleaner, energy supply than is currently available through ComEd. By securing renewable energy as part of the agreement with the supplier, this program can support the Evanston Climate Action Plan’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 13% by the end of 2012.

Other Cook County communities also voted on electricity aggregation yesterday; 62 out of 73 communities voted in favor of seeking alternative electricity suppliers. The City of Fulton was the first municipality in Illinois to contract for a cheaper power rate with a retail electric supplier and was one of 20 communities to pass an electric aggregation referendum in 2011.

For more information, please click here or call 311 (847-448-4311).