Metro East Communities to See Electricity Rate Savings

55 municipalities throughout central and southern Illinois are about to receive serious savings on their electric service do to a referendum that passed for electric aggregation this November. Municipalities within the aggregation will receive unique rates calculated from several factors, however all will receive significant savings.

Residents will find savings of 24.9 percent, 28.4 percent, 26.5 percent, 26.7 percent, and 28.4 percent in Edwardsville, Troy and Maryville, Madison, Granite City, and Pontoon Beach, respectively. These savings are determined by simply comparing the contracted rates in these municipalities with the standard Ameren Illinois rates. A major factor in the rate discrepancies is an all-renewable energy option. For instance, Edwardsville approved a fee of $1 per megawatt hour to receive all of their energy from renewable sources. Meanwhile, Maryville and Troy voted against the renewable option.

Municipalities who approve municipal aggregation band with one another to negotiate lower rates for residents on electricity. This time around, the municipalities tapped Good Energy, an aggregation consulting firm, to advise them throughout the process. Good Energy collected and reviewed the bids on December 11th and selected Homefield Energy, a Collinsville based subsidiary of Ameren, as the new electricity supplier for these municipalities.

Customers in these municipalities are opted in to the electric aggregation program automatically. To receive the discounted rate, they do not need to do anything. For those who would prefer to stay with Ameren, there is an option to opt out of the program. Opt out notices are scheduled to be sent in January explaining the process to opt out. Residents who do not opt out will see their service change in January. Savings are expected to start on March bills.

If you would like more information about Municipal aggregation, click here. For the full article, see below.

Source: STLToday.com