Electrical Aggregation to be on City of Danville Ballots

On April 9, the Danville ballot will have a referendum for electrical aggregation. The Danville City Council voted on Tuesday night and unanimously approved the referendum. All members voted except Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Davis and Ward 2 Alderwoman Lois Cooper, who were both absent.

The referendum will read, “Shall the City of Danville have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such program?”

The city may now either enter into an agreement with a consulting firm like Good Energy, who currently works with over 100 local communities, helping them to realize the best savings possible on electricity, and will be negotiating a third round of bidding after the April ballots, or attempt to negotiate with energy companies alone, like Vermilion County did late last year. However the council decides to go, the ultimate goal of aggregation is to band the residents together to negotiate a better rate on electricity.

The county passed a similar measure in November, but it was determined this measure could only apply to the unincorporated areas of the county. And since the City of Danville is incorporated, residents of Danville were excluded. In November, however, residents of Danville thought the referendum would apply to them, and they voted to pass the measure by a 2-to-1 margin. This support in November means there is support for aggregation in Danville.

As with the county contract, if the referendum passes, there will be a required opt out clause in any contract the city signs. Also, aggregation would be required to start within 60 days of the ballot.

For more information on municipal aggregation, click here. For the full article, see below.