The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 04:40PM From the Good Energy website: Godfrey, IL residents will benefit from lower electricity supply rates. "We are overly excited to accomplish our ultimate goal, which is to provide savings for all the cities involved in our aggregation," - thanks to Good Energy.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 03:17PM Ameren Energy, the local utility, has an online calculator which will provide you with your price-to-compare, that is, the rate you are paying for your electricity. This is conveniently broken down into three different charges - Delivery, Taxes, and of course, Supply. Supply is the only portion of your bill which is impacted by this program (delivery & taxes are regulated and cannot be impacted).
To use Ameren's online calculator:
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 06:33PM Residents of Eureka, Illinois have reason to celebrate. On May 9, 2012, after Good Energy negotiated a contract with energy supplier Homefield Energy, the supply cost of energy for Eureka residents dropped precipitously. As a result, residents will see savings of up to 35 percent on the cost of their energy supply on their next bill. Though Homefield Energy will be the new supply company, Ameren will continue to act as the energy distribution company for southern and central Illinois. If residents so choose, they can continue to buy their energy supply from Ameren as well, although the price will be higher than the one Good Energy negotiated.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 02:40PM Homefield Energy, the winning electricity supplier for our group, will begin sending notices to residential and small commercial retail electricity account holders notifying them that a deal was struck between their local government (see list at bottom of Home tab) and Homefield for electricity supply at a much lower rate than what is currently being offered by Ameren, and for that matter, any other supplier currently certified to provide electricity in the Ameren service territory. This letter, which will come on municipal/county letterhead, should not be confused with one of the many other offers currently inundating the area. It will describe the program, what the savings are predicted to be, and will also provide a link to Homefield Energy so that you may look up the new rate for your community. This will enable you to determine how much you will save.
But how do you know what you are already paying with Ameren? We are currently testing a calculator which will allow you to determine your Ameren rate. In the meantime, however, if you haven’t already, go to the Ameren Energy website, and sign-in or register for an account and follow the instructions. The site will provide you with your current Ameren price-to-compare.
For most of you, this is a new process and may be confusing, so let’s review a few key points:
This program is meant to be very simple and offer you unmatched savings on your electricity supply cost, all while under the oversight of your local government. They are to be commended for their efforts in joining together to make this program a reality.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 01:30PM In Peoria, residents are expected to save big on their electricity bills starting June 2012. With the consulting help of Good Energy, Peoria voted to shop its residential and small business electricity load as a group. As a result, many Peoria residents, who were formerly supplied by Ameren, will switch to Homefield Energy and will see deep cuts in their energy bill. Residents will save as much as $225 and $250 annually, and over the course of the two-year contract, Peoria residents as a whole will save upwards of $9 million on energy supply costs. Ameren will continue to handle distribution and to issue all electric bills to all households throughout Peoria.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 02:26PM Despite going through the steps to approve municipal aggregation, representatives of South Pekin, Illinois were not allowed to participate in the energy auction that took place on May 9. As it turned out, South Pekin had not fulfilled the necessary requirements to take part in the program, which include holding two open meetings in which the public can express concerns about the program and have their questions addressed. Managing partner of Good Energy, Charles de Casteja, said that if South Pekin wanted a shot at the new locked-in energy rate, they'd need to act immediately.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 09:22PM From the Good Energy website: Urbana residents should expect to see savings on their August energy bills. When the new 4.08 cents per kilowatt hour rate kicks in, residents will save about 35 percent on their energy supply costs, (distribution costs will not change). The residents will benefit from a two-year contract with Homefield Energy, a deal brokered by Good Energy. This low rate for electricity supply was made possible by aggregating most of Urbana's small business and residential electricity load and buying power as a group. In addition to the substantial cost savings made possible by the aggregation and Good Energy's careful selection of the most suitable electricity supplier for this contract, there is an environmental benefit to the contract as well. A purchase of renewable energy certificates offsetting 100% of the negative environmental attributes of the energy consumed over the course of this contract has been made, making Urbana on of the greenest communities anywhere.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 05:09PM From the Good Energy website: The select Urbana residents who chose not to participate in the municipal energy aggregation program, which was arranged by Good Energy, will still have a chance to sign up for the lower energy rate. Fifty counties and municipalities across Illinois came together and decided to buy energy in bulk from an independent energy supply company. Residents who initially opted-out of the program will still be able to go online, plug in information about their energy usage habits, and see how much they would save if they had decided to participate. Ameren charges 6.3 cents per kilowatt hour for energy supply, and the new rate offered by Homefield Energy is just above 4 cents per kilowatt hour, meaning Urbana residents will see savings of 35 percent for energy supply.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Friday, May 11, 2012 at 06:08PM From the Good Energy website: In a recent bulk buy of energy in Illinois, Homefield Energy won a two-year contract to supply energy to Illinois residents of more than four dozen municipalities and counties. The electricity contract provides for energy supply at a greatly reduced price vs. the tariff rate. Here's a twist: Ameren Corporation owns both Ameren Illinois, which historically provided energy to all of Illinois, and also Homefield Energy, the new energy supply company that won the contract. Homefield was one of five independent energy supply companies that submitted bids to Illinois residents, who were then able to buy their energy supply in bulk from a company other than Ameren Illinois. As a result of this new contract, many residents are no longer buying from Ameren Illinois, but their money still flows into Ameren Corporation. In the end, what matters most is that residents will still see a nearly 35 percent reduction in energy supply costs.
The Committee for Municipal Electricity Choice | Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 05:58PM