Electricity Aggregation Referendum on March 20 Ballot

Lake Zurich residents soon will choose whether the village can begin to arrange for the electricity supply for homeowners and small commercial/retail customers.

At Monday’s Village Board meeting, Mayor Suzanne Branding explained why residents might want to consider approving the electric aggregation referendum March 20.

“The village can get better (electricity) rates as a whole; ComEd would still deliver the service and send bills out — and if there are problems, ComEd would still be called,” said Branding.

Branding added that if the referendum were approved, residents would be given two opportunities to "opt out" of the program.

Because of deregulation in 2006, delivery and generation functions for electrical power were separated. Municipalities were given the chance to "aggregate," or pool together, resident and small business customers' electric load to seek competitive pricing.

Prior to deregulation, ComEd generated, delivered and billed for power.

While the electricity supply itself would come from the company offering the best deal — which hypothetically could remain ComEd if it offers the best pricing — the company would continue to deliver the power through ComEd’s lines.

For every dollar, 70 cents accounts for the power itself, while 30 cents represent the means by which it is delivered.

There are now more than 30 power suppliers in Illinois, including Blue Star, Constellation Energy, Direct Energy, Ambit Energy and Spark Energy.

The Village Board approved a resolution to the put electrical aggregation on the ballot at its Dec. 5 meeting.