Electrical Aggregation Referendum Passes: What's Next For Your Power Bills

Voters on Tuesday, March 20, passed a referendum the Village of Lemont hopes .

The Will County Governmental League — which has a membership of 32 municipalities, including Lemont — has formed a coalition called the Will Utility Aggregation Group (WUAG) to bid out to electricity suppliers on behalf of its members.

The process should take a few months, but village administrators said in November that they believe they would go out to bid in June, and the changeover would take place in late summer or early fall.

"We're starting to identify a timeline for everything we need to do, but right now we don't have anything set in stone," Village Administrator Ben Wehmeier said Tuesday.

Here's what that means for you.

What's electrical aggregation?

ComEd is a wire company. ComEd chose a supplier to provide them the electricity, which it then gets to your home and business.

Electrical aggregation, which the state Legislature approved last year, lets towns and counties shop around for a provider with a better deal. If they find a better deal, they switch over to that provider on your behalf. If the provider ComEd chose has the best rate, they stick with that.

Lemont as an entity has more bargaining power with the electric companies than we do. And Lemont plans to work with WUAG, a coalition of 23 government entities, for even more bargaining power.

I live outside Lemont

The referendum only includes residents of the Village of Lemont, not .

If you live in unincorporated Will County, nothing will change. .

Unincorporated Cook County did not vote on electricity aggregation.

The original bill that approved aggregation requires areas where residents voted against aggregation to run it as an opt-in program. You don't have to get in on this, but you can if you want.

I live in Lemont but don't want this

Don't want this? You can opt out at any time. In fact, you can already opt out of the supplier ComEd chose.

How do I opt out?

The Citizens Utility Board and the Illinois Commerce Commission offer resources for residents and small businesses to find their own provider online.

I live in Lemont and want in

If you want to see the rate the village negotiates with another provider, do nothing. It will happen.

What's the timeline?

First come two public hearings to discuss this. The village must notify residents of the time and place of the hearings at least two weeks in advance in a general circulation newspaper in Lemont.

After that, the village must come up with a plan for running the electrical aggregation program. Then they go out for bid.

Once the new supplier is selected, the supplier will contact all customers to let them know about the switch and about opt-out options.

For more on electrical aggregation read the original bill that approved it.