Lower Energy Bills Coming to River Forest?

voters on Tuesday will be asked in a referendum question if they'll allow village officials to find an alternate source of electricity that could result in lower residential and commercial power bills.

The village will be one of 277 communities throughout Illinois, including a number in Cook and Lake counties, that will be looking at what is known as community choice aggregation.

Passage of this binding referendum will allow the village to bundle power accounts from households and commercial customers, then, with the help of a third-party consultant, dangle that account in front of energy companies looking to bid on it.

Waiting to work on River Forest’s alternate energy supplier is the Illinois Community Choice Aggregation, or ICCAN, who trustees approved Monday night. Mark Pruitt, the former head of the Illinois Power Agency who advised and other communities on its alternate energy efforts, will work with the village should the referendum pass. Palm said the village also got insights on the process from , Oak Park's sustainability manager.

If the referendum is approved, bids will go out as early as the end of next week, village administrator Eric Palm said. By early April, Pruitt could start looking at the market and assessing when to lock in a price that is lower than the 7.73 cents per kilowatt hour price currently charged by Commonwealth Edison.

The goal is to “stay ahead of the influx of communities that will also be going ahead [with similar CCA plans,]” Palm said.

The Village intends to seek proposed pricing for one-, two- and three-year terms. The bids will be compared to Commonwealth Edison’s current rates, and the Village only intends to approve a bid that will result in lower electricity prices than the current ComEd rates, village officials said.

But will community choice aggregation bring electric rate relief in the long-term? The Citizens’ Utility Board, the citizens’ watchdog on residential utilities, isn’t sure.

CUB spokesman Jim Chilsen said his agency has remained neutral on community choice aggregation.

“In the short-term it (community choice aggregation) is providing consumers with lower bills, but long-term the jury’s still out,” Jim Chilsen, spokesman for CUB. “Long-term it’s because Com Ed is locked into some higher-priced buyer contracts. The last one expires June of 2013. The chances are we’ll know then if prices will drop significantly. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.”

Even if the referendum passes and the electric rates are lower, residents and small business owners will still be plugged into ComEd for its electric bill and if the power goes out, as the utility giant will remain responsible for maintenance.

All residential and small commercial retail customers would be switched automatically to the alternative supplier selected by the Village, unless a customer decides to opt out of the program and continue service through ComEd or another provider.