Electricity Aggregation Program
With the resounding support of the voters, the City now has authority to seek lower electricity costs through the municipal aggregation process. Indeed, the City is about to start the state mandated procedural steps required to seek competitive electrical rates on the open market. We will attempt to keep the citizens advised of progress through our City website and the Hickory Herald newsletter. It is important to emphasize that there is nothing that residents need to do right now or even once a lower electrical provider is found. The hope is that the City indeed will be able to find residents electrical savings, but that will not be determined until electrical auctions are conducted in the next several months. Below are some frequently asked questions and answers regarding this subject.
What happens if the referendum passes?
The City will then engage a broker to purchase electricity on the open market which is currently offering 20% savings over ComEd rates. If the bids come in lower than ComEd then the City will purchase electricity at the lower rate and you will receive these savings immediately. If the pricing is the same or higher than ComEd then the City is under no obligation to purchase at those prices and we will just continue with ComEd. According to the experts, these projected 15%-22% savings are expected until June 2013 so the window of larger savings is about one year.
Will ComEd respond slower to power outages if aggregation passes?
NO. It is important to emphasize that ComEd will continue to deliver the power over its power lines Since ComEd does not generate or profit from the sale of power this will have no impact on ComEd services. In fact, you will continue to call ComEd for power outages and ComEd will still handle the billing on your account.
What if I don’t want to be part of the aggregation?
Even if the referendum passes, any resident has the option of remaining with ComEd and the higher electrical rates. You will be contacted twice to opt out of the City ‘s aggregation program.