Logan County utility aggregation purchase completed Tuesday

[June 13, 2012]  Representatives from the Logan County Board, Lincoln, Atlanta, Mount Pulaski and Emden met in Lincoln on Tuesday to review the returned residential aggregation bids and sign their communities into electricity procurement contracts.

In the end, the communities signed a contract with Integrys Energy Service for $0.03945 per kilowatt hour. This price includes 25 percent renewable energy, allowing the communities to meet the Illinois renewable energy mandate for 25 percent by 2025. Each household is estimated to save $216 per year, and for the first year the communities are estimated to save $2.3 million when compared with the estimated average Ameren default rate of $.05752 per kilowatt hour.

After considerable review and guidance from consultants, a request for proposal was sent out earlier to the qualified electricity suppliers, with the intended return date of June 12 at noon. Early in the process, Logan County, the city of Lincoln, Atlanta, Mount Pulaski and Emden decided to go out on the open market together with the help of the Illinois Community Choice Aggregation Network and the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership.

Now that a contract has been signed, residents will receive letters in the mail from their community and Ameren, giving them the opportunity to opt out (not participate) in the aggregation program. Residents choosing to opt out will default to the Ameren rate.

[Text from file received from Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership]