Letter from Kendall County Board on Electric Supply Aggregation

Dear Kendall County Resident:                                                                            

The Kendall County Board voted to place a referendum question on the March 18, 2014 election ballot for all unincorporated voters to consider.  The question asks the voters whether the County Board shall have authority to coordinate Electric Supply Aggregation for residents and small businesses of unincorporated areas of Kendall County.  

Electric supply aggregation is a process whereby an entire community moves to an alternate electric supplier as a group.  Communities are pursuing electric supply aggregation because they may be able to help their residents and eligible small businesses save money by creating a combined customer group that has more buying power than individual residents.

Communities throughout Illinois may aggregate (pool together) the electric load of its residents to seek bids for lower electric supply rates from suppliers other than ComEd.  This has come about due to deregulation of the electric market by the State of Illinois.

The referendum on the March 18, 2014 ballot will read as follows:

Shall the County of Kendall have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program?      YES or NO      

There will be no change to your billing.  ComEd will continue to send your monthly bill.  ComEd will still deliver the electricity and you still call ComEd for service and outages.

You will not be required to participate in the new program.  Every resident who does not already have an alternate supplier will receive a letter with the opportunity to “opt out” of the new program and stay with ComEd as the energy supplier or select their own supplier.

Additional information about Electric Supply Aggregation can be obtained by calling the electric supply aggregation hotline at 1-800-856-3404 or www.electricsupplyvote.org.

Early voting begins March 3 and ends March 15 for the March 18, 2014 Primary Election.  Early voting polling locations are the Oswego Village Hall (100 Parkers Mill, Oswego) and County Office Building (111 W. Fox Street, Yorkville). 

Q: What is Electric Supply Aggregation?

Electric supply aggregation is a process whereby an entire community moves to an alternate supplier as a group.  Communities are pursuing aggregation because they may be able to help their residents and eligible small businesses save money by creating a combined customer group that has more buying power than individual residents.

Q: What action must I take if my community approves Electric Supply Aggregation program and I want to join the program?

If unincorporated residents of Kendall County approve the referendum for an aggregation program, you do not need to take any action in order to participate and get the negotiated electric supply price.

Q: What if I do not want to join the Electric Supply Aggregation program?

You will have two opportunities to opt-out of the program if you decide not to participate.  The chosen supplier will send opt-out notices to all residents and eligible small businesses within the community.  You will need to fill out and return the opt-out notice in order to be excluded from the program.

Q: Who do I call if my power goes out? Who do I get my bill from?

You continue to call your local utility company, ComEd.  Also ComEd will bill you.

Q: Who do I contact for more information on Electric Supply Aggregation?

Visit the Illinois Commerce Commission website, www.pluginillinois.org or contact the Electric Supply Aggregation Hotline at1-800-856-3404 or www.electricsupplyvote.org