River Forest opted Monday to stay with its alternative residential energy supplier for one year at a cost that will be just a bit lower than a new rate recently released by Commonwealth Edison.
Trustees gave the go-ahead for Village Administrator Eric Palm to lock in with Integrys Energy the price of 7.373 cents per kilowatt hour, up from the current price of 5.128 cents for residential customers, according to Integrys’ website. That current price expires in June. The one that will be locked in, though, is still lower than other vendors that were queried about their rates, Palm told the board.
“When we first looked at this we knew low rates would be short-lived,” said Trustee Carmela Corsini.
The new cost is slightly lower than Commonwealth Edison’s rate of 7.50 cents per kilowatt hour. There is no green option and there wasn’t one when the original contract was signed in 2012.
One reason Integrys was recommended was that the price of electricity would be stable. There would also be no purchased electricity adjustment (PEA), which can be plus or minus .5 cents. The PEA is a monthly fluctuating charge (or credit) for customers receiving electric supply service from ComEd or Ameren Illinois, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Residents who opt out and go with Commonwealth Edison would not have to pay a fee. However the big drawback to renewing was that ComEd’s price could drop lower than the village-negotiated rate, but the PEA is still favored in ComEd’s price, Palm said.
Returning to Commonwealth Edison was another option. That had its pluses and minuses. If the village returned to Commonwealth Edison, River Forest would no longer be involved in aggregation for the near-term. But the downside would be that residents who chose to leave Commonwealth Edison would only have two months to find another electricity supplier, Palm said. There also would be uncertainty as to price.
The other choice was considering a Smart Energy Rate plan currently used by Chicago. That choice would consist of a fixed fee of $5 for every user plus a per kilowatt fee based on usage. That choice had its drawbacks because residents could end up paying more for electricity, Palm said.
Voters in March 2012 approved a referendum that allowed the village to buy blocks of energy from other sources at prices that were previously only available to large corporate consumers. With the aid of a consultant Integrys was selected; a contract was approved that summer.