Wilmette Power Purchasing Program - WP3
Background
On June 12 the The Village approved a three-year power supply agreement with mc2 in the summer of 2012 to provide electricity supply services. Under the agreement, mc2 works with the Village to determine the electricity supply rate to be charged on ComEd bills.
All costs controlled by mc2 will remain the same next year. Under the first pricing term, service did not begin until late August and so the rate did not include the full impact of higher priced summer electricity. As expected, the inclusion of a full summer of service and increases in other pricing elements such as market rates for electricity and fixed charges set by the state and the regional transmission organization have caused the rate to increase in year two. Most of these costs are beyond the control of the Village or mc2, however, by controlling all other costs, residents are projected to save with pricing well below ComEd’s.
Price Renewal
The Village of Wilmette’s electric aggregation program has been extremely successful in providing Wilmette residents and business owners with reduced electricity costs in its first year. Wilmette, along with the other members of the Lakeshore Power Alliance, were able to lock in rates approximately 17% lower than ComEd’s prices for a one-year period beginning June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014.
The agreement with electric supplier MC Squared Energy Services (mc2) allows Wilmette to stay competitive with current pricing by resetting the price once a year. Wilmette’s new rates will be 4.977 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the basic rate and 5.077 cents per kWh for the Individual Choice Green Power Program. Residents currently enrolled in the program will continue to receive their current price of 4.035 centers per kWh (4.11 cents per kWh for the Green Power Program) through billing cycles ending May 31, 2013.
How Residents Can Save and Continue Saving
Participants will receive a letter from the Village and mc2 informing them of the upcoming rate change. Residents and small business owners who are still under ComEd for electricity supply will receive letters notifying them that they are being enrolled in the program for year two. As always, there is no obligation to participate in the program and participants can elect to leave the program at any time.
Additionally, eligible ComEd customers can join the program at any time. Billing and service will remain the same for all program participants – they will continue to receive a single bill from ComEd, and continue to be eligible for all ComEd payment options, including e-bill, automatic bill payment and budget billing. ComEd continues to be responsible for the wires, poles, and all emergencies, including outage restoration.
Residents may find more information on the Village’s electricity aggregation program at www.lakeshorepoweralliance.com or by calling 1-855-564-8129.
If you are a new resident, or are not a WP3 participant, and would like to enroll in the program, you can enroll online at www.lakeshorepoweralliance.com/wilmette.aspx or call mc2 at 1-855-564-8129. To view an informational brochure, click here.
To contact mc
2 go to
www.lakeshorepoweralliance.com, call 1-855-564-8129, or email
LakeShore@mc2energyservices.com.
For more information, read the details of the program below or contact John Prejzner, Assistant to the Village Manager, at
prejznerj@wilmette.com or (847) 853-7502.
Misleading Solicitations Information
With the recent agreement with mc
2 for WP3, residents have seen an increased number of calls and mail solicitations to switch their supply of electricity from ComEd to other suppliers. Please be advised that any mailings not on Village letterhead are not related to WP3 and should be read carefully. The Village, or mc
2, will not contact you by phone and will never ask you for your ComEd account number.
Click here to read a press release about misleading solicitations about electrical supply. To file a complaint about a misleading solicitation, residents are urged to contact the Illinois Commerce Commission at 1 (800) 524-0795 or by going to
www.icc.illinois.gov/consumer/complaint.
Individual Choice Green Power Program
In addition to reducing the rates of electricity, the Village has worked with mc
2 to allow WP3 participants to individually choose a renewable electricity option through WP3. This option will allow participants to purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) at their discretion equal to their electricity supply usage. Should participants elect this option, their rate will be 4.11 c/kWh. To sign up for this program, follow these steps:
- Go to: www.lakeshorepoweralliance.com and click on Wilmette Power Purchasing Program
- Select: Individual Choice MC2 100% Green Power Program
- Enter: Email address, zip code, ComEd account number, then authorize and submit
You may also call mc
2 directly at 1-855-564-8129 and ask for the enrollment department.
For the full press release, click here.
On the March 20, 2012 election ballot, a referendum was held regarding electrical aggregation. The question asked Wilmette residents “Shall the Village of Wilmette 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 program?” Wilmette voters approved the referendum with 75.4% of the votes in favor.
Electrical Aggregation, permitted through state statues deregulating ComEd, enables municipalities to seek alternate suppliers of electricity in hopes of lowering rates. The Village’s aggregation program is called “Wilmette Power Purchasing Program” or “WP3”. This in no way alters the actual delivery of electricity, as this service would still be provided by ComEd.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is deregulation?
On December 16, 1997, the State of Illinois implemented a plan to deregulate Commonwealth Edison (“ComEd”). Under this plan, ComEd no longer generates electricity for its customers but continues to provide power generated by others through its distribution system.
2. What is electrical aggregation?
Electrical aggregation is a program that allows local governments to bundle – or aggregate – residential and small commercial retail electric accounts and seek bids for a cheaper source of power. Currently, ComEd customers receive power at a price set each year by the Illinois Power Agency, a not-for-profit quasi-governmental body that buys electricity on the wholesale market on behalf of utility customers. By bundling residential and small commercial accounts, municipalities can go out into the open market to seek a lower rate for electric power for property owners. Large industrial and commercial customers already have this option, which has only recently become available to residential and small business property owners.
3. What does opt-out mean?
All residential and small commercial electricity users will be included in the customer base unless they affirmatively choose not to participate. The opportunity to opt out will be available to customers after the bids are received and the electric rate and identity of the supplier are made known to customers.
4. Who will be ineligible for the WP3 program?
Business customers with an annual usage of 15,000 kWh or higher are not eligible for the program.
All other residential and small commercial customers would be eligible.
5. I have already signed up for an opt-in program on my own. Am I still eligible for the Village’s WP3 program?
If you have already signed up with an alternate electrical supplier on your own, you would not be switched over to the Village’s program. Upon termination or expiration of your individual contract, you would then be eligible to switch over to the Village’s program if you choose to do so. Also, if you are in the ComEd Residential Real Time Pricing Program (RRTP), you will not be automatically switched over.
If you would like to switch from your current supplier or from RRTP, please call mc2 at 1-855-564-8129.
6. What will be the cost to the Village to operate this program?
Due to the complexities of the program and the bidding process, the Village has partnered with the Illinois Community Choice Aggregation Network (ICCAN). The costs for hiring ICCAN will be paid for out of the Village's operating fund and will not impact the rate negatively whatsoever.
8. Will my electric bill increase? What happens if the ComEd rate drops below the new rate?
The goal of WP3 is to decrease electrical bills. Electric bills will not increase as a result of this program. If the bids are higher than current ComEd rates, then bids will be rejected and the current supplier will be kept.
9. Will I receive a separate bill for the supply of electricity?
No, the energy supply charge is already on ComEd bills and will remain there. The bill format will remain the same as it does today. ComEd customers will receive the bill via mail or electronically and will remit payment in the same current manner.
10. What if my power goes out – will I need to call the company providing the power?
No. ComEd is responsible for ensuring that electricity flows through its distribution network to all homes and businesses in Wilmette. Aggregation would not change how ComEd responds to outages.
11. Will the Village Government receive any benefits by operating this program?
The Village derives no additional benefit other than reducing electrical rates for its residents and business owners. The ultimate goal of the process is to save residents and business owners money on their electric bills.
12. The rate is 54% lower than the ComEd rate. Will I save 54% on my bill?
Your electrical bill is comprised of three different portions: electricity supply services, delivery services, and taxes and other. Only the electricity supply portion will change with the opt-out program and it accounts for approximately 50% of your bill. Therefore, your total bill should be reduced by approximately 30%, depending on your usage.
With these rates, an average resident will would save approximately $450 through May 31, 2013 through this program.
For a detailed explanation of your bill and where you would see savings, click here.
For additional questions, please contact John Prejzner, Assistant to the Village Manager, at (847) 853-7502 or prejznerj@wilmette.com.