A new program to bundle together residential and small business electricity accounts could lower energy prices in Evanston.
Residents debated the new program at a Tuesday hearing, where preliminary energy bids already showed a potential drop in prices.
About 20 people attended the hearing at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. The event Tuesday night was the first of three public hearings on the city’s plan for electricity aggregation.
Evanston residents supported aggregation in the March 20 election with 73 percent voting in favor of the citywide referendum, according to the Cook County Clerk’s website.
Currently, Commonwealth Edison purchases electricity for customers who have not contracted with an alternate supplier. However, electricity aggregation allows Evanston to negotiate with other energy suppliers as a large industrial customer, seeking cheaper supply rates for all participating residents and small businesses.
If the city selects an alternate supplier, residents can opt out of the program and continue receiving energy from ComEd.
ComEd would continue to deliver the electricity and bill customers, said Catherine Hurley, the city’s sustainable programs coordinator.
With the referendum approved, Evanston will revise its “Plan of Operation and Governance,” in preparation for soliciting bids from pre-approved suppliers. The plan will have the opportunity to determine specific provisions such as the time period within which the contract will be in effect and the types of energy mixes Evanston will seek from suppliers.
“That document is a framework for what would be included in an agreement,” Hurley said.
The project’s review committee, consisting of both city employees and residents, recommended city council select at least a 75 percent renewable energy mix.
At Tuesday night’s hearing, however, many residents supported the 100 percent renewable energy option. Evanston resident Phyllis Bird said it would be “the easiest way” to meet and exceed Evanston’s 2008 Climate Action Plan goal to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 13 percent by the end of the year.
“Whenever we have the opportunity to opt for 100 percent renewable energy…we should go for it,” Bird said.
Although one attendee expressed his concern about the plan’s impact on residents with low or fixed incomes, others pointed to the miniscule difference in price between the 75 and 100 percent options. The difference would amount to less than one tenth of a cent per kilowatt hour.
For a single family home that uses 9,000 kilowatt hours annually, city documents estimate the 75 and 100 percent renewable energy plans will save that customer $290 and $287 respectively within the first year of switching.
Meanwhile, other area suburbs such as Skokie, Glencoe and Park Ridge, which formed a consortium specifically for discussing electricity aggregation, have already selected a supplier: Chicago-based MC Squared Energy Services. All municipalities will sign contracts Friday, said Jim Hock, the Park Ridge city manager. An MC Squared spokeswoman declined to comment as the agreement is not yet finalized.
MC Squared Energy Services received a 95 out of 100 rating from Evanston’s project committee, the highest of all suppliers. The supplier’s qualifications and willingness to execute the city’s proposed master agreement were assigned the highest point values in the committee’s assessment. Two other suppliers received a 76, barely meeting the 70-point threshold set by the committee. Ultimately, Hurley said the final decision is contingent upon pricing.
The next public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Linden Room of the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave.
City staff will consider citizen input at Tuesday’s hearing as well as upcoming hearings in preparation for presenting a final plan to city council next Tuesday for approval, Hurley added.
Jonathan Nieuwsma, a member of Citizens’ Greener Evanston board of directors, said he felt city council discussion on the issue of 100 percent renewable energy was encouraging.
“We have a very good shot,” Nieuwsma told The Daily earlier Tuesday. “It’s not a done deal until everything is signed, sealed, delivered.”
