Energy Aggregation
If you have questions about Heyworth's municipal energy aggregation program, you can contact Constellation at (833) 385-0518 or visit Constellation's website.
What is municipal energy aggregation?
To understand what municipal energy aggregation is, it's first important to understand how energy or electricity is provided to each property.
Energy is "delivered" to a property by an "energy delivery provider" through that provider's power lines, power supply stations, and other power infrastructure. The "supply" of that energy is provided by an "energy supplier". The energy supplier supplies energy to your property by using the delivery system of the energy delivery provider. Sometimes the energy supplier is the same company as the energy delivery provider, but they often are not. When you pay your power bill, you are paying both a "delivery" charge at one rate and the "supply" charge at a different rate on that same bill.
Ameren is the energy delivery provider for the Village of Heyworth. Ameren owns and operates the power poles, power lines, street lights, power stations, transformers and other such electrical equipment located within the Village.
Municipal Energy Aggregation is the concept that municipalities, because they can negotiate the purchase of energy/electricity supply from an energy supplier for every household within the municipality pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act, can get a cheaper energy supply rate for every household and small commercial business than if individual homes or small businesses negotiated the purchase of energy supply themselves. In other words, it's often cheaper to buy in bulk. The more customers an energy supplier knows it will have, the cheaper the rate the energy supplier may provide, and by participating with the CIMA, there are over 40,000 customers that are a part of the Village's program.
Municipal Energy Aggregation is authorized pursuant to the Illinois Power Agency Act (20 ILCS 3855/1-92), which permits a municipality, if authorized by referendum vote of its citizens, to adopt an ordinance by which it may operate a program to solicit bids and enter into agreements to lock in energy supply rates, not energy delivery rates, for residential and small commercial business customers. In 2012, the citizens of Heyworth voted by referendum to allow the Village to negotiate opt-out energy supply contracts.
There are many energy suppliers out there that want your business. You likely have received advertisements in the mail asking you to join an energy aggregation supplier. How the Village negotiates with energy suppliers is to utilize the services of a Municipal Energy Aggregation broker, currently The Stone River Group, to negotiate with energy suppliers on behalf of the Village. Brokers like The Stone River Group will often join multiple municipalities together, if the municipalities agree, to form a larger group. Using this larger group, the broker negotiates with various energy supplier for: (1) the cheapest energy supply rate; and (2) the number of months or years that the energy supplier will provide that energy supply rate. Generally, whichever energy supplier negotiates the lowest energy supply rate, the municipality will chose that energy contract.
Do I have to use the energy supplier the Village approved for Municipal Energy Aggregation?
No. The Village utilizes "opt-out" energy aggregation. This means that energy customers can contact the municipal energy aggregation supplier and opt out or decide not to be a part of the municipal energy aggregation program. Once a person opts-out, that person cannot rejoin the municipal energy aggregation group until 12 months after opting out.
If you want to be a part of the municipal energy aggregation contract, no further action is needed by you. You are automatically enrolled in the municipal energy aggregation program unless you have an individually contracted energy aggregation agreement (you at some point entered in an agreement separate from the Village's agreement), in which case you would need to "opt-in" to the Village's municipal energy aggregation supply program when you are eligible per the terms of your individual energy supply agreement.
why would I want to remain in the municipal energy aggregation program?
The municipal energy aggregation program with Constellation beginning in June 2022 is a 3-year fixed rate and may be a cheaper rate than Ameren rates or through an individually negotiated energy aggregation supply contract. Ameren rates also may fluctuate. Since the Village begin its opt-out municipal energy aggregation program in 2012, the Village's municipal energy aggregation supply rate has been an average 12.7% lower than Ameren's supply rate over the same timeframe and has been lower than Ameren's rates 86 out of the 114 months. On April 25, 2022, Ameren released that its supply rates from June through September 2022 will be $0.0946 kWh (16.5% higher than the Village's rate) and from September 2022 through May 2023 will be $0.11502 kWh (31.3% higher than the Village's rate) - click here for more information on Ameren's release of rate information.
Additional resources:
If you would like to learn more information about municipal energy aggregation or the Village's municipal energy aggregation program, the following may be additional helpful resources: