Electricity Aggregation

There is some confusion on the aggregation referendum that was voted down by narrow margins this last election season.

I would like to help people to better understand what the Illinois government allowed residents and business owners to do. "Municipal Electric Aggregation is the method by which municipal and/or county governments can enter into electricity purchasing agreements on behalf of consumers within their jurisdictions."

What does this mean? This means that the village is allowed to search for ways to help their residents lower their bills in finding a supplier that can agree to a rate that the village believes will benefit their constituents.

Does the village make anything off of this? Plain and simple answer is NO.

The village will not make a penny on this program. There are so many different companies out there, how do I know which one to choose? That is the million dollar question. Here are two easy questions to ask potential suppliers.

1. Do you generate your own power?

2. Do you offer consolidated billing?

If the answer is yes for both then check the rate. If the answer is no to either question tell them thank you anyway.

Why do you ask? Simple. If they are not a generator then they will have to buy their power from a generator and then resell it to you at a higher rate. A good example is Com Ed.

And what about consolidated billing? Well that is a tougher one to explain but I will do my best. Consolidated billing means that Com Ed will still send you your bill, you will still make your payments to Com Ed and they will still be responsible for maintenance and power outages.

Why is this important? If you are billed by both Com Ed and another company in different bills you will have added ancillary charges. Charges that can change on a month to month basis and will be on both bills. Combined billing will allow you to save more money.

What if I do not want a contract? Well with most companies there is a contract to protect both them and the consumers. For example I am a regional manager for First Energy Solutions. We are a generator of power and also provide combined billing.

We offer rates that are by far cheaper than the competition. With that being said, the rate changes weekly with electricity and we want you to have a promise that we will provide you your power at a specified rate for the term of your agreement.

This is what protects you. What if I want to cancel, is there a cancellation fee? That is a two sided question. First, if you are a residential customer there is no cancellation fee.

If you decide to not continue with the program savings you can opt out at any time. If you are a business customer and you decide to move or close your business your agreement is voided.

If you are not responsible for the power provided to that location why should you be penalized for that? Now if you enter into the agreement and decide to cancel within the term then there may be a fee if you are moving to another supplier. That can be discussed with your representative.

Why would I want to get rid of Com Ed? I have had them for years. That's easy. Save money. On most occasions the customer can save anywhere from 30-40% monthly. Let me ask you this. If someone was offering two identical pens. Same color, same look, everything exactly the same but one was $1.00 and the other was $5.00 which one would you take? Most answers are the $1.00 pen.

Why? Because it just makes sense. Why pay more for the exact same item if you do not have to. First Energy Solutions is a company that has been providing power to customers since the mid 1990's. They own 31 of their own power plants, they own their own coal mines and rail cars.

Why is that important? It is important because with the company being verically integrated it will allow for them to reduce the cost of their power to be the lowest. We pride ourselves on having the lowest price in the market so we can help consumers save money.

To date we have successfully implemented municipal aggregation to over 80 communities in the Chicagoland market. Recently the City of Crystal Lake, Aurora, Hoffman Estates,Rockford and many others have chose First Energy Solutions to provide the power to their residents. I hope this helps in some manner to clear up any confusion.

If you still have questions please feel free to ask. Even though Algonquin and Lake in the Hills did not approve this measure that does not mean you cannot choose. Any residential customer that would like to get more information or sign up for savings please log on to www.firstenergysolutions.com.

If you have a business and are interested in seeing how much money you may be able to save please contact myself to see what program you may qualify for. From a one person shop to a company with many employees and several location can benefit as well. Why not start saving money on your next bill and have the ability to increase your profit margin each month.

Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Marc Schlaiss FES Regional Manager M.Schlaiss.fes@stratmar.com (224)545-6148