Politics & Government

Buffalo Grove Joined by Six Towns for Electricity Referendum

Adjacent villages will share resources as they ask voters if they would like access to alternative energy suppliers for a lower rate.

Community meetings and other forms of communication will be used in the coming months as seven villages, led by Buffalo Grove, educate residents about .

Registered voters of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Palatine, Vernon Hills and Wheeling will be asked to vote on a program called Community Choice Aggregation on the March 20 primary ballot.

If they approve the referendum, their village may seek competitive pricing bids for electrical services under a single contract that would include residents and small businesses.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The villages receive no financial benefit from this initiative. The purpose of pursuing this initiative is to lower electricity costs for the benefit of residents and businesses within each participating municipality. If the referendum is approved, the participating municipalities would issue one request for proposal for certified wholesale electric suppliers to submit bids.

Each municipal board would accept the best bid based on the lowest price, and based on the supplier who best meets the evaluation criteria established by the participating municipalities. Since electric prices would be lower, residents and business electric bills would decrease.

Find out what's happening in Buffalo Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ghida Neukirch, Buffalo Grove’s deputy village manager, said that if voters in some of the communities reject the proposal, it should not impact the ability of villages with successful referendums to secure competitive rates.

“It shouldn’t impact the price because we’re still a sizable group,” she said.

Any villages that reject the referendum will still be responsible for their share of the expenses incurred by the group. Each town will pay about $1,000 toward legal expenses as well as a to-be-determined cost of a consultant that the villages will hire to attend public meetings prior to Election Day. The consultant will also help write a request for proposals and analyze suppliers’ bids if the referendum is successful, Neukirch said. Bids from prospective consultants are due Jan. 3.

In the event of a successful referendum, each electric customer would be contacted by the selected electricity supplier. If individuals do not want to participate in the program, they may opt out of the program and stay with their current electric supplier.

Residents and small businesses already under contract with an electric supplier other than ComEd would be able to opt in when their contract expires. Customers could also select if they want to pursue green or renewable energy.

Information about the referendum will be included in future village newsletters and electronic communication, as well as in presentations to community groups, such as Rotary and Lions clubs, Neukirch said. 

The referendum question on the March 20 ballot will ask voters if their village should have the authority to seek competitive pricing bids for electric services under a single contract.

Specifically, it asks:

Shall the Village of [participating municipality] 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?

For more information about this initiative, contact a municipality at the number below or email electricityagg@vbg.org.

Arlington Heights, 1-847-368-5000; Buffalo Grove, 1-847-459-2525;  Lincolnshire, 1-847-883-8600; Long Grove, 1-847-634-9440; Palatine, 1-847-359-9050; Vernon Hills, 1-847-367-3700; Wheeling, 1-847-279-6900.


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