Savings on Electric Bill Could Arrive in June

Northbrook residents could start seeing savings on their electric bills as early as June, after the village board approved contracts with an alternate supplier to ComEd. 

On March 20, allowing the village to bundle its electric accounts with several other nearby towns in order to get a discount on electrical supply. Along with Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Park Ridge and Skokie, the village of Northbrook .  

In anticipation of passage of the referendum, the eight communities issued a request for proposals from energy companies around the nation. The Chicago-based company MCsquared was the lowest responsible bidder and was chosen as the representative, according to Phil Kiraly, Northbrook’s assistant village manager. The consortium and MCsquared will monitor the market and select the best possible rate during the first half of April. 

According to Kiraly, residents can expect to see savings of 20 to 30 percent off the commodity cost on their bill. ComEd will still remain the distributor of electricity, so those costs will continue to be determined by ComEd. 

At a special meeting of the village board on Tuesday, trustees took the necessary steps to implement communal purchasing of electricity. They also had to decide what mix of standard and renewable energy to offer residents. Under the program, the village can offer residents a standard electricity supply with the state-mandated renewable energy mix of 7 percent, a renewable mix with a greater percentage of green energy (that would cost more), or leave the option up to the individual.

The board unanimously agreed to offer residents the third option, something Trustee Michael Scolaro described as a “no-brainer.” Park Ridge, , Skokie, and all went with the individual choice, while selected the renewable mix for all of its residents. Glencoe’s board of trustees will vote on the matter Thursday night. 

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Northbrook trustees also approved a three-year contract with MCsquared. Each year, the consortium will secure a price in May after Commonwealth Edison announces what it will charge. If the company cannot beat ComEd, it can either guarantee a price lower than ComEd’s or the consortium can terminate the agreement, according to Kiraly. 

Once the rate is secure, letters will be mailed to all electrical customers in Northbrook who have not already purchased power from an outside source. They can then opt out of the program and stay with ComEd or buy from the consortium. Residents will continue to receive one bill from ComEd.