Lincoln council authorizes renewal of municipal electric aggregation to match Ameren pricing cycle

The Lincoln City Council on Feb. 17 voted to authorize the mayor to sign a service agreement renewing the city’s municipal electric aggregation program, a group purchasing arrangement the city uses to seek lower electricity prices for participating residents and small businesses.

Justin Chager, who briefed the council, said the current contract effectively runs through the May meter read and that staff are proposing a 13- or 14-month renewal to shift the long-term contract cycle to May. “We are we are in the middle of getting ready to renew lehi aggregation program,” Chager said, describing a plan to align the renewal schedule with the MISO capacity auction and Ameren’s May default-rate release so the city can “have a little more information” when pricing suppliers.

Chager presented the program’s 2025 results and described the aggregation group as 22 communities with roughly 70,000 participant accounts. He said aggregate savings for 2025 totaled $165,653 and that the program is about 90% residential and 10% small commercial. On household savings, the presentation and subsequent council discussion used group-average assumptions and Chager offered to run an individual resident’s Ameren account to calculate that household’s specific savings if an account number is provided.

Under the program described by Chager, the city signs a single supplier contract and residents are automatically included unless they opt out; letters will go out beginning in April allowing a 60-day opt-out window. Chager noted that if customers opt out and return to Ameren or another supplier, Ameren’s rules typically prevent rejoining the municipal program for 12 months.

Discussion: Council members asked about whether the charts presented reflected Lincoln-only data or pooled group data, how solar (behind-the-meter) customers are handled and whether sample opt-out letters could be shared. Chager said participants with behind-the-meter solar are generally excluded and that the supplier must restart outreach for a new contract term, which can mean previously opted-out residents are re-enrolled under a new term. He also offered to produce anonymized ward-level snapshots of savings for councilors who submit an Ameren account number.

Vote and next steps: Alderwoman McClellan moved to authorize execution of the agreement; Alderman Parrott seconded. The resolution passed by roll call (eight Yes). Staff said they will proceed with the RFP process and mail opt-out notices in April.