Village updates residents on electric aggregation savings and regulatory cost change

Village staff briefed the council that Palatine's electric aggregation program (a multi-community consortium) has produced substantial savings over four years'about $27.3 million across the consortium and more than $7.3 million for Palatine residents. Staff said the supplier (Constellation) notified village officials that, due to a federal regulatory event, it intends to pass an additional regulatory charge to aggregation customers under contract terms that permit such passthroughs.

Council members and staff discussed that ComEd's supply rates may be competitive this coming year and that default reversion rules will return customers to ComEd unless they take action. Staff recommended residents look into options and warned of short-term promotional rates that may spike later. "We saved the typical residential customer about 330 to $340 over the last 4 years," staff said, adding that if residents do not switch and market rates behave as expected they might pay an extra $30 or $40 this year but still remain significantly ahead over the four-year period. Staff also noted that the village aggregation provided 100% renewable energy for aggregation participants during the contract period, a non-price benefit residents should consider.