Mayor Emanuel Announces Support for Municipal Aggregation

A recent Tribune article addressed Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s support behind an electrical aggregation plan for the City of Chicago.

The process of municipal aggregation of electricity involves a municipality choosing an energy supplier for the entire community. The benefit to Chicagoans is lower electricity bills due to the lower rates that the municipality negotiates with utility companies. Individuals are automatically included in the electricity program except for those members that choose not to participate through an “opt-out” option.

Seeking support for municipal aggregation on the November ballot, Emanuel identifies its potential impact on utility savings for homeowners in Chicago. These savings range from an estimated $200-$300 in yearly savings, as reported by the Citizens Utility Board.  However, purchasing contracts between ComEd and Ameren Illinois are set to expire in June of 2013, and the consistency of high annual savings comes into question.

Municipal aggregation offers opportunities for savings, but a more long-term approach to household electricity savings is energy efficient home improvements such as adding insulation or switching to efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.  These changes are lasting, and will improve energy usage, increase annual savings, and improve the value of your home, free from a reliance on third party. Though homeowners have many possibilities to save on home energy costs, they only really have one option to improve their home’s comfort.  MyHomeEQ can help with that.