Village Locks In Electric Savings

Savings of approximately 25 percent are in store for Deerfield residents who choose the based on the one-year rate announced today, according to . 

A consortium of eight north suburban communities including Deerfield will be purchasing electricity for 4.836 cents per kilowatt hour rather than the current rate of 8.233 cents charged by Commonwealth Edison. 

“I’m very pleased our small businesses and residents have this opportunity for savings over the next year,” Street said. “The team in our group (the consortium) was essential to achieve the results we did. It could not have been done without them.” 

The price, negotiated by MC Squared Energy Services for the eight communities—Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Glencoe, Skokie, Park Ridge and Northbrook—was announced at a news conference Tuesday in Skokie. 

Mayor Harriet Rosenthal accompanied Street and his assistant, Jenny Maltas to the event. Maltas has been a . 

ComEd will continue to provide distribution of power and bills will continue to come from the utility. According to Street, approximately half the existing bill is for the power itself and the rest is for the balance of service. 

The consortium was formed late last year and all eight communities approved the opportunity in the March 20 primary. More than 75 percent of Deerfield voters gave the Village the right to purchase its own power for citizens. 

In the next 21 days, eligible residents and businesses will receive a letter from the Village giving them the option to choose the plan. Affirmative action is necessary. All residents and small businesses who have not already purchased electricity from a source other than ComEd can participate. 

Information will be available sooner. “We hope to have it on the Village’s website by the end of the week,” Street said. 

One concern, expressed by a reader to a March 27 Patch story on the subject, is whether ComEd will give the same level of service during power outages to people buying their electricity from another source. Street is not concerned. 

“Commonwealth Edison still gets considerable profit from servicing the power even from those not buying their power from Exelon,” Street said. “They are responsible to the ICC (Illinois Commerce Commission) for the integrity of the system.” 

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