Residents: How Much Green Energy is Possible?

Elmhurst residents at Monday's public hearing on electricity aggregation offered their views on how much electricity should be derived from renewable energy.

The city is looking for resident input to help finalize a plan to seek cheaper power rates than those currently offered by ComEd, and renewable energy is high on the priority list.

The city will go out on the open market and bid for the lowest-cost electricity for residential and small commercial users. Power can be purchased from any of about two dozen Illinois Commerce Commission-approved suppliers. ComEd will continue to supply the power and be the point of contact during outages, and residents who seek a new contract with an energy provider will still be billed by ComEd, City Manager Jim Grabowski said.

Voters in a March referendum said they wanted to have the option to opt out of the program rather than to be opted in.

Lisa Gerhold with Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition said aggregation is a “win-win” for residents, as both lower rates and the potential to purchase more power generated with renewable resources is now possible.

In a draft governance plan, the city stated it will decide what percentage of renewable energy—which will consist mostly of wind power—it wants any bidders to use. Gerhold asked the city to request that 100 percent of its energy come from renewable sources.

But Jim Belden, an energy consultant, said the city would actually be purchasing renewable energy credits from the power generator. While credits would supply some energy from wind, Belden told aldermen that Illinois power consumers will be relying on coal, nuclear energy and natural gas for decades. He urged the city to allow residents to choose to purchase renewable energy credits much the same way it is allowing users to opt out of the aggregation program.

Residents have another chance to weigh in on the electricity aggregation plan at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 7, at City Hall, 209 N. York St.