2023/10/16 - Mayor's Column: Municipal Aggregation
“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
Over ten years ago, the city of O’Fallon joined 30+ other cities in a Municipal Electrical Aggregation Program. At that time, O’Fallon homeowners were saving hundreds of dollars a year by being able to negotiate lower rates than what Ameren Illinois was offering.
As we continue to work to be good custodians of your tax dollars, we are always looking for ways to help you save your dollars. In December of 2022, our contract with Homefield Energy ended with a rate of $0.0439. When we negotiated our current contract with Constellation New Energy, which was effective February, 2023, the best rate available was $0.1220 compared to Ameren’s rate at the time of $0.1226 per kWh.
Since then, Ameren has announced that their new rate effective October 1, 2023, will be $0.08107. This new Ameren rate is $.04093 lower than our current aggregation rate. For the average residential customer using 800 kWh per month, this would mean an approximate savings of $35 per month.
However, these new rates can be changed by Ameren at any time with approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission. They are in meetings with the Commerce Commission as you read this and we are expecting an announcement from the Commission in December, but we have no idea what, if any changes will be approved.
If you wish to switch back to Ameren versus staying with our current municipal aggregation supplier contract with Constellation (which runs through December of 2024), please keep in mind that after a 60-day trial period you are locked into Ameren for another 10 months, so if rates do increase, you cannot opt back out until after that time.
Each resident will need to make their own decision as to stay with the current aggregation supplier or switch to Ameren. If you are a new resident or uncertain if you should enroll in the O’Fallon aggregation program or go with Ameren, please contact Constellation New Energy at 833-618-0285 or contact Sandy Evans, Director of Finance, at City Hall at 618-624-4500 x 8723 or at [email protected].
As a reminder, in our aggregation program you do not have to sign a contract and can switch anytime and will not be contacted by a salesperson. If you are approached by an electric marketer, please be aware that they are NOT part of O’Fallon’s aggregation program.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open.