River Forest is in the hunt for a firm that can provide a one-year contract for an alternative source of electricity for the best price.
With its one-year agreement with its provider, Integrys Energy Services, expiring in June, the village’s energy consultant, Mark Pruitt, will test the market and see what the market will bear, Village Administrator Eric Palm said.
An update is expected April 28.
Since the program began in June 2013, residents have been paying 4.99 cents per kilowatt hour.
Approximately 3,458 residents and small businesses have participated and collectively saved more than $660,000 as compared to what they would have paid through Commonwealth Edison, according to the village website.
But the market is changing, Palm told trustees last week, and costs were rising. He said that he could not recommend a proposal from Integrys to provide a price in the high 6 cents per kilowatt hour range because the agreement would have been for three years. .
Communities had been rejecting bids because of higher costs. Oak Park is in the midst of a fierce debate over energy alternatives.
“That’s making pricing for electricity supply not as attractive as it once was,” Palm said. “Even with an opt-out at no cost, I’m not comfortable with a three-year agreement. A one-year agreement makes more sense”
Residents and small business owners still are plugged into Commonwealth Edison’s grid, for billing and if the power goes out, the utility giant is responsible for maintenance.
The village also intends to contact a group of North Shore communities to see if there is a possibility of linking up with them.
That group, the Lakeshore Power Alliance, which includes Glenview, Kenilworth, Northfield and Wilmette, locked a one-year deal with MC Squared Energy Services, beginning in June 2014. Through May 2015, the basic rate is $6.719 cents per kilowatt-hour and $6.859 per kilowatt hour for green energy, according to the Wilmette website.
