A press release from the Village of Lakewood:
NIGEAC ELECTRIC AGGREGATION PROGRAM SELECTS NEW SUPPLIER FOR THE NEXT PROGRAM BEGINNING THIS SUMMER
McHenry County, IL (April, 2015 – Officials of the Northern Illinois Governmental Electric Aggregation Consortium (NIGEAC), are pleased to report that they have completed negotiations and selected Constellation New Energy (“Constellation”) as the group’s electric supplier for the next term.
Dumb electric meter.
NIGEAC communities include
- Algonquin
- Genoa
- Huntley
- Lakewood
- Ringwood
- Woodstock
Constellation will begin supplying the group with electricity flowing in July 2015 (August billing). Residents and small businesses in the current program have collectively saved approximately $8 million in the first 2 1⁄2 years of the program.
The NIGEAC recently completed an exhaustive bidding process and chose Constellation to serve the Program at a fixed rate of 6.89 cents/kWh for a 2-year term.
Constellation will replace the program’s current supplier, Direct Energy. Chalen Daigle, Official Coordinator for the group said, “We are pleased to have negotiated a rate that’s lower than the current rate.”
Daigle added, “Our offer with Constellation also includes an option to be supplied by 100% renewable energy Current participants and newly eligible residents and small businesses should expect to see Opt-Out letters from Constellation on or around April 25.
The letters will arrive in clearly marked envelopes mentioning the Aggregation Program on the outside and will include the respective community logo. Newly eligible customers are those who receive their generation supply from ComEd, or in other words, those who have not chosen a supplier on their own. Be on the lookout for your letter and please read it carefully, it will explain the rate and terms and conditions.
If you wish to remain in the program or be added to it, simply do nothing.
If you do not want to participate, follow the instructions for opting-out within the 21-day period.
A similar letter will be sent to residents in the six communities who are not eligible for automatic aggregation. These residents will be allowed to receive the same low rate, terms and conditions but will need to contact Constellation to enroll. Once again, all of this will be explained in the letters expected to arrive on or around April 25.
The NIGEAC and individual community leaders stress that residents need to wait for those letters to arrive. Do not contact Constellation as they will not be ready to accept enrollments until after the letters are mailed.
Likewise, please do not contact your community officials as they are not staffed to handle large volumes of calls.
The letters you receive from Constellation will provide all the information you need to make an informed decision and will include a list of Frequently Asked Under Illinois law, communities are able to form aggregated buying groups to purchase electricity on behalf of their citizens. The governmental aggregator chooses an alternate supplier for all of the members in its group.
Customers may opt out of the aggregation program and shop for a supplier or accept the standard rate offered by ComEd.
ComEd will continue to deliver the electricity, read meters, send monthly billing statements and maintain service for residents and small businesses.
To those who are concerned over this obsequious program, I have a few thoughts to share.
There is nothing Constitutional about this program and it would never stand up to a constitutional review / litigation. According to this law, every man, woman, and child is forced by governmental decree into an energy program whether they want it or not.
We can’t vote to give powers to the government which do not reside in the Constitution as proponents of this law profess.
The County of McHenry and other government seats in support of this so-called aggregation should be ashamed and embarrassed.
But was it even on the ballot?
Oh yea, I do recall something like, ‘We will negotiate for better power rates for our town to offer competition to reduce power cost’.
Well that sounds great, right?
However, we got something very different.
What it did not say, but is in reality and action, ‘I hereby allow the Government to speak for me, sign me up for programs I may or may not support, and require me to opt out rather than opt in at pain of payment’.
So what’s my beef, because after all, isn’t this less costly?
Well truth be told, I like a good deal like the next guy.
If someone negotiates a better rate for me for a service I use, I say thanks – I’ll look it over and potentially sign up!
However, if someone indicates they changed my power company without my permission, gave them my personal information, and the only way to avoid paying another power company is to call them and opt out, then I say no thanks.
Also I say, who the heck do you think you are?
Why is aggregation unconstitutional exactly?
The 1st, 4th, and 5th amendments to the Constitution address areas of the right to privacy – something we all value.
So when the government provides my address, name, phone number, usage, and account number to another power company without my express permission, I lost my right to Privacy.
What if they gave out your Facebook user name and password, bank account numbers to a government supported bank, or told you they bought you a car and your payment booklet was on the way unless you opted out?
How bad does it have to get before realizing what took place?
But wait a minute, what’s wrong with lower energy bills?
Nothing.
However, what they are asking us to buy is part of the problem – fully subsidized green energy.
Green energy is where we all want to get to, but for now it is far too expensive to make economic sense so the government steps in to lower the cost.
For example, solar panels can take up to 33 years to pay for themselves – about twice as long as their life expectancy.
It only makes economic sense when subsidized by the government using our tax dollars to lower the cost to consumers and businesses.
All green energy programs receive varying levels of government subsidies and Constellation is no different.
So by forcing us to use green energy, we are not getting a better deal as we have already paid substantial costs to via taxes.
In all likelihood, green energy per consumer as presently structured in Constellation’s payment program is far more expensive than private energy producers.
Making things worse is the unfair trade practice of instead of leveling the playing field of energy production costs via subsidies, government subsidies are so high green energy costs less than unsubsidized private sector energy.
Constellation boasts their costs are lower using green energy.
Effectively and in actually, the government has created false competitors to private sector energy by giving them an unfair advantage using our hard-earned tax dollars to accomplish same.
Then finally there is ‘aggregation’ – forcing consumers to use government subsidized power companies.
We are now getting hit from all sides.
I’m sure Comed would love to force consumers to use their power services, but that is against the law.
So how is Constellation’s requirement any less lawless?
I see no difference.
What I do see clearly is a mission to remove all private sector providers of power so we’re all forced to pay the government and an out of control bureaucracy.
I don’t care about Comed.
I don’t care about Constellation.
I’m just a guy who thinks about stuff.
Most of all, I CARE ABOUT MY RIGHT TO PRIVACY.
For me, I opt out of Constellation, and when possible, I’ll opt out of McHenry County too.
I opt in to fighting for my rights and yours.
I opt in for those who stand up against the irruption of our rights. I opt in for America and our Constitution.
Steve H.