Residents asked permission to seek electricity alternatives

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Updated: February 16, 2012 1:34PM

Dozens of towns in Kane and other area counties plan to ask voters for permission to bargain hunt for electricity this election season.

A question proposed for the March 20 ballot would ask voters to allow municipalities to shop for bids on residential and small-business electricity providers.

Currently, ComEd provides electricity to the municipalities.

There’s no commitment in the referendum language by the municipalities to switch providers, and residents can opt out of the program if they want to stay with ComEd. The question is simply required before a municipality can move forward with bids.

The program was created by passage of legislation called the Community Choice Aggregation, which has a goal of allowing local governments to offer their residents a cheaper energy supply.

Elburn, North Aurora and Sugar Grove all approved similar referendums a year ago.

Among the Fox Valley government bodies which have submitted the question for the primary ballot are Kane County, for its unincorporated area, and Aurora, Oswego, Yorkville, Montgomery, Plano, Big Rock, Campton Hills, Plainfield, Hinckley, Maple Park, Minooka, Millington, Sandwich and Somonauk.

Other Kane County towns which have submitted the question for the ballot include Elgin, Algonquin, Barrington, Burlington, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Gilberts, Hampshire, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, South Elgin, Pingree Grove and West Dundee.

More towns also may raise the issue, as municipalities have until Thursday to submit referendum questions to the county clerk for certification, according to Kane’s director of elections, Mark Mossman.

Municipalities had to adopt the ordinance to put a referendum question on the March 20 ballot by Jan. 3.