The Village has learned that residents are receiving letters from FirstEnergy Solutions asking residents to continue to purchase their electricity from FirstEnergy. These letters, which have been sent to residents without Village knowledge or consent, have created confusion for residents.
The Village is providing residents with three important points of clarification.
First, the Village has had a contract with FirstEnergy for the Village’s electricity aggregation program. That contract expires at the end of June 2014. At that time, the residents who participate in the electricity aggregation program will be switched automatically to ComEd starting with the July 2014 bill.
Second, the Village attempted to negotiate a subsequent contract with FirstEnergy, but did not reach agreement on favorable terms for a contract, several of which involved important consumer protections.
Third, over the past several months, the Village carefully studied proposals from several other alternative electricity suppliers in addition to ComEd. The Village did not choose any of those proposals and instead chose ComEd, whose default rate and terms appear to be the most favorable for residents.
In the coming months the Village will monitor the electricity marketplace to see whether an alternative electricity provider can supply the Village’s electricity aggregation program at a savings over ComEd’s rates.
Each resident has the option to switch her or his individual electricity account to an alternative electricity provider. When deciding whether to select an alternative supplier, residents should be careful that they fully understand the terms being offered by that alternative supplier. As examples:
• Is the rate proposed by that supplier competitive compared to ComEd and other alternative suppliers?
• Is the term of the contract favorable or too long or too short?
• Can or will the price for electricity change during the term of the contract?
• Are there fees or charges other than the price of electricity?
• Is there a penalty for cancelling the contract, if for example the resident finds a better price from a different supplier?
For more information regarding the Village’s electricity aggregation program, visit: www.villageoflagrange.com/electricalaggregation. If you then have additional questions, please call Assistant Village Manager Andrianna Peterson at (708) 579-2315.