Cary mulls energy co-op referendum – Northwest Herald (Illinois)

Residents may be asked this spring to vote on a referendum that would allow the village to seek lower electric rates on their behalf. The Village Board Administration...

Residents may be asked this spring to vote on a referendum that would allow the village to seek lower electric rates on their behalf.

The Village Board Administration and Development Committee this week discussed whether it should follow neighboring Fox River Grove in arranging for an outside broker to roll residents and small businesses into an energy aggregate cooperative.

To do this, residents would need to support a referendum for aggregation in the spring.

Local municipalities, including Harvard, already belong to the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Cooperative – an energy broker that shops for bids from more than a dozen energy suppliers to find the lowest rate.

Marengo is considering putting the question to voters this spring. McHenry County also is considering the option for unincorporated residents.

In communities where energy aggregation referendums are approved, residents continue to be billed for electricity through ComEd and use ComEd-owned grids, but the actual energy flowing into each home could come from a different source.

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