Riverside officials are preparing to pick the village’s electric aggregation program for the next year, as its current contract is set to end in October.
Village Clerk Emily Stenzel told trustees May 15 they would have the choice between seven programs to continue the program, which combines the electric supply for residents and small businesses across town unless they choose to opt out. The board is set to make a formal decision at its June 5 meeting.
Since residents voted to begin the program in 2012, Riverside has provided 100% green energy in town through companies that offset the village’s electricity by purchasing renewable energy certificates. Buying the certificates effectively means the electricity used in town comes from renewable sources, according to Illinois Aggregation Consultants, which has served as the village’s contracted consultant for aggregation since 2012.
For the 2024-2025 program, only 12% of eligible residents and small businesses opted out of the program.
MC Squared Energy Services, which provides Riverside with electricity now and did so from 2020-2023, will offer the village 12- and 24-month aggregation plans with fixed electricity rates above the predicted ComEd rate of 9.5 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity.
For 50% green energy, MC Squared would offer 10.65 cents per kWh for a one-year contract or 10.75 cents per kWh for a two-year contract. For 100% green energy, the rates increase to 10.8 cents per kWh for one year or 10.9 cents per kWh for two years.
Dynergy Energy Services, which provided Riverside with electricity from 2015-2020 and again in 2023-2024, is expected to provide rates as well, though they were not available for the village board to preview.
Stenzel said MC Squared also offered 0% green energy contracts, but village staff recommended against pursuing it.
“It’s still at a premium [cost] to ComEd, but we have none of the benefits of green energy,” she said.
The company will also offer Riverside a 20% green energy contract matching ComEd’s price, which Sharon Durling, president of Illinois Aggregation Consultants, said is expected to rise from 6.5 to 9.5 cents per kWh for the year, starting in June.
In addition to the green energy contracts, MC Squared will offer another contract matching ComEd’s rate. Instead of buying renewable energy certificates on Riverside’s behalf, it would give Riverside a $15,000 grant for the year to use however the village likes. Stenzel suggested it could be used to further initiatives found in Riverside’s climate action and resilience plan, which trustees approved on May 1.
“Instead of putting monies toward renewable energy certificates, they’re giving that to the village,” Durling said. “Some [other communities] have told me they’ve used it for recyclable bins. They have little projects, and they just don’t have the money for them.”
Durling told trustees the average homeowner in Riverside will have overpaid for electricity by $83 from last October through the end of the current contract compared to the ComEd rate. Based on the predicted ComEd rate next year, that extra cost would likely rise to $120, or $10 per month, for the average household, she said.
She added that, according to state regulations, Riverside is not allowed to state the ComEd rate when it sends residents opt-out notices for the program, though it can direct residents to find the rate elsewhere.
Village President Doug Pollock suggested the board consider a more aggressive education campaign this year to tell residents how they can opt out of the program.
“What I hear from the community a lot is, ‘If this could only be an opt-in [program]. It should be an opt-in.’ Well, that’s not allowed by state law,” he said. “I’d like to think this community would understand the benefits of sustainable energy and all that, but, in fairness, it should be made as easy as possible for people to make a choice.”
Pollock emphasized that the presentation gave village trustees more time than usual to consider how to proceed with Riverside’s electrical aggregation.
“Until we actually see the real numbers next board meeting, really, it’s hard to make a decision,” he said. “The purpose of bringing this to you tonight is just to get you thinking about it [so we can] be better prepared than we have in the past when we do have to make a decision. The nature of this thing is, we get the prices in the afternoon, and, that night, we have to decide.”
