Press Release: City Selects Dynegy to Supply Participating Residents with 100 Percent Renewable Electricity

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Press release

For Immediate Release

June 22, 2017
Media Contact: Patrick Deignan pdeignan@cityofevanston.org
Phone: 847-448-8234

City Selects Dynegy to Supply Participating Residents with 100 Percent Renewable Electricity

Green Earth

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - The Evanston City Council has approved a three-year contract with Dynegy as part of the City’s community choice electricity aggregation program, providing participating residents and small businesses with 100 percent renewable energy.

After a thorough bid process, the City secured an electricity supply price of 7.132 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the duration of the contract, August 2017 through July 2020. Evanston’s contract provides residents with 100 percent renewable energy by purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), which ensure that green energy is produced and added to the electricity grid. RECs will come from facilities, such as wind farms, located in Illinois or a neighboring state, and are required to be generated within one year of the energy being used by the aggregated group. 

“I’m proud that our City is offering community members the opportunity to receive 100 percent renewable energy for the next three years,” said Mayor Stephen Hagerty. “This program makes it easy for Evanston residents to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home while helping the City achieve its climate action goals. Now more than ever, it’s important that cities like Evanston step up to protect the planet.”

Earlier this month, Mayor Hagerty joined with the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (Climate Mayors) in committing to uphold the greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments of the Paris climate accord, in which the U.S. had pledged to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent relative to 2005 levels by 2025. The City's electricity aggregation program will help Evanston meet that commitment.

The City and Dynegy will mail a letter to residents later this month detailing the new contract. Residents who wish to continue in the City’s aggregation program do not have to take any action and will be automatically switched to Dynegy. Residents who do not wish to be enrolled in the program should opt out by Thursday, July 13 by completing and returning the mailing’s enclosed opt-out card, or by calling Dynegy at 844-351-7691.

The City’s current contract with Homefield Energy expires on July 31, 2017. Depending on their billing cycle, residents will notice a change in the supply portion of their electric bill in August or September reflecting Dynegy as their new supplier. ComEd will continue to be responsible for delivering electricity to residents’ homes, and billing them for it.

Customers may choose to leave the City’s program at any time without penalty and return to ComEd for supply, or may select another electricity supplier. Residents who choose a new electricity supplier are encouraged to closely review any contract for early termination fees and the potential for rate increases.

ComEd’s estimated supply price through September 2017 is 6.892 cents per kWh, which includes the utility’s "electricity supply" and "transmission services" charges. ComEd electricity supply customers also pay a Purchased Electricity Adjustment (PEA), which changes monthly and can be a charge or credit of up to 0.5 cents per kWh. Participants in Evanston’s aggregation program do not pay a PEA. Community members may visit pluginillinois.org/FixedRateBreakdownComEd.aspx for more information and for updated price comparisons.

Residents are also reminded to be cautious of door-to-door and phone solicitations from electricity suppliers claiming to represent the City of Evanston or the City’s new electricity supplier. No party representing the City’s electricity aggregation program will call customers to request their account numbers or any other personal information. Residents who wish to report aggressive or misleading solicitations should call the Evanston Police Department’s non-emergency number at 847-866-5000.

For more information about Evanston's aggregation program, visit cityofevanston.org/cca or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.

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