December 27, 2012

Program Notification Letters for Electrical Aggregation Program Mailed to Over Two Million Chicago Residents and Small Business Owners

No Action Required to Enroll in Program Estimated to Save 11% On Electricity Bills

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

The City of Chicago announced today that Integrys Energy Services, the winner of the City’s open and competitive two-stage bidding process for municipal electricity aggregation, is sending program notification letters to approximately 2.5 million Chicago ComEd customers starting Thursday, December 27. Program customers will save approximately 11 percent over the first 15 months of the contract, resulting in $135-165 in savings for the average single-family homeowners. Under this agreement, Chicago customers will receive cleaner energy as well, as Integrys will be providing the City with a coal-free portfolio. To remain in the program and receive these savings, residents and business do not need to take any action.

Those wishing to opt out have until January 9 to contact Integrys either via mail, phone, or visiting Integrys’ website. After the opt-out period ends, Chicago customers will be able to leave at any time at no cost.

Current Chicago ComEd customers who receive the letter should know the following:

  • If they do nothing, they will be automatically enrolled in the City’s Program and save roughly 22 percent on your first bill starting in March. This will result in a total savings of $135-165 for the average single-family household over the first 15 months of the contract.
  •  ComEd will still be responsible for delivering electricity, issuing monthly bills, maintaining electricity lines and meters, responding to outages, and offering bill payment options such budget billing and automatic payment. In addition, low income assistance programs – such as LIHEAP and PIPP – will not be affected.
  •  No one from the City’s program will ever come to anyone’s door or call anyone to ask them to switch to a new supplier. Anyone who comes to a door or calls asking someone to switch is not with the City’s program.
  •  Customers can opt out in one of three ways:
  1. Return the card contained in the opt out letter;
  2. Call the Integrys 24/7 call center at 1-888-802-2885; or
  3. Visit the Integrys Chicago website at: www.integrysenergy.com/il-chicago

Current customers who participate in ComEd’s real-time pricing program or receive their electricity from an alternative supplier will not be automatically enrolled in the City’s program, but they can opt into the program at any time.

The City of Chicago’s agreement with Integrys locked in a rate of 5.42 cents per kilowatt hour until May 2014 that will save Chicagoans 11 percent off of their electricity bills over the first 16 months of the agreement, translating into a savings of $135-165 for the average single family household. The rate for the final 12 months of the contract will be set at a later time, but Integrys Energy Services will be required to always beat or match the ComEd price. The agreement also sets new standards for other cities and institutions to follow by completely eliminating coal from Chicago’s portfolio.

The City selected Integrys Energy Services to be its electricity supplier after an open and competitive, two-stage process. During the first phase, Integrys Energy Services was one of eight companies to respond to a Request for Qualifications, which required companies to establish that they could meet a number of customer service, account management, clean energy, and corporate health requirements. During the second stage, which ended on the afternoon of Friday, December 7th, the City selected Integrys Energy Services on the basis of lowest price margin.

 

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