Municipal aggregation
In 2012, Chicago voters approved municipal electricity aggregation via a referendum. This gives the City of Chicago the authority to select, negotiate rates and terms, and automatically enroll residents in an electricity supply plan from an alternative retail electricity supplier (ARES). Previously, residents who did not choose an alternative supplier automatically purchased their electricity from the utility ComEd.
Municipal aggregation can be a powerful tool to both lower electricity costs and encourage companies to supply more renewable electricity. The first Chicago municipal aggregation contract prohibited electricity from coal, becoming the largest American city to do so. The publication "Leading From the Middle" describes how it has been used throughout Illinois.
Integrys Energy won the first contract. According to WBEZ, much of this electricity is produced from natural gas in Pennsylvania, where 80% of natural gas is extracted via hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"). About 5% of this electricity is purchased directly from Illinois wind farms.
The Chicago municipal electricity aggregation contract is up for renewal in 2015. At that time, the city could change the terms of the contract to more forcefully promote a greener electrical system. It could, for example, require the creation of a "community clean energy fund" to finance local solar projects, insist that a larger percentage of electricity comes from renewable sources, or prohibit the purchase of electricity from natural gas in states where fracking is common.
Municipal aggregation can be a powerful tool to both lower electricity costs and encourage companies to supply more renewable electricity. The first Chicago municipal aggregation contract prohibited electricity from coal, becoming the largest American city to do so. The publication "Leading From the Middle" describes how it has been used throughout Illinois.
Integrys Energy won the first contract. According to WBEZ, much of this electricity is produced from natural gas in Pennsylvania, where 80% of natural gas is extracted via hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"). About 5% of this electricity is purchased directly from Illinois wind farms.
The Chicago municipal electricity aggregation contract is up for renewal in 2015. At that time, the city could change the terms of the contract to more forcefully promote a greener electrical system. It could, for example, require the creation of a "community clean energy fund" to finance local solar projects, insist that a larger percentage of electricity comes from renewable sources, or prohibit the purchase of electricity from natural gas in states where fracking is common.
what citizens can do
Go Clean Go Local is a joint initiative from the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to assist Illinois municipalities with electricity aggregation. The website provides suggestions for how to use municipal aggregation to create more local renewable electricity -- e.g., see this fact sheet with four suggestions. Residents can sign a petition of support and register to receive action alerts.
The Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club has been active in promoting the use of municipal aggregation to create more local, renewable electricity. Its Chicago chapter's Air & Energy Committee will likely focus on Chicago's next municipal aggregation contract in late summer and fall 2014.