G29-12 I -
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• Ordinance No. G29-12
AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE ELECTRIC POWER AGGREGATION
PLAN OF OPERATIONS AND GOVERNANCE AND DIRECTING
FOLLOW-UP ACTION TO IMPLEMENT THE AGGREGATION PROGRAM
WHEREAS, Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act (20 ILCS 3855/1-92) ("the
Act") authorizes the Corporate Authorities of a municipality to adopt an ordinance in accordance
with the Act to aggregate electrical loads for residential and small commercial retail customers
within the corporate limits of the City of Elgin ("City"); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Act, the City placed a referendum on the March 20, 2012
ballot and the citizens of the City by a majority vote agreed to implement an Opt-Out
Governmental Electric Aggregation Program (the "Program") authorizing the City to arrange for
the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not
opted out of such program; and
WHEREAS, the City has been working to prepare for and act upon the results of the
referendum and to arrange for power purchases under the Program; and
WHEREAS, the City working has developed a Plan of Operations and Governance
("POG") that describes the Program and opt-out notices and power purchases to be made under
• that program in a manner consistent with the Act, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of the Act, the City has posted notice and has
held at least two public hearings on the POG, and the corporate authorities have concluded that
the POG meets the Act's requirements and establishes opt-out procedures that are designed to
put residents on notice of their right to opt-out of the Program; and
WHEREAS, the Act authorizes a municipality to solicit bids for electricity and other
related services.
NOW. THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS:
Section 1: That the recitals above are incorporated herein as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2: That the POG which is attached hereto as Exhibit A and shall be incorporated
herein as if fully set forth, is hereby adopted, and the City hereby establishes an Opt-Out Electric
Aggregation program pursuant to the terms of the POG.
Section 3: That the City staff is hereby directed to submit the POG to the Illinois Power
Agency and to take such other steps as are contemplated by the POG including ensuring that all
residential and small commercial retail customers are informed that they have the right to opt-out
• of the Program in a manner consistent with the Act, and the staff are further directed to
participate in the power supply bid procedure and to otherwise seek to obtain electric power for
• the residential and small commercial retail customers of the City who have not opted out of the
Program.
Section 4: That the Mayor is hereby authorized to enter into service agreement(s) to
facilitate the sale and purchase of Electricity to consumers in the City's opt-out program. The
Electric supply service agreement shall only be with an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier
licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission and will meet the requirements outlined in the
City's POG.
Section 5: That if any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, sentence or provision of
this Ordinance shall be adjudged by any Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
judgment shall not affect, impair, invalidate or nullify the remainder thereof which remainder
shall remain and continue in full force and effect.
Section 6: That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 7: That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately after its
passage in the manner provided by law and publication in pamphlet form (which publication is
hereby authorized).
• David J. Ka in, ayor
Presented: May 9, 2012
Passed: May 9, 2012
Vote: Yeas: 6 Nays: 0
Recorded: May 9, 2012
Published: May 11, 2012
Attest:
Kimberly Dewis, City Clerk
•
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S- 1
City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
CITY OF ELGIN
ELECTRIC AGGREGATION PROGRAM
Plan of Operations and Governance
•
For additional information contact:
Mark R. Burns, President
Independent Energy Consultants, Inc.
Ph: (888) 862-6060
•
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Exhibit A
4 City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
O
INDEPENDENT
ENERGY CONSULTANTS
•
Table of Contents
1. Purpose of Electric Aggregation Program & Services..............................................................4
2. Determination of Rates and Other Charges.............................................................................5
3. Process for Providing Opt-Out Disclosure Notices...................................................................6
4: Determination of Eligible Customer Pool .................................................................................7
5. Opt-Out Process......................................................................................................................8
• 6. Customer Classes Included................................................................................................... 10
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
7. Billing Procedures ................................................................................................................. 10
• 8. Credit/Deposit Requirements................................................................................................. 11
9. Procedures for Handling Customer Complaints and Dispute Resolution ............................... 11
10. Moving Into or Within the City.............................................................................................. 11
11. Joining the Aggregation Group after Opting-Out.................................................................. 12
12. Opting-In to the Aggregation Program................................................................................. 12
13. Educational Material Process.............................................................................................. 12
14. Energy Efficiency and Demand Response........................................................................... 13
15. Reliability of Power Supply.................................................................................................. 14
• 16. ARES Qualification Selection Criteria.................................................................................. 14
17. Miscellaneous...................................................................................................................... 15
•
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
1. Purpose of Electric Aggregation Program & Services
This aggregation plan has been developed in compliance with Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power
Act ("Act"), Chapter 20, ILCS 3855/1-92. The Act authorizes county boards and the corporate
authorities of municipalities to establish a program to aggregate the electrical loads of residential
and small commercial retail customers and to solicit bids and enter into service agreements to
facilitate the sale and purchase of electricity and related services and equipment for those
electrical loads in an Electric Aggregation Program. The City of Elgin ("the City") will administer an
opt-out aggregation program that will automatically include all eligible electric accounts receiving a
beneficial offer from an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier ("ARES"). Those customers will be
given prior notice entitling them to affirmatively elect not to be part of the Program.
The City's Aggregation Program ("Program") seeks to aggregate the retail electric loads of
consumers located within the City and to negotiate the best rates for the generation supply of
electric power. With a combined population of over 108,000 the Program has the potential to
combine residential accounts and small commercial accounts into a buying group that will be
attractive to an ARES. Participation in the Program is voluntary. Any individual customer
("Member") has the opportunity to decline to be a Member of the aggregation program and to
return to the local utility (Commonwealth Edison) standard offer of service or to enter into their own
power supply contract with any ARES.
• The Act defines two different types of aggregation that may be enacted by a governmental entity:
opt-in aggregation and opt-out aggregation. The City will administer an opt-out aggregation
program that will automatically include all eligible electric accounts receiving a beneficial offer from
an ARES. Those customers will be given prior notice entitling them to affirmatively elect not to
participate in the Program.
The City passed the necessary resolution to place the issue of Opt-out Governmental Aggregation
of electricity on the 3/20/2012 ballot. The ballot issue subsequently passed. The City will follow
the Plan of Operation and Governance ("Plan") outlined below. This Plan was adopted after the
City conducted two public hearings on April 25, 2012 and May 9, 2012 in accordance with Section
1-92 of the Illinois Power Act.
Residential and small commercial electric customers often lack the ability to effectively negotiate
the most favorable electric supply services. The City's Program provides them an opportunity to
benefit from professional representation and the bargaining power achieved through an
aggregation program.
The aggregation program is designed to reduce the amount Members pay for electric energy and
• to gain other favorable terms of service. The City will not buy and resell the power to Program
Members. Instead, the City through the efforts of its Consultant will competitively bid and negotiate
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
a contract with an ARES to provide firm, full-requirements generation service directly to the
Members of the aggregation program.
•
Due to the complexity of deregulation of the electric utility industry, the City has entered into a
consulting contract with Independent Energy Consultants, Inc. (Consultant), an Illinois Commerce
Commission Licensed Agent/Broker/Consultant of electricity. Among other things, Consultant will
provide professional assistance which includes these consulting services:
• Draft and assist in maintaining this Plan of Operation and Governance
• Assist with the required Public Hearings
• Assist the City in the day-to-day administration of the program (program
implementation, problem resolution, press releases, IPA compliance, supplier liaison,
contract review, etc.)
• Administer the Request for Proposal process, analyze supplier responses and provide
recommendations for the supply agreement
• Review customer data provided by Commonwealth Edison that would serve as the
basis for an opt-out notice
• Write/prepare reports on a quarterly/annual basis to the City, and State agencies as
required.
•
2. Determination of Rates and Other Charges
2.1. Rates
Through the efforts of its Consultant, the City will seek proposals from ARES's. The
request for proposals shall require the suppliers to offer a generation charge for firm, full-
requirements supply. ARES's will bid by Commonwealth Edison customer rate
classification or customer class. ARES's will be encouraged to bid on as many electric
accounts as legally permissible. It is possible that an ARES may not be able to beat
Commonwealth Edison's tariff rates for all customer classes and/or rate schedules. The
prices to be charged to Members in the Program will be set by the City per the
Intergovernmental Agreement. Members will be notified of the rates and terms of the
Program through a direct mailing sent to each eligible resident and business within the City
limits. Once offers are found a table similar to the one shown below will be populated to
reflect the offer rates.
Commonwealth Edison Rate Supplier Offer
• Schedule
June 2012—TBD
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
Residential Service
Small Commercial Service
2.2 Charges
Neither the City nor the selected ARES will impose any terms, conditions, fees, or charges
on any Member served by the governmental aggregation unless the particular term,
condition, fee, or charge is clearly disclosed to the Member at the time the Member chose
not to opt-out of the aggregation.
Commonwealth Edison will continue to bill for Late Payment, Delivery Charges, Meter
Charges and Monthly Service Fee, etc. These charges apply whether or not a Member
switches to the Program's ARES. Switching generation suppliers will not result in any new
charges billed to the Member.
2.3 Switching Fees
SShould Commonwealth Edison assess a switching fee for Members voluntarily remaining in
the aggregation program, the Request for Proposal will be written to require the selected
ARES to pay the switching fee.
2.4 Early Termination Fee
Members may terminate their agreement without penalty if they relocate outside of the City
limits. Members that leave for other reasons may be assessed an early termination fee by
the ARES. Early termination fees are standard in most electric contracts; should there be
any the City will negotiate with the ARES to ensure that any early termination fee assessed
is reasonable and clearly stated in the opt-out disclosure notice.
3. Process for Providing Opt-Out Disclosure Notices
When a successful supply offer is found, the City shall order the eligible customer list from
Commonwealth Edison. Commonwealth Edison shall turn over the list to the City or its Consultant
upon request in a manner consistent with State law. Once the list is obtained, it will be shared with
the selected ARES and they will use the data to mail the opt-out notices to all eligible Members
receiving an offer. The selected ARES will be required to pay for printing and mailing of opt-out
disclosure notices. The notices will be mailed to the owner or occupant residing at the electric
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
account mailing address shown on Commonwealth Edison's customer list. The notice will contain
the City's name and logo to clearly indicate to the recipient that it is a notice from the City.
Prior to mailing opt-out notices a thorough review will be performed to see that all eligible Members
receiving an offer are sent the notice. The review process will include the efforts of numerous
parties and utilize a number of resources as specified in section four of this Plan.
Following acceptance of an offer by the City, the AIRES will mail opt-out notices to eligible
Members. Members will have 21 days from the postmark date on the notice to postmark the return
opt-out card if they do not wish to participate in the City's program.
In the event that an eligible Member is inadvertently not sent an opt-out notice and is omitted from
the Program, the AIRES shall, upon request by the Member, enroll the eligible Member at the group
rate for the remaining term.
4. Determination of Eligible Customer Pool
Under the opt-out aggregation provisions, all eligible electric consumers within the City will be
automatically included in the Program and will be treated equitably. However, such customers will
• be given prior notice entitling them to affirmatively elect not to be part of the Program.
Prior to mailing opt-out notices a thorough review will be performed to see that all ineligible
customers are excluded. The review process will include the efforts of numerous parties
and utilize a number of resources:
• Commonwealth Edison will query their customer database using best efforts to capture all
accounts within the City limits.
• The City's Consultant working with the AIRES, available City resources and publicly
available material shall screen out customers who are not located within the City limits.
Those resources may include any or all of the following: Property records, water and/or
sewer records, fire and/or police department address records, 911 address records, street
listings, City maps, internet maps, county parcel mapping databases, and geographical
information systems (GIS).
• Ineligible accounts will be screened out based on codes provided in the Commonwealth
Edison data. Ineligible accounts are identified in section 6 of this Plan.
• The data shall also be reviewed on a best efforts basis to see that all zip codes have been
included, all streets included, all customer classes, all customer rate schedules, and finally
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
that an expected total for a community of this population was
turned over.
• Any suspected omissions will be reported to Commonwealth Edison along with a request to
furnish that data.
• Eligibility may be limited by a supplier's offer. For example, a fixed rate might not be
offered to an account if their Price-to-Compare indicates they would not save.
The City and any consultants retained by it shall comply with any applicable authority related to
receipt of and use of customer information under Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act and
Section 2Hh of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act as required under 20
ILCS 3855/1-92(c)(2).
5. Opt-Out Process
The City is using an Opt-Out form of Governmental Aggregation pursuant to section 1-92 of the
Illinois Power Agency Act. Any such person that opts-out of the aggregation program pursuant to
stated procedure will default to the standard service offer provided by Commonwealth Edison until
the person chooses an alternative supplier.
When a successful supply offer is found the City shall order the eligible customer list from
Commonwealth Edison. Commonwealth Edison shall turn over the list to the City or its Consultant
upon request. Once the list is obtained, it will be shared with the selected AIRES and they will use
the data to mail the opt-out notices to all eligible Members receiving an offer.
The selected AIRES and the City will agree upon the format of the opt-out notice prior to the AIRES
mailing it to eligible Members.
The selected AIRES will be required to pay for printing and mailing of the opt-out disclosure notices.
The notices will be mailed to the owner or occupant residing at the electric account mailing address
shown on Commonwealth Edison's customer list. A City official will sign the notice and it will
contain the City's name and logo on the outside to clearly indicate to the recipient that it is a notice
from the City.
Prior to mailing opt-out notices, a thorough review will be performed to see that all eligible
Members receiving an offer are sent the notice. The review process will include the efforts of
numerous parties and utilize a number of resources as specified in section four of this Plan.
• Following acceptance of an offer by the City, the AIRES will mail opt-out notices to eligible
Members receiving an offer. Members will have 21 days from the postmark date on the notice to
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
postmark the return opt-out card if they do not wish to participate in the City's program. If
available, Members may also call the ARES's toll-free recorded phone number to opt-out. The
selected ARES will not enroll those accounts opting out from the Program.
In the event that an eligible Member is inadvertently not sent an opt-out notice and is omitted from
the Program, the ARES shall, upon request by the Member, enroll the eligible Member at the group
rate for the remaining term.
All members of the Program will also be given an opportunity to opt-out without penalty at least
once every three years.
Procedure Steps:
1. The selected ARES and the City will agree upon the format of the opt-out notice.
2. The selected ARES will distribute an Opt-Out Form to all eligible Members via U.S.
Mail;
3. Recipients will have 21 days from the postmark on the notice to notify the selected
ARES if they do not want to be part of the program;
• 4. Members will be able to opt out by returning an opt-out card via U.S. Mail to the
selected ARES. The supplier may offer additional means of opting out, such as, making
a toll-free recorded phone call to the ARES, email notification or fax.
5. Additionally, Members who do not opt-out per step 4 above will receive written
notification from Commonwealth Edison stating that they are about to be switched.
That notice will inform them that they have until 5 days prior to their next meter read
date to rescind the contract by contacting Commonwealth Edison; and
6. The selected ARES will not enroll those accounts opting out from the Program.
The opt-out notice will clearly notify the Program Members of the rates to be charged for
electricity and other terms of the contract with the selected ARES. It shall prominently
state all charges to be made and shall include full disclosure of the cost to obtain service
pursuant to Section 16-103 of the Public Utilities Act, how to access`it, and the fact that it is
available to them without penalty, if they are currently receiving service under that Section.
The notice and envelope containing the opt-out notice will clearly indicate that the notice
pertains to the City's Aggregation Program. The notice will identify all communities
contained in the City. The notice will also comply with any additional notification
requirements as stated in the Illinois Power Act, now or in the future.
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
6. Customer Classes Included
All eligible Members are included in the Program and the Program will provide for universal
access to all applicable residential and small business customers and the Program will ensure
equitable treatment of applicable residential customers, but the selected ARES's offer will
determine which groups receive an offer and opt-out notice. The specific rate schedules will be
identified in Section 2 of this Plan of Operation. In addition to having a rate schedule listed in
Section 2, the following eligibility requirements apply.
• Customers must not have Opted-out of the Program;
• Customers must not be supplied generation service from another ARES;
• Customers must not be enrolled in the real-time pricing program;
• Commercial customers must not consume more than 15,000 kWh/year;
• Customers must not be in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP);
• Commercial Customers must not have interval metering.
• Eligibility may be further limited by a supplier's offer. For example, a fixed rate might
not be offered to an account if their Price-to-Compare indicates they would not save.
7. Billing Procedures
The City will utilize the coordinated billing services of Commonwealth Edison and the selected
ARES. Most customers are expected to receive a single bill from Commonwealth Edison that
itemizes among other things, the cost of generation provided by the ARES. In some instances,
particularly for commercial accounts, the ARES may request that dual billing be used. In this case
the supplier would issue a bill for their supply service and Commonwealth Edison would issue a bill
for their delivery services.
Members currently on budget billing will continue to be budget billed. Commonwealth Edison's
process will remain the same. Members wishing to start budget billing should contact
Commonwealth Edison. The process will take place in accordance with Commonwealth Edison's
policy and is not unique to the City's Program. Commonwealth Edison's policies will dictate what
portions of a Member's bill are budgeted and how the budget amount is calculated.
Members are required to remit and comply with the payment terms of Commonwealth Edison
and/or their supplier if dual billing is used. This Program will not be responsible for late or no
• payment on the part of any of its members. Furthermore, slow or no payment on the part of some
Members will not adversely impact the rates charged to other Members. The selected ARES shall
not charge more than 1 'h percent per month for overdue balances owed to the ARES.
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
8. Credit/Deposit Requirements
•
Collection and credit procedures remain the responsibility of Commonwealth Edison, the selected
ARES and the individual Member. Members are required to remit and comply with the payment
terms of Commonwealth Edison. This Program will not be responsible for late or no payment on
the part of any of its Members. The City will have no separate credit or deposit policy.
9. Procedures for Handling Customer Complaints and Dispute Resolution
Members have multiple means of addressing complaints. As a general rule, concerns regarding
service reliability should be directed to Commonwealth Edison, questions regarding the Program
administration should go to the City, billing questions should be directed to Commonwealth Edison
or the selected ARES and any unresolved disputes should be directed to the Illinois Commerce
Commission. Listed below is a table of toll-free numbers for members to call for assistance.
Nature of Complaint Contact Phone Number
Service interruptions or Commonwealth Edison 1-800-334-7661
emergencies
Service turn on/off Commonwealth Edison 1-800-334-7661
Billing disputes— Delivery charges Commonwealth Edison 1-800-334-7661
Billing disputes — Supplier charges ARES - TBD TBD
Joining/Leaving Program ARES - TBD TBD
Aggregation Program questions City of Elgin 1-847-931-6100
Unresolved disputes Illinois Commerce Commission 1-800-524-0795
General information — residential Illinois Commerce Commission 1-800-524-0795
10. Moving Into or Within the City
Moving into the City: Utility rules require that people moving into a different residence, new
construction or otherwise, be assigned a new account number and be served for at least one
• month by the local utility before they can switch to a new supplier. The above-mentioned is an
example of utility rules approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) that will impact the
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
operation of the City's Aggregation Program.
• Residents and businesses that move into the City will not be automatically included in the City's
Program. The City cannot guarantee the rates, terms and conditions to Members enrolling after
the 21-day opt-out period of the initial enrollees. Members moving into the City and wishing to opt-
in to the Program may contact the City or the ARES supplier to obtain enrollment information.
There is, however, no guarantee that customers opting-in at a later date will receive the same
price, terms and conditions as did the initial participants. The selected ARES's decision whether or
not to extend an offer will be based, in part, on the market prices at the time of request.
Movinq within the City: Members who move within the City limits are likely to be assigned a new
account number by Commonwealth Edison. When that occurs, they will be removed from City and
will revert to ComEd's supply for at least one billing period. Customers moving within the City will
be treated in the same manner as a new resident. They will not be automatically re-enrolled, but
may contact the ARES concerning re-enrollment. Upon request by the Member, the ARES will be
required re-enroll the Member at the same rate for the remaining term of the supply agreement.
11. Joining the Aggregation Group after Opting-Out
Members who have left the aggregation group and wish to rejoin at a later date are treated in the
same manner as new residents moving into the City. These customers may contact the City or the
ARES at any time to obtain enrollment information. There is however, no guarantee that
customers opting-in at a later date will receive the same price, terms and conditions as did the
initial participants.
12. Opting-In to the Aggregation Program
The City's Program is an Opt-Out Program but they intend to provide a means for customers to
opt-in should they desire. The City will work with the selected ARES to develop a policy whereby
residential and small commercial retail customers in the City may request to join the Aggregation
Group. The selected ARES's decision whether or not to extend an offer will be based, in part, on
the market prices at the time of request. The agreed upon policy shall be consistent with ComEd's
supplier enrollment requirements.
13. Educational Material Process
The ARES shall develop the educational program in conjunction with the City. Its purpose
will be to explain the Aggregation Program to its Members, provide updates and
disclosures as mandated by State law and the rules and regulations of any applicable
Illinois agency, and provide the opportunity for the Members to Opt-out of the Aggregation
• Program. The following are components of the education program:
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
Each eligible residential and small commercial retail customer of Commonwealth Edison
within the City will receive an Opt-Out notice by U.S. Mail stating: what the Aggregation
Program means, the procedure which must be followed to Opt-out of the Aggregation
Program, the rates for electricity for Members of the Aggregation Program, and the
deadline for returning the Opt-out form.
The ARES shall cooperate with the City to provide opportunities for educating residential
and small commercial retail Members in the City about the Program and their rights under
the applicable law and rules and regulations.
The ARES will provide updates and disclosures to the City and Members as mandated by
State law and applicable rules and regulations as amended from time to time.
14. Energy Efficiency and Demand Response
The ARES and City will cooperate to provide education about opportunities for energy efficiency
measures and demand response programs. The educational material is designed to direct
Members toward resources available that might help them reduce their energy consumption and/or
peak demand.
s
The ARES is not likely to offer demand response programs or energy efficiency incentives through
the aggregation program. Those programs are typically funded through the utility company's
regulated rate making process. The selected supplier may offer educational assistance and
awareness through various methods including website links and published materials.
ComEd currently has a real time pricing program for customers interested in demand response.
Those customers, however, are not eligible to participate in a Governmental Aggregation Program.
Information about the real-time pricing program can be found here www.comed.com/customer-
service/rates-pricing/real-time-pricing/Pages/program-information.aspx
Those seeking more information about energy efficiency, rebate and loan programs can visit this
site to learn about:
www.comed.com/home-savings/rebates-incentives/Pages/default.aspx
• Lighting replacements
• Refrigerator replacements
• • Clothes Washer replacements
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
• Central Air-Conditioning cycling
• Home energy assessments
• Energy efficiency loans
15. Reliability of Power Supply
The Program will only affect the generation source of power. Commonwealth Edison will continue
to deliver power through their transmission and distribution systems.
Responsibility for maintaining system reliability continues to rest with Commonwealth Edison. If
Members have service reliability problems they should contact Commonwealth Edison for repairs.
The [CC monitors all utilities operating distribution systems in Illinois and tracks customer outages,
duration of outages, interruptions, etc., to ensure reliability remains at satisfactory levels.
In addition to maintaining the "wires" system, Commonwealth Edison is required to be the
"Provider of Last Resort." This means, should the selected ARES fail for any reason to deliver any
or all of the electricity needed to serve the Members needs, Commonwealth Edison will
immediately provide for the shortfall. Commonwealth Edison would then bill the ARES for the
power provided on their behalf. The Members would incur no additional cost.
16. ARES Qualification Selection Criteria
Only ARES's meeting strict criteria will be considered.
• ARES's will need to be licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
• Registered with Commonwealth Edison to do business in their service territory. Both the
license and registration ensure that ARES's possess the managerial, technical, and
financial competence to perform the services they offer.
• Successfully completed Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) computer system testing with
Commonwealth Edison to support Governmental Aggregation Program transactions.
• Agree to hold harmless the City and its members from any financial obligations arising from
the Program.
• The selected ARES will need to agree to notify the City and negotiate with the City at least
60 days in advance of attempting to terminate the agreement for any reasons other than (i)
the scheduled end date or (ii) Force Majeure.
• • The selected ARES shall demonstrate its creditworthiness by possessing an investment
grade long-term bond rating from at least two major rating agencies:
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City of Elgin Plan of Operations and Governance
Should the AIRES be unable to demonstrate its creditworthiness, the AIRES will be required to
. provide:
• a Letter of Credit; or
• a Parental Guaranty from a company that is deemed creditworthy; or
• a Surety Bond.
• Details of the credit type and amount will be subject to negotiation.
17. Miscellaneous
The City will maintain a copy of this Plan of Operation and Governance on file at its
Administrative office. This Plan will be kept available for public inspection. It will, upon
request, be copied for any existing or potential Members of the aggregation in accordance with the
City rules for copying public documents.
The City will not materially alter this Plan of Operation and Governance without first notifying its
Members.
• The City or the selected AIRES will not issue an opt-out notice before the City has passed its
authorizing ballot and held its two required Public Hearings and the City has filed this Plan of
Operations and Governance with the IPA.
The success of the City's Aggregation Program relies in part on the cooperation it receives from
Commonwealth Edison. In addition to other tasks, Commonwealth Edison must turn over accurate
customer data and perform the customer switching process in a timely manner. The City will
comply with Illinois law, and will hold Commonwealth Edison to its obligations under the same.
The Electric Aggregation Program and/or City may be terminated upon the termination or
expiration of the supply contract without any extension, renewal or subsequent supply contract
being negotiated. Each individual Member receiving electric supply service under the Program will
receive notification prior to termination of the Program. In the event of termination, Members in the
City aggregation program would either return to Commonwealth Edison supply service or choose
an AIRES on their own.
If the City is unable to find a satisfactory offer at the end of an existing supply agreement, they
maintain their status as a Governmental Aggregator while they continue to seek offers for their
Members.
•
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