Orland Park Electricity Rates Expected to Increase

Residents of Orland Park will see higher electric bills by June. Rates for the village's opt-out electrical aggregation program are expected to jump by about 33 percent, while Commonwealth Edison rates are also expected to increase, village officials said.

The Village of Orland Park and its electricity supplier, Nordic Energy Services, will part ways one month early, enabling the village to go ahead with new supplier FirstEnergy. The village board approved the decision to move forward with a new supplier at a meeting Monday night, but the agreement is expected to be ratified March 17.

Beginning May 1, residents enrolled in the village's electric program will pay 6.46 cents per kilowatt-hour for the next three years. The current rate is set at 4.823 cents per kilowatt-hour. The agreement with FirstEnergy includes a clause that if ComEd's rate drops below FirstEnergy's, FirstEnergy must match that rate. Also, residents will be able to opt-out of FirstEnergy, if they choose.

Rates originally offered as part of the electrical aggregation program are no longer available, said Sharon Durling, director of marketing for Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative. The program has saved residents nearly $6 million—about $300 per household—since it began in July 2012

“We’ve had great feedback from residents who have saved more than $6 million collectively in electricity costs,” said Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin.

The village’s current electrical aggregation contract with Nordic expires in June 2014.

Because of a recent increase in energy and electric rates, the village’s current supplier, Nordic Energy, is asking to pass rising costs onto its customers. 

“Over the last two years, Nordic Energy has enjoyed our relationship with Orland Park and we are happy to see that they have found a supplier that fits their unique needs going forward and wish the village the best of luck,” said Nordic Energy CEO Jim Deering.

The village’s electrical aggregation consultant, NIMEC (Northern Illinois Municipal ElectricCollaborative), sought proposals for the sale of electricity under the authorized electrical aggregation program.

“The village moved swiftly to find a solution for its residents that will secure long-term savings over the next three years,” said David Hoover, executive director of NIMEC.  “We’re pleased that we were able to find a new supplier to keep the savings going.” 

“We are working on an agreement to continue to save residents and small businesses money on their electrical service,” McLaughlin said. “Because of the increasing energy rates, it may be a few cents more per kilowatt hour than what we recently had, but it will still be less than what we’d be paying if we stayed with ComEd,” he noted.

The increase is expected to remain less than the default ComEd rate that is expected to be announced in May.  The village and NIMEC expect the ComEd rate to be approximately seven cents per kilowatt hour at that time.