Bob Gough talks to energy consultant Reg Ankrom about the City of Quincy’s aggregation policy and what those “opt-out” letters that residents recently received mean.

FROM A NEWS RELEASE:

The City of Quincy’s municipal electric aggregation program, paused since March 2022, will resume in April under a new contract with Constellation NewEnergy for electric supply to participating homeowners and small businesses. 

Constellation submitted the best bid to serve the city’s program with a proposal to supply electricity at 12.065 cents per kilowatthour. That rate will be fixed for 18 months, beginning when residents’ electric meters are read in April. Ameren’s current rate is 11.833 cents. Ameren customers also pay costs of electricity Ameren buys that are not included in the Ameren rate. Participants in the city’s electric aggregation program are not subject to that charge.

Constellation is now notifying eligible Quincy residents by letter of Quincy’s electric aggregation  program and their right to opt out at any time at no cost. Those who wish to participate will be enrolled automatically and need to do nothing. Those who prefer not to participate can opt out by calling Constellation’s customer care center, specifically dedicated to Quincy’s program, at 800-990-2004. Any resident can call the number for additional information.

Ameren in March will also send a letter to each eligible participant to remind them of their right to opt out and that Constellation New Energy will be the electric aggregation program’s supplier in April.

Quincy voters in a 2012 approved a referendum to enable the city to seek lower prices for electricity for residential and small business consumers. In 2022, the city suspended the program for one year when it found open-market prices for electricity were significantly higher than Ameren Illinois’ electric rate. 

Customers who participate in the Quincy electric aggregation program will still write only one check for electricity. Constellation’s electric supply cost will be included in the supply portion of  the Ameren bill. Calls for conditions like flickering lights and loss of power will continue to be handled by Ameren, the distribution company in Quincy.