Electricity Power Supply Savings

At the November 9, 2006 meeting, the Board of Education received information on projected electricity cost savings through the District’s participation in the Illinois Energy Consortium (IEC).

In May, 2006, the Board of Education approved participation in the Illinois Energy Consortium (IEC) for the competitively bid purchase of electricity and natural gas.  Over the past several months, the IEC, through its energy consultants, conducted competitive bidding processes in selecting wholesale electric suppliers to meet the demands of school facilities across the state.  The competitive bidding results were determined in a market driven auction held in September.  Effective January 1, 2007, the transition from a regulated marketplace to a fully deregulated market for electric choice of power supplies will take effect.  

Through the end of 2006, the IEC secured competitively bid electric power supplies on very favorable terms.  Net savings, compared to ComEd rates, were projected to be at least 10%.  The timing of District 211’s participation in the agency agreement with the IEC is expected to result in significant savings based on the auction pricing for contract terms from January, 2007 to May, 2008.  These favorable pricing terms will provide assurances of savings for District 211 compared to ComEd power supply price results during this period. The attached communication from the IEC highlights the estimated net savings on electricity bills for the contract term January, 2007 through May, 2008.  Because District 211 schools fall into the large facility category of kilowatt demand, the net savings on bills are projected to be 25% to 40% lower than auction-based rates of ComEd.  For the billing period September, 2006 through December, 2006, the projected net savings compared to ComEd rates is $157,000 or 13.1%.   For the billing period February, 2007 through June, 2008, the projected net savings is $1,458,000 or 32%.  Combined, the total projected IEC net savings through May, 2008 is $1,615,000.

Additional information on the projected IEC cost savings is available at: http://www.d211.org/pdf/iec_net_savings.pdf.