Council to Vote on Securing NIMEC to Negotiate Electric Rates

The city of Darien is forging ahead with plans for negotiating residents’ power rates in the event a referendum on the March 20 ballot passes.

City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to secure the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative (NIMEC) as a broker and begin consulting with them prior to the election.

A question on the Illinois primary ballot will ask Darien voters if they want the city to bid for electric rates on behalf of residents and small businesses. People will have the option to opt out of the program, should the referendum pass.

The city plans to move quickly if it does pass in order for the rate change to be reflected on July bills, Darien’s target date, Assistant City Administrator Scott Coren said at the Feb. 13 Administrative/Finance Committee meeting. Residents and small business owners could collectively save about $100,000 a month under re-negotiated power rates, he said.

The committee recommended that the council proceed with NIMEC as its consultant throughout the process. 

NIMEC went out to bid for 15 communities who passed similar referenda in 2011, Coren said. 

The consortium gets a percentage of the cost of each kilowatt from the supplier, so it’s unclear exactly how much Darien residents would be paying for NIMEC’s services, Coren said.

“At a certain point we don’t care because residents are saving so much money on this,” City Administrator Bryon Vana said. Residents in communities who have sought similar bulk discounts, such as Oak Brook, have seen a roughly 30 percent decrease in their power bills, according to a release from the village.

Rates negotiated by other brokers were all very similar, Coren said. 

“If their bids were significantly different, I think I’d be a lot more concerned,” he said. “It’s still lucrative for them to do this even if (they’re receiving) a very small percentage.” 

The committee discussed two other options: working directly with suppliers rather than securing a broker and hiring an independent consultant. The known broker won their favor, however, over an unfamiliar option. Darien has partnered with NIMEC on securing power rates for its water pumping stations. 

“We’ve had a very good relationship with NIMEC already,” Mayor Kathleen Weaver said.