The first of two informational sessions to help Oak Park residents and business operators learn more about a referendum to allow the Village to seek an electricity provider for the community through a competitive bid process is scheduled for 7 p.m., Thurs., Feb. 24, at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. A second session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tues., March 22, at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St.

A question on the April 5 Consolidated Election ballot asks voters to authorize the Village to bundle — or aggregate — all residential and small business electric accounts and seek bids for electricity on the open market, an option many large industrial and commercial enterprises use to reduce their costs for electricity.
Called Community Choice Aggregation, the program requires the Village first to seek voter authorization. If approved by the majority of voters, the Village then would gather community input, create a plan for energy mix and cost savings goals, and seek competitive bids for electricity on behalf of its residents and small commercial retail business operators. The electricity would continue to be delivered by ComEd, which would remain responsible for customer service, such as billing and outage response.

Officials say the information sessions are intended to provide residents with an overview of how the program would work if approved by voters and answer any questions. The goal, they say, is to help voters make an informed decision.
The question on the ballot says, "Shall the Village of Oak Park have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such a program?"

Officials point out that voter approval does not obligate the Village to pursue aggregation, but gives the authority to do so. The option only recently became available to residential and small business accounts. The Village used a similar bid process to purchase electricity for its water pumping stations and public garages.

If approved by voters, officials say the goal of the bid process is to seek lower costs, as well as a greener mix of power generation sources that could help reduce the community's carbon footprint.

For more information, visit www.oak-park.us/aggregation or e-mail sustainability@oak-park.us.