The Orland Park Village Board has contracted with an energy broker to help Orland Park residents and businesses collectively take advantage of cheaper electric rates now offered by more than a dozen suppliers in the wake of deregulation.
The pact, approved unanimously with little discussion Feb. 6, makes Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Cooperative responsible for a range of services related to the “opt-out” energy aggregation program proposed by village officials.
NIMEC’s responsibilities include developing information in anticipation of the March 20 referendum, establishing bid specifications, managing the aggregate program, maintaining computerized records and auditing billing.
NIMEC’s annual fee is expected to come to approximately $36,750, based on village-wide consumption. All NIMEC fees will be paid by the successful alternative energy service provider.
NIMEC Executive Director David Hoover said the firm would obtain bids from “at least 10” suppliers. “We will award all of our business to one supplier,” he said.
In December, elected officials opted to pursue a collective, or “aggregate,” bargaining strategy that leverages the mass electrical consumption needs of Orland Park businesses and residents into a single volume account.
Village Manager Paul Grimes has predicted aggregating electric bills would save households $175 to $200 annually.
In other business, the Village Board:
* Approved a special use permit for congregate elderly housing for Thomas Place of Orland Park, a proposed four-story, 80-unit age- and income-restricted apartment building on a four-acre site at 15415 and 15555 Harlem Avenue.
* Extended the “Build Orland” program for 2012. Instituted in 2010, the fee-reduction program has saved local builders an estimated $153,000 during that two-year period on 190 commercial and residential projects.
* Agreed to use publicsurplus.com, an Internet based service, to dispose of some village equipment. The online service collects its auction fee from the winning bidders rather than a percentage deducted from the sale price.
* Donated $1,000 to the non-profit Bridge Teen Center, which has provided more than 6,000 hours of free programming to 700 Orland Park-area teens since opening in June 2010. Mayor Dan McLaughlin told Bridge operators Rob and Priscilla Steinmetz, “If you didn’t do it, we’d be doing it or have a need for it.”
