On the ballot this year for our voting pleasure is an initiative called Chicago Aggravation, oops I mean Aggregation.
"Shall the City of Chicago have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricityfor its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out ofsuch a program?" Yes_ No_ Some communities in Illinois have voted for this initiative and their governments have arranged an open discussion with the residents about what they want with their electricity. Do they want green, renewable energy, do they want cheaper electric bills. They have set up a transparent process for making these decisions. But Chicago has never been known for it's stellar display of open, transparent and responsive government.
Do you really want to give Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago any more power than he already has? If he is in charge of the contracts for our electricity, then he will have too much Power! We recommend a No Vote until Rahm outlines a process that will allow an independent, open, transparent and responsive commission to negotiate these contracts, with a few environmentalists named to this commission.
Everyone in Chicago already has the ability to lower their electric bills right now, by negotiating with a 3rd party suppliers such as Viridian, First Energy and many other companies. We have no ties to any of these companies, we are merely stating that we can already lower our electric bills, so why give Rahm the power to do it for us?
Also any negotiated savings on electricity right now, are compared to ComEd and are only valid through May 2013, when ComEd's prices will come down and the savings might disappear. Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Executive Director David Kolata told FOX’s Good Day Chicago that “municipal aggregation” likely means short-term savings for consumers, but long-term savings are not guaranteed. It’s no “magic bullet,” Kolata said.
This Aggregation initiative sounds harmless but has hidden pitfalls imbedded in it, please read the article below, on Chicago Aggregation and its impact on getting new renewable energy built in Illinois, (this means green jobs folks). Please read the article "How to Make Illinois Into a Clean-Energy Leader" by David Roberts.
If you care about renewable energy and all of its green jobs, our call should be "Fix the IL Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)--First." After the RPS is fixed by Springfield, then we can talk about Chicago's electricity. Remember this Aggregation initiative can come back on the ballot in 2 years, we are not limited by any time constraints.
Also please remember who we are dealing with here, Rahm is the guy that created Exelon, (BTW Exelon owns Constellation Energy), by negotiating a merger. Who do you think is going to win in these negotiations over your electric rates? Rahm, Exelon or we, the people of Chicago? ("Mr. Emanuel’s biggest transaction came in late 1999 when he landed an advisory role for Wasserstein in the $8.2 billion merger of two utility companies, Unicom, the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, and Peco Energy, to create Exelon, now one of the nation’s largest power companies." )
And Exelon has already played it's cards about how it feels about new renewable energy coming on line (its competition), by coming out against the PTC, (Production Tax Credit) for new wind generation in Wash, DC. For this they were kicked out of the Wind Association this summer, so Exelon wants to slow the building of new renewable energy, that is not good for we, the people, or our planet!
I know that some of the environmental groups think that Rahm will negotiate with them fairly, but have the environmentalists talked with the Chicago Teacher's Union? No and that is a shame because the Teachers know a thing or two about negotiating with Rahm. Of course Rahm wants you to trust him with all of this power and money, he says that he will invest in cleaner energy or energy efficiency. But Rahm gets to pick the winners and losers in this game. Also there are consultant fees and management fees that can be tacked onto this electricity contact, and Rahm will choose the winners and losers of those pots of money, as well!
Please Vote NO on giving Rahm the power to negotiate your electric rates. No more power to the already too powerful! Instead let's put pressure on Springfield to Fix the RPS--First!
Please pass this to your friends and neighbors in Chicago. Remember to Vote No on this issue on the ballot, if you just skip the issue and leave it blank, then it could win with a very few votes, it only has to win with a simple majority of the votes cast, so please Vote No—thanks!
Analysis and Views of One of Our Members on
Aggregation
