Paying too much for electricity in MG

    Morton Grove has changed the electric supplier to FirstEnergy
    Solutions with a rate of 7.84 cents per kilowatt hour.  The village bases
    their selection on bids supplied from a list of companies from a
    consulting company called NIMEC.  They chose what they considered
    the one with lowest rates and no fees.  They selected FirstEnergy
    Solutions for a 3 year contract.

    This same consulting company that Morton Grove uses has been able to
    acquire a rate of 6.62 cents per kilowatt hour for a 36 year
    period for neighboring suburbs Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Palatine,
    Wheeling, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, and Vernon Hills with Constellation Energy.
    Why are Morton Grove residents paying 7.84 cents per kilowatt hour?


    Checking individual rates on the monthly list from the web site of Citizens
    Utility Board can give residents an idea of how rates are fluctuating.

    It is not clear who is paying for the consulting fees.  The village
    maintains that they pay nothing and the fees come from the suppliers
    that reach an agreement.  I find it disconcerting that the village
    uses a consulting firm to provide suppliers, when that firm makes their
    profits on commissions paid by those companies that sign agreements.
    Morton Grove has not gone beyond the list supplied by their consultant
    to look for possibly lower rates. The village current plan may not be the
    best for each resident, so I suggest that watching the market might be in
    their better interests.  I would not enter any variable length agreement
    with any company.

    I also suggest the village rethink their current agreement.