North Cook News

City of Evanston issued the following announcement on Aug. 7.

Residents are reminded to be cautious of door-to-door and phone solicitations from electricity suppliers claiming to represent the City of Evanston, the City’s electricity supplier, or ComEd. Nobody representing those organizations will call customers to request their account numbers or any other personal information. There have been reports that after showing their bill, residents have been switched to a new supplier without signing an agreement. The new supplier indicates that you agreed to the switch and that they have your ComEd account number as proof. Residents who wish to report aggressive or misleading solicitations should call the Evanston Police Department’s non-emergency number at 847-866-5000.

Local residents and small business owners should know that if they did not opt out, they are currently getting 100% green power at a price below the ComEd cost to compare. The City of Evanston has a contract with Dynegy to provide participating residents and small businesses with 100 percent renewable energy through July 2020. No matter the supplier, ComEd is responsible for delivering electricity to residents’ homes, and billing them for it.

Community members may visit pluginillinois.org/FixedRateBreakdownComEd.aspx for more information and for updated price comparisons. ComEd electricity supply customers also pay a Purchased Electricity Adjustment (PEA), which changes monthly and can be a charge or credit of up to 0.5 cents per kWh. Participants in Evanston’s aggregation program do not pay a PEA. Residents who choose a new electricity supplier are encouraged to closely review any contract for early termination fees and the potential for rate increases.

The City's electricity aggregation program helps Evanston meet its Mayors National Climate Action Agenda commitment to uphold the greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments of the Paris climate accord. In the accord, the U.S. had pledged to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent relative to 2005 levels by 2025.

For more information about Evanston's aggregation program, visit cityofevanston.org/cca or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.

Original source can be found here.