The City of Wyoming will hold a public meeting Wednesday, October 16, at 7:00 pm to discuss the upcoming vote regarding electric aggregation. In 2009, residents approved an aggregation program for the city’s natural gas. The November ballot initiative will ask to allow City Council to begin offering a similar program for Wyoming’s electricity.
What do you need to know about the aggregation program?
A YES vote allows the City to pursue an agreement with an electric supplier so that residents and small businesses can purchase electricity as a group. This gives the City more negotiating power to reduce rates. Should the measure pass, the transition to the aggregation program would be seamless; residents would still receive one bill, and Duke Energy would still maintain and service the distribution lines supplying power. Only the cost of the electricity itself would change. Residents could also opt out of the program at any time at no cost if desired, just as with the natural gas aggregation program.
A NO vote would stop further investigation and residents would continue to receive their electricity as before.
If aggregation passes, the Council has three options they might consider.
- The City could simply receive conventionally-sourced power at cheaper rates.
- The City could use cheaper, conventionally-sourced power, but offer an opt-in for residents who would like a renewable credit or renewably-sourced power.
- The City could change to renewably-sourced power, with an opt-out for those who prefer conventionally-sourced power. Aggregation pulls down the overall cost, so even if renewable costs a touch more, it can still be cheaper than current rates.
All of that is in the future, however; November’s vote will only decide if the community wants to proceed with electric aggregation.
Wednesday’s meeting will be held in Wyoming’s City Council chambers, located at 800 Oak Avenue. To learn more, contact City Manager Lynn Tetley at 842-1382, or the City’s energy consultant, Energy Alliances, Inc., at 513-794-5555.
