At their Special City Council Meeting Monday evening, Rochelle’s City Council Approved an eight-year contract with Nextera Energy, LLC to provide power to Rochelle Municipal Utilities.
In 2017, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a three-year agreement to purchase power over the already contracted 30mw obtained from Prairie State Energy Campus. At the time the City was able to lock into the rate of $29.40/mwh, a rate significantly lower than the previous price of $44/mwh.
Since the execution of the 2017 contract, prices have continued to decrease. City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh and Electric Operations Superintended Jason Bird have negotiated an additional eight-year contract at $28.55/mwh, guaranteeing that our local customers receive power over 30mwh at the lower cost in the future.
In order to pass along the savings to our customers, RMU is now conducting a cost of service study to potentially restructure rates. The cost savings offers RMU the opportunity to upgrade infrastructure throughout the system, including replacing decades old lines and poles and pursuing underground power where possible, without raising rates.
“We are so pleased that our customers can rely on us for stable utility rates over the next several years,” said City Manager Fiegenschuh. “Keeping our utility rates competitive is not only an important factor for our residential customers, stability is essential to our business retention efforts.”
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