CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Receive the Electric Strategy Workshop presentation
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DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Douglas A. Krieger, City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
For 125 years, the Electric Utility ("Utility") has provided reliable electric service to Naperville's residential and business communities. As a municipally owned utility, day-to-day operations are overseen by a professional director, with the City Council receiving recommendations from Public Utilities Advisory Board, and ultimately serving in a role like that of a privately owned utility's board of directors.
The Utility's current power provider, the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA), has been providing services to the City since 2007, and electricity to Naperville since 2011. The IMEA serves 32 municipal electric utilities across the state by securing required capacity and energy for its member communities. In addition to providing power, the IMEA also handles several administrative, legal, and regulatory services for the Utility.
The City Council has directed staff to prepare a series of presentations covering all options available to the City for procuring energy beyond the end of the existing IMEA contract.
The first presentation on April 7 focused on reviewing the Electric Utility's mission, key dates, and the timeline that will impact the decisions moving forward.
Option #1, joint action agencies, was presented on May 5.
Option #2, market participation with asset ownership, was presented on June 16.
Option #3, market participation without asset ownership, was presented on July 21.
Option #4, sale of the utility, was presented on August 18.
The goal of these presentations has been to provide the City Council with a shared baseline of knowledge on all options, so they are in the best position to make strategic decisions at the appropriate times.
The City Council further directed staff to hold an Electric Strategy Workshop at the conclusion of the presentations.
DISCUSSION:
The Electric Strategy Workshop presentation will focus on four key areas:
1. Purchase power history
Review where the City has received its power since 2007, detail the last three years of discussion, and highlight recent market trends.
2. Vision Statement
The Action Requested is to develop a broad, forward-looking statement that describes what the Electric Utility wants to become or achieve in the next 10, 15, or 20 years.
3. Decision framework
The Action Requested is to reach consensus on four key factors that will be used to evaluate the City's future electric supply as well as metrics to be used in the evaluation.
4. Review of options presented May through August
The Action Requested is to narrow the scope and/or eliminate one or more options and direct staff to focus on researching the feasibility of the remaining option(s).
At the conclusion of this discussion, staff will seek direction from the City Council to research remaining options and present final recommendations in conjunction with the results of the electric rate study in summer 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A