CASE STUDY: The Village of Godfrey, Illinois, is nestled on the east side of the Mississippi River near the confluences of the Illinois and Missouri Rivers. The village of 18,300 residents is named after Benjamin Godfrey, a New England sea captain who came to the area in 1832 with $50,000 and established many institutions.
The village’s tagline “you can see your future from here” rings true with their pioneering actions in 2012 when Godfrey joined the neighboring communities of Alton, East Alton and Bethalto to become part of an unprecedented municipal energy aggregation program that introduced utility bill savings for participating residents and small businesses.
Cost Challenge – Reduce the High Cost of Energy for Municipalities
In 2009, Illinois passed a law allowing cities to hold referenda in the general and primary elections to aggregate residential and small business electric accounts. In 2012, Bethalto’s mayor, Steve Bryant, invited other local municipalities to start discussions on how use a bulk energy procurement program to leverage electricity market purchases to lower electricity costs for residents and small businesses. Several municipalities, including Godfrey, placed the municipal aggregation on the election ballot.
“The referendum passed with strong support,” remarked Godfrey mayor, Mike McCormick, following the successful passage of the public referendum authorizing the village to move forward with the energy aggregation program.
Savings Solution – Good Energy
Good Energy, the industry leader in the design and implementation of municipal energy aggregation programs, was retained by the Village of Godfrey in 2012 to manage the program, which allows for municipalities to combine its electricity usage with others within the same utility service region.
With Good Energy managing the municipal energy aggregation program, the Village of Godfrey, and several other municipalities in Madison County, procured electricity from a certified alternative retail energy supplier and lowered electricity rates for participants. In addition, the quoted electricity rates remained at a low, fixed rate for multiple years, rather than the typical annual rate changes from utility supply companies. Using an energy consultant such as Good Energy helps communities navigate and stay compliant with complicated state and local energy requirements, too. Residential, commercial and industrial organizations can also join the aggregation program, depending upon the laws of states where these aggregation programs are available. These programs use an opt- out enrollment process, which means all households and businesses that meet eligibility criteria are automatically included in the aggregation program unless they opt-out.
“We are more than pleased and well satisfied with Good Energy’s continued services,” McCormick says. “Throughout the program, Good Energy even helped some of our residents who thought they were getting better savings in other programs to leave those programs, where possible, and easily join the aggregation program to enjoy the same benefits as the rest of the village.”
Continuing Benefits – Savings while Going Green!
“It takes forward thinking for communities to initiate innovative programs like municipal energy aggregation,” says Javier Barrios, Managing Partner at Good Energy. “The Village of Godfrey was one of the first to embrace the concept, and Good Energy is pleased to have delivered a successful program for the Village and its residents.”
The Village of Godfrey enjoyed a total savings of $750,000 the first year with the Good Energy aggregation program.
“It’s not every day that the local government can give back to the community, and we were able to do that and help our residents save money on their energy bills,” says Mayor McCormick.
With Good Energy managing the program, not only do residents enjoy reduced energy cost, the program also initiated a conversation about renewable energy and conservation. Godfrey was one of the first communities to go 100 percent green, offsetting their community’s electricity usage with RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates). This type of energy product helps renewable sources in the region to thrive and develops increased resiliency on the grid.
“Nine of out 10 households in Godfrey can’t get a better deal, so few accounts have opted out,” McCormick says. “Since our current contract rate is locked in for three years, the rates don’t fluctuate between winter and summer months. So the savings continue while helping the environment.”
For more information about how the Village of Godfrey saved with Good Energy, check out this article in the trade publication Metering & Smart Energy International.
About Good Energy, L.P.
Good Energy, a national energy management and consulting firm, is the industry leader in the design and implementation of municipal energy aggregation programs, providing energy procurement consulting for more than 300 communities. As of 2016, Good Energy is on target to save approximately 700,000 households well over $153 million, with many other communities, nearly 400,000 additional households, currently in program development.
For nearly two decades, Good Energy has been a national leader in structuring and implementing cost-cutting energy savings programs. Good Energy represents thousands of commercial & industrial customers and serves more communities and residential customers than any other energy consultant in the nation. Good Energy supplies the latest efficiency applications to the market and has pioneered a proprietary buying approach that has achieved millions of dollars in savings to households and businesses throughout the nation. Learn more about Good Energy at www.goodenergy.com and follow us on twitter @GoodEnergyUS.
To speak with someone at Good Energy about a Community Energy Aggregation program call toll free (866)-955-2677.