Naperville leaders are weighing a major change to the city's energy future: whether to sell the municipal electric utility to ComEd when the city's contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency ends in 2035.
The debate is about more than who sends the bill. It could shape electricity rates, service quality, and how much local control the community retains over a basic public need.
Here's what to know
One option still before city leaders is turning Naperville's electric utility over to ComEd, but City Manager Doug Krieger told the City Council that such a move would greatly shrink the city's role in major electricity decisions, according to the Chicago Tribune.
As Naperville looks beyond the end of its Illinois Municipal Electric Agency contract in 2035, officials are preparing for a Sept. 28 strategy workshop by examining several alternatives. Those possibilities include selling the utility, joining or creating a different joint action agency, or buying power through the wholesale market either with city-owned generation and storage or without those assets.
Under a sale, Krieger said, Naperville would give up much of its say over the power mix, electricity prices, and the way service is run.
"It's one of the complaints with IMEA, that we don't really have enough control. If the utility is handed over to ComEd, your input goes even further down," he said, per the Chicago Tribune. "Absent becoming a major shareholder, you're really not going to be able to influence rates."
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
He also said trends in PJM Interconnection's wholesale market suggest customers would face higher bills while reliability and service decline.
More background
Naperville serves roughly 60,000 electric customers, meaning whichever path city leaders choose could affect household budgets and business costs for years to come.
Municipal utilities can give communities more direct influence over priorities such as affordability, customer service, and planning. While turning that system over to a private utility could remove some financial risk from city government, it could also weaken the public's ability to shape decisions that affect everyone.
Krieger said staff sees ComEd as the only practical private purchaser, a reality that would give Naperville little leverage in any sale talks. He also said city employees were unable to find another municipality that had sold its electric utility to ComEd, making Bolingbrook's sale of its water system to Illinois American Water the closest comparison.
"At least in my discussions with Bolingbrook staff, they regret that decision," Krieger said.
What's being done?
The city remains in the evaluation stage. Council members are comparing several models as the 2035 deadline approaches.
If council members decide to move ahead with a sale, Krieger said legal negotiations with ComEd would start in 2030 so power service could shift over after the IMEA contract ends. In that arrangement, ComEd would handle supplying electricity and billing customers, though residents would still be able to opt out and pick another provider.
The idea has drawn skepticism from some officials. Councilman Patrick Kelly said he sees privatization as the least attractive option discussed, pointing to Bolingbrook's water sale and Chicago's parking meter deal as warning signs.
"Generally, it just seems to me that true public utilities should remain public and not be privatized if you don't have to," Kelly said, per the Chicago Tribune.
Where can I learn more?
Naperville isn't the only community wrestling with who should control essential utility service and what that means for rates, oversight, and the long term. These examples show how those decisions can shape costs and local accountability for years.
• In Superior, Wis., voters may decide whether to take over a private water utility and restore local control.
• Missouri cities that challenged Ameren's Rush Island plant later watched their power bills soar 191% after the closure.
• PacifiCorp drew backlash after seeking approval to bill customers for $1.7 billion in wildfire liabilities.
That helps explain why Naperville officials are looking beyond short-term prices and focusing on who will be in charge if bills climb or service slips.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
