In a win for the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, a spokesperson for the non-profit joint action agency says member municipalities including Carmi, Fairfield, and Flora will see an overall savings of $33.6 million on their power bills over the next decade. That’s due to IMEA successfully refinancing bonds. IMEA is a wholesale electric supplier for 32 municipally owned utilities throughout Illinois. IMEA says each city will see a portion, based on their energy use and demand, of the savings which will equate to $3.4 million annually.
WROY/WRUL News followed up to learn the true local impact and it pulls into focus a still good, but very different picture. Staci Wilson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Member Services for IMEA, says Carmi is roughly 1.5% of IMEA in total which translates that $3.4 million annually down to approximately $51,000 in savings to Carmi based on usage. Divide that number by 12 months and when Carmi Mayor Bill Stendeback did the math, it comes out to an average of about $1.26 per customer per month.
A question that didn’t get answered was with regards to transmission costs. IMEA is a City of Carmi partner in power supply, but not transmission which Ameren handles. Those costs we’ve been told at City Council meetings is expected to surge. In January of this year, leaders were asked to sign a 20-year agreement with IMEA for a period beginning in 2035.
Read more at City Council Considers Illinois Municipal Electric Agency Partnership Moving Forward – WRUL-FM
In February, they did so.
“The refinance allows IMEA to provide our members with even more savings as we begin to pay the new lower debt service payments. When the term is complete in February 2035, all IMEA power supply debt will be paid off,” said Dan Cook, IMEA Board Chairman. He added that with ownership of $1.2 billion in assets at the end of the bond payment term, IMEA Members will be in a very enviable position, as the Agency considers its future resource planning.