The same consultant that helped establish a regional power-purchasing program for electricity is gauging interest in a similar program for natural gas. Peoria Public Radio’s Alex Rusciano reports:
Charles de Casteja is the Managing Partner of Good Energy. He says the company is working with the Illinois Commerce Commission to put a referendum on next year’s spring ballot for a new gas-purchasing program:
“First of all it would be aggregated-purchasing, leverage. Contract terms, we were able to put a lot of really amazing contract terms unto the municipal electricity contracts. Really the education around products, perhaps, in natural gas, we would have more that just fixed-price products. We would have savings,” de Casteja says.
It’s unclear how much money could be saved if Good Energy negotiates a natural gas price from the lowest bidder for communities in the share-program. In a separate issue de Casteja says alternative retail electricity providers are contacting people currently in the electric-aggregation program. He says the retail providers are offering deals or supposed savings that may be confusing to people in the current program. Decasteja says people with questions about competing electricity programs should contact their local government with questions before entering into an alternative agreement.