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Reminder & Updates on the Oak Park Green Energy Appeal

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Four ways to make your voice heard in support of green energy in Oak Park TODAY:

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  1. Help us pack the house and ATTEND tonight's Special Village Board meeting at 8PM to demonstrate support for green energy and sustainability policies. (Room 101 at Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St. - at S. Lombard Ave.)
  2. SIGN the petition urging the board to recommit Oak Park to 100% renewable (green) energy. (Link to petition: http://chn.ge/1tewKEo.)
  3. OPT IN to a 100% renewable electric energy option. You can learn details at tonight's village board meeting. Various organizations like GCC will also be sharing this information.
  4. SHARE this message with Oak Park friends, family and neighbors. We need your help!

Details and Updates on Oak Park's Energy Aggregation Program

Constellation, the Village’s new brown-energy contractor, says it is not possible to replace the brown contract with a green contract because Constellation has already contracted for a specific mix of energy sources, but there will be an opportunity to select 100% renewable energy.  Residents will begin receiving a notice from Constellation starting today which includes the following three choices:

  1. Do nothing and you will be included in the DEFAULT brown energy option (a mix of coal, natural gas and nuclear) at a rate of 7.470 cents per kwh).
  2. Check the box at the bottom of the form which says “I do not want to participate in the Village of Oak Park Electricity Aggregation Program” and fill in the rest of the form.  This results in you reverting to Com Ed as your energy supplier.
  3. The third option is to select the 100% renewable energy option at a rate of 7.570 cents per kwh shown in the mailing by a green box in the lower right side of the mailer.  The 100% renewable option is available through Constellation’s call center only.  It requires a call to an 800#.  THIS IS THE OPTION THAT WE WILL BE ENCOURAGING OP RESIDENTS TO CHOOSE.

This approach -- requiring a separate phone call from each household to opt-in for green -- makes green energy the difficult option, and it will be an uphill battle to get a people enrolled.  The typical community that requires that citizens to opt-in has less than 10% take advantage of the opt-in choice.  Fortunately Oak Park is not typical, and we will be working hard to get a large percentage of OP residents to choose 100% renewable energy.

Earthrise in childs handsWe will also work tonight to help the board see the bigger picture of their role in the fight against climate change and what can be done at the village level.  At this stage, individual action is not enough to turn things around. We will stress with them that our Village committed over two years ago to the PlanItGreen Sustainability Plan and there is too much at stake to turn around now.  In fact, rather than retreating, as a Village, we should be pushing forward with bigger and bolder policies.  We will be asking the board to ramp up their support for this plan and strategies that move this plan forward.

Please join us!

Sally Stovall