The electricity rate that Bloomington, Normal and other municipalities have negotiated for the coming year is not the best deal for consumers, according to an advocate who has run the numbers.
Michael Brown, executive director with the environmental nonprofit Ecology Action Center in Normal, projects the average Ameren customer would save close to $140 for the year by opting out of the aggregation program. [That includes January through May 2026 under the current rates].
“I think this is a safe gamble. That’s why we are making this recommendation,” Brown said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “It we felt that the risk was high then we would not be saying this confidently.”
The energy supplier Bloomington and Normal selected for its annual aggregation contract starting in June, Direct Energy, is offering customers a rate of $0.1276 per kilowatt hour.
Residents who opt out would then purchase their power through Ameren. The utility recently informed customers that its summer rate would be increasing nearly 30% to $0.11326, adding the price of electricity remains “historically high” largely because there’s not enough electricity to meet demand when home energy use increases during the warmer summer months.
Direct Energy’s rate is locked in through August 2027, while Ameren’s may change in the fall based on supply and demand.
Brown noted Ameren’s rates are expected to drop again in the fall, and it would take another Ameren rate hike to make Direct Energy’s plan the more affordable option for residents.
The EAC said the average single-family Ameren customer would pay about $871 per year for their power for 2026 based on current rates and those set to take effect next month, while a customer who stays with aggregation would pay about $1,007 for the year. Those totals do not include taxes and fees.
Voters in Bloomington and Normal approved their participation in a municipal aggregation program over a decade ago. The municipalities then select an energy supplier that locks in an annual rate that customers pay. The plan is intended to give customers a more reliable rate.
Residents are automatically enrolled unless they opt out. The bills continue to come from Ameren, which delivers the electricity into homes and businesses.
Aggregation is not available to Corn Belt Energy customers.
Brown said aggregation customers can opt out at any time, even if the official deadline has passed.
“It is our responsibility at this point just being good consumer advocates for our residents just to point out that yes, this is their better option at this time,” Brown said.
Data centers
Brown cited the growth of data centers in Illinois and across the Midwest as a key driver of increased demand for power.
“[Demand] for those is rapidly growing. We are seeing that everywhere now, a lot of pressure on a lot of communities,” Brown said, adding that any stress on the energy grid within the MISO [Midcontinent Independent System Operator] service area of more than a dozen states stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico can increase energy prices.
“Any demand, any placement of new data centers within that area, influences our rates,” Brown said. “It’s just about local. In this case, local is regional.”
As Bloomington and Normal leaders consider ways to regulate data centers, Brown said many of the questions he has about those plans are already being asked.
He noted much of the concern about potential impacts on Bloomington’s water supply, but noted the Mahomet Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to much of Central Illinois, should also be a major consideration.
“The Mahomet Aquifer is not infinite. The recharge rate on that is being monitored and it appears to be going down,” Brown said. “At what point are we overspending the water available in the Mahomet Aquifer and other groundwater supplies?”
Normal and Bloomington have approved a six-month moratorium on data centers.
