Shall McHenry County Government Be Involved In Supplying Electricity

It appears the voters of unincorporated McHenry County will have the opportunity to consider whether they desire to be part of an electric aggregation. The McHenry County Board adopted a resolution to place a question on the ballot for the upcoming election stating: “Shall the County of McHenry, Illinois, have the authority to arrange for the supply of electricity for its residential and small commercial retail customers who have not opted out of such program?”

That question will be put on the March 20 ballots for voters in the unincorporated areas of the county to make their decision.

The resolution as approved by the County Board Tuesday evening also explains: “In the event such question is approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question at the regular election on March 20, 2012, the McHenry County Board may implement an opt-out aggregation program and if the Board adopts the program the County shall comply with all the terms and provisions of the Act, and

“In the event the State of Illinois amends the Act to revise the form of the question to be placed on the ballot, the chairman of the McHenry County Board is authorized to direct the County Clerk to change the form of the question to conform with the amended Act, if required: and

“The County will create a plan of governance and Execution, coordinating with the Illinois Commerce Commission, Illinois Power Authority, Attorney General’s Office, Local Utility (ComEd) and  Suppliers both at a local and national level, and

“This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval as required by law.”

The Resolution was passed but the vote was not unanimous with Members Diane Evertsen, Donna Kurtz and Ersel Schuster casting dissenting votes.

A number of questions were raised at the County Board meeting regarding this plan. It was also noted that there may be as many as a dozen municipalities asking the same question at the March 20 election.

A meeting is to take place for County Board members on Wednesday, supposedly so they can learn more about this proposal. When we asked about the time we were told by County administration that it is not a public meeting.