Twenty-Nine Municipalities Have Chosen to Extend Their Relationship with IMEA Through 2055
Date Posted: 2025-07-25
The “Open Season” for current IMEA member municipalities to sign a new power sales contract to stay with Illinois' premier joint action agency ends on August 19, 2025.
For 40 years IMEA members have benefitted from the reliability, affordability, and sustainability the agency brings to their municipal electric operations. Twenty-nine current member municipalities have chosen to extend their relationship with IMEA by approving the new contract. The new contract begins in 2035 and ends in 2055. Below are reasons why your municipality should join them.
Why IMEA?
• Power supply costs for member communities are almost 6% lower today than they were 10 years ago (excluding pass-through transmission costs).
• IMEA is a trusted partner that combines the efforts and resources of municipal electric utilities coming together for the common good. Being a part of the joint action agency of IMEA allows municipalities to keep costs down and increase efficiencies in today's complex energy industry.
• Municipal utilities formed this non-profit agency over 40 years ago to help municipal electric utilities secure wholesale power supply at affordable and reliable rates and have done so with great success.
• You are the agency. Your municipality has a seat on the board, a voice on all policy matters. No other electric supplier is going to give you that direct local control in your power supply.
• Included in the IMEA power costs is access to expertise, resources and customized services that city staff utilizes that no other electric supplier will provide. These services are provided without any markup or profit.
• IMEA has a proven track record of providing affordable, reliable and sustainable wholesale power to the municipal electric utilities we serve.
• IMEA's resource ownership model has resulted in predictably priced and affordable power for municipalities, particularly during volatile and rapidly changing electric market cycles.
• Owning resources provides a hedge against market volatility and this will be a critical bridge as IMEA and the state of Illinois transition to a carbon-free future, particularly during this time of high demand and low supply.
• There's a New Member Directed Resource (MDR) Option that's designed to allow local renewable development projects and hold all other members harmless from costs and risks. With IMEA Board approval, the city can locally subscribe up to 10% of its peak demand in qualified Member Directed Resources (MDRs) (e.g., wind, solar, etc.). The IMEA Board may approve a greater percentage in the future.
• The MDR process can begin as soon as the city extends the contract and IMEA Board approves. Cities do not need to wait until 2035.
• Today, thanks in part to the affordable and reliable wholesale power supply IMEA provides, member municipal electric systems offer retail rates that are among the lowest in the state.
• IMEA is a low-cost, reliable and sustainable power supplier. IMEA is a nonprofit, focused solely on serving municipal-owned utilities and your community's best interests.