(A) Initial enrollment process. After selecting a supplier, the village and the consultant, under confidential agreement with the supplier, will work with the supplier to notify eligible retail customers of the Program. The village’s aggregation is an Opt-Out Program pursuant to 20 ILCS 3855/1-92. Any eligible electric account that opts-out of the Program pursuant to the procedures stated below will automatically be placed on the Ameren default tariff service unless and until the account chooses another supplier.
(1) Eligible retail customer list. After selecting a supplier, the village and the consultant, under confidential agreement with the supplier, will work with the supplier to remove any customers determined to be ineligible due to one or more of the following:
(a) The customer is not located within the village;
(b) The customer has a pre-existing agreement with another supplier;
(c) The customer has free Ameren service;
(d) The customer has hourly rate Ameren customer (real time pricing); and/or
(e) The customer is on an Ameren bundled hold.
(2) Initial opt-out process. After the eligible retail customer list is reviewed, the supplier will mail the opt-out notices described below to all eligible account holders within the boundaries of village.
(a) Manner of providing notices and information. The supplier will be required to pay for printing and mailing of all aggregation and opt-out notices on the village envelope and letterhead. The supplier will mail aggregation and opt-out notices to the eligible account holders within the boundaries of village at the address provided with the retail customer identification information provided by Ameren.
(b) Content of notice. The village and the supplier will agree to the format and contents of the aggregation and opt-out notice prior to distribution or mailing. The notice will inform the electric account owner of the existence of the Aggregation Program, the identity of the supplier, the rates to be charged. The notice will also inform PIPP customers of the consequences of participating in the aggregation.
(c) Opt-out methods. The notice will provide a method for customers to opt-out of the Aggregation Program. The notice shall indicate that it is from the village and include the village name and logo on the envelope. The notice shall be signed by the Village President or his or her designee.
(d) Time to respond. Aggregation members shall have 14 calendar days from the postmark date on the notice to mail the opt-out card back to the supplier stating their intention to opt-out of the Village Aggregation Program. The time to respond shall be calculated based on the post mark date of the notice to the customer and the post mark date of the customer’s response. The supplier may offer additional means of opting out, such as a toll-free number, website, smart device quick response code, email address, or fax number, each of which must be received within 14 days from the post mark date on the opt-out notice. Upon receipt of the opt-out reply, the supplier will remove the account from the Aggregation Program.
(e) Final list. After the expiration of the 14-day opt-out period, the customer list shall become final. All customers who have not opted out will be automatically enrolled in the Program. Customers will not need to take any affirmative steps in order to be included in the program.
(f) Missed accounts. In the event that an eligible aggregation member is inadvertently not sent an opt-out notice, or is inadvertently omitted from the Program, the supplier will work with the village and the member to ensure that the member’s decision to remain in, or opt-out, of the Program is properly recorded and implemented by the supplier.
(g) Notification to Ameren. After the opt-out response period has expired, the supplier shall submit the account numbers of participating aggregation members to Ameren and the rate to be charged to those customers pursuant to the service agreement and the customer’s election. The supplier will provide that information to Ameren in the format Ameren requires.
(h) Notification by Ameren. Ameren will then notify customers that they have been switched to the supplier and provide the customer with the name and contact information of the supplier. Customers will have the option to rescind their participation in the program according to time frames and procedures established by Ameren.
(i) Activation of service. Upon notification to Ameren, the supplier will begin to provide electric power supply to the members of the Aggregation Program without consumer action. The service will begin on the customer’s normal meter read date within a month when power deliveries begin under the Aggregation Program.
(B) Development of customer database. The supplier will maintain a secure database of customer account information. The database will include the Ameren account number, and supplier account number of each active member, and other pertinent information such as rate code, rider code (if applicable), and usage and demand history. The database will be updated on an ongoing basis.
(C) Subsequent opt-out process.
(1) Account enrollment. After the initial opt-out enrollment process is completed, the village and supplier will establish procedures and protocols to work with Ameren on an ongoing basis to add, delete, or change any customer participation or rate information.
(2) Off-cycle account additions.
(a) New accounts. The village will request from Ameren on a quarterly basis a listing of all active accounts located within the village boundaries. The village and the consultant will identify the accounts on that list that have been added since the initial opt-out notifications were issued. The process described in § VIII A of this Plan will be followed to facilitate enrollment or exclusion from the Program.
(b) Opt-in accounts. Customers may join the Program after initially opting-out by contacting the village or the supplier.
(3) Off-cycle supply pricing. The agreement will require that the supplier use all commercially reasonable efforts to provide accounts seeking entry to the aggregation after the initial opt-out period with the same energy supply pricing as that provided the entire aggregation, accounts enrolled after the initial opt-out period will be included in any general pricing offers presented to the aggregation after the account is initially enrolled.
(Ord. 13-02, passed 2-19-2013)