St. Charles Council rejects 20-year contract with coal-reliant IMEA

After over a year of discussion, St. Charles City Council members rejected a proposed contract with the city’s current energy provider.

St. Charles still has 10 years left on its current power contract with Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, or IMEA, but the agency asked St. Charles and other municipalities to enter into new 20-year contracts that would last through 2055.

The city has been mulling over the decision since IMEA proposed the new contract over a year ago, and decided against it just over a week before the Aug. 19 deadline from IMEA.

The motion to accept the new contract was denied in an 8-1 vote during a special Government Services Committee meeting Monday. Alderperson Ed Bessner was the sole yes vote.

Though energy rates have been steady under the current provider, Council members, residents and local environmental activists have raised concerns over IMEA’s reliance on coal at dozens of meetings over the past year, with many calling on the city to cut ties with the agency.

IMEA is a joint action power supply agency that provides power to 32 municipalities in Illinois. St. Charles has been sourcing its power from IMEA since 2004 and is under contract with the energy provider until Sept. 30, 2035.

IMEA will continue to provide power through the end of the current contract, regardless of Monday’s decision.

Mayor Clint Hull initiated a task force in May called the St. Charles IMEA Working Group, which gathering data and engaged with a consultant to help the City Council make an informed decision on whether to renew the contract.

Shawn Kestler, of Kestler Energy Consulting LLC presented Council members with alternative options for the first time during a July 28 Government Operations Committee meeting.

IMEA owns a portion of coal power plants at Prairie State Energy Campus in southern Illinois and the Trimble County Generating Station in Kentucky. The agency plans to continue sourcing from Prairie State until 2045 and from Trimble until 2050.

While IMEA’s plans to be emission-free by 2050, Kestler said about 80% of the energy in St. Charles comes from coal, and the majority of energy from IMEA will continue to come from coal until at least 2038.

Kestler said the most feasible alternative would likely be to find a new full-service provider. He said the search could be done through the competitive bidding process and would take about six months to complete.

Kestler suggested that full-service energy companies like Constellation, NextEra, AEP, MidAmerican and NRG could provide the same energy as IMEA but from renewable resources.

Other options Kestler presented included renegotiating a new contract with IMEA, joining a different agency similar to IMEA or for the city to self-supply and manage its own power like Batavia does.

With the contract declined, the city is expected to begin the search for a new new provider in 2029 or 2030, to ensure a contract is in place when the current IMEA contract expires in 2035.

The contract was the only item on the special meeting agenda, and no public comment was made after the vote.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Alderpersons Mike Foulkes, David Pietryla, Vicki Spellman, Jayme Muenz and Bryan Wirball each thanked those involved in the discussions, fact finding and public comments over the past year.

“We made a very logical decision,” Foulkes said. ”This contract at this moment today was not in the best interest of the city of St. Charles. There’s no doubt about that.”

Pietryla said in his six years on the Council, the IMEA contract incited the most vigorous debate since the decision to allow cannabis dispensaries to operate in the city.

“I think this is an opportunity for St. Charles to decide who we want to be, from an energy and sustainability standpoint,” Muenz said.

Foulkes added that the decision on the city’s future energy needs will still need to be made in the future, and asked that those involved keep an open mind, as they could still end up negotiating a new contract with IMEA.

Each of the council members’ remarks received applause from members of the public in attendance.