After several discussions last year resulted in St. Charles rejecting a new, 20-year contract with coal-reliant IMEA to power the community, the city continues to expand on alternative energy solutions.

St. Charles is again pursuing a contract to continue heating all city facilities with natural gas. The city’s previous natural gas contract recently expired.

In December, the City Council authorized the city’s director of finance, Bill Hannah, to enter into a new agreement during an auction process for new contracts.

The city is pursuing a two- or three-year contract consistent with previous contracts. The total cost is yet to be determined, but the city has budgeted around $242,000 for the process.

“Entering into a multi-year agreement for natural gas has allowed the city to reduce heating costs for the city facilities while providing better budget certainty over that time frame,” Hannah said in city documents.

The city’s previous natural gas contract was sourced via a reverse auction managed by Transparent Energy.

The new authorization enables Hannah to enter into a new agreement after the next auction process is completed.

Outside of heating the city’s facilities, the contract with coal-reliant IMEA that powers the rest of the city runs through 2035.

In previous City Council meetings, officials indicated they want to begin searching for a new provider in 2029 or 2030.