Latest Developments in Naperville’s Electricity Contract

Naperville residents have been seeing ads from IMEA, the organization that provides Naperville’s electricity, advocating that we sign a 20-year contract with them without getting any competitive bids.¹ Additionally, new campaigns from pro-coal groups have encouraged Naperville to sign a contract through 2055. Some of those materials have misleading claims, so the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force (NEST), whose mission is to educate the city council, staff, and residents about local environmental issues, is providing information you can use to check misinformation.

Sources for our information are at the bottom of this note. We suggest you politely ask anyone providing information on the contract for supporting evidence.

1. False Claim – If we don’t go with IMEA, the city would have to buy all of its power on the open market. Dozens of companies in Illinois offer electricity contracts like IMEA does.² NEST has met with several of the companies, and they would like to bid on our power. Our city’s code recommends competitive bidding to keep prices low and the procurement process transparent.³
2. False Claim – Naperville has paid less than the surrounding communities have paid for their electricity. Both the city-hired consultants (CJT Law)⁴ and NEST⁵ independently showed IMEA was more expensive. 
3. False Claim – Some bonds will be paid off in 2035, so rates will decline. According to IMEA’s plans, they will start retiring part of their largest coal plant in 2038⁶, so they will need to issue new bonds to replace the retiring capacity. IMEA’s proposed contract does not say rates will decline and has no price caps.⁷
4. False Claim – IMEA will be 100% carbon-free by 2050.  According to the city’s Greenhouse Gas inventory, the energy we purchase from IMEA generated 3.5 billion pounds of pollution per year.⁸ The proposed contract has no commitments to clean energy,⁷ so any forecast of IMEA’s potential future actions is just speculation.
5. False Claim – IMEA has modern, highly efficient operations. 86% of the electricity IMEA generates is from coal plants⁹ that rely on decades-old technology. No coal plant has been built in the U.S. in over a decade because of their higher operating costs.¹⁰ 

NEST advocates for transparent, honest conversations about our energy situation. 

Please share this information with your neighbors and businesses, so they can make fact-based decisions on Naperville’s energy future.  

1. City Council Energy Workshop Presentation – Page 8 https://naperville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14545541&GUID=48C4CEFD-B5BB-460E-BF3B-8786F637CFB4 
2. Federal Energy Information Agency – 2024 Retail Power Marketers Sales. Illinois is on pages 2 and 3  https://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/pdf/table_16.pdf
3. Naperville Code Section Scroll Down to “1-9B-4 METHODS OF SOURCE SELECTION” https://library.municode.com/il/naperville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT1AD_CH9MUFI_ARTBPUPOGU
4. Click the City’s Energy Workshop video link. At the 1:10:45 time, CJ Law said IMEA was more expensive. https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1327572&GUID=81238E77-DBAA-4CD1-A9E0-1C181A034461&Options=info|&Search=#
5. Click the video link. At 2:39:39, NEST says IMEA was more expensive. https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1327572&GUID=81238E77-DBAA-4CD1-A9E0-1C181A034461&Options=info|&Search=# Detailed analysis is on Page 48, 49, and 50 – City Council Energy Workshop – NEST Presentation. https://naperville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14545541&GUID=48C4CEFD-B5BB-460E-BF3B-8786F637CFB
6. Page 8 of IMEA’s presentation to the PUAB https://naperville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13783641&GUID=9E10D73A-1AE4-4DCE-A9AA-19D0DA917101
7. https://www.naperville.il.us/services/electric-utility/your-electric-service/imea/ at the bottom of the page, click on “Contract Extension Offer”
8. Naperville City Manager’s Memorandum May 15, 2025, Page 5
9. https://cleanenergynaperville.org/did-you-know/naperville-imea-sources-of-electricity/
10. https://www.eenews.net/articles/u-s-coal-power-refuses-to-die-what-that-means-for-climate/#:~:text=The%20last%20large%20new%20coal%2Dfired%20power%20plant,solar%2C%20batteries%2C%20and%20new%2Dbuilds%20in%20coal%20communities