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Naperville’s electricity supplier is Illinois Municipal Electric Association (IMEA).
80% of IMEA’s electricity comes from their two coal plants, so 80% of Naperville’s electricity is from burning coal.
City Council is considering extending our electricity contract with IMEA to 2055.
Extending the contract would be…
- Naperville ratepayers would pay for the $2 Billion extension
- City Council didn’t request any competitive bids
- Historically, lower cost options were available
- The contract caps how much electricity we are allowed to generate or batteries we could add
- We lose the opportunity to take advantage of new, cheaper sources
- We would be extending a contract that doesn’t end for 15 years
25 years ago, coal generated most of the U.S.’s electricity, but that has declined to just 16%.
Coal used to be a low-cost fuel, but now others sources are much less expensive.
In 2024, 90% of the electricity added in the U.S. has been low-cost renewables.
In the U.S., no one is planning to add coal plants, and unlike IMEA, many producers are retiring them.
Naperville is an outlier, as 80% of our electricity is from burning coal. As a point of reference, 15% of Illinois’ electricity comes from coal.
Our coal use is contributing to a rapidly warming planet.
Over half of Naperville’s greenhouse gases come from electricity.
One of IMEA’s coal plants is in the top 10 dirtiest plants in the U.S. Burning coal releases toxins and pollutants that increase health problems, including asthma, cancer, heart problems, and neurological disorders.
What You Can Do
- Send an email to the City Council telling them that you don’t want to extend the IMEA contract. The addresses are on the next page.
- Vote on April 1, 2025, for city council members who align with your values
- Tell your friends and ask them to send an email and vote
- Attend the Naperville City Council Meeting on January 21 at 7 PM and stand with others to oppose the contract. Learn more at www.SayNoToCoal.com
- Attend the City Council Candidates’ Forum at First Congregational Church on February 3 at 7 PM. Learn where candidates stand on this terrible contract and hold them accountable.
- Write a letter to the editor – Naperville Sun, Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune
- Use this link to see this presentation again or share information about Naperville’s Electricity Problem
- Learn more at cleanenergynaperville.org and sustainnaperville.org
The email addresses of the city council members are below, so you can also encourage them not to extend our electricity contract but instead clean up our pollution and get competitive bids from other companies. You can just copy and paste these email addresses into a note.