RESIDENT ELECTRICITY SUPPLY OPTIONS
The City of Urbana selected Direct Energy as the low bidder after a competitive bid for the local electricity aggregation program. Direct Energy will supply electricity at a fixed rate from May 2026 through April 2027. Most residents have already received a letter from the City of Urbana and Direct Energy with details about Direct Energy supply and how to decline the offer if desired.
Pricing
Residents enrolled in Urbana’s municipal electric aggregation will receive an electricity supply price of $0.12880 per kilowatt hour (kWh). That price will be fixed from May 2026 through April 2027. The price also includes the purchase of renewable energy credits for 25% of the electricity supplied by the aggregation program thereby greening the energy supply. On May 28, 2026, the State of Illinois posted the default electricity supply rate through Ameren called Basic Generation Service as $0.11326 per kWh.
Details
- Residents can opt out of aggregation at any time with no termination fee or other obligation.
- All residents and small commercial accounts will continue to receive one bill issued by Ameren Illinois.
- Residents can enroll in a community solar subscription along with municipal electric aggregation or along with default electricity supply through Ameren called Basic Generation Service
- Residents cannot be simultaneously enrolled in municipal electric aggregation and power smart pricing.
The City of Urbana is also partnering with Nexamp to offer community solar subscriptions and is hosting a Nexamp low-income qualified community solar array on the City’s closed landfill. Nexamp also offers market rate community solar subscriptions from other solar arrays in Illinois. Low income qualified rates are set at a 50% discount as compared to the default electric supply rate. Market rate subscriptions are typically offered at a 15% discount as compared to the default electric supply rate.
Contact: Scott Tess, Sustainability & Resilience Officer Urbana Public Works Department 217-384-2342 Scott.Tess [at] UrbanaIL.Gov (Scott[dot]Tess[at]UrbanaIL[dot]Gov)