Action to opt-out required by June 15, 2012.

Transcription

1 1221 Lamar Street Suite 750 Houston, TX Important information regarding your city s electricity aggregation program. Action to opt-out required by June 15, Evanston Opt-OutEnvelope_NewLogo.indd 1 5/22/2012 4:45:45 PM

2 Selected Electricity Supplier <First Name><Last Name> <Address1> <Address2> <City>, <State> <Zip> Welcome to the City of Evanston Governmental Aggregation Electricity Program. Dear <First Name> <Last Name>, The City of Evanston is pleased to announce that Constellation Energy has been selected as the supplier for its Governmental Aggregation Electricity Program. This includes a one-year program with a fixed price for your electricity supply of /kwh for July 2012 through June The fixed price offered does not include taxes, ComEd distribution or other ComEd fees, charges or credits. Fixed Supply Price Contract Term Estimated savings against current ComEd residential rate through Sep. 30, 2012 Energy Mix /kwh 12 months 32% 1 100% Renewable Energy 2 1 Savings estimated based on the ComEd summer rate of /kwh through Sep. 30, % renewable energy mix provided with Renewable Energy Certificates from wind energy generated in Illinois or an adjacent state You re Automatically Enrolled As an eligible Evanston residential or small business customer, you are automatically enrolled at the rate and term above unless you decide to opt-out. To learn more about the program, please see the enclosed Terms and Conditions and the FAQ. Who is Constellation Energy? Constellation Energy is a leading electricity supplier within the U.S. to the residential, commercial and industrial marketplace. Constellation Energy is licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission and is the selected supplier to provide electricity to Evanston small businesses and residents that are eligible for the aggregation program in the ComEd service territory. How To Opt-Out You don t need to do anything to get this new low rate. However, if you decide not to take part in the program, please respond in one of four ways by June 15, 2012 as described below. 1. Mail: Return the form below in the pre-addressed stamped envelope. 2. Fax: Fax completed Opt-Out form below to Phone: Call Constellation Energy at Web: Visit home.constellation.com/optout. It s our pleasure to serve as your electricity provider. Sincerely, Elizabeth B. Tisdahl, Mayor City of Evanston Kenny Matula, Vice President Constellation Energy Here s how you benefit. Receive an exclusive electricity offer of a fixed rate of /kwh for your July 2012 through June 2013 billing cycles. Price certainty for 12 months; July 2012 through June 2013 billing cycles. Receive one bill from ComEd, but with a low electricity price from Constellation Energy. ComEd will continue to service all distribution lines and meters to your home, as well as respond to service issues. Help the city to meet the goals of the Evanston Climate Action plan with a 100% renewable energy mix. To learn more: Call Visit us online at home.constellation.com/optout The fixed price offered does not include any taxes, ComEd distribution charges, or other ComEd fees, charges or credits. Additionally, we encourage you to review the details of the offer as further defined in the enclosed Terms and Conditions and FAQ inserts. Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Exelon Corporation also owns Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd). Constellation NewEnergy is not the same company as ComEd. The prices of Constellation NewEnergy are not regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission. You do not have to buy Constellation NewEnergy electricity or any other product in order to receive the same quality regulated service from ComEd. I do not want to participate in the Evanston Electricity Aggregation program. Service Name (please print) Service Address Opt-Out Code Add Code Here Service City Service State Service Zip Phone Number Cell Work Home Signature Date

3 Retail Electricity Supply Terms and Conditions of Service for the Aggregated Group between The City of Evanston and Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. AGREEMENT These Terms and Conditions together with the City of Evanston s enrollment information / opt-out notification will apply to the generation component of your electric bill if you do not opt-out of the aggregation program adopted by the City of Evanston. Please keep a copy of these Terms and Conditions for your records. Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. (Supplier) is certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission ( ICC ) as an Alternative Retail Electric Supplier ( ARES ) to sell competitive retail electric service to customers in the State of Illinois utilizing existing transmission and distribution systems. CNE is certified by the ICC to operate as an ARES in the service area of Commonwealth Edison Company. As an ARES, CNE will supply the electric generation to your Electric Utility ( EU ) based on your usage. Your EU then distributes or delivers the electricity to you. The generation prices and charges that customers in the aggregation group pay is based on an Agreement between the City of Evanston and CNE. The ICC regulates distribution prices and services. As authorized by 20 ILCS 3855/1-92, CNE sells electricity and related services and equipment ( Retail Electric Supply ) to corporate authorities of municipalities or boards of county supervisors acting as governmental aggregators of residential and small commercial retail electrical loads located within the municipality or the unincorporated areas of the county. DEFINITIONS: Generation Service Charge for the production of electricity. Transmission Service Charge for moving high voltage electricity from a generation facility to the distribution lines of an electric utility. Distribution Service Charge for the physical delivery of electricity over a distribution system to customers from the transmission system. Right of Rescission If you do not opt-out of the aggregation group your EU will send you a confirmation letter. You will have the right to rescind your enrollment within ten (10) calendar days following the postmark date of the confirmation letter by following the instructions contained in the letter. The Right of Rescission only applies when a customer switches to a generation supplier. Should you choose to opt-out of your governmental aggregator s program, you will continue to receive the applicable tariffed services provided by your EU as required by 220 ILCS 5/ and defined by its rates on file with the ICC pursuant to 220 ILCS 5/Art. IX. ( Tariffed Service ), unless you choose an alternate supplier of electricity. Electric Utility ( EU ) means Commonwealth Edison Company, or any successor thereto, that owns and maintains the distribution system required for transmitting or distributing electric energy to retail customers. Governmental Aggregator means the City of Evanston as authorized by the March 20, 2012 referendum on Electricity Aggregation. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 1. Eligibility. Only residential customers and small commercial retail customers of an EU consuming 15,000 kilowatt-hours or less of electricity annually in the EU s service area are eligible customers to participate in the aggregation group. Applicable residential and small commercial retail customers in an aggregation program shall not include customers of an ARES that is not the chosen supplier of the aggregation program or customers participating in a residential real-time pricing program or Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) unless those customers affirmatively choose to join the aggregation program. CNE also reserves the right to refuse enrollment to any small commercial retail customer with an outstanding electric bill balance. 2. Basic Service Prices. Participants in the aggregation group will pay CNE a fixed price of $ per kilowatt hour ($ / kwh) for combined electric transmission, generation and generation related charges as specified in the enrollment notification. In addition you will be charged by your EU for distribution and various other charges. In addition to the charges described above, if any regional transmission organization or similar entity, EU, governmental entity or agency, NERC and other industry reliability organization, or court requires a change to the terms of the Agreement between the City of Evanston and CNE, or imposes upon the Supplier new or additional charges or requirements, or a change in the method or procedure for determining charges or requirements, relating to your Retail Electric Supply under this Agreement (any of the foregoing, a Pass-Through Event ),which are not otherwise reimbursed to the Supplier, Customer agrees that Supplier may pass through the additional cost to Supplier of such Pass-Through Event, which may be variable, to participants in the aggregation group. Changes may include, without limitation, transmission or capacity requirements, new or modified charges or shopping credits, and other changes to retail electric customer access programs. If the Tariffed Service rate ( ComEd rate ) for the same service falls below the Agreement rate, the Supplier, at their option, will either match the Tariffed Service rate or return your account to the Tariffed Service. If the Supplier returns your service to the Tariffed Service for this reason, you will not be assessed a termination charge. 3. Renewable Energy. The fixed price includes the cost of renewable energy credits ( RECs ) representing the environmental attributes from electricity in an amount equal to the RECs required by Illinois renewable energy portfolio standard plus the voluntary RECs shall equal to 100% the Account(s) usage during the Term. The RECs equal to 100% of the Account(s) usage will be from an Illinois or adjoining state wind asset which meets all of the technology criteria of Green-e. The renewable energy is new, meaning it comes from wind farms built since 1997 and such facilities allow customers to make claims about being green and reducing carbon usage. 4. Term. As a part of your governmental aggregator s program, your generation supply from CNE will commence with the next available meter 2012 Constellation Energy Resources, LLC. All rights reserved. The offering herein is sold and contracted by Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Errors and omissions excepted. Page 1 of 2

4 reading and after processing of the enrollment by your EU, and will continue for the term of 12 months, ending on the meter read for the last month of service. The program may be terminated prior to the term as specified in the opt-out notification pursuant to the terms of the Master Agreement to Provide Services to an Aggregated Group between the City of Evanston and CNE. Should the program be terminated, you will be returned to the applicable Tariffed Service. 5. Billing. You will receive a consolidated bill from your EU for both the Supplier and EU charges. If you do not pay your bill by the due date, the Supplier may cancel these terms and conditions after giving you a minimum of fourteen (14) days written notice. Upon cancellation you will be returned to your EU as a customer. You will remain responsible to pay the Supplier for any electricity used as well as any late payment charges. CNE reserves the right to convert you from consolidated billing to dual billing if such a conversion will facilitate more timely billing, collections, and/or payment pursuant to the terms of the Master Agreement to Provide Services to an Aggregated Group between CNE and the City of Evanston. Further, your failure to pay EU charges may result in your electric service being disconnected in accordance with your EU s tariffs. 6. Penalties, Fees and Exceptions. At present there is no switching fee to change from the Tariffed Service to the aggregation group. However, if a new regulation is passed legally requiring this fee, the EU may charge the switching fee to you. If you do not pay the full amount of your electric bill by the due date, CNE may charge a late payment fee no greater than 1.5% per month for the generation component of the bill. 7. Cancellation/Termination Provisions. Residential and small retail commercial customers may terminate their participation in the aggregation group without penalty, at any time to return to the Tariffed Service, or due to a move or cancellation of their account with the EU. If you terminate these terms and conditions for any other reason, except as expressly provided herein, you will be charged a termination fee of $25 per account. Upon termination and return to Tariffed Service with your EU, the rates, terms, and conditions will be established by the EU. 8. Customer Consent and Information Release Authorization. By choosing not to opt-out of your community s aggregation program, these terms and conditions will result in change from your current generation service provider to CNE. CNE is authorized to obtain information from the EU that includes, but is not limited to: billing history, payment history, historical and future electricity usage, meter readings, and characteristics of electricity service. The Supplier reserves the right to determine if your credit standing is satisfactory before accepting your enrollment request. These terms and conditions shall be considered executed by CNE following acceptance of your account enrollment request by CNE, the end of the 3 day rescission period and subsequent acceptance of the enrollment by your EU. 9. Contract Expiration. At the end of its term, these terms and conditions will expire. At least 30 days prior to the expiration of these terms and conditions, CNE will notify customers that the Agreement is ending and inform the customers whether they will be switched back to the Tariffed Service or if the Governmental Aggregator has contracted with a ARES for a new Aggregation Program. 10. Dispute Procedures. You may contact your EU or CNE with any questions concerning the terms of service by phone at (toll-free) M-F 8AM 5PM CST or in writing at Constellation NewEnergy Inc., c/o Residential Care, 1221 Lamar Street, Suite 750, Houston, TX Our web address is If your complaint is not resolved after you have called CNE and/or your EU, or for general utility information, you may contact the Consumer Services Division of the ICC for assistance at between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday by calling or TTY at or visit or Miscellaneous. You may request from the Supplier, twice within a 12 month period, up to 24 months of payment history, without charge. The Supplier is prohibited from disclosing a customer s social security number without the customer s affirmative written consent except as permitted or required by 220 ILCS 5/5-110, 815 ILCS 505/2RR or other applicable law. The Supplier is prohibited from disclosing a customer s billing, usage or load data except as permitted by 20 ILCS 3855/1-92, 220 ILCS 5/ or other applicable law. The Supplier s environmental disclosure statement is available for viewing at df. The Supplier will provide quarterly updates to the statement as a separate billing insert as required under Section of the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 and the rules of the Illinois Commerce Commission, 83 Ill. Adm. Code 421. The Supplier may assign its rights to another party, including any successor, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the ICC. The Supplier assumes no responsibility or liability for the following items that are the responsibility of the EU: operation and maintenance of the EU s electrical system, any interruption of service, termination of service, or deterioration of the EU s service. In the event of a power outage, you should contact your local EU. Customer is responsible for providing the Supplier with accurate account information. If said information is incorrect, the Supplier reserves the right to re-price the applicable account(s) or terminate the Agreement. The Supplier reserves the right to return any customer to the EU if the customer s rate code or meter type is changed and the account is no longer eligible for this program. 12. Warranty. CNE warrants title and the right to all electricity sold hereunder. THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN THIS PARAGRAPH ARE EXCLUSIVE ANDARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER STATUTORY,EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR ARISING OUT OF ANY COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE Constellation Energy Group, Inc. The forgoing offering is sold and contracted by Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation Constellation Energy Resources, LLC. All rights reserved. The offering herein is sold and contracted by Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Errors and omissions excepted. Page 2 of 2

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7 What is Governmental Aggregation and how can I benefit? Under governmental aggregation, local officials bring the community together for improved group purchasing power. The community benefits by receiving competitively-priced electricity from a retail electricity supplier certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission. How is Evanston able to choose a certified electricity supplier on the community s behalf and who is eligible? Evanston residents voted to give the City of Evanston the ability to negotiate on behalf of the community a contract for an electricity supplier. All participants in the program will receive notice of the program rates, terms and conditions. All eligible residents or businesses have been sent an optout notice from Constellation Energy and meet the following requirements: 1. You must not have already chosen an electricity supplier on your own. 2. You must not be past due on your bill payment. 3. Your service address must be located within Evanston city limits. 4. Your utility company must be ComEd. What does opt out mean? Opt out means that we are operating under the assumption that you want to participate in the Evanston electricity governmental aggregation program but you can decide not to participate. You can opt out by returning the opt-out form included in your mailer, through the call center using the phone number provided or via the web using the website provided. If you opt out, you will not be enrolled as an electricity customer with Constellation Energy and will continue to be served by your current supplier. You will also not receive the Evanston competitive electricity endorsed price. What happens if I do not send in the opt-out form? If you do not return the opt-out form by the deadline, you will be included in the Evanston governmental aggregation program and receive competitively priced electricity from Constellation Energy. I am currently under the budget billing option as provided by ComEd. Can I retain this service? There will be no changes in your bill as they relate to budget billing. Contact ComEd to review their budget billing options. Who is Constellation Energy? A pioneer in the energy industry, Constellation has evolved from the nation s first gas light utility to one of the largest and most innovative energy companies in America. Our parent company, Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), is the nation s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately $33 billion in annual revenues. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada Constellation Energy Resources, LLC. All rights reserved. The offering herein is sold and contracted by Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation. Municipal Aggregation Program FAQ 5. You must not be a mercantile customer (electricity commercial accounts using over 15 MWhs per year).

8 What information do I need to opt out? Customers will need the 4-6 digit opt-out code provided in the original opt-out letter. If this is not available, our customer care team can pull up your information based on the service address. Are there fees associated with the program? Enrollment in the program is free and you need not take any action. You only need to be eligible to participate. Once enrolled in the program, you can cancel your agreement at any time and switch back to ComEd without any penalty. However, if you would like to switch to another alternate retail electricity supplier, you can terminate your agreement early and switch to the supplier by paying an early termination penalty of $ Will I be allowed to join the program after the initial enrollment period? The City of Evanston has secured the same electric supply rate, terms and conditions for eligible customers who wish to join its governmental aggregation programs after the initial enrollment period. This would include customers who move into the City of Evanston, who were with another supplier and would like to join the aggregation program or customers who initially opted-out and want to join at a later date. These customers will have an individual agreement with Constellation Energy for electricity supply but will retain the same electricity supply rate, terms and conditions of the aggregation programs. What is the rescission period? What does 100% green mean? Constellation Energy will provide a 100% renewable energy mix by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs will be purchased from a wind energy asset in Illinois or adjacent states. Each REC represents the environmental benefits of a megawatt-hour of renewable electricity. When will my Constellation Energy electricity supply begin and how do I know when my meter read occurs? Supply will start on your first applicable meter read date, which we estimate to be in July. Refer to your ComEd bill to get the exact meter read date. What if I am with another supplier and want to join the Evanston program? Based on the records provided by the utility, we assumed you are not with another supplier otherwise we would have not sent you this notice. However, if you recently signed up with a new supplier or if you believe you are on an older contract, carefully review the terms and conditions of that agreement before proceeding as your ability to terminate early may be restricted. How can Constellation Energy offer a lower price than ComEd s current price? During select market opportunities, Constellation Energy buys power at a lower price than ComEd, and then passes on those savings to its customers. How did the City of Evanston develop this Program? Pursuant to Section 1-92 of the Illinois Power Agency Act ( Act ), 20 ILCS 3855/1-92, each IL municipality is authorized to aggregate the electric loads of small commercial and residential customers located within its municipal boundaries. As part of the aggregation, each municipality may solicit bids, select a retail electric supplier, and enter into a service agreement to facilitate the purchase of electricity and related services and equipment on behalf of its residents and small businesses. In accordance with the Act, your city passed an ordinance and/or resolutions authorizing a referendum for the community on the March 20, 2012 ballot asking the public for authority to create an opt-out Aggregation Program for its residents and small business customers, which was approved by the residents of your city. Where can I learn more about electricity deregulation and assistance programs? The Illinois Commerce Commission has assistance programs to help customers with their energy bills. Eligibility and enrollment information can be found on the ICC s website at What are questions that can be directed to my Utility? Please contact ComEd at for questions on the following topics: Problems with your electricity service Questions about your bill Tax exemptions How do I know if the residential rate class that I am in is eligible for your service? If you are currently on a utility with a Space Heat Rate, you will not save by switching your electric supplier. You may lose the ability to be served on such a rate in the future. Our savings estimates are generally based on ComEd s BES Residential (Non-Electric Space Heating) rate class. Please carefully review all details provided in our offers. You can find your rate class and any special provisions on your ComEd bill. What happens at the end of my Constellation Energy electricity contract term? The City of Evanston will rebid the term and price on behalf of residents. You will be notified of the outcome by the city and/or supplier for the new term. ComEd s contact number is Please refer to the enclosed letter and Terms & Conditions for program pricing and further information. To find out more about Constellation Energy, visit You have 10 days after receipt of the utility enrollment confirmation to rescind with no penalty.