At the September 28th Energy Workshop, a majority of the City Council approved this new energy vision:

“To secure an energy future that prioritizes reliability, sustainability, affordability, flexibility, and local control.”

The Council also agreed that selling the City-owned electric utility should not be considered. Naperville’s city-operated distribution system has a record of maintaining reliable service and controlling costs.

The vision has several benefits for residents:

• The Council emphasized that these five pillars in the vision must work together to meet residents’ needs and control costs. The direction also reflects the city survey, in which a large majority of residents said sustainability should be a City priority.
• Renewables have been America’s most popular new electricity source for the past five years because they are the least expensive. The Council’s vision positions Naperville to benefit from those new technologies that cost less and pollute less.
• Local control and flexibility help Naperville avoid signing another 30-year agreement that limits our ability to innovate or take cost-cutting measures. 

Earlier this month, the Council voted to have the City explore a local utility-scale battery which could improve reliability, lower costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NEST will continue to encourage those investments.

Overall, the community’s efforts to encourage the City to consider the environment when it makes decisions are paying off.