CARTERVILLE — A chambers of commerce joint effort is offering small businesses an opportunity to possibly save money on their electricity bills.
Chamber directors from the newly formed buying group hosted a news conference Wednesday at John A. Logan College to announce details of pooling buying power of Southern Illinois businesses in what is known as aggregation.
The strategy is through partnering and increasing buying volume, a lower purchase price of electricity can be obtained, said Managing Partner Jeff Haarmann of Affordable Gas & Electric that is the buying group’s negotiator.
Affordable Gas & Electric is negotiating a purchase price with supplier Ameren Energy Marketing.
Businesses that wish to participate must be a member of their respective chambers in Carbondale, Carterville, Centralia, Herrin, Marion, Murphysboro, Salem and West Frankfort. They must be located within the Ameren Illinois service territory. If they under contract with another retail supplier, the contract must be set to expire by Dec. 31, Haarmann said.
“I highly recommend the aggregation program to all chamber members,” said Executive Director Brandon Bullard of Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, which launched the pilot program in the fall.
Bullard said participating businesses in Mount Vernon including Magnum Steel and Mount Vernon Township High School are collectively saving about 30 percent annually or $500,000.
Executive Director Les O’Dell of Carbondale Chamber of Commerce said the potential economic impact to the Southern Illinois region could translate from $1.5 million to $2 million in savings.
“This is designed for small and midsize businesses with fewer than 50 employees who are chamber members. These businesses can save drastic dollars. Anybody can jump on board with us,” said Executive Director Joni Barwick of Marion Chamber of Com-merce.
Businesses that wish to participate should go to their respective chamber website and fill out a registration form. Deadline for registering is May 31.
