Commonwealth Edison customers in the city will begin paying about 20 percent less next month if the full City Council adopts a rate plan recommended Wednesday by the Public Works Committee.
Lower electrical rates would be possible, thanks to a new 10-year contract the city negotiated last year with Edison.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Patrick Boyle, St. Charles electrical director. “The contract gives us substantial savings, and we want to pass those savings on to our customers.”
The recommended rates are based on a study by the city staff and a Muscatine, Iowa, consultant hired by St. Charles.
Boyle said the city’s rates have remained steady since 1991 but had risen annually before that for as long as he could remember.
The new rates would go into effect July 1. The council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is June 19.