Residents and small businesses can expect to see more savings on their electricity bills starting in October.

The Village of New Lenox announced today that, along with the City of Crest Hill, it has partnered with Direct Energy as its new electricty provider.

For the October 2011 through September 2013 billing cycles, New Lenox residents will pay 5.89 cents per kilowatt hour, exclusive of utility charges and taxes. Seniors are eligible for a discount at 5.79 cents per kWh, and Direct Energy also offers a renewable wind product for 6.19 cents per kWh.

Currently, Excelon provides New Lenox's electricity through ComEd at a rate of about 7.8 cents per kWh. Public Works Supt. Ron Sly said the average homeowner should save about $174 each year.

Richard Suchant, the partnership sales manager for Direct Energy, said that based off comparisons to residents' current usage through ComEd, they would save about 26 percent off their bills during the summer months and 24 percent otherwise.

This program will automatically enroll residents and small business, though they will have the choice of opting out of the program. For more information about opting out or questions about this program, call1-866-760-6040. The company is also mailing a letter to residents who may opt out the program, and that will include a form that you may send to opt out. Suchant said residents would have two weeks (until July 27) to opt out.

In April, about 60 percent of voters favored a referendum that gave the village the authority to seek lower, aggregated electricity rates for residents. Following two public hearings in June, the village received eight bids and selected Direct Energy.

Of the eight bids, the village thought the rates from Direct Energy were best. Although village staff originally said this provider would be re-evaluated after one year, the two-year term offered better rates. In addition to lower rates, Direct Energy doesn't charge any early termination fees.

"That was one of the deciding factors," Sly said.

Direct Energy has also provided similar opt-out aggregation programs in Ohio, and Sly said the village liked that the company has done this before. But this aggregation agreement is the first of its kind in Illinois and the first for Direct Energy.

"We're always looking for ways to provide competition and markets," Suchant said.

Choosing an electric provider has been an option for Illinois residents to do on their own since 1997, when electricity was deregulated, but few have done it. This year, municipalities were allowed to seek aggregated prices for the entire village.

Besides lower electricity bills, not much will change for residents. Billing and outages will still be handled by ComEd, which is no longer an electricity provider but a distributor.

See a press release with more information on the village's website.