Salespeople who offer to save you money may ask for your account number or to see your bill. Most likely they are selling a low introductory rate or trying to get your account number so they can switch you to a different provider without your permission.
Representatives from the Village or its electricity supplier, MC Squared Energy, never solicit door-to-door or by telephone.
Each year the Village bundles residential and small business electric accounts and seeks competitive bids from electricity suppliers. The state law that gave the Village this authority also allows companies to market their programs directly to consumers. While these companies may be approved by the state, high-pressure salespeople often are accused of misleading consumers about the costs and risks of signing up.
ComEd, which owns the wires and poles, continues to distribute the power and is responsible for outages and billing, regardless of the power supplier.
Bills from ComEd list the name of your electricity supplier. If you have concerns or questions, contact Citizens Utility Board (CUB) Consumer Advocacy Department at 1.800.669.5556. More information about electric competition in Illinois is available on the CUB website at www.citizensutilityboard.org/electriccompetitioncomed.
Enrollment for Oak Park’s municipal electricity aggregation program typically opens in the fall and eligible customers are enrolled automatically unless they have opted out previously through a very specific process.
Following these basic guidelines may help avoid scams:
- Never share your account number in person or over the telephone
- Never allow a solicitor to see your bill
- Never make a payment to a door-to-door solicitor or over the telephone
- Never share your credit card number, social security number or other personal information
Residents who feel threatened by an aggressive solicitor are urged to call 911. Anyone with concerns about the status of an electricity account can call ComEd at 1.800.334.7661. You will need to provide your account number for this service.
For more information on the Village’s electricity aggregation program, visit www.oak-park.us/aggregationfaqs, call 1.855.251.1179 or email oakpark@mc2energyservices.com.