Mayor Dominic Rivara says Oglesby residents and businesses don’t have to worry about rising electric rates for now. The city’s locked into a contract from when prices were low. Rivara says that was when there was a surplus and electricity went for 15¢ per kilowatt hour at auction. He says it’s been over $7 at times since some power plants in Illinois were closed.
Rivara says to meet customer demands, power companies have to import electricity from other states on transmission lines not made to carry as much as their customers want.He says that’s why the city could have to turn power off to some industries on high demand days this summer.